The HUGE 'Cloak & Dagger' and 'Luke Cage' easter egg you might have missed out
Marvel TV Studios has plenty of material in its hands at the moment and they are not feeling shy at all of using them as their various storylines unfurl across different TV shows. Amongst the latest ones, a major easter egg that took many a fan by surprise, though, was a recent Harlem connection that was dropped during Thursday night's episode of Freeform's 'Cloak & Dagger', titled "Princeton Offense".
The connection is related to Detective Brigid O'Reilly (played by Emma Lahana), whose background has been a topic of interest since the very beginning of the comic book based series, centered on the characters of Tandy and Tyrone aka the future superheroes. More than once, in fact, suggestions have been dropped by O'Reilly's colleagues and co-workers about her origin and how she is not from New Orleans and may have just moved to the city.
O'Reilly herself piqued our curiosity in the last Cloak & Dagger episode when she referenced more than once that she is not from the city. She went on to assert that she has ties to New York City, where she has previously worked - especially in Harlem, the Marvel's version of the region where Luke Cage operates.
Now the very fact that Cloak & Dagger is dropping subtle hints about being tied to the universe of Luke Cage and that the show may have some direct connection to the TV world of Marvel is sure to excite fans. But Marvel is not resting with subtle. As it turns out, the easter egg wasn't just placed strategically in 'Cloak & Dagger' but also in Netflix's 'Luke Cage' which is currently in its second season.
[Spoiler alert: there are potential spoilers from the second season of Marvel-Netflix's Luke Cage]
In one of the episodes of the Harlem-set series - titled “If It Ain’t Rough, It Ain’t Right” - after the death of Captain Tom Ridenhour, detective duo Nandi Tyler and Misty Knight makes a discovery that potentially reveals that the New York detectives might have previously worked with or at least they know who Brigid O'Reilly is. The scene takes place after Misty realizes that Ridenhour had still kept her badge and gun even after she quit, leading to the moment where her companion makes a significant observation.
Breaking the news to Misty that she might be in charge of the precinct now that Ridenhour is no more, Nandi says: "Inspector West called. Callahan is in Maui, and O’Reilly moved to New Orleans. None of them know you quit. West said until One Police Plaza sends somebody else, you’re the highest ranking detective here. You’re in charge.”
Of course, O’Reilly being mentioned by these two detectives, who are involved closely with the state of Harlem and the current upheaval in the region following a new arrival, the Jamaican gangster, better known as Bushmaster (a character memorably brought to life by Mustafa Shakir), is a huge deal.
In the second season of 'Luke Cage', following the death of Cottonmouth and a new ascension to power - the on-and-off lovers-cum-business-partners Mariah Dillard and Shades - Harlem is once again in the state of unrest. This time around, though, the Power Man aka Harlem's very own Luke Cage deals with demons both within and without. Especially in the moments where the bulletproof hero finds himself on the brink of crossing over to the darker side.
However, this is the first time the Marvel-Netflix series has referenced a character outside their universe and it's huge because it's directly connected to a simultaneously running Marvel series, albeit on Freeform. Does this mean the plot is set for a 'Luke Cage' - 'Cloak & Dagger' crossover in the future? It might be too early to predict but nevertheless, the tinge of excitement is just enough to keep Marvel loyalists on their toes.