Another Monday, another episode of Shadowhunters. At this rate, Mondays are quickly becoming my favorite days. Let's get into yet another riveting episode!!
Picking up right where last week left off, Clary is understandably confused and angry about Jocelyn's attempt to murder her own son. But the truth finally comes out - through Clary, we see Jocelyn's memories about baby!Jonathan killing a flower, thanks to his demon blood.
Alec is pissed as hell about Jocelyn trying to kill his parabatai, and takes his anger out on Clary, telling her she doesn't belong in the Shadow world. Wow....that was harsh, and completely unjustified. If Clary has to take the blame for her mother's actions, why don't the Lightwood siblings have to do the same thing? Huh, Alec? Just when things couldn't get worse, Clary isn't allowed on missions anymore, because she's too close to Valentine and doesn't have enough training. This is where I have to take a moment to commend Kat McNamara's acting. Compared to season 1, her skills have improved A LOT. I've never found Clary particularly interesting or easy to empathize with, but watching her be forced into isolation in a system she never asked to enter brought tears to my eyes. Clary's scene with Isabelle also made me cry. Izzy - kind, beautiful, Izzy - has long learned to keep her emotions in check, and reassures Clary that she'll always have her. (Honestly, Emeraude and Kat's chemistry is unreal, but the Shadowhunters writers refuse to capitalize on it.) Clary's sort of stuck between the mundane and the shadow world, knowing she doesn't really belong in either. Upset, she sneaks off to the Brooklyn Academy of Art (without glamours or her stele!! Gasp!!) to prove that she can live a normal life as a Mundane.
While Clary's off trying to regain her mundane lifestyle, Alec and Isabelle are on a mission to catch Valentine in the act. It turns out that he's kidnapping people from fighting/training clubs in the hopes of getting the strongest mundanes to go through the painful process of becoming a Nephilim. Izzy's years of training and natural badassery get to shine through this episode, and Alec's expressions of pride watching his baby sister slay the muscular misogynists are everything.
Unfortunately, no intel is gathered, because Valentine's followers have a tendency to commit suicide, rather than be captured. Frustrated and lacking options, Alec is distraught until Jocelyn offers to track Jace through a stone that belonged to Luke's mother - only it has very dangerous consequences if the Parabatai don't resurface fast enough. Isabelle refuses to let her brother go through the pain, but Alec doesn't have a choice. Memories of Jace and Alec flash through his mind, and we even get to see a glimpse of the two as kids (!!!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR EMOTIONAL FLASHBACKS!!!).
Simon is also struggling with finding his place among two conflicting worlds, and like Clary, is all too willing to self-sacrifice. (They were easily the two most mistreated characters this episode, and they deserve better.) Because Simon was there to witness Jocelyn's assassination attempt, Aldertree wants to interrogate him. Simon's tasked to get vampire intel for him, but since he's literally homeless, it's proving to be tricky. Luke's pack is going behind his back, wanting Simon to get off the Jade Wolf property. To make matters worse, Raphael confronts him, demanding him to find Camille to take the blame for the vampire den....or else. For some reason, Simon's particularly worried about Raphael burning off his private parts, but the threat is effective. Finally, he decides to go to Magnus for help.
Magnus takes him to India, which are apparently Camille's last known whereabouts. Entering her home, Magnus immediately goes off reclaiming his own stuff that Camille never returned. Camille isn't there, but her pets sure are - a fire-breathing snake, a combination of several of Simon's fears, strikes out of nowhere. Realizing he needs to get his act together - he's a vampire, for god's sake! - Simon manages to successfully Encanto it into obeying. (I'm very proud of him for that!!)
It turns out that the snake is one of Magnus' own creations for Camille, and it's probably no coincidence that Magnus appeared seconds after Simon had succeeded. Later on, he agrees to help Simon with his journey through the Down World. As a young boy, Magnus had no one he could fall back on for help, and he won't let Simon suffer the same fate. Magnus and Simon's unexpected dynamic is a joy to watch; I absolutely cannot wait for more, and eagerly await for what Magnus classifies as mentoring. Not gonna lie though, I'm a little frustrated that they never ended up accomplishing their original goal. Raphael's threat to harm Simon's junk is still up in the air....?
Anyways, I especially love how the two people who surprisingly end up caring for Simon the most are Luke and Magnus, two Downworlders the Nephilim take for granted. They both have suffered abuse and loss, yet come out the other end stronger and kinder. They could've succumbed to the stereotypes people automatically placed on them, but they didn't. Instead, they use their powers to help, and don't want Simon to struggle as much. Basically, this is just a shoutout to how much I love the holy trinity of Downworlders.
Speaking of Luke, he and Jocelyn team up to stop Clary from self-destructing. I've always admired the mutual love and respect Lucelyn have for each other, and Isaiah and Maxim have insane chemistry. Even though Luke is not Clary's biological dad, he's the only father figure she's ever known; even Jocelyn knows that he's the only one Clary will listen to. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work out this time because Dot, who we thought was dead all this time, comes to take her through a portal. I know the situation is bad, but I'm really happy Dot is alive. She was like a sister to Clary, and we should've seen more of their dynamic.
Through Dot, Clary discovers where Jace and Valentine have been hiding out. Dot, on Valentine's orders, uses her warlock magic to speak to Jace through Clary, convincing him that killing Downworlders is for the best since they will eventually destroy all humans in the future. Fortunately, Clary talks Dot out of doing it again, and both go up on deck to finally save Jace from Valentine.
Oh, Jace. Poor Jace has been struggling to keep his act together. He knows that not all Downworlders are bad, but Valentine's protégé, particularly one named Jeremy, insist upon their prejudice. Apparently some werewolves killed Jeremy's parents, and he is hell bent on revenge. Valentine captures Gretel, one of Luke's, and tragically murders her. I thought she was going to be in more than two episodes, damnit! Sigh. Anyways, Dot opens a portal and Clary, seizing the opportunity to escape, is forced to leave the warlock and werewolf behind as she and Jace jump out of the ship. Just when everything seems okay again, Jace's nose begins to bleed, a side effect of Alec's parabatai tracking. In a captivating final sequence, Alec goes into seizure and falls unconscious, the stone dropping from his hand dramatically. Uh oh.
Overall, I'm really liking the season so far. Like I mentioned in my last review, the upgrades are effective, and the mature tone really suits the show. I think Magnus deserves more screentime, and Isabelle should be allowed to react emotionally, like Alec. I know Izzy's not as blunt as Alec, but damn, Jace was her brother too. Let the girl deal with her justified emotions, please! I also think that too many people are giving Jocelyn a hard time. Jocelyn is in the wrong for lying about Clary's Nephilim blood and Jonathan's blood injections, but at the end of the day, she's also an abuse victim. Like Alec and Izzy, she just wants to protect her family, even if some of her methods are questionable. Let's not forget, the real villain and piece of sh*t here is Valentine. In conclusion, everyone is suffering, and I am not okay. I just want my favorite characters to be happy, alright?!?!?!
Rating: 8.3
Extras that didn't make it in: Hearing my baby (Magnus) calling something else, albeit a snake, his baby, was so funny. Also, there was literally no need for Alec to be shirtless during the tracking.
*I'll try to get my JTV and Pitch reviews out ASAP, but otherwise, see you next week!
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