Synopsis of 2×17: Clary struggles with the idea that her brother Jonathan is pure evil when it appears he is hunting down the mortal mirror for Valentine’s use.
After searching for the mortal cup and the soul sword, we’re finally looking at the final piece of the puzzle, the mortal mirror. With the soul sword actually in Valentine’s possession now, thanks to Jonathan, he only needs this last piece in order to summon the angel Raziel and have him fulfill one wish. We obviously know that this wish will be to destroy the downworld once and for all. Since finding out that the Clave doesn’t actually have the soul sword the Shadowhunters need to find the mortal mirror as soon as possible. Alec gives Clary and Jace the bad news, but chooses not to tell any of the Downworld in order to prevent an uprising.
Clary, still plagued by the effects of Lake Lyn, has been having nightmares lately. Although Jace is there to comfort her, she is still concerned. With the reality hitting her that her brother is alive, she is desperate to find whatever living family she has left. It’s difficult, given the fact that Jocelyn’s keepsake box with any remnant of Jonathan has been cleaned out.
Although Jace is firmly against allying himself with Jonathan, Jonathan himself seems hopeful for a connection with his sister. He seems to actually like Clary. Maybe, he might like him too much. Does it feel like there’s an excess of incest on television lately? What I initially interpreted as perhaps just looking out for a sister, took a weird direction when Jonathan (as Sebastian) kissed Clary.
Working with Valentine, Jonathan has managed to keep his cover as Sebastian as they attempt to seek out the mortal mirror. Valentine brings in Cleophas, who he pumps full of mind control serum, in order to attempt to fix the sword. Despite his serum and her powers, it doesn’t seem likely to happen. Regardless, Jonathan and Valentine go after the mirror. They visit a bookstore owned by a warlock named Elliot in order to find the mirror. Valentine and Jonathan torture the warlock until Elliot chooses to commit suicide rather than tell them where the mirror is.
There’s a mark on his arm that is essentially a map to the location of the mirror, and it disappears when he dies. Elsewhere, it appears on Dot’s arm, and she knows there’s something wrong. Going to Clary, she reveals that Elliot is probably dead and that they need to protect the mirror before it falls into the wrong hands. The sigil on her arm is actually a map of the lay lines around the city and will show the location of the mirror.
Jace and Clary go to Elliot’s bookshop and are met by Sebasatian/Jonathan, who comes in just in time as Clary realizes that the scene of Elliot’s death has clear markers of Jonathan’s presence. Jonathan watches as Jace and Clary discuss what to do with Jonathan. Jace is ready to kill him because of his demon blood, but Clary wants to give him a chance because Jonathan is her brother. Following them back to the Institute, Clary and Jace check up on Dot and her research of lay lines, only to be found by Sebastian/Jonathan.
Going back to Valentine, Jonathan reveals what he’s learned and Dot’s participation in the finding of the mirror. It’s interesting to see Jonathan’s dynamic with Valentine, since there are more than a couple scenes that show that he is almost afraid of his own son. Intent on keeping Clary and Jonathan apart, Valentine continues to tell Jonathan that Clary does not like him and is not on his side, even though Jonathan does not want Clary to hate him. The two have a weird dynamic that still essentially stinks of Valentine’s master manipulation.
Meanwhile, Alec informs Max that he’s been approved to go on his first mission. Max, excited, goes on to train with Izzy and tells her the good news. Unfortunately, Izzy isn’t too happy for him. She doesn’t want Max out there, but Alec supports the Clave’s decision and informs her that Max is now a soldier and they need to treat him like that. Unable to oppose him, Izzy enlists Simon’s help in training Max. The three of them have fun training as Simon and Izzy grow closer talking and bonding. Izzy helps Simon out with his relationship with Maia and Simon helps Izzy come to grips with Max going out into the field. It’s all super cute and makes the Sizzy shipper in my sing.
What doesn’t make me sing is this argument between Magnus and Alec. After treating Alec to dinner, Magnus comments on how the Downworlders don’t trust the Shadowhunters, especially the Seelie Queen. Magnus and Luke have stood up for the Shadowhunters with Alec leading them but when Magnus finds out the truth about the soul sword, he is furious with Alec. The lack of transparency infuriates him while Alec tries to explain himself. Magnus eventually storms out, leaving Alec confused and frustrated. Magnus is now beginning to see the Seelie Queen’s reasoning.
With Dot finally figuring out a general area of where the mirror could be, Clary realizes that one of the locations is of a park that she would go to with her mom, so they decide to go to the park and see if they can retrieve the mirror. Just as she is about to leave she is confronted by Sebastian/Jonathan. The two engage in a gross kiss that Clary breaks. I’ll admit that up until the kiss I was actually really enjoying this relationship between the two. Jonathan might have demon blood in him but he clearly yearns for connection.
Clary and Jace make it to the park where Dot pulls a mirror out of hiding. Suddenly, Jonathan appears, having tracked them to the location. He threatens Jace, but Clary offers him the mirror or the opportunity to come with them for help. It looks almost like Jonathan is ready to go with them when Dot attacks him and portals Jace and Clary out of there.
Back at the Institute, Clary looks into the mirror and realizes that it looks like Lake Lyn in her nightmares. In her dream, she sees two swords coming at her in the water and she concludes that she’s having visions. Meanwhile, Jonathan is flipping through Alec’s office looking for something when Max catches him and reveals that Jocelyn’s box still had a strand of his hair left over and Max has tracked him to Alec’s office. He now knows that Sebastian is actually Jonathan.
Well… there’s no way this bodes well for Max or the Lightwoods.
English