Five Best Moments of “Shadowhunters” Episode 2.05, “Dust and Shadows”

On this episode of Shadowhunters, appropriately titled “Dust and Shadows,” three emotions dominated: guilt, denial, and grief. After the shocking death of Jocelyn in the previous episode, many of our favorite characters are left in a state of disbelief, with Clary being the worst off. Refusing to believe that her mother is gone for good, she sets out to find a way to bring her back, taking Alec along for the ride. Alec, so embroiled in remorse and self-blame, throws aside his usual over-cautious attitude to help Clary in any way that he can. Ultimately, they end up meeting and recruiting an ambitious warlock who is more than she appears.

Meanwhile, Simon is dealing with family issues—specifically, the return of his inquisitive older sister, Rebecca. When she discovers real blood in a thermos in Simon’s room, it appears as if the cat is finally out of the bag. Nevertheless, Simon manages to talk his way out of it, again. However, it isn’t long until Simon is finally forced to come clean to his mother, who acts, at least on the surface, as if she is okay with it. But is she? We’ll have to see what happens in the next few episodes to tell for sure.

As far as Magnus, Luke and Jace are concerned, they took a backseat in “Dust and Shadows” for the most part. Jace is under house arrest and therefore cannot participate in any field missions. Luckily, we do get to see a bit of his emotional perspective regarding Jocelyn, but I wish that the episode would have spent a little more time with him.

Luke is AWOL and is absent until the very end. How he reacted to Jocelyn’s death is uncertain, but if that final scene is any indication, he isn’t handling it well. What will this mean for his future and the future of the New York werewolf pack? Hopefully, he won’t be so out of control that he endangers anybody.

In regard to Magnus’s character, we do get to learn some more of his backstory, specifically in regard to his mother. As it turns out, she killed herself after finding out that her son was a warlock. Additionally, he is still struggling with his recent decision to turn Camille over to the Clave. Undoubtedly, all of this emotional baggage will affect his relationship with Alec down the road, but I hope it doesn’t hinder it too much.

The most intriguing storyline that is introduced in this episode is that of Isabelle, who is introduced by Aldertree to a powerful and deadly drug called “Yin Fen.” I can already tell that this is going to lead nowhere good. Will we be seeing an intervention in the future? Most definitely. The problem, however, is that it might come too late.

Overall, “Dust and Shadows” was much more succinct than its predecessor, which came across as jumbled and a tad sporadic. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of memorable moments within it. Therefore, without further ado, here are my choices for the Best Five Moments from Shadowhunters’ episode 2.05, “Dust and Shadows.”

 

Clary Watches a Warlock Do the Impossible

From the moment that Clary met Iris, I had a bad feeling. All the warning bells in my head were going off, partly because I’ve watched a lot of sci-fi/fantasy shows and movies and I know how resurrection spells usually turn out. Nevertheless, Iris makes it look like a piece of cake; she brings back that bird so easily that I thought, “Maybe I’ll be wrong this time.” To be truthful, I think I was in the same state as Clary in that I wanted Jocelyn to come back so badly that I was willing to overlook any cost that might arise from the means. Unfortunately, I wasn’t wrong; these spells do come with consequences, as we found out later on.

Simon’s Sister Confronts Him

Can I just say that I already adore Simon’s sister, Rebecca? The no-nonsense brunette, played by Holly Deveaux, isn’t one to accept whatever story Simon is telling her. Instead, she confronts him on the ludicrousness of some of his lies, and Simon is left flabbergasted as to how to cover his tracks. I particularly loved the humor of this scene, especially when Rebecca discovered the blood in the thermos. From that moment on, I knew that Simon would have no choice but to tell his family what was really going on.

 

Izzy and Jace Train

I always enjoy opportunities to see Shadowhunters train because it gives the show a chance to demonstrate its impressive knack for putting together fight sequences. Since this one featured two characters who are seasoned fighters, it was uniquely delightful. More than that, however, this is the first hint that we get that Isabelle is struggling with accepting that she might have to sit out a mission involving the Iron Sisters because of her injury. Consequently, this will lead to her making questionable decisions of her own, which I extrapolate on in the section below.

 

Izzy Gets a Gift (Or a Burden) from Aldertree

Oh, Isabelle—how could you blindly use “Yin Fen” without finding out if there are any side-effects? I know that she is desperate for any solution that will allow her to meet the Iron Sisters but I expected her to have much more sense. To be quite honest, I have a hunch that Aldertree may have ulterior motives in giving her the drug; it seemed like he didn’t want to disclose too much about it besides the positive benefits. Could it be that he’s hoping that her dependence on it will help him control her in the future? Perhaps. The very thought makes me a tad queasy.

 

The Institute Hosts a Funeral

This is the moment in which the awful truth descended on everyone; Jocelyn really is dead, and there is no conceivable way to bring her back. You can see that crushing realization dawn on Clary’s face, making it nearly impossible for her to even get her mother’s name out. As a whole, the funeral scene was beautifully put-together. More so, this serves as a signal that the show isn’t shy about diverting from the source material in order to shake things up. As awful as it is that Jocelyn is dead, I am excited to see how this will affect Luke’s storyline moving forward.

 

Honorable Mention

Simon Comes Out of the Closet

We all knew that Simon would have to come clean to his family eventually, but I kind of felt like his mother was acting too understanding. After all, if I walked in on my son eating rats, I’d leave the house and drive to the nearest mental institution. Part of me thinks that she’s trying to lure Simon into a false sense of security so that she can spring something like a forced commitment to a hospital on him, but another part of me hopes that I’m wrong because that will devastate Simon.