On the tail of a near-flawless chapter in the Shadowhunters series, “Hail and Farewell” worked like another filler episode in build-up of the much-heralded epic-ness of the finale, and if its shortcomings made us realize anything, it’s that the end of Season 2 has a lot of work to do.
Following Jonathan’s reveal last week, the residents of the Institute were on damage control, informing Inquisitor Herondale of the Mortal Mirror’s true form and requesting an assist from the Downworld in the hunt for Valentine. The Downworld leaders of New York aligned themselves (mostly reluctantly) with the Seelie Queen, which worked against Alec when it came to presenting the collaborative solution of finding and killing Valentine and Jonathan for good. For all intents and purposes, the Downworld wants the same thing – but they don’t trust the Clave to hold up their end of the bargain, and ultimately decided to take matters into their own hands. Which, if we’re being completely honest, proved way more effective in one episode than the entirety of the Shadowhunters’ continuous failings since the pilot. If I had to pick a side, the Downworld would be it. Just sayin’.
With his alias amidst the Institute crowd compromised, a distraught Jonathan returned to Valentine where he succumbed to the mold of his father’s soldier. Valentine figured out rather quickly that Lake Lyn is the Mortal Mirror he’s looking for via a secret contact in what one can maybe assume is a high Clave position back in Idris. Which, if that’s really the case, is exciting as hell. A racist Valentine collaborator high up in the Clave ranks? The possibilities for fallout there are so juicy.
Meanwhile, Clary and Jace grew a bit closer after some super special rune sex (yes, that’s what I’m calling…whatever that was); Simon attempted to talk the Seelie Queen down and ended up royally pissing her off, and getting his new girlfriend, Maia, kidnapped; Luke kept one foot on each side of the divide like the smartypants he is; and Magnus threw all diplomacy in the trash and, seemingly overnight, became the Seelie Queen’s passive sidekick. Friggin’ shoot me.
Valentine and Sebastian (John Medland/Freeform)
Surprisingly, some of my favorite moments came from seeing the power play shift between Valentine and Jonathan. Jonathan is reeling and devastated with Clary’s turning on him, and it’s skewed his ability to see the road ahead. In using that, Valentine has finally manipulated him into the role of his perfect soldier, because that’s really all he is. The way Valentine thinks so highly of Jace and so lowly of Jonathan feeds me that dark psychological need I have with shows and characters of this nature, and the way Alan Van Sprang continues to delight here is fabulous.
Clary and Jace’s tumultuous romance may not be my one true favorite, but it’s had moments where it has left me feeling genuinely moved and wishing to see more. Dominic Sherwood and Kat McNamara have a fun, breezy chemistry when the writing and direction allows it to unfold naturally and organically. Unfortunately, none of that happened here. The in-your-face sensuality and magic of that slow-mo, glowy shirtless hug was backed up with a roaring odd choice in soundtrack, and paired with Clary and Jace’s inability to be sexy when they’re trying to be sexy, it felt like I was watching the decidedly unsexy greenhouse kiss from The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. You probably know the one. Let’s not relive that.
Clary and Jace sharing their advanced angelic bond is an ever-evolving concept that opens interesting dramatic possibilities to further explore, much like Jace’s unique Parabatai bond with Alec. It just felt a teeny bit over the top. Had it dropped the bassey pop song, vetoed the spinning camera work, and been a simple, stripped-down scene with a soft piano piece and the acting doing the bulk of the job, it may have had more emotional impact. I want to like this relationship, I want to ship it, but it’s really, really hard when it keeps coming across as an R-rated love story for 14-year-olds.
Having cut ties with Alec physically and emotionally, Magnus has been busy cozying up to the Seelie Queen and her plans for the Downworld. His choices as a leader are valid on paper – and would be even more valid if he stopped to consider the situation with a clear head – but his desperate need to pull himself away from Alec’s love has him spiraling stubbornly headfirst into what is surely going to be a terrible mistake.
We’ve seen hints of Magnus’ pettiness before, and we know he gets arrogant and cocky when he’s holding the things that hurt him at bay, but the contrast between the man who reluctantly and painfully broke his own heart in order to end things with Alec, and the man now coldly ignoring him is sharp and painful like a blade – and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Magnus, even when he’s pretending the world isn’t falling down around him, still operates from a place where we get to see the cracks. The fact that those cracks were absent this hour perhaps proves, in some way, just how much he loves Alec by how completely he has shut down. Am I reaching? Maybe. But it’s the only way I can make sense of the hole the show seems to be digging for him and for Malec, which is uncharacteristic in itself. When literally everyone around you – even recovering blood addict and recent poor decision maker Raphael – is questioning your life choices, surely that’d make you check yourself. Magnus isn’t perfect, but he’s certainly not stupid – this Magnus was, indescribably so, which makes me think all is not as it seems. I hope it’s not all as it seems because the hole he’s digging right now is looking less like a hole and more like a grave. If the finale plans to reunite him with Alec, in love, it’s got its damn work cut out for it. I worry a mark has been overstepped here.
Jace, Isabelle, Clary, and Alec (John Medland/Freeform)
Our Shadowhunters finally got the chance to do some gritty mission work! Seeing them rove the cemetery and quip back and forth in the face of imminent danger gave me awesome Buffy vibes, and the panning shot in particular of our girls slaughtering their way through that band of Forsaken was deliciously badass. Also, getting to see Alec Deadpool those Forsaken skulls with one shot! Wahey, my boy! The Forsaken were wonderfully gruesome, zombie-ish, and made me wish I hadn’t watched the episode in the dark, and seeing the chaos erupt felt good after all the bit-fights we’ve had. If memory serves me correctly, I don’t think we’ve had a full squad mission with a big group fight since…ever?
While I appreciated the slower pace in parts, it wasn’t what I expected from the beginning of the end. Being kept waiting for something to happen had me on edge so hard that when things actually started happening, I was too exhausted to give it my all. The episode’s burst of action happened in a five-minute slot, and just as I was getting into it, the episode went into closing mode. That cliffhanger got me though. It got me real good.
It had great moments, particularly the fight scenes, the gore (YES, please, show), Valentine and Jonathan’s mentor/student dialogue, and Luke keeping his head enough to work between both the Shadowhunters and Downworlders like a secret helpy helper. I also immensely enjoyed seeing factions of the Downworld effectively close down New York and trap Valentine using their own individual strengths (the warlocks and their wards, the werewolves and their tracking). The Downworld actually being written as the smart, powerful beings they are and acing that teamwork was my jam. I know this show is about Shadowhunters, but those fools need to recognize.
It also had…less than great moments. The episode chugged along robotically at times, with its writing insisting on having each character blatantly spoon-feed the audience everything as it happened. Some of the language used didn’t feel true to character, and a decent handful of dialogue across the hour really didn’t need to be said – Clary’s, “We’re gonna make them all pay,” (yes, kitten, Isabelle just said that), Catarina explaining to Magnus how much of a nurse she is while sipping a beer and lounging on his couch wearing her nurse scrubs and hospital ID, as if it weren’t already obvious. Maia’s ineffectual, “Because,” and Simon’s mansplaining of pack dynamics to werewolves when my queen should not have needed it managed to undo a lot of her prior independence and badassery from previous episodes, and her waking up in the Seelie Realm and literally saying out loud to herself, “Someone drugged me,” had me laughing. Really? Really? Seeing Alec casually stroll back to Isabelle and Clary after watching Jace get forcefully dragged away by the murderous villain they were all hunting and explaining Jace needed to be rescued was…I dunno, man. He didn’t seem terribly panicked. C’mon, show, you’re more than capable of showcasing more than one special bond in an episode. You did it just last week.
I’m glad Jace being hung didn’t last all that long, and that he eventually retained his smartassery because that entire sequence of him getting dragged by the neck, powerlessly and brutally, was almost, almost too much to handle. I enjoyed the addition of the father snark and getting to see how sore of a spot that is for Jonathan, and the way we still got to see the book-canon scenario of Jace and Isabelle facing off against him. Is he really dead? Strongly doubt it. Will Jonathan return at a later time to cause even more mayhem? I’m sure of it.
The Seelie Queen and Simon (John Medland/Freeform)
Bryan Q. Miller made his Shadowhunters debut with the season’s penultimate episode – a position in the season that requires a pretty solid hand – and wedged between the beauty of last week’s emotionally stellar chapter and what will surely be insanity next week, it held, but it fumbled a little along the way. There was a clear, fresh enthusiasm going on, though the established character voices we’ve seen solidify themselves over the course of this season were a tad rigid. It wasn’t a terrible episode by any means, but compared to some of the truly stellar work we’ve seen in Season 2B, it felt a little out of place in what was trying to be a purposeful build-up to the finale. I did really enjoy the tone and deeper intellect he gave Valentine, however. It made him a lot of fun to watch this week.
Something that became clear in Matt Hastings’ latest play behind the camera was his love of big, romantic moments becasue the way he framed that sparkly Clace scene was extravagant and over the top with bells, whistles – the works. Did it land? Maybe for the diehard who have been waiting for something to bring these two back together. For me, it did feel a little like the profound bond connecting these two lone souls was lost in his attempt at trying to make their love appear truly epic. Love isn’t loud like a pulsing pop song and soft like a wind machine through artfully styled hair – it’s quiet and warm and deep, and it doesn’t require gratuitous nakedness to feel real. Frankly, I think Clace deserved better.
Last week’s dreaminess put me in a certain state of calm, and in that case, this episode provided a much-needed shakeup. Despite its flaws, “Hail and Farewell” has made me extra excited and better equipped (and more awake) to enjoy the finale. I can’t believe it’s finally upon us.
Shadowhunters Season 2 finale airs Mondays 8/7c on Freeform and Tuesday internationally on Netflix.
