This episode of Freeform’s Shadowhunters featured a supernatural showdown, Clary’s very own monstrous creation, and Heidi proving that she is not the kind of girl you can take home to your parents. Our full review is on its way, but in the meantime, here are some of our bite-size bests from episode 3×09.
1: Best Fight:
Magnus Bane vs. Lorenzo Rey. May the best High Warlock win…
“Ya done, Bane. Ya done!” That’s what you think, Lorenzo. Ever since he was introduced as one of Magnus’ old rivals, we have been dying to see a showdown between these two warlocks. And come on, Lorenzo was asking for it with that comment about Magnus having to watch Alec wither and die. The new High Warlock is just not a team player! The fight choreography during their duel made fantastic use of both actors’ dance backgrounds and featured some fancy stunt work and visual effects. We only wish it was longer. One does not simply banish the great Magnus Bane after all.
2: The Worst:
The Clave provide plenty of nightmare fuel for the foreseeable future.
The Clave are a tad extreme, no? We haven’t visited Idris much and we knew the Clave were bad, but we had no idea they were going full-on Handmaid’s Tale over there! We also were unaware Jia Penhallow was pure evil. Does Aline know about the horrors her mother is involved in? Not only do the Clave burn their prisoners at the stake (like in the Dark Ages), but they also make them all watch as the charred skeletal remains of their fellow inmates get shoveled carelessly into pits. Talk about inhumane!
3: Monster of the Week:
Valentine returns from the dead.
It’s alive! It’s alive! We think it’s safe to say that no one saw this one coming. The series decided to take its exploration of horror to the next level this episode by bringing in zombies. And we’re not talking about Forsaken this time… We’re talking actual zombies. Or one in particular – Valentine. Yep, the same guy the gang spent two whole seasons trying to put down. This ill-advised resurrection inevitably proved disastrous for Clary and the members of the Clave but highly entertaining for us audience members. The scene reminded us of something straight out of an old-school horror flick. Valentine was back to his old tricks in no time. His appearance being contained to this one episode made it seem very Monster of the Week, not that we’re complaining! We all love Alan Van Sprang, but Valentine needs to stay dead.
4: Most Shocking:
Simon feeds on his sister.
Since Simon first turned, he’d been able to keep it somewhat together around his mundane family. Raphael had been helpful in maintaining the story about Simon being on the road with his band. Rats for dinner notwithstanding, he’d been able to remain in the lives of his family more or less. Simon came pretty close once to telling his mom exactly what was going on, but she went into total denial mode. So, there’s never really been a right time or way for Simon to let his family in on his big secret. But Heidi took that choice away from him by outing him herself (gee, guys named Simon this year just can’t catch a break in this department!). And to make matters worse, the timing was terrible since he was super starved. We figured he’d be tempted, but no matter how hungry he was, we never imagined he’d actually latch onto his sister’s jugular and feed on her almost to the point of killing her! Luckily, the power of Sizzy was strong enough to break through that haze and save her life.
Shadowhunters will return with Season 3B in 2019.
