First things first, I’m changing the format of these re-watch commentaries. I’ll be doing them act by act, scene by scene. It’s easier for me and I don’t have to do any editing afterward.
Anyway, this episode is incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Not only are the Shadowhunters’ racism framed as fun quips and badass action scenes, but there is also a lot of sexual assault. Really, a lot. And one of them was enabled by one of the “heroes”. Not great.
Also, Clary goes up and down in the “likeability” scale. I left the episode not knowing how I feel about her.
TEASER
These opening lines are so obviously written to glorify Clary’s point. If they were portrayed as Clary conducting the conversation to convince the Lightwood Trio to save Simon it would be one thing, but they are played straight because it’s not like Clary is working an angle, she is simply right because she’s the protagonist, full stop.
In fact, this whole teaser forces the idea that Clary is the beam of truth and reason. However, her arguments are: 1. do not report our findings to your boss because two people I love are in danger and doing so doesn’t specifically help them, and 2. I trusted you, Jace, now you all should trust me.
Clary ignores that Jace has the means and knowledge to act in the Shadow World, she does not. Jace (and his siblings) respond to the Clave, and she does not. Clary isn’t just ignoring rules she doesn’t know about; she’s guilt-tripping the Lightwoods into doing the same.
And it works. After displaying how racist they are against Downworlders (“Downworlders are slaves to their emotions, we’re not.”/“We all got our things.”/“Seelies have their charm.” “Right?”), Jace and Izzy decide to go along Clary’s “attack first, ask questions later” plan and Alec offers some light protesting before agreeing to it too. Maybe even worse, Jace makes blatant use of his favoritism and the Clave’s hatred against Downworlders: “the Clave will give us a lecture and then be glad we did it.” Translation: it’s okay if we break the Accords and attack an entire vampire lair because two vampires broke the Accords first.
Are we supposed to be rooting for these guys?
I like that, despite his fear of Raphael, Simon does not accept his position as a hostage meekly. He also has a mean throw. Too bad a mundane has little to no chances against a vampire.
Camille’s entrance is everything. She’s calm, collected, and menacing. A totally different level than Raphael: her mere presence shuts up Simon. This is a true villain.
ACT ONE
A little Shadowhunter History is always nice. Building up the mythology. We also get to see the Lightwood Trio working their plan of attack: the boys gather the weapons while Izzy finds a way into their target. They strike at sunrise.
Clary is finally digesting the fact that Valentine is her father: not something easy to accept. Jace is there for her, which is cute. Alec, on the other hand, isn’t. He reads Jace’s insistence in helping Clary as another one of Jace’s female-related conquests and Jace is not having it. Only, he doesn’t explain to Alec why he trusts Clary. Maybe he himself doesn’t even know. Instead of saying so, though, Jace asks Alec to blindly trust him. They are both wrong and bad at communication.
But they do make up. Alec trusts Jace and he asks Jace never to doubt his loyalty again. Which Jace says he will do. It’s a nice moment but it doesn’t address their increasing conflict.
“Like in Pandemonium when I killed that demon?” Clary didn’t kill any demons. Jace impaled the demon on the blade she was holding while in shock. This arrogance is hard to defend, Clary.
Jace and Clary flirt while he trains her. Clary learns a sword move while Jace falls for her, gets spooked, and runs away. That is literally what he does, no kidding.
Clary, on the other hand, has other worries. She doesn’t trust that either Izzy nor Alec will come back to help. Because, to her, one only helps those they like and Alec doesn’t like her. To that, Jace makes a rather dramatic speech about how he and Alec are Parabatai, and Parabatai are bonded, Parabatai are the best, Parabatai- Got it, you two are linked by your souls. Neat, I guess?
Simon desperately apologizes to Raphael about his ruined jacket and then Camille freezes him – using Encanto, I suppose. Anyway, Camille and Raphael have different philosophies. Raphael is against breaking the Accords (kidnapping Simon) because it means putting the clan at risk and antagonizing the Clave, their best chance against Valentine. Camille couldn’t care less about the safety of her clan or the power of the shadowhunters: the wants the Mortal Cup to become the most powerful creature in the Shadow World. Interestingly, Camille mentions the “heavenly” taste of Shadowhunter blood. Raphael has never had it: but he will in season 2. Foreshadowing?
Izzy meets with Meliorn – there’s lots of sexposition and information exchange. They are using each other and they know it. Funny how the only consensual relationship in the episode is also framed by manipulation.
Alec gets into the Institute and Jace takes Clary to a vamp bar, Hardtail. It’s full of images of Indians, for some reason. There, Jace teaches Clary how to look through the Veil that hides the Shadow World.
ACT TWO
This act is mostly sexposition: two non-consensual ones (Clary and Vamp/Simon and Camille) and one consensual (Izzy and Meliorn). That’s two yikes to one noice.
Jace keeps teaching Clary how to deal with the Shadow World, specifically with Encanto. It’s alarming that he pushes Clary into being hypnotized without her consent or explaining what is about to happen to her. Sure, Jace is there and keeping an eye on her but this scene is distressing to me. Is this some sort of punishment or test he’s doing after realizing he’s into her?
More rape-y scenes due to Encanto. Camille sexually assaults Simon to a sensual song. What the actual fuck, show? At least Camille is better at interrogations than the Shadowhunters. She gets to the info she wants: Magnus took away Clary’s memories.
Meliorn is one of the seelies scouts sent to spy on the Circle. Izzy keeps her benign casual racism (“Are you kidding? Some of us like a little spice.”) and uses the open status of her relationship with Meliorn to find a way into the DuMort.
And then there is Alec, being the opposite of discreet while he prepares arrows for battle in the middle of the Institute. Good thing Hodge plays favorites and Alec is his. Funny how last episode Hodge is all love for Jocelyn’s daughter but now that the audience knows who Clary’s father is, Hodge despises her for being Valentine’s daughter. Character consistency? I don’t know her.
ACT THREE
Back to Brad, the douche vamp, touching Clary without her consent. Jace gets tired of watching this sexual assault he created, so he punches the vamp and steals his bike. Clary is out of the Encanto’s influence but she doesn’t seem particularly bothered by Jace using her body to lure Brad into revealing his keys. It’s all good, they have a flying bike now. Fun times.
Camille continues to rape Simon with the escalation of making him drink her blood until she notices the shadowhunters getting close. More fun times.
Alec and Izzy’s sibling dynamic is honestly amazing. He doesn’t take her shit and she doesn’t take his. It’s too bad they have this conversation while trespassing vamp territory and planning to murder vamps as a distraction. It would be one thing if they knew for sure all vamps were involved in kidnapping Simon, but they don’t. All they know is that Raphael and another vamp did it and it never occurs to either Izzy or Alec that they might be working alone.
ACT FOUR
Camille sends her vamps to stop the shadowhunters and Jace prepares Clary for the fight. Now he explains about the Encanto and gives her the tools to fight it off. A little late for that, asshole. Jace continues to explain about vampires to Clary, which is a smart exposition tool. It makes sense that the writers left the vampire explanation to the episode where Clary is facing off vamps.
Also, Clary thinks that it is “awful” that a victim would have the hots for the vampire that bites them because it would make the victim feel attracted to the vampire. Which it is, but it is also exactly what happened to her with the Encanto, minus the bite. Jace seems puzzled as to why this lack of consent would be awful. Oh, no- Sorry, he thinks Clary means being in love must be awful which he wouldn’t know because love is a weakness to him.
I’m sorry. Am I supposed to feel sympathy for Jace in this episode? He pushes Clary into a situation of sexual assault for his own gain and then he doesn’t understand that she thinks lack of consent is awful. Part of his dismissal of love is due to his traumatic upbringing, but that doesn’t justify the danger he deliberately puts Clary in.
Interesting that Jace says “Alec would die for me” and not “I would die for Alec”.
The attack on the vamps starts. Alec and Izzy form the front line, coming from the basement, while Jace and Clary infiltrate from the top. It’s well-organized and the Lightwoods are clearly competent in fighting. But they still have no way of knowing that the vamps aren’t just defending their territory, so it’s still murder.
ACT FIVE
The attack continues. Even with Alec and Izzy taking most of the vampires, Jace and Clary are attacked. With the aid of her new rune, Clary is able to avoid Brad’s Encanto. The shadowhunters regroup: Alec uses the sunlight to kill Brad, Clary uses the move Jace taught her in Act Two, and Jace kills two other vamps. All justified because “they wanted to kill you.” In reality, Brad is the one acting in self-defense and Clary is the one going after him for the kill. He’s a rapist asshole and the Shadow World is better without him, but he had nothing to do with Simon’s kidnapping and thus, the shadowhunters’ flimsy justification for being at Hotel DuMort killing everything that moves doesn’t serve here.
“Thanks, but it’s not about me.” Clary shows some modicum of humbleness. That’s good: her priority is saving Simon, not getting praise.
Simon pretends to still be under the Encanto’s influence and tries to run again but Raphael stops him. How exactly did he get out of Camille’s influence? Anyway, Raphael then pretends to look after Camille: he convinces her to flee by promising to kill Simon and deal with the shadowhunters himself. Not that Simon knows he’s pretending, that is.
“We wanted you.” “Well, here I am.” Kat plays a great badass and I’m happy to see how brave Clary is.
Raphael gives Simon back once the shadowhunters go away. By doing so, he makes sure the shadowhunters know not all vampires were complicit to the kidnapping. Do we see any regret for attacking the whole clan? Nope.
ACT SIX
Simon and Jace’s little exchange about the daylight and the vampires is fun and fits the characters. Jace is used to vampires, Simon is scared and confused.
Clary has a meltdown now that Simon is safe. It’s heartfelt and fits all the craziness they have been enduring for days. Too bad it is used to show Simon’s feelings instead of further humanizing Clary: the audience is meant to feel sympathetic to Simon’s disappointment, the camera checks with him every two seconds. We’re meant to feel hopeful Clary will declare her love and then disappointed when she says Simon is her best friend. This is not a scene in which a young woman vents her frustration, it’s a scene where a young man has his heart broken.
Alec and Jace have a fallen down. Their unresolved issues from Act Two come back and – once again – they are unable to communicate. Jace questions Alec’s loyalty – which he promised he wouldn’t do anymore – and Alec is bitter that Clary’s presence keeps changing their dynamic. No making up this time.
The tag for the next episode? While Jace and Clary have a silent stare contest, Simon sees something else: Clary’s pulsing vein. All that talk in Act Four about how one transforms into a vampire after drinking vamp blood might come in handy now.
