The search for Valentine leads Clary to an alternate reality where the threat of demons no longer exists; Isabelle and Alec face the repercussions of the Downworlder attack.
- Wikipedia Synopsis
This review WILL contain SPOILERS.
You can view all of my other Shadowhunters reviews HERE
So episode ten of Shadowhunters aired on Tuesday night! I don't know about you, but it feels like this is all happening so fast. It literally feels like the first episode aired yesterday and we are now near the end of the series. If you didn't know, Shadowhunters was renewed for a 2nd season, and I could not be happier! I didn't really know if it was going to be renewed but it was and I can't wait! Let's get started with this review!
In this episode, we follow Clary into an alternate universe in order for her to find Valentine. Going into this episode, I did not really know where this episode was going to go. I didn't want to judge it too quickly. I think I'm just going to say that I didn't hate this episode but I didn't love it either. Clearly, this episode was an advertisement for Tim Burton's movie Alice in Wonderland: Through The Looking Glass. To me, the entire concept for the alternate universe had so much potential but it didn't live up to that.
Throughout the whole episode, we are being told that this alternate universe was the way to find Valentine. This is an area of the episode where I was really confused. I understand the story with the portal shard, but it was never really explained in this episode. It never dove into how she was going to find Valentine, the only instruction that Clary received was that she had to find the portal. At the end of this episode, we are clearly in Chernobyl, and then we find Michael Wayland locked away... For me, this doesn't really make sense with either the book plot line or the TV show plot line. If this is really Michael Wayland, how is he alive? How does Jace know what he looks like because he was raised by Valentine? I was sitting in my bed after watching this episode thinking about how they're going to explain this. In episode seven, we see that Lydia Branwell can shape shift into another person just be drawing a rune. So it made me wonder... Is this Valentine? Valentine is a rogue Shadowhunter but despite his evil plans he is quite cunning and smart. In one of the past episodes, we think that Valentine sees Clary through the portal shard. Could he have known that this was going to happen? He obviously knows what Michael Wayland looked like before his death, so are the writers going to make a whole storyline where Valentine glamoured himself to look like Michael while raising Jace? Clary and Jace show up in Valentine's little lair of some sorts, but Jocelyn is not there and none of this companions are there either. This also led me to think that they somehow went to some other universe and things are still screwed up. Although, I doubt it.
Right now, I am pretty sure the writers are sticking to all of the major points of the books. If they are not going with the incest route with Jace and Clary, I would be very upset and so would a lot of fans. Before, it seemed like they were going to go down that route, but now I am not so sure. I mean, I really hope they do because they already mentioned Clary's brother, if they're just going to completely ignore that I would be so angry.
If you have read my past reviews, you would know that I had a slight problem with Meliorn. I really liked what we saw from the actor, Jade Hassouné. I feel like he really embraced his character in this episode and it felt like her was more comfortable in the role. For the first time, I saw Meliron and not an actor portraying him. I really enjoyed how he walked a certain way that just made him feel more elegant and faerie like. I actually enjoyed every scene we saw with Meliorn.
Despite my slight annoyance with the alternate universe storyline, there were a few things that I enjoyed. The big things were the characters, it was especially interesting to see the alternate versions of Isabelle and Alec. I really loved everyone's performance in this episode in this other reality. You could definitely see the differences between the Shadowhunter side and the human. I don't really know why, but I loved seeing this version of Izzy. I would like to praise Emeraude because she held herself so differently in this episode, and I really enjoyed watching it.
For some reason, I felt like they used this alternate universe thing to give us the things we wanted to see originally. Things such as Chairman Meow and Church. I mean they're just cats but they're very important cats. I really liked how they both had their own pillows in Magnus's loft. Other things would include Jocelyn being an artist and Luke owning his own bookstore. As a book fan, I thought it was funny and sweet and to see these things but I would've preferred it if it were in the actual Shadow world.
In this alternate universe, we see a couple of things. Something that really caught my eye was Java Jace. I thought that this was a really interesting concept, and it was fun seeing Jace as a coffee barista.
Even though I love the show, I do feel like they are trying to spice up the show a little too much. At times, it seems like they are making all of these things to make things exciting. Sometimes it is, but when it is going to affect the plot, it's just ridiculous. If Michael Wayland really is alive, this will affect so many future story lines and I can guarantee you that this will start an uproar because the Herondales are well loved.
Aside from Clary being in the alternate universe we get to see the relationship between Simon and Luke. This was probably my favourite thing that happened in this episode. It was really fun seeing their partnership. I loved seeing "crazy" Simon, I thought it was really clever.
I have just finished reading Lady Midnight by: Cassandra Clare. Having read this, I feel like I have more of an understanding about the whole parabati bond. It is constantly mentioned in the show but we barely got to see that bond. That is one of the only things that I am disappointed in. We see more of Jace and Alec fighting than we see them being brothers. I love the show, and seeing that relationship not being portrayed in these past episodes, really saddens me because we only have three episodes left.
As all of you know, there is a new character named Lydia Branwell. I don't know where I stand with Lydia because she seems trust worthy but knowing that the writers want to spice up the show, I'm thinking that she's not an envoy from the clave and is really some weird circle member. She doesn't really have a point in the show besides causing a bunch of mischief and she keeps using the clave as an excuse, and I personally don't believe that she's trustworthy.
A relationship we all want to see play out or at least be hinted at is the relationship between Alec and Magnus. I know they are staying true to the original relationships (or at least that is what they're saying) but I'm very confused because it seems like Alec and Lydia are actually going to get married, and I don't know how I feel about that.
Staying on the topic of Alec, I love how we're still seeing his relationship with Isabelle. I think the relationships between the characters are the strongest part of the show because you can really see the bond between them.
An aspect of this episode that I really loved was the colour difference between the shadow world and then the alternate universe. I thought it was really smart to show the differences between the world visually and not just with the characters, I love how there was an essence of peace surrounding the alternate universe.
I'm going to quickly explain what I think the weaknesses of the show are. The first thing is actually the explanation of things. I know I have said this in past reviews but even though things are revealed in the next episodes, there still has to be more explanation in some of the characters actions. The next thing is the visual FX. Since we are getting a season 2, the budget will improve and hopefully we will get better FX for the show! The writing of the show has improved a lot since the first episode, there are still some lines that are a little off for me but it definitely has gotten better. I would be okay with them having the same writers as the first season but I wouldn't mind having a new batch of people or getting more experienced writers (people with experience writing fantasy shows) on board.
There are obviously still a few rough patches in the show but that is completely normal since it is the first season. I have confidence that this show is only going to improve and improve. Hopefully, we will get more than just two seasons.
Overall, I thought that this episode was okay. It honestly kind of reminded me of The Flash because of the whole Earth 2 thing. I didn't love this episode but I also didn't hate it. I am still really looking forward to the next three episodes, and I really hope that the whole sibling thing get's revealed because that is a major plot point! I will admit, this is one of my least favourite episodes. I would rate this episode a 3 out of 5 stars.
I hope you enjoyed reading this review!
What did you think of this episode?
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