Cloak and Dagger Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Stained Glass
Justin Carreiro
at
.
Now that was a mind trip! Cloak and Dagger Season 1 Episode 3 took us on a complex, mind-bending journey into the inner thoughts of our two heroes. We almost experienced an hour of Inception.
If there were any doubts into what Tandy and Tyrone truly feared, their visions explained it all. And we were treated to some not-so-subtle foreshadowing in the process.
Let's celebrate, Cloak & Dagger fans! Their partnership is almost a done deal.
Picking up right from Cloak and Dagger Season 1 Episode 2, the big cliffhanger question was if Tandy had gotten injured from Tyrone's surprise teleportation.
There was both a car crash AND a gunshot on the road; both of those together lowered her odds of survival. But, this all happened to the co-lead, so death wasn't an option in any reality.
Tandy, the "Dagger" in Cloak and Dagger, wasn't going to die this early on. There was no way!
One of the benefits of the cliffhanger was the opportunity for Tandy and Tyrone to spend time more together. Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph connect to their characters, and you can feel the fire between them. After only two episodes, it's clear these actors have great chemistry.
That connection is going to be very important because they start a romance later on (according to the show description and the comics). Light flirtation has only happened between them so far, but we should start shipping them now.
Tandy: Are you trying to kill me?
Tyrone: No! Why would you ask that?!
Tandy: Because you have a gun in your hand.
[Awkward silence]
Tandy: Wait, you’re that kid...from the party. The graveyard. The beach. You shot at me!
Tyrone: That wasn’t meant for you.
Tandy: Then who was it meant for?!
"Stained Glass" took an interesting, and welcomed, approach in its storytelling structure.
Instead of sticking to a linear model, the scenes were grouped together based on the points of view of Tandy and Tyrone.
Tandy's experience after the car crash started first, where she went back home and dealt with Detective O'Reilly hot on her trail. This was then followed by Tyrone's POV after the crash and him seeking a voodoo cleansing with Evita's help.
Both storylines diverged to different roads only to connect in the middle with their prophetic visions. In hindsight, that story structure was brilliant.
There was no uncomfortable plot writing that forced them into each other's story. Each person got to focus on their development before being thrust into their supernatural plot that explored the development of the other.
And, to top it all off, they learned a good amount of information about one another without speaking to other. Tyrone learned about Tandy's dad/ballet, and Tandy learned about him wanting to kill Connors. For only a 10-episode run, this feature positively helped the pace.
A round of applause for these visions! They saved us a few episodes of exposition.
Say what you will about Melissa, but she does care about her daughter.
The former waitress may be a mess and prone to making A LOT of bad decisions; we can look to her attitude during Cloak and Dagger Season 1 Episode 2 as the perfect example. However, she doesn't want Tandy harmed. Even if her daughter always takes off, she's there for her.
Lying to Detective O'Reilly could've had bad repercussions; Melissa had prepared for whatever trouble was heading her way. And that included Greg's help too.
On the other hand, Greg is still annoying! She needs to ditch her drug-addicted lawyer boyfriend ASAP. (Though, with our luck, he'll get redemption and solve this Roxxon Corp mystery.)
Hopefully, we get more of Melissa's backstory to see how she went from grieving widow to now.
Brigid: I’m not here to arrest your daughter, Ms. Bowen. I’m here because I think she’s a victim.
Melissa: With what?
Brigid: The best I can tell is that she’s been mixed up in an assault. I want to protect her; I can promise you that. But, in order for me to do that, I need to talk to her.
Melissa: Here’s the thing about Tandy. If there’s any heat on her, she’s probably already run away.
In the case of Tyrone's love life, you can't help but feel sad for Evita. Calling it a crush would be too light of a word; she probably has real feelings for him.
Their romantic situation is complicated because the concept of Cloak and Dagger is that Tandy and Tyrone will eventually get into a relationship. (Poor Evita and Liam!)
Related: 13 TV Friendships That Should Turn Romantic
Every time she and Tyrone were together, there was an undercurrent of sexual tension. Sparks were flying with the flirtation she was throwing his way, and he was pretty into her too. There's no doubt Tyrone already knew that she liked him.
From her helping him with the cleansing bath and their kissing in the street, the plot was foreshadowing that this love triangle (Tyrone/Tandy/Liam) will soon be a love rectangle instead.
Do you think Evita's aunt knows the truth about Tyrone?
The quick clips of the 3D printer were alluding that something menacing was being created. But, when the doll appeared at the end, the connection to voodoo and mysticism were staring us right in the face.
Pairs of dolls were already lining up her shelf, so the theme of duality isn't new to her. There is a reason why she owns those dolls and why her machine created that figure in particular.
Could it be a sign of good or evil?
The aunt knows something. It could be an urban legend, a voodoo tale or historical fact, but she most likely has information we need to know.
Voodoo Priestess: I don’t know about this one, Evita.
Evita: Why not?
Voodoo Priestess: He doesn’t think he deserves help.
Tyrone: What?! That’s...
[She speaks French and does a card reading]
Voodoo Priestess: The Joker. Both a hopes and the fears position.
Tyrone: So which one is it: hopes or fears?
Voodoo Priestess: Some would say they’re the same.
Tyrone: What does that mean?
Voodoo Priestess: You need a bath.
Tyrone: What did she say?!
[Evita laughs]
From a structural standpoint, both of the visions in "Stained Glass" were visually beautiful and well-done.
Cloak and Dagger loves to utilize the fake-out transition. This moment is when the real world slowly morphs into the dream world seamlessly. Most times it's done with fading lights or close-up camera angles. We witnessed this both with Tandy falling asleep on the bus and Tyrone in the bathtub.
After a few times watching this, the transition signs will be easier to spot. Tandy's bus scene was the more obvious of the two.
Speaking of Tandy's vision, her dream presented a few interesting things about Tyrone's personality and future.
Firstly, Tyrone still harbors a 'what-if' world where Billy didn't go with his friends to steal the radio. If he had just stayed and played basketball, he would still be alive. Young Tyrone keeps going back to this childlike version with his dream self.
Secondly, his future foreshadowing made it clear that Tandy needs to help him take down Connors legally or else his life will get ruined. Regardless of any revenge plot he has, it will only end in his destruction.
Why Tandy witnessed this series of events as he wore Victorian clothing? We may never know.
So, um, I’m not sure if you can hear me. I could just be talking to nothing. What’s happening to me? Are you doing this? Because... I don’t understand and I can’t control it. I can’t control myself. You always had the answers. You knew what to do. What should I do? Tell me and I’ll do it. I miss you so much. I’m trying to be like you but... I’m failing and... I’m flailing. I’m cursed.
Tyrone
You can come to the same deduction about Tyrone's dream.
Tandy was continually appearing as the little ballerina connected with his childhood form. Both are sticking to the images before the rig accident, and when they met for the first time on the beach. That moment will forever connect them, so it makes sense that they would only see each other in that likeness in the dream world.
Also, Tandy's foreshadowing resulted in the same message: She needs to work with Tyrone to accomplish her goal. In this case, it's not to run away from her problems and to find out what happened to her dad. Together, they are stronger than one.
The Inception-like motif to get this message across suited the mood perfectly.
All of the various possibilities and repetition highlighted the weaknesses that were holding them back. They were doomed to repeat their mistakes. However, when Cloak and Dagger teamed up, the solution would be a success.
The moral of that story was a little on the nose, but it was layered into complex and cool scenes. Plus, it did lead them to have their long overdue reunion in the church. So, we can ignore that cheesiness.
Just this once.
Related: Cloak and Dagger Breaks Freeform Ratings Record
Connors is a shady man.
He is up to no good. He most likely has his hands in a few illegal dealings with influential people in the city. Part of that could be with the higher-ups of the New Orleans Police Department; they've already saved his neck in the past once before.
And, based on the swiftness of the case against Rick being "solved" quickly, someone powerful wanted the case to go away.
Tandy did a brave thing reaching out to O'Reilly. Her words have opened O'Reilly's eyes to something bigger involving Connor.
However, the bigger question now is what will Detective O'Reilly do with that information?
What did you think of "Stained Glass"? Will Detective O'Reilly give up the case? How will Tandy and Tyrone help each other? What purpose could the doll have?
If you missed the latest episode of Cloak and Dagger, watch Cloak and Dagger online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and let us know what you think in the comments.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
