Lost Souls rejoice! Welcome back to the Shadow World.
Let me tell you a story. Are you sitting comfortably? Have you got your teddy bear snuggled with you amongst silky, golden sheets? When a man and woman love each other very much, they consummate their love. After nine months, their little bundle of joy comes into the world via Freeform (or Netflix or Hulu). Welcome to the world Shadowhunters 3B! We’ve screamed, pushed and cried over you – but you’re finally here. And oh boy, what an entrance you made.
Well angels, after a long nine months we’re finally back with new episodes of Shadowhunters and the first one didn’t disappoint. Shadowhunters kicks off the second half of season 3 with a brilliant, fast-paced episode written by Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer with Matt Hastings directing, and let’s just say this is a cinematic match made in heaven (or hell, for all you demons out there). Shadowhunters has definitely come into its own, and this episode is a prime example of all the good things awaiting us.
Lost souls
Whilst it had previously been revealed to us viewers that Clary would survive and appear in 3B, the characters don’t know she’s alive. The episode opened with a heartbreaking song (Lost Souls by Freya Ridings) and a montage of memories from a mourning Simon, Magnus, and Jace.
Simon is taking her loss particularly hard. When we first see him it’s in the most heartbreaking way – riddled with anguish and a knife poised over his Mark of Cain. He is paralyzed by the fear of hurting another innocent person, despite him using the mark against Lilith for the greater good. His journey to reclaim his life is set in motion with a trip to Detroit to seek out Raphael’s counsel. In the next episode, he’s set to find one of the oldest living vampires for help in removing his mark.
Jace is another taking Clary’s death hard. He is haunted by memories of his time as the Owl, and his mental health takes a serious toll. He seems on the verge of suicide and both Isabelle and Alec step up to support him, letting him know he’s not alone and he’s needed. It seriously warmed my heart to see the Lightwood’s stand together. Unfortunately, Jace and Isabelle’s relationship has only been lightly explored in the show, but their scene was so simple, loving and perfect.
Mystery machine on tour
A standout performance for me had to be Isaiah Mustafa’s incredible appearance in the episode. Dominic Sherwood’s Jace offered tremendous support in the face of Luke’s (seemingly) deranged grief and obsession over Clary’s survival – I mean look at his board! (Did it remind anyone else of Anderson at the start of Sherlock’s season 3?) All of our emotions went out to Luke in between our yells of “DAMN RIGHT, BABY!” because he was spot on! And Jace really didn’t believe him. BUT we have a feeling that might change very quickly if the promo for the next episode is anything to go by…
Sibling shenanigans
SURPRISE! Clary is alive!! Who saw that coming? Honestly, who? And so is her brother Jonathan… who actually seems quite… nice? He offers her breakfast, Earl Grey tea, makes her soup, heroically carries her through the snow of Siberia, doesn’t seem too bothered about being stabbed in the head and, all in all, seems like a pretty decent guy. Just a little creepy at times… Luke Baines makes a brilliant first, full-body debut (the arm is a strong number two, though), and he portrays himself as a reformed boy who just wants to get to know his sister. At this point, it’s hard to remember everything Jonathan has done. Though we have no doubt he will soon be charming us and terrifying us. As it is, his casual trek through the woods after Clary’s caped-escape was a little Slenderman-ish…
The Elephant in the room… MALEC
Phew. Were Malec fans in for a TREAT this episode. I seriously felt overwhelmed with the amount of content we got and how well it worked with the storyline. My favourite moment had to be that cheek kiss. It was the natural, instinctive moment of dreams. That and it was paired with a couple of great babysitting scenes… oh, the places we’ll go if the season continues like this. The domesticated couple 3×11 graciously unveiled has been wanted by fans for a while, and the show delivered them perfectly. But it’s fair to say Magnus and Alec had a lot more to do in this episode than just babysitting Madzie. The process of Magnus dealing with the loss of his magic and Alec supporting him has just begun, and I feel like this episode only scratched the surface of Magnus’s true feelings. Hopefully, 3×12 explores that further, as the synopsis reveals that “with his new sense of mortality, Magnus tries to live life to the very fullest.” And then – angels help us! – there’s that sexy training scene alluded to at the end of “Lost Souls” and revealed in the trailer for next week.
Safe to say, this episode was absolutely fantastic. I am so impressed with the growing quality of the show and feel certain it will stand in good stead for the following episodes. “Lost Souls” was a daring, explosive, heartfelt return to screens after nine months, and something beautiful has been born (/resurrected).
What did you guys think of Shadowhunters’ return to our screens? Any predictions for the upcoming episode? Check out the trailer for 3×12 “Original Sin” and let us know!