Written by: Kelsey Hlavaty
Episode 3: Dead Man’s Party & Episode 4: Raising Hell
This week’s recap will focus on Episode 3 and 4 of Shadowhunters which aired Tuesday, January 26th, 2016 (US) and February 2nd, 2016 (US) respectively. *Worldwide viewing airs a day later. Warning: Expect massive spoilers.
Last episode we discovered that the location of the Mortal Cup could be found in the depths of Clary’s mind. Against Alec’s wishes, the gang visits the City of Bones to see the Silent Brothers in the hopes of retrieving Clary’s memories. As Jace and Clary meet with them, Isabelle, Simon and Alec remain outside. Isabelle leaves Simon alone in the car to investigate a mysterious sound and Simon goes missing. Clary finds out that she is the Circle leader, Valentine’s, daughter. The vampires have taken Simon hostage in exchange for the Mortal Cup.
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Episode 3 begins as Clary frantically tries to come up with a plan to save Simon however Alec is more concerned with consulting the Clave of Clary’s origins. This upsets Clary as she feels none of the Shadowhunters trust her and decides she will find Simon herself. Jace informs her that she is untrained but they should help her regardless – by taking Simon hostage they broke the Accords (treaty between Shadowhunters and Downworlders). Back at the Hotel Du Mort, Simon encounters his vampire kidnappers: Camille and Raphael. Unable to find a way out or a means to kill him, Simon allows himself to be swooned by Camille. The Shadowhunters make their way to the graveyard to find tombs with hidden weapons left behind by their ancestors. Jace and Alec argue about Clary as Alec feels she cannot be trusted. She finds the tomb with the hidden weapons but Alec belittles her for not understanding how the weapons work. However, when Jace helps Clary train, he states that the weapon itself trusts her and that shadowhunting is in her blood.
Raphael expresses his concerns to Camille. He disagrees with Camille; obtaining the Mortal Cup is not worth breaking the treaty with the Shadowhunters. But Camille explains that if she receives the Mortal Cup from Clary in exchange for Simon, she will be able to control the Shadow World and that in itself is all the incentive she needs. Using her vampire power of seduction, she tricks Simon into revealing information about Clary: that she does not know where the Mortal Cup is because a powerful spell is blocking her memory. The Shadowhunters devise a plan to obtain information as to how they will enter the Hotel Du Mort. Isabelle goes off to find her ex-lover, a Seelie named Meliorn, who recently had a relationship with Camille and has knowledge on how to get into the hotel. Once she obtains the information from Meliorn, she meets up with her brother and make their way. Jace and Clary take a different route and fool a vampire by stealing his motorcycle. Once they enter the Hotel, Camille smells their blood and gets ready to fight/ The Shadowhunters almost reach Camille and Raphael, so he volunteers to hold Simon hostage and take care of the Shadowhunters so she can escape. Instead Raphael frees them and reminds Jace to remember who his friends are. As they get ready to leave, Simon notices the pulsing vein on Clary’s neck.
Episode 4 opens with Simon expressing to Clary that he is wary of the Shadowhunters but Clary doesn’t share his feelings as her memories are key to finding her mother. Simon explains that according to Camille, Magnus Bane is the only warlock powerful enough to perform such magic. Bringing this information to Jace, he explains that Magnus Bane is the High Warlock who is much stronger than than even the Silent Brothers. In order to get Magnus to meet with them, they will need to exchange something extremely valuable. Simon is extremely jealous of Jace and wishes to leave immediately, begging Clary to do the same. She informs him that she needs to stay as she needs to further understand the Shadow World. After Simon leaves, the Shadowhunters devise a plan to meet with Magnus Bane. They decide to offer Magnis Bane his old necklace which notifies the wearer of demon presence.
In Chernobyl, Valentine is frustrated that Magnus’ magic is so strong; it limits Valentine’s possibilities of finding him. Realizing he is being spied on, he sacrifices another member of the Circle to kill the Seelies who were hiding. At his secret lair, Magnus argues with another warlock about going to the rave to meet with the Shadowhunters. Although the other warlocks find it risky for him to attend, he decides to attend regardless. Alec and Isabelle discuss their feelings towards the mission and Clary. Alec admits he is scared of Clary and the risks she comes with. Izzy feels differently and wishes Alec would be more trustful. At the rave, they learn the Magnus cannot reverse the spell because he no longer has the memories with him – he gave them to a memory demon to avoid revealing them to Valentine. Magnus tells Clary it would be safer for her to go with him but Clary refuses right when an assassin comes in to kill Magnus. Alec steps in and saves him, and the group notices the man has a Circle ruin on him.
Thankfully, Jace has a button of Magnus and, with the help of Alec, is able to track Magnus’s location. Once they arrive, they see that the warlocks are under attack . The Shadowhunters help save Magnus and the rest of the warlocks, and although the task won’t be easy, Magnus is willing to summon the memory demon to help Clary. In preparation, Clary draws a large pentagram on the floor as Jace draws a powerful ruin on her. During the summoning, the group must all hold hands with one another. The demon, Valek, asks for each member to give up a memory of the person they love the most. It is revealed that the person Alec loves the most is Jace and, embarrassed, Alec breaks the circle surrounding the pentagram, releasing the demon. The demon gets a hold of Jace but Clary kills it – now losing all of her memories. Later that night, Clary returns Simon’s calls and messages but he does not answer. The camera cuts to reveal Simon, who has suspicions about his sickness, in front of the Hotel Du Mort. After Simon does not answer her, the necklace her mother gave her begins to glow, and she has a vision of Valentine and Jocelyn. Valentine looks directly into Clary’s eyes and warns her that she will never see her mother again unless she gives up the cup.
Verdict? Overall interesting two episodes. I enjoyed Harry Shum Jr. acting as Magnus Bane – the character is both eccentric and strong, which was executed well by Shum. I am also intrigued by both Alec and Simon’s storylines. I found Simon to be a tad whiny at times for his distaste over the Shadowhunters, but I feel like his connection to the vampires will kill this characteristic. Additionally, viewers are able to see deeper into Alec’s personality and why he’s hateful towards Clary. Despite this, I am getting progressively more annoyed with Clary as a character and hope she matures more within the season.