The Cape should not be taken seriously, and certainly not as seriously as the show takes itself. But that's fine. Even with the pacing, lack of depth, or any number of problems, it's still damn entertaining. Who doesn't want to see a costumed hero run around and beat up various goons in a city which is being taken over by an evil guy?
"Pilot" sets the stage for episodes to come, introducing Vince Faraday (David Lyons), a cop framed by Chess (James Frain), his wife Dana (Jennifer Ferrin), the carnival folk who help him along the way, and Orwell (Summer Glau), who seems to be the utility-girl. Vince becomes The Cape after fastforwarded training from Max (Keith David) and vows to take down Chess.
"Tarot" is more or less a standard episode with the plot about saving a guy who can prevent Chess from taking over the prisons, and Vince shows that he can continually grow as a superhero by training himself.
From what we can see from the first two episodes, the lines are clearly drawn: Vince is the classic superhero good guy, a tireless fighter for the people, while Chess is the bad guy, a totally evil criminal who wants to take the city. Dana and Trip truly believe Vince was innocent, and Dana puts herself in a position to dig around.
Going forward, The Cape has plenty of room to grow. We can learn more about each character, more enemies can be introduced, and maybe it'll gain a few complex themes. And if the show doesn't really change, we'll see if it's still as entertaining as it is now.
Score: 8.7/10
