Shadowhunters 3×01 Review: “On Infernal Ground”

Izzy, Clary, Luke, Jace, and Alec (John Medland/Freeform)

Lying Liars and the People Who Love Them

Clary and Jace are hiding the secret of Jace’s resurrection, especially from Alec, who is – as Jace’s Parabatai – 100% certain that Jace died (however briefly), and then came back to life. Calling people out on their shit is also a bit of a theme this week, with varying degrees of success. But it seems that the secret Clace is keeping is weighing especially heavy on Clary who has to fumble for a convincing lie about her encounter with the Angel several times throughout the episode.

MEANWHILE, RAPHAEL IS HIDING SOMEONE IN A BASEMENT. As Magnus pointed out, he practically raised Raphael. He knows what makes him tick, his deepest secrets, his weaknesses. Hold on while I locate a grave to fall into. Anyways, Raphael appears to be hiding a woman in his basement. Like you do. And he clearly does not want Magnus knowing about it. The body had what looked like adult female legs… Is it possible that Camille broke out and Raphael is keeping her sedated so she won’t wreak havoc? Or is it a new vampire we haven’t met yet? He seems to be testing for resistance to sunlight. Is he experimenting to create his own Daylighters (since Simon won’t fess up)? So. Many. Questions.

Lilith (John Medland/Freeform)

Honesty, like Revenge, Is a Dish Best Served Cold

As the first moments of the episode made abundantly clear, Lilith is a mother – a grieving mother. The sight of such a maternal type staring forlorn at a room full of babies (like Carrie Bradshaw at a pair of Manolo Blahniks) shouldn’t be as terrifying as it is, but she is so beautiful and looks so demented that the scene feels like something straight out of a Lifetime movie about seductive baby snatchers. It’s great to already see elements of Lilith’s backstory folded in, what with the mention of her ex-husband Adam and her resentment towards him; it makes for a more layered and interesting villain. In the spirit of fairness, it has to be pointed out that in an hour full of deceit, Lilith, Mother of All Demons, doesn’t actually lie.

Someone else who keeps it honest this week is Weapons Master Izzy, which is a really awesome title that I hope we hear often. Effective nepotism is effective and I approve of it. Izzy, in full BFF mode, asks Clary about exactly how hard it was for her to be in the presence of the Angel Raziel and resist using the wish to save the world from famine and war (certainly that wasn’t an awkward moment for Clary at all). Evasion aside, seeing Clary choose her signature weapon, by following her gut in a sexy reenactment of Harry Potter choosing his wand at Ollivander’s, was a really special moment. She ends up choosing dual kindjals – which look very badass indeed.

Also, Izzy casually mentioning her AA meetings and how she’s dealing with her recovery (a.k.a. how the storyline is not being swept under the rug) is awesome and I want to see more of it. Emeraude Toubia did mention that Izzy has a newfound appreciation for mundanes this season. It might be interesting to explore this connection she now has to the human world. We also got to see Izzy have an adorable hangry battle with a vending machine, which leads to a brief meet-cute with a mundane doctor. Why, hello there, Doctor Charlie; please don’t be evil.

Maia and Luke (John Medland/Freeform)

Luke and screen time was another refreshing “ship” this episode. Getting to see him doing, you know, actual detective stuff provides an interesting look at how the Shadow World affects the mundane world, and Luke is the perfect conduit. What’s not to love about a werewolf cop solving gritty supernatural murders? Hands down, my favorite comedic performance of the episode was seeing the Alpha of the New York Pack cowering in the kitchen because his mundane partner called him 37 times about werewolves. When Maia finally convinces him to go out there and face the music, it’s revealed that the concept of werewolves is not new for Ollie, since she survived an attack four years ago and has the scars to prove it. She knows what she’s talking about, and I stand with her on this one. Luke tries to gaslight her even though he knows she’s absolutely right. Obviously he was doing it to protect her, however, his continual denial fits right in with the theme of the week – his lycanthropic pants were fully on fire. But thankfully he finally pulls through for #TeamHonesty (in no small part because Ollie is relentless). I like her tenacity, and I think there is a great opportunity for her to serve as a POV character for the audience, peeling back some of the still hidden layers of the Shadow World to give them some organic exposition. But, now that Ollie’s fully in the know, something tells me she’s going to continue to make life difficult for Luke. Call it a hunch.

Stand up and “Clace” the Music

We get to see Clary’s new weapons in action in a much-appreciated training sequence between Clary and Jace that is just dripping with sexual tension. The whole cast has been hard at work at the gym to bring us amazing stunts like this one, and it was only slightly disappointing that the wirework was more extensive than it needed to be given the intensity of the scene. In my opinion, it would have been better if it had kept more to close-range sparring and hand to hand combat, as well as turned down the prominence of the music. Too often, the musical choices used in the Shadowhunter fight sequences, although awesome, are too loud and divorced from the emotion of the scene, which can cause it to come off as more of an action-heavy music video than a sound-tracked action scene. Technical details aside, it’s good to see Clace have a moment in this episode that isn’t interrupted by Jace’s personal demon – Jonathan.

Given the dream-within-a-dream aspect of Jace’s visions of Jonathan, it’ll be a bit of a toss-up as to whether they start to make reality seem more and more ambiguous or if the aim of the apparitions will be to destabilize poor Jace.

Alec and Magnus (John Medland/Freeform)

Malec Time

Our favorite “so in love they can hardly breathe” couple returns, but we start off with some mild turbulence in the waters of the bliss that is their love. Magnus was clearly going through some stuff off-screen this episode, and we got to see a few more of his layers unfold. It’s interesting how he seems to be really open with Catarina, full-on paternal with Raphael, and completely closed off with Alec (or tries to be anyway). He doesn’t lie to Alec, but he does downplay his disappointment at losing his position as High Warlock, and at the idea of Alec potentially moving away. Can we get “Evading the Truth” for 400, please. Even Alec was not totally upfront with Magnus, seemingly needing to hear Magnus tell him to stay. Are we starting to see some of that insecurity coming out for Alec that Matthew Daddario has been hinting at? We did see the couple come to a resolution by the end of the episode. Call him on his shit, Alec; do it. But as much as we love their healthy communication-in-progress, we can’t wait to hopefully start seeing some new dynamics with them.

“Did you do that to David Bowie?”

Simon continues to have a weird time in the Downworld. Nothing new there, but this episode especially. Serenading the seelies is cool and all, but I would like it if we could see more than just a few gathered at once. They have a whole realm for Angel’s sake, and it always just ends up looking like three hippie children hanging out in a park. And you know what they say, it’s all fun and games until someone ties you up with vines and brands the Mark of Cain onto your forehead.

Lola Flanery is definitely one to watch, and is very impressive as the Queen, as per usual; ominous and dramatic, without coming off as hokey. There were even layers of threat and sincerity – something you don’t often see in such a young actor. I don’t think she’s struck a false note yet. Also: David Bowie name drop! We could totally see him fitting right in with the Seelie Court (Labyrinth, anyone?).

“Though you walk in the daylight, darkness will follow.” After being on the receiving end of that reassuringly vague threat, Simon finally is “allowed” to “leave” the Seelie Realm. While I am a big fan of the show shaking things up and going off-book, it is worth noting that the conditions surrounding Simon receiving the Mark of Cain have been dramatically changed from the source material. I have no idea where they are going with this, and it’s kind of exhilarating.

Maia (John Medland/Freeform)

And although Maia was happy to see that Simon was alive and (presumably) well, she was not letting him slide by with excuses, which is great. Call him on his shit, Maia. I like how they fit so well together and things are so easy between them despite their outside differences trying to tear them apart. They should go on a double date with Malec and bond over their communication skills.

Final Thoughts

While there were a few flat performances and some questionable effects here and there (the Tim demon left something to be desired), overall, this was a strong opener for Shadowhunters’ third season. The script itself had the characters (aside from Lilith) kind of doing their regular shticks – Magnus not wanting to communicate, Jace being the martyr, Luke trying to swat Ollie away like an annoying fly, etc. This episode felt a little like a transition (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). The dream team of Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer, and Matt Hastings rarely disappoints. They managed to maintain their cinematic vision for the show, along with a strong balance between epic performance pieces and quiet character moments. While the near-flawless Season 2 premiere had a breathless pace and shiny “newness” to it, this one feels like a slightly more dangerous outing. We can’t wait for Season 3 to scare the shit out of us some more. Bring it on.