This week’s episode of Shadowhunters titled “Salt in the Wound” by writer Celeste Vasquez featured fun character interactions and many dramatic, jaw-dropping scenes. But there were also gaps in the storytelling and two major coinciding plot lines that did not necessarily mesh well together. Director Joshua Butler was fantastic as usual at building suspense and creating big cinematic moments (and even gave us another epic Malec hug). The result was at times uneven, but overall memorable and took giant steps towards the impending climax. Let’s break it down and get into it, shall we?
Death Cab for Cutie
An expertly choreographed fight sequence between Clary and Jace perfectly executed by Kat McNamara and Dom Sherwood ends with a harrowing balls-to-the-wall stunt as she is dropped from the rooftop onto a car below. The special effects and make-up combined with Kat’s intense performance were really effective. Mostly paralyzed from her devastating injury, Clary calls Simon to come and help her. Was she not just with Magnus? He could have healed her in an instant, no? There’s not much Simon can do aside from provide emotional support.
Given the severity of her injuries, it was really hard for me to accept that Clary was alright not a moment later back at the Institute and with not a speck of blood on her (she was even wearing the same clothes!). Even just a mention about what happened from one moment to the next or showing Clary still feeling some leftover aches and pains would have been helpful. It had me wondering (and I’m not the only one) if the powerful healing properties of vampire blood in The Vampire Diaries applied to the world of Shadowhunters as well. Showrunner Todd Slavkin took to Twitter to answer the many other fans who had similar questions about this and his response was that an iratze rune had done the trick. We have seen the shortcomings of iratzes on the show before (Lydia and Max both required reinforcements for their major injuries). You’d think such a miraculous recovery would have at least required some Warlock T.L.C.
Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Clary, and Simon (John Medland/Freeform)
The Truth Is Hard, but It Is the Truth
The truth is out about what Clary did at Lake Lyn. I loved seeing Alec and Clary share their moment in which he hugged her and admitted that he would have done the same thing if it had been his choice. Kat did a great job in this scene showing us how difficult the secrets had become for Clary to continue handling on her own.
Malec’s “fight” is tabled (there are more pressing issues), and while I’m glad they are on better terms now (my Malec-shipping heart can only take so much angst), I’m worried this will not get truly resolved, at least not on-screen. We have seen these types of quick fixes for Malec in the past (2×13 is another example). Speaking of quick fixes, Alec is apparently no longer drunk? Anyway… Just apologizing to each other for saying things that they didn’t mean is not enough closure for me and I really hope we get to see them talk about their very real issues somewhere down the line.
However, it does seem like quite an Alec thing to do to just hug the person you are currently fighting with until you both apologize to each other. It’s endearingly naïve and almost won me over, too. Almost.
Misty Water-Colored Memories of the Way We Were
I am sure the Jersey Shore love story was meant to garner empathy from the audience by giving us Jordan’s side of the story. Personally, it had the opposite effect on me and I did not see much difference when comparing it to the version of events acted beautifully by Alisha Wainwright in 2×18. Jordan comes off just as controlling and abusive as Maia told Simon he was. We did get to see what a lovely and caring boyfriend he was in the beginning, but it’s not uncommon for abusive relationships to start out exactly like that. The show is walking a line here. If his behavior was intended to be 100% a side effect of wolfing out, I do hope that it is addressed further.
Back to the present, Maia ends up confronting Jordan and telling him that she isn’t so much mad at him for turning her, but more so because he abandoned her like a coward. There is no mention at all of the abuse (something else in this episode that was shown really effectively but then swept under the rug). Jordan tries to do something unselfish for once and remove himself from Simon’s case, putting his job with the Praetor (and his new life purpose) at jeopardy for Maia’s sake. It was a good call on his part, but Maia asks him to stay even though she is clearly traumatized by his presence. None of this seems fair to Maia.
Malachi Was Good for Something
The mission to get the Malachi Configuration was a great chance to show off Izzy’s intel as the new Weapons Master. I love the strategizing scenes that feature the whole cast because you can watch everyone’s different reactions during them (I especially liked how Harry Shum Jr. showed Magnus’ guilt in the way that he was unable to stop pacing).
Clary is definitely part of the team now. Alec had her back in Alicante, only telling Imogen what she absolutely needed to know in order for them to be able to get their hands on the Malachi Configuration (we need a shorter name for this thing).
A trip to Alicante was the perfect opportunity for a glimpse of Aline Penhallow’s mother, Jia, and it brought Alec “The Distraction” Lightwood out to play again. He is fast becoming one of my favorite versions of Alec (I love all versions of course). The “some assembly required” line from Izzy when she emerged from the armory with the Configuration in a duffel bag was equally hilarious. This whole mission just further reminded me about how much I love the Lightwood siblings.
The Last of the Herondales
Owl Jace kills Jace’s only remaining relative and that wasn’t even part of Lilith’s plan! She was just a casualty in the way of his mission to dig up Valentine’s dead body (it sucks so much to be Jace right now). I did not see this one coming…until she walked in on Jace in her office. The lighting and camera angles made for a very ominous atmosphere.
This scene is no exception to the gruesome-ness of Season 3 as Owl Jace not only stabs Imogen but also chops off her thumb in order to gain access to the Cemetery of the Disgraced. I was sad to see her go because I had hoped that she and Jace could grow a familial bond at some point. However, the fact that Imogen’s dying act was to send a message to Jace’s friends (who were attempting to save Jace) implies she still believed he could be saved despite what he had done to her.
I hope the show keeps the fire messages coming because I never tire of seeing them. This time Alec was on the receiving end and needless to say, it was really sexy.
Simon and Luke (John Medland/Freeform)
The Least Salty Character Is Turning People to Salt
Simon and Luke teaming up is always a great time and I love the various pair-ups the show has been giving us lately. It was a little confusing that Luke asked Simon to be his “bodyguard” and then not too long afterwards questioned if Simon knew how to control his “condition.” Dude, it was your idea. Simon reacts accordingly to Luke lying to him about the Praetor. Everyone has been lying to Simon lately and all he’s been is completely open and honest. Tough break, Simon.
It appears that Simon is some kind of secret weapon that can be used against Lilith. Anna Hopkins does an incredible job at portraying how painful it is for Lilith to lose her disciples when Simon turns them into crystallized dust (or salt or whatever). Does this mean she now has to find two more virtuous mundanes to replace the ones she lost? The way Lilith utters, “A Daylighter…” reminds me of all those times in movies where the villain is warned about a prophecy that says they can only be defeated by a special someone (usually the protagonist of the film) – similar to Voldemort and Harry Potter. Speaking of, did anyone else get major horcrux-y vibes from this whole thing?
Shadowhunters Assemble
Jace digging up Valentine got as far as seeing the burlap sack his body was in and I’m just grateful that we didn’t have look at his rotting flesh. I think Imogen’s death managed to hit the gross-out quota for one episode. The way the Configuration works coincidentally requires three people stabbing the ground with lightning rods like Thor or something. The whole thing was really aesthetically pleasing.
Clary makes her sacrifice (as is the Clace way), but why couldn’t she just jump into the portal as well? Now she’s arrested because I’m assuming the alarm went off when security found Imogen dead in her office. It seems Jace took enough precautions to use her fingerprint to clear security, but not enough to clean up after himself. Things are pretty much awful for everyone at the end of this episode, and we have a feeling they’re just going to keep getting worse.
Shadowhunters airs Tuesdays 8/7c on Freeform and Wednesdays internationally on Netflix.
