Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments | 1x08 | Review & Discussion | Faith

Alec, Jace and Isabelle's activities with Clary attract the attention of The Clave, resulting in trouble for the Lightwoods; Clary faces a difficult decision. 

- Wikipedia Synopsis

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This review WILL contain SPOILERS.

Episode 8 was probably one of my most anticipated episodes. Before watching this I was both afraid and excited to see how this would all play out.

Let's start off by talking about Simon. Simon turning into a vampire was something that I have always wanted to see on screen. I was very happy with how it turned out. As I was watching the scene in the graveyard, I was suddenly getting flashbacks from when I had first read City of Ashes. It was exactly how I pictured it when I was reading the books, the way the scene was set and the entire essence of the scene was on point for me. For me, that was really great because I haven't been able to feel that with the TV show especially since it's been so different so far. I believe Alberto Rosende's performance was extraordinary in that particular scene. Everything in these last episodes were leading up to that moment and I thought it was very well done. There were also things from the books in that scene and it had me squealing because I was very happy. Overall, I thought that this scene was very gruesome and mysterious which was great.

I really loved how everyone was playing off each other. I thought that Katherine Mcnamara did a good job playing her part, to me you could definitely feel the love and the hurt Clary was feeling in that moment. I also loved how she was leaning on Jace for comfort. 

In this episode, we got to see more of Raphael. I will say that I did like what we saw of him in this episode more than the past episodes. I felt like we could see more of Raphael from the books in the TV show and it really made me smile.

One of the only characters I had a problem with in this episode was Camille. This had nothing to do with her performance, I thought she did great. My only problem was what was her purpose? When she was cast, I was expecting more of a character arc for her. She didn't really have one, and it kind of seems like they changed her storyline from the books. Is she still the leader of the vampire clan? If so, what was the point of the other vampires gaining up on her? Right now, it seems like Raphael is the leader. I'm very confused. I thought the actress who played Camille was really, really great and I'm honestly kind of sad that we didn't get to see more of her. She literally just made out with Simon and showed up a couple of times, and now she's gone? Hopefully, we will get more explanation.

The other character that I had a slight problem with was Lydia Branwell. She wasn't from the books, she is this entirely new character. She is portrayed by Stephanie Bennet, the only thing I have seen her in was Disney Descendants as Snow White, and that was for a few seconds. I don't really know how to feel about her character. Lydia is supposed to be the envoy from the clave. I believe Stephanie is around the age of 26, and when I saw her on screen I couldn't believe that she was the envoy from the clave because she just looked so young. They dressed Lydia up as this character who was mature enough to be married and to be running an institute. She just seemed too young to be an envoy, and to be overpowering the Lightwoods. I couldn't identify any major problems with her acting it was just strange seeing someone so young. I don't know if that makes sense.

Also correct me if I'm wrong, but how would Alec know what Valentine looks like? Even Lydia? I believe in the books, Valentine was last seen before Clary was born and then he just disappeared A.K.A he "died".  How would they know what he looks like now? How would Alec know when to react? He wouldn't just shoot at some random shadow hunter running through the door. I don't think anyone knows who he looks like in the present. It would kind of make sense for the clave to know what he looks like but Alec?

There was also a section where Alec was training. I noticed that they didn't have that weird slow motion/fast motion effect. I feel like they did that on purpose because maybe they were editing this episode when we first saw that effect on one of the earlier episodes.

There was something from the books that was in this episode. It was the whole falcon thing with Jace and his father. When Jace started talking about that, I was so excited. At first I was a little put off by it because the way it was introduced was awkward but the way it ended is what made it a lot more understandable.

Something that I was very surprised to see was Alec proposing to Lydia. I don't really know how to feel about this. I don't have anything else to say but this is such a weird storyline for Alec. I mean I like it better than the whole arranged marriage thing, but I don't really know how I feel. It's too foreign for me. It also just didn't seem very Alec in my opinion.

We got to see the forsaken in this episode! When I first saw them in pictures and in the promos, I thought that were zombies. At first I was like "What, zombies don't exist..." but after I watched Valentine in Chernobyl, it finally made sense. I know the show doesn't have a big budget, but I wish they could've made them not look like zombies. It was very strange, they were kind of like a mixture of a zombie and a troll smushed into one thing and somehow that made a forsaken. I never pictured them to be so aware of what their actions, I always thought they were just really restless and you know uncontrollable. They're just like zombies. They seem so brainless. I'm not a fan.

Something that is really great is that the writing has improved. Some of the decisions they are making in the script are a little weird and unreasonable but it has been improving. 

Overall, this was a good episode. It wasn't as good as episode 7 but it was good. I feel like the show is really growing into it's own and I'm very happy about it. I also really like the soundtrack for this show, is that the right term? Anyway, I would rate this episode a 4 out of 5 stars.

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

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