So my (probably) unpopular opinion is that Matthew and Alec are very similar
Firstly I think the first thing that made me look into it is how obvious they both make it when they don't like someone. Matthew @Alistair and Alec @ Calry and Simon. From biting jokes to rude remarks it's very similar.
Of course also the mother hens of their groups. Matthew is a natural caretaker, with a tendency to want and volunteer to look after those around him. Alec serves as the protector and healer in the group, focused more on the safety of his siblings. Because of this role he'd grown into, Alec always responded well to having people relying on him and turning to him with problems.
Another thing is actually their closeness to downworlders! The only shadowhunters that are close to downworlders in tlh are Anna and Matthew. Math has had relationships with them, they find him fun and are way less suspicious of him when he goes to the ruele. Alec on the other hand earns the trust of the downworlders throughout tmi and tec. From a werewolf buying him a bottle of wine on the train in trsom, Peng Fang(the vampire) using his photos as advertisement for the blood he's selling, starting the alliance with lily and Mia, being the only shadowhunter that lily shared her past with, being the only shadowhunter allowed in the shadow market in Buenos Aires and others.
Both of them are actually pretty insecure. Both of them believe that their loved ones are worth WAY more than themselves.
Alec was initially uncomfortable, self-conscious, and serious in most situations; in this sense. He was rarely proud, believing himself without many accomplishments, though he'd always hoped to make his parents proud of him.
Matthew in his youth, despite his popularity and sociable exterior, was often self-doubting and insecure and thought so much of what others thought of him and believed they didn't care about him as much as he did, thinking he wasn't special to those that meant most to him.
Both of these descriptions are from the wiki and you can interchange the names and it would still be accurate!
Also in chog when James went to the demon dimension through a portal it really reminded me of cohf when Jace wanted to go to Edom alone but Alec was like "if you do this alone you are disrespecting me and our parabatai bond" .
Another thing with James and Jace is when James always goes shadowy when he thinks that Math hates him. Jace in cohf just chasing Alec like a puppy the moment he thought that Alec was angry at him.
Them basically being their herondale's rock. From these quotes from James and Jace:
"James had thought how lucky he was, to have a parabatai who was always there for him. He could never truly fall with Matthew to hold him up."
" He felt as if the steady ground below him were cracking in half. When he was ten years old, he had built his life on the bedrock of the Lightwoods, Alec most of all."
WELP I guess that's the main things (or at least the ones I thought of first) if you want a part 2 I'm pretty sure I can think of more!
I like this parallel so much, just because people tend to compare Matthew to Will more than anyone else in TSC, but honestly, you’ve really hit the mark here with the Alec comparisons. Alec is like a healthier, more modern edition of Matthew. I really love this analysis!
