Shadowhunters 3×16 “Stay With Me” gave us a severe case of the feels as Malec yanked at every heartstring imaginable. Excuse us as we continually sob (and, spoiler alert, CONTINUE to sob for the foreseeable future)! Meanwhile, Jace and company came up with a shitshow of a plan to summon Lilith in the hopes she would tell them how to break the twinning rune that binds Clary and Jonathan. Instead of getting the answers they were looking for, they let the Queen of Hell escape with a powerful new ally in Cain. Jonathan may have been captured in the process, but that’s probably not going to be enough to explain away how he ended up in custody! Here’s the best of the best this week.
1: Standout Performance:
Matthew Daddario is seriously the best Alec we could have ever asked for.
Matt brought his A-game and made us feel the concern, guilt, and all-consuming love Alec feels towards Magnus. The subtle cues of his cracked voice and hand-wringing nailed that delicate balance between tenderness and desperation as he sat by Magnus’ bedside. When charisma and anger didn’t convince Lorenzo to help Magnus, a moment of raw vulnerability from Alec produced a single but powerful tear to break through Lorenzo’s ego. His shaking voice when he called Magnus his world nearly killed us. Alec Lightwood got poetic on us, listing off all the reasons why he fell in love with Magnus until he convinced Magnus to give his magic up again. And don’t forget, he can dance, too! Honestly, is there anything he can’t do?
2: Biggest Shitshow:
Alec takes one day off and all Hell breaks loose…literally.
Where do we even begin? This is what happens when Jace, Clary, Isabelle, and Simon hatch a plan without Alec there to point out the insanity of summoning the Queen of Hell, the very one they just banished! A very bad idea turned into the Biggest Shitshow when Jonathan showed up and stabbed Jace, ending in a total bloodbath. Then, Simon fed on Jonathan (ewwwwww) and Cain turned to Lilith’s side. Let’s top it off with the fact that Lilith probably won’t soon forget that they tortured her in the Malachi configuration, she tends to hold a grudge and now she’s free with a powerful ally. Awesome.
3: Most Heartbreaking:
Magnus falls apart without his magic.
Matthew Daddario wasn’t the only one who came to play in 3×16. Harry Shum Jr. delivered one of his best performances yet. He narrowly missed out on snagging Standout Performance this week, but Magnus’ Heartbreaking struggle deserves our undivided attention. The pain in his eyes as he faced losing his magic for a second time was only amplified by his belief that he would also be losing himself in the process. When Alec asked him whether it was worth dying to keep his magic, his uncertain response revealed the depths of his despair. It was jarring to see Magnus question how Alec could possibly love the shell of the man he feels he’s become. Harry’s improvised line, “Look at me! Can you honestly say you like this?” brought this struggle to a whole new level of hurt. We’re still drowning in our feels. Can we give Magnus a hug?
That’s the best of the best for us this week. Hit us up on Twitter and share your picks!
Shadowhunters airs on Freeform on Mondays at 8pm EST and is available the following day to stream on Hulu and Netflix International. See our article On Ratings and Social Engagement to learn how to make your view count.
