embrace your gift, do not run away from it

- Cloak and Dagger - the Gifted - the Runaways
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Since I couldn't find the time to cover each of them properly, let's use this segment to cover the three spinoff of the Fox X-Men Universe and Marvel Cinematic Universe that are now caught in a possible limbo after the recent merger ... for the Gifted at least (Runaways I believe is tangentially connected to MCU as well as Cloak and Dagger):

Cloak and Dagger Season 01

[freeform]

With the original materials being quite fantastical and extraordinary, this Freeform take is much more grounded and rooted to the traditions and legends of the place of origin. Having the powers of the two main protagonists (the leads are awesome and perfectly casted!)interconnect with each other from their origins to their destinies put so much weight behind their actions throughout the season as we see them making a personal journey alone and together as well, dealing with personal tragedies and the emergence of their unique powers that ties quite perfectly with the concept of fear and hope. Yeah, the premise is something out of the ordinary on paper but seeing the slow reveals of how everything came to be is really a unique viewing experience in and of itself. I guess if you want to categorize it in a certain way, this is the most young adult-oriented out of the three and it might not be for you if a slow burn of emotional discovery aren't to your liking. You'll never know until you give it a go, right? I can't wait to see where they'll go for the sophomore effort.

the Gifted Season 01

[Fox]

This might be more of your speed if you're looking for a more fast-paced Mutant series whereby the youths with superpowers have to go on the run while being chased by a shadowy government organization after an accidental incident of a catastrophic degree. Seeing how the characters are dealing with their abilities in a smaller screen is filling in the void that Fox's X-Men movie series had been occupied in the past decade before. Having abilities could turn people for better or for worse, magnifying their latent intentions and deepest desires, shown in a perfect balance on the show between the two opposing forces. Both sides have clear black and white struggles between agents of law trying to do their jobs and the youngsters who have to deal with changing bodies not only from natural hormones but also from their innate mutant genes! With that being said, there are more nefarious elements in the shadows that are trying to sabotage their efforts to have things their way. The imagery of racism can clearly be seen and it's not too on the nose but rather appropriate to how some people would treat those who are different in real life. While waiting for the merger to solidify and have the next X-Men films coming out after the reshoots, the upcoming second season would treat the comic book fans well.

Runaways Season 01

[hulu]

Going into mystery territory, we see friends of former childhood besties being brought together and accidentally witnessing all of their parents in a secret ritual killing a girl and the aftermath that ensues. Rather than adapting the storyline straight off the pages of the original, they decide rightly to flesh out their mothers and fathers first instead of them being straight up surface level villains, seeing how they end up in the basement that day. I can actually empathize with them as a result and the kids can see their struggles as well after they stay behind rather than straight away run away (which they did at the end of the first season) to do some investigation under their guardians' noses. While Cloak and Dagger is a more subtle personal journey, we can see more of the young adult tropes at play here as they are many effective twists and turns of the events happening throughout as well as the relationship between the characters and their parents. There are so many elements being introduced in this series from good old Mutants to state-of-the-art technologies and even aliens. Oh, did I mention there's a Velociraptor?! The most intriguing show to dive into out of the three, I'm dying to see where they'll end up next!

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Well, that's all folks! Thank you for your time and please do come back for my future posts! :-)