“Bound by Blood” tied up a few loose ends while injecting new urgency into each of its players in anticipation of the winter finale. What we got wasn’t so much the calm before the storm but an attempt at rock bottom, as everyone experienced their ups before the inevitable downs. Nobody was happy by episode’s end, and it leaves the finale with its work cut out for it.
Following the reveal that Clary and her unique angelic blood are capable of activating the Soul Sword, the blood oath Clary unwittingly made with warlock Iris Rouse came into effect, forcing her to find little Madzie before the oath’s binding magic could kill her. Clary seemed content to sit back and let fate roll the dice on her behalf for a good part of the episode, unsure of what to do besides sacrificing herself for the survival of Downworld. Jace and Simon weren’t having any of it, however, and put aside their differences to save her together in a touching display of solidarity.
All of this amounted to an entertaining melodramatic rendition of teen heroics. Clary and Simon, the least experienced in saving the world, clung to each other as stoic warrior Jace did the heavy lifting. What gave it heart were the connections between all three. Being honest in the new colors of their relationship, Clary and Simon confessed to no regrets. Jace, the outsider once again, utilized the common bond he now shares with Simon to ensure they’d both get to keep Clary another day. Underneath that, was the unspoken Shadowhunter connection between Clary and Jace. She can rely on Simon for many things, but not when it comes to doing what is necessary for the greater good. With Jace, she can, and I think if it really came down to it, Jace would do what needed to be done, then spend the rest of his life mourning his decision. Alberto Rosende was marvelous in Simon’s anguish at possibly losing the love he finally gets to be with, and Dominic Sherwood’s ability to control multiple emotions in his eyes at once made Jace a deeply poignant bystander.
Alec and Isabelle (John Medland/Freeform)
Meanwhile, Isabelle seems to have shirked her Shadowhunter duties entirely in favor of having Raphael’s bite on tap. She doesn’t appear to have any intention of getting clean, and Raphael is now riding the high of her Shadowhunter blood while enjoying the effects her dependency has on him. Having isolated themselves from the outside world, Isabelle is unaware of Clary’s dire situation and Alec’s pointed investigation of her recent behavior. She’s also unaware that Raphael has aligned the vampires with the seelies and is now to answer for any danger that finds her friends. Raphael’s naive comparison of his new Shadowhunter dalliance to the committed partnership between Magnus and Alec was outright laughable, and Isabelle’s victim trip and bratty ignorance of Alec’s concerns for her over the past few episodes had me wanting to reach through the screen and dump her into an ice bath. David Castro gave this week’s deeper look into Raphael’s personal life some lovely nuance, but it’s not going to make this particular plot any more palatable. Can we please wrap this up? I don’t think I can take much more romanticized drug abuse without screaming. No more tamales, for the love of all things good. No more tamales.
Beyond Raphael’s apartment, Valentine had unleashed his super army of hybrid Downworlders to stage a revolt across New York, which had lesser men, like Clave-cut Aldertree, emptying the Institute of its Shadowhunters to tend to the ensuing chaos. Knowing Aldertree is the catalyst for his sister’s current state of being, Alec used it as leverage to blackmail himself back in charge of the Institute, and it brought me so much joy. After the way Aldertree almost intentionally got Isabelle hooked on yin fen and then tried to manhandle a date out of her, seeing Alec stare him down like the reprehensible, tiny man he is gave me wings.
At the Hunter’s Moon, New York’s Downworld leaders met to discuss Valentine’s genocidal plans. Attending on behalf of the Seelie Realm, Meliorn is a different, harder man after facing punishment for his nest straying last season, and his reappearance is now more reminiscent of his book counterpart. Ready for war, the seelies are keen to execute Clary on sight to avoid it. Raphael agrees to it. None can be blamed for choosing the easiest, fastest fix for the broader problems they face. The seelies are always ready and willing to twist things to their advantage. Raphael puts the safety of his coven first. Earlier in the episode, Maia tried to kill Clary in broad daylight out of self-preservation. Both Luke and Magnus are also at risk if this ends badly, but they’re simply unwilling to kill an innocent to save themselves. Who is the better leader here? The ones thinking of the greater population, or the ones with the conscience to think that one is as important as any? Would they think the same if it was random Stunt Shadowhunter Number 4 on the chopping block? I’d like to think so, but I’m not so sure. Tough line, there.
Luke’s side story with Maia was a small taste of what we assume is yet to come, but what these two are contributing to the story feels minimal. Luke has been a prominent catalyst for information flow through his scenes in the past, but now he’s in the background trying to control his wolf pack. His storyline hasn’t really hit so far, and if I’m honest, I’m unsure of what it’s even supposed to be. The romantic ship Maia was supposed to be sailing on sunk quick, and now she’s being emotionally compromised and locked away in storage rooms. I just don’t know what this is all amounting to. Something big, I hope.
Alec and Magnus (John Medland/Freeform)
Following Alec’s magically provoked suicide attempt last week, Magnus gently raised concerns for his mental welfare. Despite Alec’s firm reassurances that he’d never try such a thing, Magnus has, and he opened the door to sharing the burden should Alec ever feel differently. The topic of mental illness has been touched on previously through both individuals, and I appreciate that it hasn’t been used as a throwaway catalyst for drama. Instead, it’s showing us another small glimpse of how intertwined they’ve become. Yes, a painful amount is left to assumption. Yes, they seem to continue conversations we haven’t seen. Yes, every episode, we get the Cliffs Notes version of where they currently are. But while every other relationship on this show starts and stops in displayed chunks each week, Alec and Magnus’ relationship is constantly flowing. It still irks me that ‘less is more’ seems to be the chosen approach to showing their relationship, but it’s always there in the background, being referenced, grown, lived, and the scenes we do see are their greater landmarks.
Seeing their every scene together be a statement for something important does get a tad tiring because, in my Malec-loving heart, I want the quiet moments, too. I realize the show can’t dedicate five minutes of an episode to seeing them just cuddle and hold hands around Magnus’ apartment, not without using it as a platform to explain something in the ongoing story. But, hey, if the show has to work in a plot-related info-dump, I wouldn’t be averse to seeing it explained through some sleepy Malec couch-snuggling. Just saying.
After their weekly heart-to-heart, things took a turn for the worst. Putting the recent pieces of Isabelle’s latest antics together, Magnus immediately offered his suspicions to Alec. As all big brothers would, Alec beat the snot out of Raphael, then turned on Magnus for not telling him sooner. It may look bad for the two, but Alec immediately throwing himself back into Shadowhunter duty wasn’t because Isabelle told him to get lost, and it’s not purely to save Clary. He’s doing what he can to stop Valentine because Valentine’s next target is his boyfriend, as well as the rest of the Downworld population. Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum Jr. nailed their scenes this week with authentic punch. Harry was beautifully soft as Magnus shared his worries, and Matthew burned brightest when directing Alec’s anger at him. These two are riveting to watch, gravitating towards each other on-screen no matter the nature of the emotion involved. Their chemistry is some of the strongest on the show, so it’s no surprise fans want to see more of them. How Alec and Magnus reconcile in the finale will surely be a topic of much discussion.
Jace and Simon (John Medland/Freeform)
Matt Hastings’ work this hour was a seamless addition to the season so far. It didn’t stand out in any huge way, it was simply there like a consistent part of the show’s furniture which allowed the attention to fall on its characters. I still enjoy the way he pulls back and lets us see our characters in full, in their environment. And that shot of Alec towering over Aldertree was a thing of beauty, a dirty air of justice for all the crap he’s put them through.
Peter Binswanger. Now, you may know him as the guy who wrote last season’s fun NYPD break-in, and then the season finale’s Revenge-of-the-Jedi-Jace. You may also remember being ground through the emotional wood-chipper earlier this season with “Parabatai Lost.” That was his doing, too. This tells you how vastly unpredictable his writing is – you just don’t know whether you’ll want to punch the air victoriously, punch right through the television screen, or curl into a fetal position. This hour delighted in bringing its characters to various breaking points using all three. His storytelling is some of the strongest, and his grip on the individual tones of each character grows with each episode he writes. Peter’s torture is some of the finest.
All in all, a fabulous hour of Shadowhunters. After the fun of last week, I was ready for the emotional gutting this episode was bound to deliver. And it did, with aplomb. A sense of anticipation could be felt through everyone involved, which frankly, makes me a little terrified for what comes next. Bring it on.
Shadowhunters airs Mondays 8/7c on Freeform, and Tuesdays internationally on Netflix.
