Shadowhunters 2×20 Finale Review: “Beside Still Water”

Season 2 officially drew to a close by bringing its longest-running plot to the finish line and tying up a few outstanding loose ends – but not without throwing a couple of its usual tiny spanners into the mix just to make it all a bit more exciting.

Jonathan managed to wash up to safety, not unlike Jace did back in the season premiere (which was a nice little bookend) and bled himself a giant hole in the earth to the Hell realm of Edom – which unleashed flying Edomei demons upon New York. Unable to control the mass descending on the city, Alec reached out to Magnus, the most powerful warlock in the region and the only one capable of closing the rift. For the intent of saving lives and pointedly not for the sake of helping the Shadowhunters, Magnus agreed.

To provide backup to those waiting to stop Valentine, Jace and Clary portalled to Idris using her new portalling abilities – a feat assumed impossible with the warlock-retained wards around the area – and ran into trouble when they realized Consul Malachi Dieudonne and his army are actually Circle members. Meant for execution, Jace and Clary ended up slaughtering the faction holding them captive (Consul included), but in trying to stop Valentine, Jace was killed and Clary was overpowered, and Valentine succeeded in summoning Raziel. However, his plan fell through when Clary stabbed him to death like a boss and used her one request of the angel to bring Jace back to life.

Meanwhile, Simon and Luke barged into the Seelie Court to get Maia back and confronted the Queen about her motives, before everyone attended a celebratory “Valentine is dead, dead, dead!” party at the Hunter’s Moon. Also, Jace’s resurrection and Maia’s freedom was not without consequence; Jonathan was reunited with his Hell-born mother, a charcoaled mystery female (some may already guess who she is); and Ollie – ohhh, Ollie – finally confronted Luke about his werewolf status and effectively killed his buzz.

Our final two episodes were supposedly written as a two-parter, but you probably wouldn’t be able to tell too much. This week’s finale worked on its own as a closing chapter and there seemed to be a lot going on but not a lot happening at the same time. Regardless, it was enjoyable and affecting where it mattered, even if it all felt like everything was a bit rushed in order to get the story to a fresh new starting point for next season. With its most immediate threat dead and gone, it leaves the show some space to lay back and explore its own world a little further.

I really hope we get to see more of Clary testing her rune abilities because her power working outside the realm of both angelic and warlock magic is an interesting, limitless concept and paves the way to bring Magnus in for more Downworld-based storytelling (his presence often serves the Shadowhunters’ plot instead). Clary was a little redheaded pistol this week and seems to have carved her own space inside the Lightwood dynamic. She has, at times, been fighting a little above what is assumed to be her skill level over the course of the season, but because that has been consistently built up, seeing her lay into Valentine felt true. Her savage murdering of him was brutal and fully deserved, and every stab spoke of the many things she’s lost along the way by his hand. I was 100% here for her badassery, even if that run and scream before she got knocked out cold made me laugh out loud. Gotta give the girl props; she got him in the end, and boy, did revenge smell sweet.

Kat McNamara has been the biggest improvement overall this season, and watching her go from strength to strength has been a real joy. I believe her when she fights, I believe her when she cries. She puts so much into everything, and both Dominic Sherwood and Alan Van Sprang were wonderful scene partners for her to bounce off of. Alan, in particular, was a class act. I was fascinated to see Valentine so uncomfortable the first time he hit Clary, like it was reflexive and not at all what he meant to do. The look on his face as he killed Jace was regretful, and his stunned walking away to gather himself immediately following made me believe he was sorry, despite the unforgivable belief system he works from.

Dom has been another joy this season, wearing Jace like a glove in all aspects. I thoroughly enjoyed his multiple shifts into the different facets of his character – his amusing jab at Alec about being careful, the struggle in his eyes between soldier-of-war and man-in-love as he watched Clary about to get executed, his vulnerable, almost betrayed surprise as Valentine killed him. Dom gives Jace a lot of heart and it’s one of my favorite things. Everything between Clary and Jace was authentic in a way I missed last week. The tie that binds these two together was present and dreadfully tragic. As Jace watched Clary lay her head down and accept impending death, I was reminded of a moment all the way back in Season 1 where Jace once said, “She’s lost everything. I know exactly what that feels like.” It made his, “I’m so sorry, Clary,” hurt. A lot. It made his, “I love you,” before his own death sound a lot like, “You’ll always have me.”

I knew the Seelie Queen was going to get her claws into Simon eventually, though I’m wondering just how much more there is to it than simply sacrificing his own freedom for Maia’s. Also, no word yet on what bargain she made with Valentine, except that it managed to get him a free pass through to Idris – though I’m sure we’ll find out next season; it’s certainly not the last we’ve heard from her. Luke’s assessment of the Queen was on point – she wants power over everyone, Downworld included – and his adamant refusal to back down from her and the way he knocked out Meliorn mid-smirky waffling-on had me living. Dude was just so done. Can we have more Luke leading the charge and punching things, please? He’s just too cool.

I really felt Simon and Luke’s forceful wake-up jab at Magnus because the Queen is dodgey.com, yet Magnus still seemed to find excuses for her. Physically siding with the Seelie Queen was a strategic move for him and his people that made sense; believing the ‘seelies can’t lie’ company line and emotionally siding with her assurances didn’t, and had no reason beyond getting to see him make a poor judgment call. Which is fine, Magnus is only (half) human. It’s just a little unclear whether we were supposed to see him make a mistake, or the plot simply called for him to be separated from everyone else. Regardless, the prospect of the Seelie Queen going rogue even against the Downworld will surely make for an eventful Season 3.

I loved everything about the rift-closing scene, from Magnus working with the Lightwood siblings to his thousand-yard stare down the pit to Edom (foreshadowing) to his display of power, Alec and Isabelle’s demon-vanquishing, and those amazing special effects. I loved even more how Magnus spent so much energy trying to remain aloof until he saw how under pressure the Lightwoods were and stepped up to guide them. Isabelle was in there doing one of the many things she does best – meddling – and the subtle ways she nudged at Alec and appealed to Magnus was her own way of locking them in a room together to sort their issues out. She’s also a Clace fan, and a fan of Clary and Simon being friends again. Isabelle is a fan of everybody’s true happiness and it makes her so compelling. Hopefully next season she’ll find some happiness all her own.

Magnus’ cold-shoulder treatment of Alec was less of a slap this time with its clearer intention, and it softened considerably over the course of the episode. His use of the word ‘Shadowhunter’ was his way of drawing the line between them, but one look at Alec in sudden pain had him back to ‘Alexander,’ his tell-tale sign of affection. And when all was said and done, Magnus realized he didn’t have to choose between the man he loves and his own people. The bit that bugs me is the part where we don’t see him come to a realization about that decision. He just steps back onto the hotplate like he hasn’t spent the last few days putting considerable distance between them for his own valid reasons. This breakup – or fight, as it seems to now have been downgraded to – hasn’t taught them much beyond Alec learning that he needs to trust Magnus’ leadership enough to handle Clave curve balls, instead of omitting them or shielding him from them. Yet that wasn’t the reason they broke up in the first place.

Magnus and Alec are both still respective leaders of their people, they’re both still on opposite sides of a tense political and racially-fueled narrative (Valentine being dead doesn’t fix this), with separate responsibilities that they haven’t been able to reconcile yet. This underlying issue caused fissures between them throughout 2B. Their fights were realistic and necessary to grow from. To throw them back together again with a shrug and a kiss felt like an easy way out of the greater complexity of the situation, but I don’t think it was supposed to be all that complex to begin with somehow. They’re both at a place where they’re calmly able to think without the fate of the world on their shoulders, and they’re willing to work through it together. I don’t know whether to point the finger at this easy resolution or point the finger at “Awake, Arise, or be Forever Fallen” for being so intense. But that’s just the nature of the beast. Sometimes the plot serves an important racial, or political, or personal narrative. Sometimes the plot is simply telling the story of two nerds so in love, they don’t know how to be together.

With that said, I loved the layers Harry Shum Jr. packed into Magnus this week. Everything felt very calculated, right down to the fidgeting, the visible panic at Alec asking to talk it out, the body language throughout the ensuing conversation like he was trying to barricade himself from him in any way he could. Matthew Daddario’s Alec, in those final moments, was a nervous, twitchy bird waiting for an opportunity to give his heart out and dreading having it thrown back at him. The way the two of them worked on-screen, shielding their characters and not slipping into the same easy groove they usually have together made their chemistry muddied and confusing, which was a really smart addition to the tension. These two continue to amaze, separately and together. I can’t wait to see more of them in Season 3.

Anthony Head (of Buffy fame; I’m freaking out) was a well-picked choice as the calming, luring voice of Raziel. The Edomei demons and Raziel himself were some of the best – if not the best – special effects this show has pulled off (here’s looking at you, Folks VFX). That heartbreaking Parabatai montage as Alec felt Jace being ripped from him was something I’ve been waiting to see, and I wasn’t disappointed. Getting to see Isabelle and Clary reconnect without a heartbreak or an exterior issue forcing them to confide in each other was lovely, and I hope to see more of these two together next season. Luke being free and knowing the world is free of the horrible threat posed by his villainous former Parabatai was a really good look on him. Watching him toast to both of the worlds he’s been a part of – that of Downworlder and Shadowhunter – and make it positive, and a reason for all to celebrate together was a show of delightful optimism. Does Valentine being dead fix the long dark history between these races? Not even in the slightest. But it’s a nice acknowledgment that good things can happen when they all try to work together and a stepping stone to better relations. The door is open once again, at least.