Shadowhunters Review: Season 2

The second season of this fabulous show has new directors and a bigger budget. We get to meet the seelie queen, the iron sisters, Sebastian, and Maia, as well as some new characters. They venture into the Seelie realm and Idris, some well known places to shadowhunters and where a bunch of intense stuff goes down. One of the new show runners worked on The Originals and I’m definitely getting that vibe in some of these new episodes, especially the little introduction they add that Clary narrates.

Some things are pretty similar to the books, such as the infamous visit to the Seelie queen, though the timing of that has changed. Other things, like the party where everything goes wrong and Clary’s mom unexpectedly dying, were very surprising.

The whole storyline of Izzy’s addiction to yin fen was weird, but I could see why they would add that in as a reference to the Clockwork Angel series.

I was surprised by Izzy and Raphael’s little first but I kind of liked their momentary truce, especially their Latin cooking session. Izzy overcoming an addiction shows how tough she is, and even being as smart and confident as she is, she’s not impervious to temptation. I like how the show takes fantasy and uses it to reflect real issues, like addiction and discrimination.

There’s more fighting in this season, with better effects and costumes.

Clary’s evolution is truly beautiful. She goes from a happy teenager aspiring to get into art school and is faced with extreme violence and tragedy. She takes her new life and she becomes a key player in the shadow world, taking down it’s biggest villain in the form of the family she never knew. She fights, creates new runes, and meets angels.

She’s pretty cool.

I”m still weirded out by Clary and Simon together. They just seem like such siblings to me, it’s bizarre to see them be all couply. They provide some cute moments between battles but I’m not going to lie, I was relieved when the plot line moved on. I love Isabelle and Simon together, even more than Clary and Jace.

The introduction of Sebastian is wonderful. His obsession with Clary and extremity push the show faster than Valentine would alone. Clary thought she had a sibling in Jace but when they discover he’s a Herondale and not a Morgenstern, Sebastian suddenly appears on the scene. His British charm and mild manners are a stark contrast from his true demon nature.

He slowly but surely gains the trust of the other shadowhunters, integrating himself into the New York institute as a key player. He saves Isabelle, puts himself at the front of missions to help Alec, and pushes Clary to overcome her mental barriers. The only person he can’t seem to figure out is Jace, the boy who he should have been. He’s curious about Jace, but he definitely keeps his distance.

Ultimately, Clary reveals him for who he is and he goes crazy from her betrayal.

I’m so glad they added the trip to the Seelie court. Unlike the books, this Seelie queen initially takes the form of a British child. Her fascination with games is still the same, as we see with that epic Clace kiss. The Seelie realm is magical and deadly, raining flower petals and killer bees, pretty fairies who tear mortals apart for amusement.

Dominic Sherwood’s real life girlfriend Sarah Hyland takes over as the Seelie queen after the downworld unites together against the shadowhunters. I like her as the queen, though her smaller version is delightfully unnerving. Hopefully she gets a better wig next season.

I hope the dialogue gets better. This season seemed to rely more heavily on plot than characterization, which makes sense. It’s kind of got some crazy storylines that are fun to focus on, and the first season does lay out the characters a little more.

The inhabitants of the shadowworld seem to settle into their personalities and roles this time around, all that’s left is the dialogue; which is very on the nose this season. Nobody says exactly what they’re thinking all the time, except apparently shadowhunters and downworlders.

I love cleverness and witticisms, so Simon is clearly my favorite. He’s got the best lines, best sense of humor, cute little jokes that balance out Jace’s constant brooding and Clary’s earnestness. I will admit Jace has some good lines, though they don’t resonate as well. And Katherine McNamara does a wonderful job with her lines, she is truly remarkable.

I’m glad they kept Max. He dies in the books, but Jocelyn certainly does not. I guess they traded.

But I also appreciate how similar the Lake Lynn scene is to the third book. Clary destroys her villainess father and steals his wish from the angel, saving both the downworlders and Jace. Clary and Jace are finally together, no rumors about being siblings or adorably pesky best friends getting in the way.

I am thoroughly satisfied by season two and definitely looking forward to the third season, and all it teases to offer. There’s the introduction of the lovely and evil Lilith, the continuation of the Seelie queen’s schemes… and of course all the heart stopping couples battling demons in between dates.