#sh asmodeus

[ketzwrites]

How did you overall like the Asmodeus/Alec scene? i loooved it!

It was so awesome! I was already pumped to see Alec going to a random warlock, the chit-chat at the start, Alec casually throwing a bag of gold on the table like it’s nothing. And then we learn of another way to talk to greater demons: channeling. It was so smart and it shows that Alec is on another level in relation to his siblings since they went straight to summoning Lilith, those dummies.

As for the conversation itself: gorgeous. Alec’s honesty and Asmodeus’ manipulation clashed beautifully. Alec went for the family angle, appealing for Asmodeus’ human side the same way he did with Lorenzo. But Alec miscalculated. Asmodeus isn’t human, he’s a demon. He doesn’t love Magnus, he loves the power that Magnus represents in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Asmodeus read Alec perfectly. He went for what hurt the most: he blamed Alec for all of Magnus’ suffering. It’s an easy connection to make: Magnus gave up his magic to help Alec. But that’s a fallacy. Magnus gave up his magic because Asmodeus set that up as a condition. Everything that is happening to Magnus is Asmodeus’ fault.

And it is happening by design. Asmodeus sees Magnus’ humanity as a weakness; he wants Magnus to embrace his demonic heritage. Therefore, Asmodeus wants to take away any links Magnus has to his humanity: love most of all. He cloaks that desire with worry for Magnus’ life (something that he knows Alec truly feels). A couple of well-chosen lies - lies similar enough to truths that Alec would believe and relate to - and Asmodeus was able to manipulate Alec into doing exactly what Asmodeus wants.

The key thing here is that Asmodeus can restore Magnus’ magic whenever he wants. He is choosing not to, he is choosing to let Magnus suffer and despair. If Magnus dies in 50 years of natural causes, it’s because Asmodeus decided so.

Asmodeus is in control here. And the only way to take that control from him is for Magnus to realize he doesn’t have to suffer and despair. It’s for Magnus to cease his own happiness and embrace his humanity instead of falling into his demonic side. Once he does that, Asmodeus will no longer have a way to control him. Then Magnus can turn the tables around: he’ll live happily as mundane if he has to, but that means Asmodeus will lose his heir when Magnus dies. So, is it worth it, Asmodeus? Fifty years of a failed mind-game for an eternity without an heir?

[ketzwrites]

I actually really enjoyed how Alec got Asmodeus to talk to him. Not by summoning him but by channeling him into Vera’s body. It didn’t work but at least he was smart about it and tried the safest possible way of communicating with a greater demon.

Take notes, Clary, Jace, Izzy, and Simon. 

[ketzwrites]

I know Magnus banished him into limbo and all that jazz, but I for one am glad Asmodeus recovered and didn’t need his cane anymore between seasons 3A and 3B.

And by glad I mean fucking annoyed. That was the ONE reference to the biblical depiction of Asmodeus and they forgot it.

[ketzwrites]

What do you think about Asmodeus ? Any headcanon ?

As much as I like the “wounded father” routine Asmodeus puts up, he’s still, you know, a demon. Believing he misses Magnus is like believing Lilith truly loves Jonathan. They don’t see Magnus/Jonathan as people. They see them as extensions of themselves. That is as far as they will ever love them.

So, Asmodeus is not really wounded that Magnus wants nothing to do with him. He is wounded that his powerful creation has a mind of his own. Thus, at the first opportunity, Asmodeus takes away Magnus’ power - or what Asmodeus believes to be Magnus’ power.

Because, yeah, magic is great. But magic isn’t what makes Magnus great. That would be Magnus’ intelligence, his compassion, his gentle heart, his bravery. In short, it is Magnus’ humanity that makes him a hero. 

But Asmodeus doesn’t particularly care about Magnus’ humanity. He probably sees it as his weakness because Magnus’ humanity pulls him away from Asmodeus. Anything that does that has got to be a weakness since Asmodeus is the most powerful Prince of Hell.

That dynamic makes him an amazing foe for Magnus to defeat. Great villain, and very charismatic too. As for headcanons, I can see Asmodeus appreciating human literature the same way humans appreciate animals acting human. He thinks it’s cute.

[ketzwrites]

kingofcamelot replied to your post “I know Magnus banished him into limbo and all that jazz, but I for one...”

I could totally be wrong, but I thought that was intentional. By gaining Magnus' power he himself was more powerful than ever before (i.e trapping lilth, not needing the cane)

ladymatt replied to your post “I know Magnus banished him into limbo and all that jazz, but I for one...”

Yeah, same tbh! It may be another continuity error, but far more likely that the magic was used to heal himself imo!

That explanation would make sense if Asmodeus limping was due to some sort of injury, but in biblical/mythological depictions of him, Asmodeus limps because he has one animal foot (rooster leg/a claw, it depends). The limping was a nod to that.

Unless Shadowhunters wants me to believe Asmodeus truly had an animal foot on the show and getting more powerful allowed him to change that. Because, if that’s the case, I wanted to see said animal foot and have Magnus be like “hey, you can actually buy pairs of shoes now. That’s nice :D”

[ketzwrites]

I'm really enjoying Asmodeus as a villain though! He's a manipulative bastard. I love it. I can't wait to watch his arrogance be his own undoing.

I want to see Magnus doing the magical equivalent of punching Asmodeus square on the face. Though I would whoop if Magnus just punched him too. 

But that just means Asmodeus makes my blood boil and that’s exactly what a villain should do. Kudos for Jack Yang. 

[ketzwrites]

I want more Asmodeus, why we had to wait so long to see him ? I deserve to have my hot charismatic demon bc it's probably the only interesting plot in the show right now. the only fanfic about him as a main character isn't in english. i'm so frustrated lol

As any good villain, Asmodeus should appear in moderation. If we see too much of him, I fear he’d become Lilith 2.0. In a way, it’s a blessing that Asmodeus doesn’t show up too much so, when he does, shit gets real.

[ketzwrites]

Poor Vera, in the end she seems to be so shock when she saw Asmodeus but more like she was under his charm.

She really did. Which goes to show that channeling a demon is supposed to be safe and Vera didn’t expect Asmodeus to be able to contact her even if he is a Prince of Hell.