When Cloak & Dagger returns for its sophomore season, Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson will have effectively switched places. Once a girl on the run, Tandy now lives with her mother and attends domestic abuse counseling with her. Tyrone, who lived at home with his loving parents, is now a fugitive who has taken up residence at the abandoned church where Tandy used to live. Armed with her newfound confidence, Tandy will attempt to set right the wrongs of her past even as she supports Tyrone and strikes back against a human trafficking ring.
Speaking to CBR, Tandy actor Olivia Holt revealed her character's new status quo when Season 2 picks up. She teased how her relationship with Tyrone has shifted and why that has been a challenging, yet rewarding experience for Tandy. She also discussed Tandy's "complicated" relationship with her mother, what she's most excited for fans to see this year, Mayhem and more.
CBR: When Season 1 ended, Tandy's conflict appeared to be all tied up with a bow. Where do we find her when we pick up in Season 2?
Holt: If we think back to the end of Season 1, she's moving home with her mom. She has this better idea of what her life was like when she was younger and she wants to make it right, you know? She wants to hold onto that hope she once had and wants to make things better between her and her mom, between Tyrone and her and their situation. I think it's sort of refreshing. We get to see a new side of Tandy, and that will all just evolve as the season goes on, but I think it's nice to start off the season Tandy still beating to the rhythm of her own drum. She's trying to make things right again and has a better understanding and grasp of what's actually happening and what has actually happened in her life.
In the finale, Tandy and Tyrone effectively switched places in terms of their situations. How does that change the way she sees him?
She wants to have perspective and does have empathy, obviously. Tyrone is now living in the church where she once lived and had to sort of built herself from the ground up. I think sometimes it's hard for her to listen to Tyrone complain... but they're best friends and they have this very unique relationship and I think they both know that. I think most certainly Tandy knows that, and he is truly the only person she shares everything with and doesn't want to lose that. No matter what tricky situation they're found in or position they're put in, at the end of the day, they're there for each other.
Before Tandy met Tyrone, she didn't exactly have a lot of friends. How is she faring at being a "best friend" to Tyrone?
Honestly, I think with Tyrone, it's just so effortless. With our friendship, it's real. It's grounded. It's tricky, but this is something that they don't share with anybody else and I think, for Tandy, that's enough. I don't think she wants to jeopardize it at all. I know that sometimes it can be hard for her. Obviously, with being isolated for so long and having a hard time having empathy or any perspective whatsoever, that she has gained a lot of that. I mean, we start off the second season with Tandy and Tyrone having movie nights and it's been going on for months now, so they're definitely in a new place. Even though they're still struggling with a lot, they're also in a much better position than they were when we saw them last season.
Season 1 more or less resolved her mom's major struggle. How does that impact their relationship moving into the new season?
I think Tandy really wants to understand, is really trying to grasp it all, and I don't think it's easy for her but I know that she's trying to be less cynical than she has been about all of it and really be there for her mom. I mean, she's going to group counseling with her, hearing her out, really listening and I do think that that helps their relationship. I know both of them really want what's best for each other. The Bowens, you know, kind of hurt the ones they love the most and Tandy and Melissa take that to extremes, but I do think it's because they really love each other and really want to see both succeed. Their relationship is also very complicated, but -- at the end of the day, too -- they're both going to be there for each other.
Season 1 let you flex your musical talents a little bit with your cover of "Come Sail Away." Is that something we can expect to continue in Season 2?
I hope so! Last season, when I was asked to sing in the [Season 1] finale, I immediately said yes. I was really excited about it and we ended up booking and sounding really cool. I think if the right moment presents itself for this season, I would really enjoy that because I love this show, I love what we've done for it, and to be part of it on another level would be really, really special. But yeah, last season was a really cool experience and really fun.
What are you most excited for fans to see in Season 2?
I mean, everything is just way more intensified this season. [laughs] I'm excited for this cast that we have, to take it to a whole new level. I'm excited for them to see Tandy and Tyrone's relationship just grow and evolve even more than it has. I'm excited for them to tackle more of the surrounding New Orleans and to have them... step up to the plate.
Can you tease the Mayhem story in three words?
I would say it is intense, it is wild and it is emotional.
Returning Thursday, April 4 at 8 pm ET/PT on Freeform, Cloak & Dagger stars Olivia Holt as Tandy Bowen/Dagger and Aubrey Joseph as Tyrone Johnson/Cloak, as well as Emma Lahana as Brigid O'Reilly/Mayhem, Andrea Roth as Tandy’s mother Melissa Bowen, Gloria Reuben as Tyrone’s mother Adina Johnson, Miles Mussenden as Tyrone’s father Michael Johnson and J.D. Evermore as Detective Connors.