Shadowhunters Recap: Episode 6

Written by: Kelsey Hlavaty

Episode 6: Of Men and Angels

This week’s recap will focus on Episode 6 of Shadowhunters which aired Tuesday, February 16th, 2016. *Worldwide viewing airs a day later. Warning: Expect massive spoilers.

On the last episode, tensions rise between Jace and Alec over the side missions they’ve been taking in regards to Clary. Simon is beginning to act more and more like the vampires who kidnapped him. The gang saves Luke after a werewolf fight with the other alpha leader and now they must fight for his life as he could hold the key to unlocking Clary’s secrets.

The episode opens with Clary and Simon carrying Luke into Magnus’ apartment. Luke begins to hallucinate and sees Jocelyn in front of him. Jocelyn asks Luke to tell Clary everything that he knows because it will help her find the Mortal Cup and consequently, stop Valentine. Magnus must now create an antidote to help stop the poison from spreading through Luke’s body. He informs Jace and Simon to find the ingredients he needs for the potion – one of them being Alec’s “virgin shadowhunter energy”. This makes Jace (reasonably) uncomfortable as he is unwilling to ask Alec for help. However once Clary asks him, he quickly changes his mind. Back at the Institute, Isabelle and Maryse (her mother) continue to argue over Isabelle’s status in the Clave. We are introduced to Isabelle and Alec’s father and younger brother, Max. The Lightwood children begin to notice that there might be some problems between the Clave and their parents. Alec finds his mother crying; she explains that the Clave is angry with their family because of the actions made by Alec and Isabelle. When Jace and Simon go out to retrieve the ingredients for Magnus’ potion, they begin to argue over their situations with Clary. Simon becomes very hostile and attacks Jace – causing Jace to wonder if Simon was more than a hostage at the vampires’ hotel.

As they wait for the ingredients, Magnus tells Clary the story of Valentine and Jocelyn. They were leaders of the Circle and they were Shadowhunters who believed in the power of each other. Unfortunately, Valentine took it further – he hated the downworlders and wanted a world of purity. In order to do this, he needed to build a greater army and stole the Mortal Cup from the Clave, killing those in his way. Magnus explains that Luke and Jocelyn tried to stop Valentine and were obviously successful. At the Institute, Isabelle and Alec consider their parents plans, one of them being marrying Alec off to create a political alliance. Alec realizes that he cannot continue to follow the rules of the Clave his entire life and manages to make it to Magnus’ in time to provide the magic with his energy. Clary finishes creating the potion and feeds it to Luke, ridding him of the poison. Isabelle and her mother discuss how they are similar in many ways and Isabelle realizes she may have to change her Shadowhunt-ing tactics. Magnus and Alec flirt while cleaning his apartment, and they agree to see each other again.

Now that the poison has worn off, Luke explains to Clary that he and Jocelyn fell in love, betraying Valentine, his parabatai. Valentine became obsessed with winning Jocelyn back and wanted to do anything to be a better soldier that he began experimenting with demon blood to become stronger. Luke reiterates that Valentine was an honourable man and a charismatic leader, which is why so many young Shadowhunters believed in him. The more injections Valentine gave himself, the worse he became. He started talking about stealing the Mortal Cup, which was forbidden for Shadowhunters to do. To rid himself from Luke, he sent him to die with the werewolves, only causing Luke to become one himself. When Valentine went in to steal the Cup, Luke managed to delay him and Jocelyn ran off with the Cup. Clary tells Luke about the box she found hidden under Jocelyn’s floorboards and he reveals that Clary had a brother who died in a fire Valentine caused. Once Clary discovers this information, it unlocks a power within her and causes her to transfer the box into a 2D drawing in her sketchbook. Clary realizes she might know where her mother hid the Mortal Cup.

Verdict? A mediocre episode overall as it simply provided viewers with a backstory to the Clave and the Circle, which was somewhat interesting. Other than, nothing really happened to further the characters except the minor issues between the Lightwoods and the Clave.

Are you guys liking this show? Do you find it better than the movie or even the books themselves? Please write to me on twitter (@kelhlavaty), I would really like to hear any opinions you may have!