Please note, the following article may contain spoilers for those not familiar with the books or haven’t watched the show.
Freeform killed my hopes that we would see more mother/daughter drama between Jocelyn and Clary. Literally killed it.
The fandom has been a buzz with love/hate comments about the show bumping off Clary’s mom. There are fans who can’t stand Jocelyn and were happy to her go. There are others who hate how far the show strays from the books. If you are the latter half, you ain’t gonna like this week’s episode.
Spoiler Alert: Jocelyn is dead. Not dead like Simon. Not dead like, hey maybe they will revive her next week, because that was this week and Clary got cold feet. She’s dead like wrapped in white for a mass funeral for her and twenty-odd Silent Brothers.
It wasn’t an easy episode for me to sit through. I lost my mom at twenty-one, close to Clary’s age in the show. The absence of emotions Clary felt, I understood. Magnus told Clary tonight, “Losing your mom is not something you make better with magic. You just head straight into it and cry your eyes out.” But you go numb first. And you don’t want to talk about it. And you don’t want apologies. And you would do anything to get her back – even promising a warlock a favor in return.
Although tonight’s show was undoubtedly about moms, the end of Clary’s relationship with Jocelyn and the beginning of the end for Simon, it was really about one’s support network. In her hour of need, Clary found Alec the surprise support for her. Jace tried to comfort her, but he was dealing with his own lost-mom guilt. Simon tried to be there for her, but Clary ended up being the support he needed when she said, “See your mom. Tell her you love her.”
Out of this exploration of the interconnection of relationships came some wonderful scenes. Alec and Magnus shared a heart-breaking moment on Magnus’s roof where Alec confessed he couldn’t face Clary and Magnus revealed how hard turning in Camille was. Alec does brooding well, unlike anyone else.
There was also a wonderful scene between Simon and Becky, his sister. The moment was both comedic and touching as we finally got to see more of this sibling relationship, one that is just as strong in the books as Alec and Isabelle’s despite the fact we only catch up with Rebecca sporadically.
Clary also learned that Alec is weaving his way into her support network. He said he’d do anything to get her mom back, and he became overprotective of her at Iris Rouse’s house. In some ways, he was acting more like a big brother to her than her big brother, Jace. (cough, cough)
OK, I may have totally added that pic just because Matthew Daddario looks gorgeous in it. You can thank me later.
Every Shadowhunter episode now seems to have its nods to the books that are unexpected. Izzy’s obsession with the Iron Sisters was brought up, as well as yin fen, my Infernal Devices fans. Most importantly, we finally saw more of Clary’s special rune power!
But let’s not kid ourselves. As touching as this episode was, it was overshadowed by the news we angels have been waiting for.
SEBASTIAN HAS BEEN CAST!!
Over the weekend it was released that Will Tudor (Game of Thrones, The Red Tent) will be playing Sebastian on Shadowhunters. For those of you not familiar with the books, you will learn to love and hate Sebastian. If you thought Jace and Clary’s relationship was sticky, get ready for a whole new ride!
I have strong hopes for Will Tudor. I loved him in The Red Tent, and although I’m hopelessly behind on Game of Thrones, I have a feeling he was great in it too. And he claims he will be using his British accent for Shadowhunters. YES! My only fear is that the show creators stray too far from Sebastian’s character in the book. He’s a villain that puts Valentine to shame, and I really hope Freeform doesn’t get cold feet for what is about to come.
Watch Shadowhunters Monday nights at 8pm/7pm on Freeform, and join me each week for Shadowhunters recaps. Special thanks to TMI fan groups for their support, like The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Mortal Instruments Fangirl!, and Thank You Cassandra Clare on Facebook.
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Photos and video courtesy of Freeform.
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