'Cloak And Dagger' Journeys Through The Darkforce And Humanizes Voodoo In A Promising Third Episode

On this week's episode of Cloak & Dagger, "Stained Glass," Tandy and Tyrone take a trip through each other's minds. As we get closer to the two finally joining forces, we're also introduced to another character – a voodoo priestess – and we get more of an inkling as to how connected Connors is.

I'm admitting right now that I'm a novice to the Cloak & Dagger universe, so I'm just now wrapping my brain around the dimension Tandy and Tyrone keep traveling through: the Darkforce Dimension. The dimension is being used in this series as a way to explore our main characters' backstories and how their experiences influence how they manifest their Darkforce powers.

As showrunner Joe Pokaski told our very own Fred Topel:

"...[W]e wanted Tyrone to be able to witness people's fears and Tandy to be able to witness people's hopes. So we wanted to just tweak it a little and make it seem a little unworldly but we're going to get a little bit weirder and weirder as people start getting comfortable. We might not ever see skeletons inside it but I think the idea is the fun of the series is Tandy and Tyrone will learn more and more about what they're capable of over the series."

This episode saw Tandy and Tyrone experiencing each other's dark fears and, in some cases, equally dark hopes. Tandy witnessed Tyrone's hope of getting Connors for killing his brother. But instead of simply wanting to take him to jail, Tyrone's anger shows him killing Connors and losing his family (and freedom) in the process. The small commentary the show decides to make about black men being mistreated by the police and justice system both as victims and as criminals is pertinent and made all the more haunting by Tyrone being dressed in 18th century clothing. It's not the same time period, but maybe it's a sly throwback to Pokaski's last TV project Underground, which focused on slaves in the 19th century. It also harkens back to an earlier moment in the episode, in which Tyrone's girlfriend Evita (Noëlle Renée Bercy) tells her tour about a moment in New Orleans Voodoo history when two brothers draw weapons in the middle of a hurricane, and after one sacrifices themselves for the other, the hurricane stopped. I'll get back to this moment later.

Tyrone, on the other hand, witnesses Tandy's darkest fears. In her mind, she keeps replaying her father's death over and over, and how she and her mother have suffered as a result. Instead of facing her fear, she keeps running away from it over and over. It's only when Tyrone reaches out with his shadowy powers that she realizes she must use her light to break through. Also, Tyrone never backs away from his self-destructive anger until Tandy offers her light to him. Both end up helping the other battle their internal demons.

Seeing how the two can help each other even when they aren't in the same space, I can't wait to see how their powers will work when they finally link up. The individual trips to the Darkforce are cool and all, but I'm ready for the superheroism to take flight.

The show makes what some might consider a complete divergence to discuss the true history of Voodoo. I, for one, welcome the divergence, since it humanizes a religious and spiritual practice that is constantly dehumanized because of racism.

Voodoo has its origins in Yoruba tradition from West Africa and the pieces of those tradition managed to survive the Middle Passage and became what we now consider Voodoo. The fact that the practice has been dehumanized so much shouldn't be surprising, seeing how America seeks to dehumanize a lot about the African diasporic experience. For that reason, I'm glad Cloak & Dagger sought to shine a light on the cultural importance Voodoo has, not only for its practitioners, but to American history as a whole.

The question the show presents us with, though, is how does Voodoo connect to Tyrone? Evita's aunt definitely has an eye on Tyrone, especially since she made a 3D printed figurine of him. But what does she have in mind for him? What importance does he play in her mind? Does she know about the Darkforce? Since she's a Voodoo priestess with feelers in the spiritual world, can she sense Tyrone's connection to the Darkforce? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

The last question of the night comes in the form of Connors, who closes Det. O'Reilly's (Emma Lahana) case involving Tandy and that rich bastard who almost raped her. For some reason, it's in his interest that O'Reilly quit investigating the rich guy, just like it was in his interest to kill Tyrone's brother. I also don't think it's a coincidence that we keep seeing that Roxxon Corp. neon sign. How do Connors, the rich guy (and his father perhaps?) and the Roxxon Corp. connect? That'll be one of the overarching mysteries of this season, it would seem.

Another overarching mystery – is Connors even a detective? I have serious doubts that he is, especially since this is a Marvel show. I mean, he might have been a detective in the past, but now (or maybe in the future), he's probably going to become some kind of nefarious interdimensional monster right? In any case, whatever secrets Connors is holding are central to everything involving Tyrone and Tandy's situation.

Overall, it was another solid episode for Cloak & Dagger. I'm really liking the dream/nightmarescape we're constantly treated to each episode, and I'm glad that it's looking like we won't have to see Tandy and Tyrone parted for much longer. As much as I like exploring each character individually, I'm ready to see what they'll do together. I'm ready to see them take Connors – and whoever else Connors works for – down.