Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger – Back Breaker

By starrymag | August 2, 2018

By: Darryl Ley

 

 

In downtown New Orleans we see a barefooted Auntie Chantelle (Angela M. Davis) with a liquor bottle performing a ritual and making chalk marks – intersecting lines with four “X.” Eventually, she sees a Roxxon pipe on her travels and looks extremely upset its marking is “RXXN” we then move to the opening credits.

Father Delgado (Jaime Zevallos) is teaching a class on Heroes in popular culture we see Evita Fusilier (Noëlle Renée Bercy) taking notes. He says all heroes have an arc. They meet their mentors have their first battles and become stronger. However, near the end they experience a crisis or ‘regression’ which they need to overcome. As Delgado speaks we see Tandy (Olivia Holt) at the church burning her father’s face out of a photo and going back to her pills

The police have arrived at Officer Fuchs apartment examining it for clues. Detective Brigid O’Reilly (Emma Lahana) is upset and crying. Eventually, she moves over to near the door and takes a closer look at an umbrella stand finding blood stains. She grabs some gloves from a passing crime scene tech and finds what looks to be the murder weapon underneath the furniture nearby.

It is quickly taken off her by another detective who gets a uniform to escort her from the scene. At the police station Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph), Mr. & Mrs. Johnson (Miles Mussenden and Gloria Reuben) are talking to Chief of Police Duchamp (Andrea Frankle) where she fills them in on the investigation. Tyrone keeps looking for a reaction from his parents as they ask details about what is to come next. Chief of Police Duchamp tries to reassure them, and they quickly leave surprising Tyrone.

Tyrone is furious with his parents because of their reaction to all this. When he says that Billy was exactly who Tyrone thought he was a hero his mother reacts and gets in his face, his father tells him to get in the car. Tyrone only gets angrier and eventually grudgingly gets in the car.

Evita is at home freaking out when Auntie Chantelle finally gets back. She’s been out all night without a phone and with no message to Evita. Auntie Chantelle reiterates that a crisis is coming and reveals that it is imminent and that Roxxon is behind it causing it through their drilling of the mysterious energy source. She goes on to say the only thing that can stop it is the Divine Pairing and they have already met, which Evita questions. Auntie Chantelle urges Evita to ask Tyrone she then promptly passes out.

We see Tandy with a rich guy called Mark (Dean J. West) and she asks him what his greatest hopes are and reveals her powers before using them on him. Mark’s greatest hope is to be with two women at once and Tandy reveals that she can now steal people’s hope and experience them like a drug. We see her clearly high on that experience ignore a phone call from Mina Hess (Ally Maki).

Back in class Father Delgado continues to talk about regression and what it means. After class Evita sees Tyrone in the hallway and we see her try to talk to him as we here Father Delgado continue his lecture. Tyrone ignores her completely as if he is in another world. We see Adina Johnson in a meeting looking just as stunned and unaware as her son. Father Delgado notes that now a hero has the kind of power that he can use to tear his own world apart.

We get more scenes of Tyrone sleepwalking his way through his classes and then bumping into a classmate. While Adina dresses down a colleague in furious tones over some sort of error with a press release. Tyrone attacks Benny (Dalton E. Gray) savagely beating the boy before two teachers step in to break up the fight.

Tandy shows up at Mina’s place after being invited for brunch. She looks bedraggled and makes small talk until Mina reveals that her father Ivan Hess (Tim Kang) is home and will be joining them. Tyrone is in Father Delgado’s office. Delgado asks why he is there and Tyrone responds he is there because he hit Benny and asks why Benny isn’t also present.

Father Delgado says he isn’t talking about the fight and repeats his question. He then asks Tyrone how the War of 1812 ended. Father Delgado then punishes Tyrone by making him stand up with his arms out and heavy books on each hand. He says that Tyrone has been fighting since Billy’s death to stay in control of his anger, to control his pain and that the battle is over, but the war continues before he leaves Tyrone along in the office.

At brunch with the Hess family Tandy has tuned out the conversation when Mina heads off for tea. Ivan talks to Tandy asking if she has come to a decision about what to do about Roxxon and she says she hasn’t. Ivan is still trying to accept that he has lost eight years of his life and his best friend. He tells her that Nathan was a good man and an upset Tandy heads off to the kitchen to gather herself.

She watches Mina and Ivan until Mina comes over apologizes for her father and then surprises Tandy by offering her a job at Roxxon. When Mina extends her hand to shake on the job offer Tandy activates her power and we take a look at Mina’s hopes. We see Mina walking through a paradise of beautiful plants and flowers as Tandy follows along eventually stealing the hope. Tandy says now you know how it feels then leaves and we see the effect on Mina as after recovering from the initial shock she kills a fly in the kitchen.

Father Delgado’s lecture continues he explains that regression isn’t real, as the hero cannot go back to his old life as it is gone forever. While he explains that we see Detective O’Reilly trying to drink away her troubles at the local cop bar. Tandy goes back to the hollow statue and takes out money to bail out Liam (Carl Lunstedt) and as she’s waiting notices a female water delivery person who looks suspiciously like the woman who assassinated Greg. Liam seems less than happy to see her there despite being bailed out. He thought that she had left town. She says it just took some time to get money together.

Back at the school in Father Delgado’s office he returns and asks Tyrone who is still standing holding up the books if he is ready to talk yet. Tyrone doesn’t say anything and Father Delgado tells him that he is close to being expelled, but he doesn’t immediately respond. Tandy shows Liam the church and we switch between Father Delgado’s office and there Delgado says that things can get better which Tyrone strongly refutes saying even that he has gotten what he wants things are not better they are in fact worse. Father Delgado that is because Tyrone defines himself by the murder of Billy that he can end the war himself. Tyrone pushes back by saying that Father Delgado argues this while being a man locked away hiding behind a Bible. He adds that he feels Delgado is alone and questions whether he in fact believes in God and feels nothing.

Over in the church Tandy talks to Liam and says she’s at the church because she wanted to get married there. Liam is taken aback by the change in Tandy she’s way more hopeful than he knows her to be and she makes a speech about how important Liam is to her taking his hands in her. Father Delgado refutes what Tyrone says as Tyrone finally drops the books and completely loses his temper. He says that Father Delgado has no idea what he has gone through and adds that God doesn’t exist. Tandy calls Liam a good dream and leans in for a kiss. Tyrone tells Father Delgado to move as he blocks Tyrone as he attempts to leave and warns Tyrone if he leaves without permission he will be in a great deal of trouble.

Tyrone tells him to move again and then takes a swing at Delgado, which he ducks. At the church Tandy uses the kiss as contact for her power and looks at Liam’s hopes. Liam still hopes that he will marry Tandy while in the office Father Delgado gets Tyrone in a choke hold and Tyrone activates his power to see Delgado’s greatest fear. Father Delgado’s fear is revealed as him killing a child while driving drunk. As Tyrone sees Delgado’s fear he becomes aware of Tandy using her power “nearby.” As Tandy attempts to steal Liam’s hope we see the vision begin to quake and she’s then interrupted at Tyrone makes his way into her vision questioning what she is doing to Liam.

This startles her and breaks her connection to Liam the feedback also breaks Tyrone’s fear hold on Father Delgado who is reeling and tells Tyrone to just leave. As we go back to the lecture we see a billy club being made from the felling of the tree through to its carving into shape and its use in the early 20^th century against an angry mob. Father Delgado talks about our need to root for heroes to pull themselves out of their downward spirals but reveals that sometimes weak heroes will in fact become villains. We see Detective O’Reilly continuing her drinking and one of the billy clubs from earlier sitting on the wall mounted on a plaque.

Two cops talk behind her about how good a man Officer Fuchs was before we see Detective Connors come into the bar and make a speech only for O’Reilly to hit him in the head with that club. She’s restrained by two officers and then Connors beats her viciously while the rest of the bar full of cops watches. Tyrone is outside in the school’s quadrant watching the other students when he is approached by Evita, who tries to get him to talk and he eventually begins to tell her about what happened. They are interrupted by an angry Tandy who wants Tyrone to stay out of her head.

Evita grabs Tandy and Tandy reflexively uses her power on the girl looking at her hope of becoming a doctor when Tandy tries to steal it the “Evita” in the vision becomes aware of her and pushes her out of the vision. Back in the real world it is clear that Evita has at least an idea of what just took place and also realizes that Tandy is the other half of the Divine Pairing she runs off. Tyrone confronts Tandy over what she just did and demands answers with Tandy pushing back. The two argue about which situation is worse and Tandy eventually leaves. Tyrone chases her and asks her if she has spoken to her mother and the two argue again with Tandy pulling a light dagger on him, so he leaves.

Father Delgado concludes his lecture about heroes by saying that they are a way to take a look at our own lives. We see both Tyrone and Tandy heading back to their homes with Tandy finding the church trashed and her money from Roxxon gone. Mina gets a call from Roxxon complaining about a problem with the drilling and we see her heading to a piping installation where she spots her colleague Dan (Frank J Monteleone) and a worker. Her mood is much darker than her usual cheerful self. Before she can get their attention, the valve explodes with the mysterious dark energy and we see the same reaction as happened to the workers on the drilling platform.

The two affected by the energy immediately begin chasing after Mina. Detective O’Reilly has hobbled to her car and is grabbing her first aid kit when a call comes over the police radio saying that a suspect in the killing of Officer Fuchs has been identified they give the Johnson family address and declare it a city-wide call for assistance. Detective O’Reilly immediately stops what she is doing to leave.

When Tyrone returns mother stops him and the two talk she reveals the reason for her recent behaviour. If she were to accept that he was telling the truth then that meant that there was a police officer who successfully covered up a murder obviously with the help of powerful people. Why wouldn’t that cop then kill the only living witness to the murder? She and Tyrone’s dad Miles were terrified that might come to pass.

Tyrone argues he had backup and got a confession, but his mother dismisses that in the current climate. The argument goes back and forth between standing up for yourself or staying under the radar, so you are not the victim. They are eventually interrupted by the police swarming in on the house with SWAT breaking down the door.

Tyrone is forced to run while Tandy comes home looking for her mother, but gets no response and looks through the house until she is ambushed by the female assassin (Vanessa Mota) who confirms Scarborough sent her. She has Melissa (Andrea Roth) at gun point and as the assassin counts down to pulling the trigger on Melissa Tandy activates her power in both hands as we head to credits.