Cloak And Dagger was Freeform’s first foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series debuted in 2018 and added a pair of teenagers to the roster of MCU heroes. Though there won’t be a season three on Freeform, but Tandy and Tyrone will live on in the MCU. The pair are set to appear in season three of Hulu's Runaways.
With only 20 episodes of Cloak And Dagger, there weren’t a lot of missteps in the show. Critics and fans alike enjoyed the series. On the Internet Movie Database, the series has an average score of 6.8 out of 10. Here are the 10 best episodes of Cloak And Dagger, according to IMDb.
Colony Collapse- 7.3
Kicking off the top ten episodes is the season one finale. In “Colony Collapse,” all of the storylines came to a head and had severe consequences for season two.
The episode allowed Tandy and Tyrone to be the city’s heroes (though no one knew), set up Bridgit’s altered comic book origin story, and eliminated the threat of Conners for the time being. It did all of that with the backdrop of a zombie-like horror movie as Roxxon’s experiments altered the behavior of everyone. While all of season one was great, this episode really showed how interesting the comic book aspects of the show could be.
Blue Note- 7.4
It took almost all of season two before the audience got a backstory for the big villain. Andre wanted to be a musician, but terrible migraines interfered with his skills. When he decided to take his own life, the Roxxon oil rig exploded, giving him the ability to leach hope from others to alleviate his own pain.
Andre’s big goal was to become a musical god, and this is the episode where he made his attempt. It almost seemed like Tandy and Tyrone wouldn’t be able to stop him as the hour ended with people around them vanishing into thin air while he played. It was a true cliffhanger before the season finale.
Rabbit Hold- 7.4
After Tyrone took Mayhem into his own cloak, Tandy decided she needed to find her. She managed to trigger Tyrone’s fears so he would absorb her as well, and it allowed fans to explore just what happened when Tyrone used his powers.
Within his cloak, Tandy found herself in an otherworldly version of New Orleans, specifically a mall. It was there that Mayhem and Conners existed, but the world also held fear and misery in general. The experience forced Tandy to temporarily give up her powers (also making Tyrone lose his) and confront a lot of her repressed memories about her family.
Shadow Selves- 7.4
With the second season focusing on the hopelessness that comes with working seemingly unsolvable cases, Tandy had a choice to make. She, Tyrone, and Brigid all got to see just what it was that Brigid’s other half had been up to.
Though she was violent and dangerous, Mayhem got the job done. That was something Tandy couldn’t deny, and she was willing to let Mayhem do anything. Tyrone, on the other hand, didn’t want the bad guys to die at Mayhem’s hands because he wanted justice for all of the missing girls in New Orleans. It brought the two into conflict in the season in a way that needed to be addressed. How far do heroes with powers go against the average bad guy?
Two Player- 7.5
“Two Player” is one of those episodes where the audience could tell a story arc was coming to an end. It started to set up a lot of pieces for the finale, but it didn’t feel like a “bridge” episode. Evita, Brigid, and Tandy all worked together when Tyrone couldn’t turn off his dark cloak. While Evita opened the doorway between worlds, Tandy and Brigid went through. Brigid and Mayhem reunited on the other side, agreeing to work together as a single entity.
Tandy, meanwhile, discovered that a loa had Tyrone’s soul in his grasp. He was trapped in the realm, playing a video game based on their lives. Tandy and Tyrone having to play the game over and over felt like a lovely nod to comic book and video game fans. Evita’s decision to marry the loa to save them all gave the storyline even more emotional weight.
White Lines- 7.5
While the first season of the series sprinkled bits of the history and culture of New Orleans into the story, season two incorporated it much more. With “White Lines,” the writers expanded their inclusion of vodoun and the history of spirituality in New Orleans. Tyrone got a crash course in this episode, and so did the audience.
Leaning into this particular cultural aspect of New Orleans, which is so often portrayed as barbaric or evil in the horror genre, did so much good for the show. It added layers to the story that simply classifying it as a superhero story didn’t.
First Light- 7.5
It’s unusual for the first episode of a series to end up in its top 10. As a rule of thumb, the premiere is a rough introduction, a hint at potential. The audience often enjoys what comes next more than the beginning. With Cloak And Dagger, however, the series captured attention right out of the gate.
In the first episode, fans saw how Tandy and Tyrone really met - as children in the middle of the water following the Roxxon oil rig disaster. Tandy the con artist and Tyrone the model teenager later met at a party, manifesting their powers on contact. With cinematic visuals and captivating performances, audiences knew they were in for a treat, which is likely why the episode ranks so high.
Ghost Stories- 7.6
Kicking off the top three is the kind of episode that made it seem like everyone was finally getting what they wanted, only to pull the rug out from under everyone. Tyrone finished his brother’s cloak and managed to “haunt” Conners into confessing to his crimes. Tandy got the evidence to clear her father’s name.
When the duo held hands at their makeshift memorial with Tandy’s mother, they took a trip into Melissa Bowen’s memories, discovering what Tandy knew about her father wasn’t accurate. He was controlling and abusive, and her mother had allowed her to believe the best of him for her entire life. The final moments of the episode gave the series whole new energy that proved season one would still end with the same adrenaline it opened on.
Lotus Eaters- 7.8
It can be tough for a series to pull off an episode that features looped storytelling successfully. Fans tire of seeing the same events play out repeatedly. That’s just what the Cloak And Dagger team did with “Lotus Eaters” as it’s actually tied for the top-ranked episode. Tandy and Tyrone attempted to enter the mind of a comatose Ivan Hess to see what he knew about the Roxxon explosion.
Unfortunately, Ivan’s mind was literally stuck on a loop. He kept reliving the explosion. Tandy got caught up, taking Ivan’s phone call from her father on a loop until Tyrone convinced her they had to break out of Ivan’s mind. Watching Tandy break down after getting to speak with her father, Ivan finally remembers his daughter Mina, and Tyrone desperately trying to save them, added emotional weight to the story that made the loop work.
Level Up- 7.8
Since Freeform canceled the series, “Level Up” acts as the series finale. It’s actually a great send-off that opens the door for the characters to appear in the wider MCU, which is only a small part of why it likely landed on top. Evita and Brigid teamed up to keep a door to the metaphysical world open for Tandy and Tyrone to save those who disappeared.
While they were kept busy out in the physical world, Tandy and Tyrone had to fight off their own personal nightmares before they were ready to “level up” and take on the enemy. The series ended with Tyrone and Tandy deciding to leave New Orleans behind, taking their desire to help people on the road, setting up their appearance in season three of Runaways.