Synopsis of 02×05: Each of the Shadowhunters deals with the recent attack on the Institute in their own way; Simon moves home, but finds it isn’t easy to pull off his new life with his family around.
Oh, my sweet lord. This show is certainly making some bold moves and I like it, even if it makes me that much more cautious about where the characters are going. Unlike the previous episodes and the last season, this episode probably flowed the smoothest for me. The plot split into three and transitioned well enough not to be too jarring. A big problem the show had was splitting its attention between different characters within the span of an episode. That and it’s horrifically stilted dialogue. I’m not going to lie, last week’s script still had tinges of that and I was worried we’d see it again. Thankfully we didn’t.
Instead, we got some of the best scenes of the show so far. First off we have Alec. Now I love Matt Daddario, but Alec was harder for me to love initially. His character was always kept at an arm’s length and never allowed to fully develop last season. I felt like he was given limited dialogue and frequently sidelined. I loved seeing his interaction this episode with Jace, Magnus, and Clary. He has some of the best scenes with them, and I especially love seeing him go to Magnus in his time of need.
Obviously, we know he’s been suffering a lot from the part he played in Jocelyn’s death. Even though we know none of it is his fault, he obviously blames himself and he feels like he can’t face Clary. Despite their differences, he feels guilty, even more so because Jocelyn is Jace’s mother. Alec visits Magnus, who opens up about his past with Camille a little more and the scene is just good. They aren’t over the top and they aren’t being melodramatic. It’s a heartfelt moment that really played well.
Clary is searching for a way to bring Jocelyn back, which we know never ends well. She goes to Magnus who gives her a photo that is conjured from his memories and hopes it offers her some comfort. Ultimately he advises that she grieve and recover. Good advice, but you know she won’t take it. Despite both Jace and Magnus warning her against it, Clary seeks out a warlock named Iris Rouse to bring back her mom.
She promises to pay her back in a favor, which is another bad sign — you never pay with a favor, Clary, NEVER. Despite the shadiness, Alec goes with her, willing to back her up no matter what. Guys again, this was a great scene. Seeing the two of them interact gives me so much joy. There’s just a genuine bonding and building of friendship that feels so good when it’s done right.
They arrive at Iris’s house and are greeted by a pregnant lady who leads Clary to Iris. Iris starts the ritual while Alec waits at the bottom. He’s got a real cute scene with Iris’ goddaughter Madzie, who we find out is a warlock from her gills. Seriously, give me a whole episode of Alec just babysitting and I’d watch it. Anyways, Clary starts realizing something’s not right when a crow, that Iris brought back to life earlier, breaks through the window and is clearly screwed up. She stops the ritual, but too bad she already signed a blood oath and owes Iris a favor.
Turns out Iris has got herself a warlock-baby-making farm. The pregnant lady is one of many who have been getting impregnated by a demon and getting memory wipes after they give birth. Clary is meant to be another host of a child, only this time the baby is going to be half shadowhunter half demon. BOOK READERS, JOIN ME IN A UNIVERSAL SCREECH.
Thankfully, Alec starts figuring out something is awry but is stopped by Iris who grabs Madzie and portals out of there after beating him up a little. Izzy and Jace converge on Iris’ place after Jace puts together what Clary wants to do. Izzy saves Alec while Jace runs to Clary, who wakes up in the basement with a gross demon cornering her. Trapped without the knowledge that anyone is coming for her, she suddenly sees the vision of a rune and draws it on her hand and destroys the demon by shooting sunlight out of her hand. AND ARE YOU SCREECHING WITH ME YET!?
FINALLY.
God that was so satisfying.
Jace sees this and realizes that there’s something not exactly normal about this. He tells her not to tell anyone about this and they make their way back to the Institute unharmed.
The B plot of the episode left me far more concerned than the A plot. We see a great scene of Izzy and Jace sparring, wherein they talk about Jace being benched by Aldertree and also about the fact that Izzy is still suffering the injuries of the demon attack from last week. Izzy, who is eager to go on a mission to the Iron Sisters, goes to Aldertree to ask for permission to lead the mission. He figures out pretty quickly that she’s still injured.
Okay, first off. That sparring match was pretty great. I love seeing Jace and Izzy together. They seem to match each other for sass the same way that Alec and Clary do. It’s something about the mixup in the coupling that makes it entertaining for me to watch. Then second, IZZY WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST GO SEE A MEDIC?
Aldertree pulls out a weird salve he calls yin fen, which if that name sounds familiar to you, you already know that this is BAD NEWS, and offers it to Izzy. She takes it without pause and it seems like the effects of the balm are immediate and euphoric. Great. Nothing good ever comes of something that is instantly good.
Like could Aldertree get anymore shady after this episode? Everything he does seems to have an ulterior motive. His intentions aren’t clear and he doesn’t seem to be all that he says he is. And by the looks of Izzy at the end of the episode, we’ve definitely only just begun with yin fen.
Finally, we have Simon’s plot line. I’m really glad they’re moving forward his plotline with his mom. He decides to move back home after some encouragement from Clary and immediately runs into issues. His sister bursts into his room and opens up his blinds and then finds blood in a canteen.
He has a hilarious moment with his mom where she asks him if he’s in a cult again and he replies, “Mom, for the last time, World of Warcraft isn’t a cult!” But faced without much he can do, he tells his mom that he’s a vampire. He also tells her about Clary being a shadowhunter. It doesn’t look like she believes him at first, and that maybe she wants him to get his head checked, but you can bet she believes him at the end of the episode when she walks in to see him feeding on a rat.
The episode ended with a funeral for the fallen Silent Brothers and Jocelyn. There’s a tender moment of Jace helping Clary and offering her some strength during the funeral. And as the camera pans out and we watch their souls — or just some sparkling symbolism — float up into the air we see Luke shifting out of his wolf form in the woods.
Honestly, I’m really psyched for this season after this episode, and I really hope we can get this caliber of episode every week from here on out. I’m really concerned for Izzy and also for Clary who still owes Iris a favor. We’ll see where this all leads in the coming episodes.
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