Following the summer premiere’s impossible turn of events, “You Are Not Your Own” continues Shadowhunters’ explosive, unpredictable trajectory of next-level storytelling in a way that is designed to break us from the comfy familiarity of previous episodes. At its core, it dealt with the concept of judgment. Is it worse to let emotions cloud it? Or is it worse to let judgment overrule how you feel?
Out of one prison and forced into another, Valentine put his next lot of plans on hold as he attempted to find a way back to his own body. After a series of failures, he went for the emotional jugular by holding an unassuming Jace hostage and using him – and the truth of his biological family heritage – to control the Inquisitor into handing his body over. Jace learned he wasn’t a Wayland or a Morgenstern, but a Herondale. Seeing Jace’s hope at finding some answers to who he really is should be good news, but after Imogen’s bending of Clave protocol to exact her revenge – revenge that almost cost Magnus his life – being a Herondale doesn’t look all that attractive. Are you all as low-key salty about this Inquisitor broad as I am?
Alec couldn’t quite connect the dots regarding Magnus’ sudden cold shoulder and juggled his time between trying to help him and observing the strange, new mind games of the Institute’s assumed prisoner. On the other, more dire side of the coin, Magnus suffered trauma and torture in his new Shadowhunter cell, begging anyone and everyone to understand the mistake of his imprisonment – pleas that ultimately fell on deaf ears and led to his almost-execution. Gosh, that’s a tough line to even write.
Clary investigated the disappearance of her special rune abilities and received some unexpected – but not unwelcome – advice from new Institute addition Sebastian Verlac. She’s kept a tight lid on how affected she is by all that’s befallen her, though the knowledge that Jace is no longer family pushed her to the edge and effectively blocked her rune powers, which culminated in a dramatic stand-off between her and Sebastian in the show’s climax. Using her emotions as power opens the door to further development – she’s taking down powerful wards now, but what’s next? An entire city block?
Izzy and Simon (John Medland/Freeform)
Meanwhile, Simon’s paranoia had him recruiting Isabelle’s help in gaining some much-needed leverage against Raphael (no love lost there), which led to more Sizzy than you could throw a stick at. Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia’s wonderful scenes together resulted in a new, adorable little friendship. Simon also gave a bunch of vampires front-row seats to his new Daylighter status, which will surely grow the target on his back. He also learned that his girlfriend isn’t actually related to the boy she used to have unbrotherly feelings for. Do we care about this? Nah. Sizzy, guys! It’s finally happening!
The concept of Valentine and Magnus switching bodies opened up a lot of possibilities for unspeakable damage. Magnus is an incredibly powerful being and Valentine is a man who is seeking power for himself, so it says a lot about his hatred for Downworlders that his first priority would be to get out of Magnus’ body and not use it to further his cause. The guy could have done anything with that power – taken down wards, attacked local Downworld covens, gone on a magical killing spree. His hatred, in this case, blinded him and saved everyone from the worst case scenario.
Opposite Azazel, he looked less like the one ruling the greater demon, and more like the guy being dragged. And when Azazel was no longer, it was enjoyable to watch just how alone and dependent on others Valentine really is – he’s lost Jace, Clary doesn’t want a bar of him, and his cannon-fodder foot soldiers are either locked up or enjoying margaritas on a beach somewhere in his absence. The guy literally has no one.
We’ve seen Alec challenge authority and authoritarian thinking so far this season, both regarding his work life and love life, yet this episode proved just how much he’s still cut from the Clave mold. I believe he had doubts – Magnus’ pleas for help angered him, then shook him when he realized the man he thought was Valentine knew intimate details he shouldn’t be privy to. He related those doubts to Jace, his trusted Parabatai, the one person who would understand Valentine and his mind games the most. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Valentine that needed to be understood, it was Magnus – and tragically, the one person around who was meant to understand him best did not recognize him.
I love these kinds of moral dilemmas in storytelling. They challenge how we feel, how we think. They provoke reflection and learning and provide a foundation for character growth. The idea that one would be able to recognize the person they love in any shape or form is a terribly romantic one, but it’s not realistic. Here, Magnus was wearing the form of the most infamous villain Alec’s society has ever known. The man who brutally raised, tortured, and emotionally crippled Alec’s Parabatai. The man responsible for countless deaths, manipulations, the Uprising, leading his parents astray. The man who unleashed the demon who possessed Alec’s body and used it to kill Clary’s mother. How does one recognize the person they love inside a monster of that magnitude? Simply put, you don’t.
Valentine and Alec (John Medland/Freeform)
Is Alec at fault? Not for this. What he is guilty of is his inability to use his own judgment over others. He helped the Inquisitor do the dodgy even after explicitly stating it was against protocol. He physically strapped who he believed was Valentine into the execution chair, then left him to his fate when he was ordered to – despite the Clave’s decision against it, despite the fact it didn’t sit right with him. His blind obedience and lack of trust in his own instincts remains intact and is deeply detrimental to the man he wants to be. If he wishes to be a good leader – or someone Magnus can truly depend on – then he has a ways to go.
The chaos of doubt is a tricky thing. Guilt is much worse. The hands that have held Magnus in love are the hands that have now strapped him to the execution chair, and Alec’s guilt has always been one of his biggest enemies. How will he deal with this moving forward? What lengths will he go to in order to make this right? Can he make this right? I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to see just how much of the ground he’s willing to blow up in order to do it.
Magnus’ confinement and torture was hard to watch, for a multitude of reasons. Shadowhunters have always called the shots, locking up Downworlders, treating them like pests, and they’ve exhausted their authority in unthinkable ways, often to the pain of Magnus’ own people. How many has he known who have suffered the same fate? Has he, himself, ever been brutalized by the Clave this way before? After all, it’s not their power that had Magnus so frightened but their ignorance, and their ignorance is something he knows intimately. This experience, I suspect, will bring his caution and distrust towards Shadowhunters back with force.
His torture, he explained, brought forth horrible memories he’s spent centuries trying to forget. Our High Warlock has serious mental health issues that have been buried in place of being resolved, and how he moves on from this will shape the future man he is. Who doesn’t want to be along for this ride? For Magnus Bane fans, these are very exciting times. I only hope the writing delves deeply as it explores it, because a simple scratching of the surface isn’t going to cut it here. Magnus deserves that his story be told.
This new, heavy development between Magnus and Alec didn’t get the comforting resolution we all craved, instead leaving them in tatters. Alec is devastated for the man he loves and his actions against him, and Magnus has been stripped raw by it, left to feel unsafe in his own mind and body. What does this mean for their relationship? Who knows. But this episode is a platform for change. It should force Alec to reevaluate how his duty affects his judgment, something he desperately needs, if not for himself but for Magnus. His society employs methods of governing that are prejudiced, inhumane, and brutal – how does Alec see his place within it? Will this change now that he’s in a committed relationship with someone his government has a history of brutalizing?
For Magnus, it’s a catalyst for him to deal with his past, which can only mean more of him having his own plot (wahey!), and Magnus finally accepting the truth of who he really is – a man who is good and worthy of love. It also means we may see Alec learning about his past and helping him, accepting him, loving him in ways Magnus truly needs. Instead of, I dunno, slowly going insane and asking Camille Belcourt for answers. Imagine that.
Clary and Sebastian (John Medland/Freeform)
Performance-wise, this was the strongest episode yet. Everyone nailed their portrayals, particularly Will Tudor as Sebastian, who gave me serious Tom Hiddleston “Loki” vibes as he dealt Clary some bitter truths near the end. His charisma is off the charts. Matthew Daddario floored me this week opposite Alan Van Sprang’s Magnus. Their confrontation scene together was intense, and Matt’s reactionary violence opposite Alan’s gentle reaching out was wrought with anger and frayed nerves. The best scene he’s ever had. Harry Shum Jr. was wonderful in his depiction of Valentine. I could feel his paternal warmth opposite Jace before it all went south, and his wide-eyed awkwardness at Alec’s continued, confusing affection for him was even more hilarious with on second watch.
But Alan Van Sprang stole the show completely as Magnus Bane. He played from the heart, the gut, the throat, wrenching out hopelessness and heartbreak like we’ve never seen from him or Magnus on this show before. He gave Magnus’ pleas great sadness, his pain centuries. It was beautiful and poignant and harrowing. It was truly Magnus’ hour, yet the one playing him wasn’t the person who makes Magnus live and breathe on our screens every week. I loved it all so much, but it also kinda devastated me that Harry wasn’t the one to explore this material. Here’s hoping his ongoing character arc affords him more opportunities to do this.
Writer Jamie Gorenberg turned in a script that is rich in character development. The exposition flowed naturally and undetected through our characters’ voices. The little pieces of history between characters felt authentic. Jamie is not a writer who shies away from the emotionally traumatic, of which I am a huge fan. I’m also a fan of how she envisions our characters, and the tones and realism she gives them and their relationships. This show needs more stakes, more reasons for these characters to fight the fight and hold their loved ones – and when she gets the chance handed to her, she digs deep. This is my favorite episode of the series so far, and I can’t wait for what she does next.
Director Bille Woodruff’s music video background comes through in pieces, mostly in the way he slows and speeds certain things, and the angles he uses while framing certain character moments. While I would have loved to see more Harry Shum Jr. interspersed with Alan’s portrayal of Magnus, I appreciated the timing of the snippets we got, when everything was at its most raw. Bille is a seamless fit in the overall directing tone of the show, and I hope he makes a return. Though a small note to the stunt team and their wired jumps – stop trying to make them happen. I have yet to see a big angelic leap look epic, or remotely real, and it always pushes me out of a good scene. Stoppit.
The summer premiere felt like another series upgrade, but “You Are Not Your Own,” remarkably, felt like another. Shadowhunters just keeps getting better. And better.
Shadowhunters airs Mondays 8/7c on Freeform and Tuesdays internationally on Netflix.
