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‘Shadowhunters’ Midseason Finale Review: Trading Life Forces

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(Freeform/John Medland)

Credit where credit is due: Shadowhunters two-hour midseason finale packed an emotional punch.

Too bad the cliffhanger turned out to be such a letdown.

Sure, we’re all wondering where Clary and Jonathan went.

Did they get sucked into Edom with Lilith? Did Clary portal them out of the explosion? Did the Mark of Cain make them invisible?

No matter what happened, we know Clary is not dead. And if Clary’s not dead, neither is Jonathan.

So not the most exciting thing to keep us on the edge of our seats until the show returns later this summer.

But that’s okay. We’ve got other things to talk about.

(Freeform/Ben Mark Holzberg)

Let’s start with Magnus trading away his magic in order to save Jace because he knew it’s what Alec needed.

My heart, you guys.

First, Magnus took on Hamilton Lorenzo. This dude is the worst. He straight up lied to Alec and then challenged Magnus to a duel all because of a wounded ego.

It’s infuriating the other warlocks didn’t step up to help Magnus. But, fine. He needed a reason to go to Edom. And once he met with dear old dad, things felt more unfinished than ever.

Now that we know he gave away his magic, can we get a flashback to see more of their conversation?

As for Alec, I assume he’ll be fine, too. He had a stele so he could heal himself. But at least we got to see him finally use his bow and arrow this season.

(Freeform/John Medland)

Like a broken record, I need to praise Alec again for how much he’s grown. He was ready to kill Jace because he knew that’s what Jace would have wanted. And when he wasn’t strong enough and was about to die, he still forgave him so that real Jace would know it was okay.

And let’s not forget that amazing goodbye kiss and I love you session before Magnus went to Edom. All the heart eyes.

Then, we have poor Simon. This guy cannot catch a break.

Lilith unleashed Heidi on his family. Determined to prove he’s a vampire, she taunted a conveniently starving Simon until he nearly drained his sister dry. His mother called him a monster and threatened to kill him.

Ugh, Simon does not deserve this pain, show. He tried so hard to balance his two lives and it’s just not happening. So he did the only thing he thought would make it right: he compelled his mother to believe he was dead.

At least Rebecca knows the truth. Simon needs at least one family member in his corner. Things are uncertain with Maia at the moment, the werewolves kicked him out, he can’t fully trust Jordan, and now he believes he killed Clary.

Thank goodness he has Izzy around for support (Sizzy is rising, people!).

(Freeform/John Medland)

Circling back to Clary for a moment, we should talk about how she was nearly executed.

Why is the Clave so terrible? Seriously, how are we supposed to root for the Shadowhunters as a whole when the organization is filled with so many bad people?

Clary received a stay of execution so she could bring Valentine back to life. And you know I was cheering the second I saw Alan Van Sprang listed in the credits. Because Valentine is the best villain.

Too bad they ended up killing him again. But dead never means dead in supernatural shows.

Of course Demon Jace was on hand to ruin Clary’s Hail Mary attempt to dispose of Valentine’s body before Lilith could get what she needed (a rib, apparently. Biblical and fitting). He then returned Clary to New York, where she left a blood trail for their friends to follow.

It’s great that Simon and Clary outsmarted Lilith, but we know she’s only going back to Edom and not dead-dead. But I’ll take it for now. Maybe we’ll get a break from her.

We won’t, unfortunately, be getting a break from brooding, guilt-ridden Jace any time soon. He’ll be blaming himself for Clary’s death…even if he shouldn’t be in love with her any more given Magnus’ magic potion.

MISCELLANEOUS MUSINGS

-Soooooo Izzy and Dr. Charlie are already done? What was the point of that story? Just to take up screen time? I don’t understand this choice at all. But if it brings us Sizzy, whatever, I’ll deal with it.

-Seriously, can Simon have a break in 3B? He’s been through enough.

-How random were the police suddenly investigating Luke? I suppose it makes sense on some level since Ollie killed her mom and all. But it just seems like unnecessary drama.

-Same goes for Maryse wanting to help, but not being able to. I’m still not sure what the point of her de-runing was other than setting up a romance with Luke. But wouldn’t it have been more angst-ridden and forbidden if she was still a Shadowhunter and he was a werewolf?

-Speaking of Ollie, now that she’s back to being herself, how’s she going to explain that murder? Is it too much to hope that she will just flee town with Sam?

-Fellow book readers: now that they’ve linked Clary to Jonathan instead of Jace to Jonathan, are you worried that they’re going to play up the incest plotline too much? I’m already squeamish thinking about it.

-We need more of Magnus and his father. Their dynamic was nothing like I expected. But it resulted in him losing his magic, so there’s got to be so much story to mine there.

-And how’s Alec going to feel knowing what Magnus gave up for him? If that’s not true love, than Once Upon a Time has taught me nothing.

-Jordan truly sucks at his job.

-I like that Luke walked away from the wolves for Clary. She and Simon (and Jace, Izzy, Magnus and Alec) are his children first and foremost. But so is Maia. I’m worried there’s going to be tension between them when/if Maia stays with the pack.

-Please, please, please don’t make the Jonathan/Clary stuff overly creepy.

(They’re going to make it creepy).

Mandy Treccia
Mandy Treccia has served as TVSource Magazine’s Executive Editor since 2016, formerly as Editorial Director from 2012-2016. She is an avid TV watcher and card carrying fan girl prone to sudden bursts of emotion, ranging from extreme excitement to blind rage during her favorite shows and has on more than once occasion considered having a paper bag on hand to get her through some tough TV moments. Her taste in TV tends to rival that of a thirteen-year-old girl, but she’s okay with that.

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