Shadowhunters – A Door Into The Dark
Welcome back Angels to our non-spoilery review of the second episode of Shadowhunters Season 2.
This episode takes some interesting turns, particularly away from the source material of Cassandra Clare‘s book, but does not let the tension drop. Episode 2 picks up straight after the events at the end of the premiere and things at the Institute are extremely tense.
I have a feeling I am going to be writing about Nick Sagar’s Victor Aldertree a lot this season. Aldertree on the surface seems like a straight arrow Shadowhunter. A bureaucrat type who wants to get things running smoothly. But when that involves hunting down someone that is at the very heart of the Institute it’s going to cause some drama. He pits people against each other but he does it with a cheery word and a smile. There’s a scene with Simon that made my skin crawl.
All in all he makes me want to punch him and then take a shower to scrub off his slime. All credit to Nick Sagar, after his recent take over of the Shadowhunters social media it’s hard to reconcile the sweet, dorky guy obsessed with angles (not a typo) with the slithering git in the sharp suits.
There are two people who want to find Jace more than anyone else, and neither Alec or Clary are dealing well with his absence. This causes some major tension. Remember towards the end of season 1 when these two seemed to be getting along finally? I wish I could tell you that it lasted.
Alan Van Sprang is really impressive so far this season. The way he talks, both to Jace and his new recruits, is with the impassioned pleas and cunningly crafted words of a true fanatic with utter belief in their cause.
Fave thing about this episode? Got to be the Lightwood siblings on a mission together to find their brother. Watching Izzy and Alec together is an absolute delight. These two need far more time together this season, remind us that this is about family!
Special mention goes to the stuff with Magnus and Simon. I have missed the scrappy nerd from Brooklyn. It does seem like Magnus is taking the place of Simon’s mentor during his transition from baby vamp to badass. I hope this doesn’t mean less Raphael Santiago this season though. I miss his bitch face and sharp jackets! The Simon and Magnus scenes also feature one of the biggest LOL moments this show has ever seen. I’m just going to say “painting”, y’all can come back after the episode and let me know what you thought.
The title of the next episode is Parabatai Lost so it really isn’t a surprise that the focus is quite heavily on Alec and Jace. The parabatai feels are strong in this episode, and Luke gets some of the limelight. I think it sometimes gets forgotten that Luke was Valentine’s parabatai before Val betrayed him. He knows about the bond and how Jace’s absence is affecting Alec. Luke has a trick up his sleeve that brings in an element from the books that hasn’t been mentioned so far in the show.
