What Is The "Divine Pairing" In Cloak & Dagger?

When Freeform first started promoting its new superhero drama Cloak & Dagger, the nickname “the divine pairing” was everywhere. While viewers had no idea what the divine pairing actually was, it was clear lead characters Tandy Bowen (Olivia Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Aubrey Joseph) would become that all-important duo. Now that the teen adventure saga has officially entered the second half of its first season, we’re finally starting to get answers.

Thursday night’s “Funhouse Mirrors” confirmed that the divine pairing has a lengthy — and tragic — history of saving New Orleans from absolute collapse. And Tyrone and Tandy, the present-day divine pairing, are now heading towards the same kind of disaster the pairings of yore experienced.

To understand the mythological designation, you have to pay extra close attention to the voodoo-flavored “Funhouse” conversation between Tyrone’s girlfriend Evita Fusilier (Noëlle Renée Bercy) and her auntie Chantelle (Angela M. Davis), a priestess of the practice, which anchors the entire episode.

Like Sex And The City with New York City or upcoming HBO miniseries Sharp Objects and its fictional setting of Wind Gap, Missouri, New Orleans is practically a character all its own on Cloak & Dagger. That is why Evita and Chantelle’s entire chat is built around understanding the “cycles” of their storied Southern city. At the top of their exchange, Chantelle says, quite forebodingly, that their hometown is a “rollercoaster of destruction and rebirth.” The “destruction” portion of that cycle can arrive in the form of everything from hurricanes and fire to disease, famine, and all-out war.

Once one of those sequences begins in New Orleans, the two halves of the divine pairing are the only ones who can stop it, as the Fusilier confirm. This is why Tyrone and Tandy have their powers. This is their superhero destiny.

At least there is some historical evidence to help predict what is coming for the duo. Chantelle has a number of dolls signifying past divine pairings. While many of the duos go unnamed, one very special pair is name-checked: the brothers Wilson. This is an easy-to-miss callback to Cloak’s third episode, “Stained Glass,” where we learn about the Fusilier family’s dedication to voodoo.

During Evita’s tour of New Orleans’ voodoo history, the teen explains that the town was the dueling capital of the world back in the day (does that remind you of all that war destruction we were talking about earlier?). The last duel was held in 1793 by none other than the Wilson brothers in the middle of a hurricane, which is yet another piece of that aforementioned chaos puzzle. One brother fired, killing his sibling. Interestingly, the fatally shot Wilson brother didn’t actually discharge his weapon, seemingly dying on purpose. “The hurricane ended in an instant,” Evita announces.

So, considering what we know about New Orleans’ history of deadly hurricanes, one half of a divine pairing apparently gave up his life to save the entire city. Chantelle’s voodoo cards in “Funhouse Mirrors” suggest history will repeat itself for the present divine pairing of Tyrone and Tandy, as “one will live and one will die.”

It’s difficult to guess what will actually kill either Tyrone or Tandy, as they’re both facing massive dangerous obstacles. Tyrone is obsessed with catching Detective Connors (J.D. Evermore), a powerful VICE cop and secret drug kingpin who killed his brother (Marqus Clae) and has no problem murdering more people. Tandy is obsessed with taking down Roxxon, the company responsible for her father’s death, which also has no problem murdering more people. And Roxxon is currently in the midst of building new pipelines throughout New Orleans that could catastrophically backfire with a simple mistake, as “Funhouse” teases.

Clearly, New Orleans is already going to hell in a handbasket, and it’s the divine pairing's job to fix it. As we head into the final four episodes of Cloak & Dagger's first season, we’ll likely find out who has to die to accomplish that goal.