Cloak & Dagger finale review: The other side of trauma

Tonight, the Cloak & Dagger finale ended an extreme period of the life of Tyrone and Tandy, one that was filled with torment, trauma, and people desperate to hold them back. This was an episode that was keen to show that they could get to the other side and save countless lives in New Orleans in the process. It took their powers, a great deal of bravery, and a little bit of luck in order to stop Roxxon’s new discovery from causing some chaos — but, given that this is the sort of show that is not out to murder its heroes before the end of the first season, they made it to the other side.

We will say this as a criticism of this last episode — the final showdown really didn’t feel like a showdown, and there was hardly much of a climax to the story. It just felt like it was just a natural part of everything else that Tandy and Tyrone were doing, which is both good and bad. There was nothing so memorable in here that it requires repeat viewing, save for the cliffhanger hinting at something else worrisome to come. (Is O’Reilly now Mayhem?) We will say that Tyrone almost sacrificing himself was compelling, but it was hard to imagine him ever going.

So, as great as the finale ways, it didn’t quite give you the full extent of a superhero show … but maybe that was always the point. It feels almost like the purpose of this entire first season was putting Tandy and Tyrone in a position where they could help themselves in order to help others. This was the first time that the two really viewed the world in a more panoramic way and looked at what they could do as a means to really be something greater.

This season was fantastic as an original story, and the finale was fantastic as a way to get the two to the point of understanding to where our heroes could form some sort of friendship and find different ways to be there for each other. O’Reilly makes for a very compelling side character in the midst, someone who unknowingly is the police contact and the valuable cog that keeps everything running. (Or, at least that’s how she was — who knows now?)

Yet, in the midst of some of the closure that was here with Roxxon and with Tyrone’s past, is there all that much closure at all? While we think these heroes are moving forward, you can never fully escape who you’ve been.

CarterMatt Verdict

The Cloak & Dagger finale proved itself, as a whole, to be a story about revelations and discovery more so than taking down some mustache twirling villain. It showed how the past influences the present and what future, costumed iterations of these characters could look like.

While it may not have been the culmination some were expecting, this may very well be the closing part of the best original story ever explored on TV.

Related – When could season 2 of Cloak & Dagger premiere?

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