Freeform’s Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger is the most unique superhero show on the air — mostly because during any given episode, it barely feels like you’re watching a superhero show. Sure, there are epic fight scenes, and villains with seemingly mystical powers. But the series from showrunner Joe Pokaski is much more concerned with the inner emotional journeys of its two main characters, Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy (Olivia Holt).

Where Season 1 introduced Ty and Tandy, as well as their powers — Ty can teleport, and access people’s fears; Tandy can create light daggers, and access hopes — Season 2 complicated things exponentially. Gone is the comparatively black and white villain, a pseudo-zombie apocalypse that almost destroyed New Orleans. Enter two new villains (maybe allies?) in the form of Emma Lahana’s Detective O’Reilly and Mayhem, and Brooklyn Linn’s Andre Deschaine, a.k.a. D’Spayre.

Where O’Reilly/Mayhem is testing the heroes as they head closer to their superhero personas, Deschaine has the ability to suck the hope out of people, and has access to the seeming source of Ty and Tandy’s powers. He’s not just using it to taunt the heroes, though: Deschaine’s hope-destroying power is being used to power a very real, very gut-wrenching human trafficking ring.

In advance of tonight’s new episode of Cloak & Dagger, Decider talked to Holt and Joseph about the season so far, how music powers what they do on set, and of course whether there’s a romantic future for the two. And be sure to head back to Decider after the episode for a breakdown of all the big events, as well as what’s coming up in the final episodes of Season 2.

Decider: I did want to start off asking you guys about the music on the show, because it’s always been a very heavy part of it; but you’ve really leaned into it this season with the setting of the record store, and everything else that’s going on. Obviously, we get viewers get to hear that in post when we’re watching the show, we see the way it’s edited… But how does that affect you on set?

Aubrey Joseph: Well, that’s an interesting question because we actually see a lot of the music in post, as well. But there are some cases where our genius showrunner, Joe, will give us an idea of what type of music is the feel for a particular scene. It’s rare, but it happens sometimes. I know Liv has her own playlist for triggers and stuff like that. I usually try to listen to, whatever type of scene we’re going into, I try to listen to something that would set the mood for me to be in the right place mentally for certain scenes. So it’s funny when the kind of song you’d listen to going into that scene, the song in post at the end of the day when you see the final, it’s the same kind of song. It’s funny how that works.

You both had tracks that you sung on this season. I know Olivia, you had a couple in the first season. Is that weird at all, when you’re watching an episode and you’re singing over your own scenes at all?

Olivia Holt: I think so, yeah.

Joseph: Yeah.

Holt: I mean, already it’s weird in itself that you’re watching yourself, because obviously you’re your own worst critic. So you’re watching yourself and you’re cringing at every little thing that you’re doing. Then, to hear yourself on top of all of that — yeah, it’s weird. But we feel both very lucky that our showrunner gave us that opportunity, because we’re both very musically driven. So to incorporate both passions that we love into one was pretty special.

Another thing this season has been really leaning into is special effects. You had them on the first season, but now that you’re leaning into your powers there’s a lot more of that in every episode. Has that shifted the balance at all of how you approach those characters, because you have those effect scenes? Or does it feel like it has the same focus on humanity as you did in the first season?

Holt: I think both. I think both, because in our show we focus on some pretty intense subject matters that are happening in society and I think for both our characters, they’re so young. One thing that I love about our show is that we make a point to tell it from a perspective of a young person’s eyes. So, we want to make sure that we’re opening up a conversation about specific subject matters, but also taking action on it. Obviously, Tandy and Tyrone do it in a way where it’s sort of based in a realm of fantasy, dealing with the powers and everything, but we also want to do it in a way that’s authentic and how to take action as a normal human being, versus being a superhuman. So I think that it affects them and the way it affects us as individuals. I think the arc and the journey that they go on together, I think they challenge each other and we also challenge the audience in that way, to gain some perspective and to figure out what is right and what is just in those situations.

Joseph: Audiences generally react — gravitate — towards authenticity. I feel like a lot of people can relate to genuine things. A lot of people love the genre of superheroes, because it’s fantasy and it’s big and extravagant. But I feel like the best superhero movies, the best superhero shows are the ones that are really grounded, that have that real feel like you can almost imagine them in our real world. You know what I mean? Especially for us to be these young heroes that aren’t perfect and are still, at this point, grown so much with our powers, but we’re still trying to figure it out. I think the audience, who is mostly young people, are growing just as much as Ty and Tandy are and just as much as we are as people, as well. That’s hugely relatable for them, too.That’s one of the coolest things about our show.

You touched on this earlier, but the human trafficking plotline that’s going on this season is very serious. Not that you’ve shied away from those sorts of discussions in the first season, but this went very deep. Particularly in the “Viking Sound” episode, all the scenes in the hotel were harrowing. I’m curious to hear, when they discussed this plotline with you, what you felt about it, what the discussions were behind the scenes.

Joseph: I just wanna say Liv needs to get all the credit in the world for being able to shoot those type of scenes. When I was reading in the script, I was like “I don’t even wanna go near that motel.” Even the motel that we shot in. We shot some stuff on stage, but we literally went to an actual motel and you could actually feel that eerie, creepy, smelly feel of the motel. Even watching that episode back and seeing Liv have to be in that type of situation is so far for me to even watch. With television and film, sometimes you have to go there for people to wake up and see how disgusting it really is. She killed it, killed that episode. All my kudos to you, because that’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to watch. Especially seeing somebody close to you, it was kind of like seeing one of your friends go through that, which is something I’d never wanna see.

Holt: We ended first season and we both very quickly realized what this show was gonna be and it wasn’t just gonna be entertainment; we were gonna tell authentic stories about what’s happening in society, good or bad. We went into second season and we usually do a lot of pre-production before it and not just do the hair and makeup test or costume fittings, but also really discussing and dissecting what story it is that we want to tell. And Joe Pokaski brought all of the actors into his office on separate occasions and we sat down and really went through the pieces of what was gonna happen for season two, and it all started with the subject of human trafficking. We worked with a bunch of different people, but Polaris Project was one of the organizations that we worked with really heavily on it to understand what these women go through.

Not just women, but men, as well. It was heavy, it was really intense. I remember I would go home some days and feel very overwhelmed and scared. It’s obviously something that people know about, but why is nothing being done? Is the question. We wanted to really showcase what it was like and not glamorize it. Because I feel like a lot of things in TV and film are glamorized and for us it was important to really showcase what it is that these women go through. There was, in Los Angeles, a situation where they were drugging girls and taking them in private ambulances to these motels. So we took that concept and ended up using it for our show. What’s amazing about that is, it’s real life, you know? So they were some really tough scenes to film but, again, we didn’t want to shy away from that stuff. I think we’re just gonna continue telling stories like that. I think that’s what the tone of our show is.

Joseph: It just goes to show you the power of television and film. Like I was saying, too, I’ve had at least three or four different friends being like “Yo, whenever I see an ambulance now, I just look at the driver a little different now.”

Holt: But that’s what’s cool, you’re making people aware of these scenarios. Of course, this is a very small case, but you have to look at the small portion as well, in order for action to be taken.

The ensemble widened out a bit over the course of this season. Have there been specific interactions, other than Tandy and Ty together, that you liked playing with this year?

Holt: Yeah, Mayhem. I love the scenes with Mayhem. And also the scenes with Mayhem and Brigid. It’s really cool to watch Emma Lahana play both of those characters. You can see she morphs into both people, then we do the scene a thousand times in order for her to be one character, then she has to go through the whole process of getting into the other character and then we do it again. But those seasons are so fun and I think it brings a whole new energy to this second season. It was fun to play around and to have this sort of bad-assery come into the room. We get to feed off of that energy which is really fun, I enjoyed that a lot.

Joseph: I would probably say the scenes I have with Gloria [Reuben], who plays my mom. This season Tyrone, I even say this to my [actual] mom now, you have a specific way of thinking of your parents growing up and then when you grow up, there’s kind of that “switch” where you’re like “No one has life figured out.” You look at your parents like “This person knows what to do at all times” and it’s kind of that first talk with your mom or your dad where it’s like “You were really just winging it.” So I think it’s cool when Tyrone finally gets to see that his mom isn’t perfect, either, and that she actually had a pretty crazy past. We see that when they have to run away from the Uptown Block Kings and she takes that screwdriver and carjacks the car. And he’s just like “I’ve never seen this side of you, ever.” So, it was really cool to just do those types of scenes. Her story arc in this season is unbelievable, as well, too.

A lot of season one was about getting Ty and Tandy together and Season 2 started with them together, but has blown them apart. What’s easier for you guys to play? Ty and Tandy together, or on their own?

Joseph: That’s tricky. Dang. I wouldn’t say anything is easier, but I definitely look forward to doing certain scenes with Liv, because it reminds me of the chemistry read that we first had. Any single scene that we have with that type of feel, just feels very natural, easy like you said. So I always look forward to those type of scenes, but I feel like we’re always arguing on the show, too. So it’s tricky. I would definitely say, if anything, I look forward to the friendly scenes between us, because just as people we have chemistry. So it’s easy to kind of portray that on-screen.

Holt: I don’t know, I kinda like the scenes where we’re getting mad at each other. I like it. Also, though, there’s lots of moments in our show, especially in Season 1, in Episode 5 when Tandy and Ty are in the church talking about their privilege. Both of us felt very, very strongly about that scene. I remember we both didn’t really speak to each other in-between takes, because our feelings were so enhanced and the passion was, obviously, very much there. You don’t get that sort of high from doing a scene with just yourself or from other actors that you may not have as insane chemistry as we do together. Most scenes with Aubrey are very effortless, so I look forward to those scenes, too. But sometimes you work with other actors where it’s not as effortless and you really have to try and find the chemistry, versus it just being there. I think I prefer to do scenes with you versus alone. But I do like the fact that Tandy and Tyrone have their own, separate situations happening and then come together. I think it makes the ones that they do have together way more special.

Holt: No. I definitely think right now it’s very platonic, but I think their connection and chemistry is so unique and they don’t have anybody like that in their lives that I think they’re definitely aware of that and very appreciative of each other in that way. They’re now best friends, they’re each others best friends. In such a short amount of time they became best friends, because of that unique connection and chemistry. I think there is potential that they could, potentially, be more than just friends. But I like that we’re sort of leading that and that they’re not automatically just like “We both find each other attractive, let’s hook up.” They’re taking it in steps, but I don’t think that’s where their heads are at, even if they do recognize that there’s some romantic tension. Maybe? Because I don’t think their relationship is romantic in the slightest, but there is that flirty tension that they sometimes have.

Joseph: I think they also respect each other too much to make the first move, too. If there is anything, it’d be like “You’re my homie.” So, I don’t know, but we’ll see what happens.

Holt: I think it could go anywhere, I think there’s room for them to do anything, even though literally everybody and their mom wants us to.

Cloak & Dagger airs Thursdays at 8/7c on Freeform. Head back here to Decider after the episode for much more with Holt and Joseph.

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