Shadowhunters 3×08 Review: “A Heart of Darkness”

This week’s episode of Shadowhunters, “A Heart of Darkness,” puts us (and our beloved characters) through the ringer with what looks like the beginning of a war between queens, a little bit of inception, and a dad on a mission. Throughout, the chessboard was being set up for next week’s two-hour mid-season finale with all the players in place. Seasoned writer Jamie Gorenberg penned this emotional exploration of sibling solidarity and edge-of-your-seat confrontations with this season’s Big Bad. Gorenberg’s tendency to deal devastating blows to our characters’ psyches (2×18 was her handiwork as well) was supported by director Ari Sandal, who played liberally with lighting, tone, and camera lenses and angles – most notably in the trippy scenes within Jace’s mind. Let’s get into it!

Mother!

Lilith continues her plan to resurrect her son, Jonathan, completely undeterred by those meddling kids. Well…almost. Simon and everyone’s dad, Luke, are hot on her trail, which forces her to move the entire penthouse of a building clear across town. Anna Hopkins continues to stun as the Mother of All Demons, but that isn’t all that makes Lilith so incredibly compelling. Lilith has an identifiable and even relatable goal. She doesn’t want to take over the world, or kill all Downworlders, or something else massive and stupid; she just wants her son back and I don’t think there’s anyone – parent or not – who can’t see the reasoning behind a motive like that.

She’s now joined by a possessed Ollie as her new sidekick, who seems a lot more “with it” than any of the other disciples. Perhaps she finds Ollie to be genuinely helpful under her influence – Ollie is quite clever, after all – but in all likelihood, she’s only using Ollie as a particularly high-priced pawn against Luke and everyone else who wants to get in her way.

Speaking of, I did not anticipate the hostility between Lilith and the Seelie Queen at all. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. Lola Flanery and Anna could take the whole damn cake; there is never an off note with either of them. That tiny step back the Seelie Queen took when she was confronted by Lilith was unsettling and made Lilith seem more terrifying than she has in any of the powerhouse displays we’ve seen from her before. This scene also gave us some of the most elegantly presented exposition I’ve heard in the backstory shared between these two formidable women. What business did the Seelie Queen have back in the Garden of Eden? Curiously, the show seems to be playing a lot with Lilith’s backstory.

Rounding out all we’ve learned about Lilith this week is the little tease about Magnus’ father, Asmodeus, who Lilith doesn’t seem eager to cross. Once again, we have to wonder how exactly all these greater demons know that Magnus is Asmodeus’ son. Is that Prince of Hell just roaming Edom showing off wallet pictures of his favorite warlock son?

A Jace Within a Jace

I’m just going to come right out and say it: I was enjoying the hell out of Owl Jace this week. As noted in my previous reviews, Jace’s character has been whiplash inducing-ly inconsistent throughout the season. This week though, he’s out here full-on Regina George-ing it. Hot damn, he’s playing dirty with everyone’s insecurities. He’s especially vicious towards Magnus, assuring him that Alec would choose Jace over him if it came down to it. That does beg the question: who would Alec choose if put in that impossible position? I have a terrible feeling we’re going to find out before the season ends. Jace then proceeds to knock himself out so that the others can’t perform their exorcism (intervention?). REGINA GEORGE CALLED, JACE, SHE WANTS HER BURN BOOK BACK. So, once the Malachi Configuration – which, ya know, Clary risked her life and liberty for – fails, it turns out that the kids had angel-proof bondage materials all along. Well then.

Once the spell was cast and Izzy and Alec ventured into Jace’s mind, I just have to give props to the choice in filming style that gave these scenes that perfect “within a dream” feel. This is also where Dominic Sherwood really delivered with his performance of the trapped and tortured Jace, tired and broken by Lilith’s mind games. Everything about his performance was heartbreaking and vulnerable, something Dom emotes spectacularly and – as much as I want Jace happy and healthy – I hope we get to see more of it. The scene, as a whole, was an emotional visit to the past (how adorable were all those baby Lightwoods?) and healing for the present (and trapped) Jace’s mind. But after all of that, Lilith was true to her word, and stole Jace back, even after Alec and Izzy so fervently promised they wouldn’t let that happen. Now let us just cry endlessly into the night.

Maryse Lightwood Is a Hero

Nicola Correia-Damude is doing such a gorgeous job of interpreting Maryse as she goes through this difficult transition. She doesn’t know quite where her place is and it’s clearly displayed in the little moment where she steps into the Jade Wolf and she isn’t sure if she’s welcome. She’s showing up when she’s needed, when she’s called to help, despite being insecure about her social standing in the world.

Luke contacted her in desperation because his Clary is in danger. He is, as Maryse herself declared, “the only real father [Clary]’s ever had” and he’s willing to do anything to rescue her – even walk back into a country, a city, a society where he is despised.

The scene really showed that Maryse and Luke are in similar places – societally speaking – and neither are welcome with the Clave. But Maryse is so goddamn fine and elegant, and willing to admit that the person her husband had an affair with is a decent woman of whom she is willing to ask for help. It was honestly such an applause-worthy gesture and Luke seemed to realize and appreciate this, too.

Clary’s Day in Court

Meanwhile, Clary is on trial in Alicante for all that grave digging that she wasn’t doing while helping steal that really powerful contraption they didn’t really end up needing. Clary doesn’t deserve this, y’all. The time spent in Alicante this episode felt narrow, leaving me wanting to see more and in more of a frustration way than an anticipation way. The Shadowhunters in Alicante are supposed to be lawful to a fault and that certainly came through in every scene they were in, but even if they’re supposed to be stuffy and stiff, they just seemed robotic, which made it hard to take their very serious scenes seriously. They may be the title characters of Shadowhunters, but they certainly aren’t the most interesting, let’s be real.

In a show that pushes the importance of family and parenthood with everything it’s got (with Luke and Maryse winning parent points left and right all season and Lilith’s singular goal being to resurrect Jonathan), Jia Penhallow’s assertion that she’d let her daughter, Aline, die with little hesitation in order to preserve the Angel’s wish makes her less relatable (IMO) than Lilith! And with this declaration, it wasn’t surprising that she sentenced Clary to death. But how’s she gonna learn her lesson if she’s dead, Jia? WTF?

Maia Roberts Has No Time for Boys Today

While Jia is out there handing out death sentences and losing my respect as a result, Maia Roberts is earning it in fistfuls. She’s being practical and realistic in her dealings with her ex-boyfriend Jordan. Jordan is on a legitimate mission from the Praetor to protect Simon, and Simon needs that protection, so Maia set her feelings about the situation aside for his safety, LIKE AN ADULT. Too bad neither of these boys can measure up to her. They just had to start posturing and fluffing around her like a pair of turkeys and none of us have the time for it. I bet she was cold in that truck but refused to entertain the posed chivalry nonsense.

I’m really proud of Maia for getting the hell out. Good for her. But it does leave the state of her relationship with Simon up in the air. Are they on a break? I feel like they’re still together, but maybe their relationship might not make it past this test the same way it’s survived the pressures of prejudice, and kidnappings, and all. It seems like a weird place to leave them at this point in the season. That kind of breaking point might have been better saved for next week’s mid-season finale. In any case, I am all for Maia peace-ing out of these boys’ nonsense and doing what’s best for her.

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