Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Salt In The Wound
Justin Carreiro
at
.
Evil Jace is spreading his influence everywhere he goes. Now that he's out in the open, the secret owl demon is leaving a wave of destruction on Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 7.
The rogue shadowhunter has already claimed many victims in the name of Lilith and Jonathan. However, the most recent few are those who hit close to home. If the group doesn't stop him soon, he might kill a few more of our favorites.
If there was one thing clear that we learned from "Salt In The Wounds," it was that Jace can tap into his evil side easily and embrace it wholeheartedly. Throwing Clary off the roof was savage! That might be the coldest thing he's ever done.
During last week's review for Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 6, we mentioned that Clary had the best intuition out of everyone. Let's add 'lucky' to that list. How did she not die from that fall?!
She fell off a building onto the roof of a car and didn't die! And, she had the strength to call Simon for help. That's a miracle unto itself.
Clary continued to defy the odds with her angel luck.
Clary: Jace, this isn’t you!
[He lifts her over the edge of a roof]
Clary: Jace, I know you’re still in there. I know you won’t kill me. Jace, I love you.
[He pulls her close]
Jace: I don’t love you. Not anymore.
[He throws her off a roof and she falls on a car]
The truth finally came out about her wish to bring Jace back from the dead. Clary couldn't keep that bit of information a secret forever, especially since Lilith had control over him.
Hiding the truth would only have put him in more danger. It's great that none of the group members held it against her for claiming the wish. Many of them, including Alec, would've done the exact same thing if presented with the opportunity.
It's shocking to realize that it took seven episodes for the group to figure out Lilith's identity.
Magnus had interacted with her on Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 5 and we already met the demon queen since Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 1. However, she had been hiding in her chapel and hotel all this time. Her reveal took a drawing and ancient text to reveal the truth.
Now with the revelation, the group is closer to planning a defense against their toughest enemy to date.
Who else was excited to see Imogen again?
She's a character who grew from her original appearance as the inquisitor. Deep down she was only following the word of the Clave, but she'd rather be with her family again. And knowing that Jace was in danger, the group could trust her in their mission to get the Malakai Configuration.
Imogen would protect her grandchild at all costs. It's a shame that the price was her life.
My heart was crushed when Jace murdered Imogen! The Herondales are seriously cursed. Jace lost the last bit of blood family he had left in this world because of Lilith, and it was by his own hand. He will never forgive himself.
Imogen will be sad loss for Shadowhunters.
She was a trusted connection in Alicante and with her death, the Clave will no doubt hold it against the others at the New York Institute. They allowed a possessed shadowhunter to enter and kill a high-ranking member without any warning.
Alec: We’re going to save you, Jace.
Jace: Good luck. It’s only a matter of time before Lilith finds me and finds you. You’ll be dead by sunrise.
Isabelle: I don’t think so. We will battle her with everything we’ve got. We won’t let her take you again.
Jace: When your delusional confidence gets you killed, I’ll be sure to tell your Mundane boyfriend that you died in a tragic jewelry-making accident.
With Jace captured in the Configuration, Lilith is going to have to take the fight to the Institute. She needs her owl demon to complete her ritual. And Valentine's flesh is one of the missing pieces that is currently out of her reach.
We've seen Lilith somewhat fight one member of the group; it was only to take a tiny bit of Clary's soul. This recovery mission might be the first chance of Lilith's full powers in the field.
If the group has any chance of defeating her, they'll need Jace cured of his possession.
Magnus and Katarina spent a lot of time working together on a viable potion. Hopefully they found something that works because that spell won't keep him trapped forever.
And we can't forget about Clary!
She let herself be captured by the shadowhunters so that the others could find a way to reverse Jace. They'll need to free her as well.
Clary has that all powerful sun run that defeated one of Lilith's acolytes. That firepower will come in handy during the big fight.
Alec: Magnus, Lilith would’ve gotten to him with or without you. You can’t put this all on yourself.
Magnus: I will fix it. I will use the last drop of my power if it’s the death of me.
[They hug]
Magnus: Thank you.
Alec: About our fight.
Magnus: Alexander...
Alec: No, I was wrong. I said things I shouldn’t have.
Magnus: As did I. But that’s not important right now. What’s important is saving your parabathai.
Magnus and Alec's reconciliation was heartwarming and tender, but they fell into the same trap they always do. The couple chose to ignore a concern that their relationship needed to overcome and instead played ignorant.
Don't get me wrong, "Malec" should never been arguing with each other. They have gone through so much to be together and they've been at their happiest these last two months exploring their relationship.
Alec loves Magnus and vice versa.
The problem, on the other hand, was that they ignored an issue for the sake of apologizing. Both were at fault for how childish and petty they treated each other during Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 6. But, the issue which they were arguing about in the first place was a valid concern.
Age and immortality are going to come up again in the future. And unless Alec is fine with the fact he's going to get old and die, and Magnus will continue to live centuries after him, the "Malec" relationship will never be fully complete.
This couple has all the makings to have a happy ending, but they need to talk and work through their hurdles.
Maia had a lot of internal struggles to deal with during Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 7. No one ever wants the past to catch up with them, but for her, the past was sitting at a table with her current boyfriend.
If you're a fan of the book series, you probably already expected the big reveal with Kyle. (To sum up: Kyle is actually Jordan Kyle, Maia's ex-boyfriend who infected her with the werewolf curse.) Their reunion was a highly anticipated moment for fans because the last time they saw each other, he had infected her and then disappeared.
Related: Shadowhunters Promo: Mark of Destruction
During Shadowhunters, Jordan was only a lightly discussed conversation piece until now.
From the look on Maia's face, her entire world had come crashing down. She never expected Jordan to return and shake up her life yet again. This is the man who changed everything! And here he was being all nonchalant about it all before being forced to discuss the past.
Maia was right: He was a coward.
Maia: I love you, Jordan Kyle.
Jordan: I love you too.
[They kiss]
The flashbacks of Maia and Jordan's relationship were the right editing choice to frame their past. Sometimes flashbacks can feel heavy-handed when they try to force as much back history into the scenes. In the case of "Salt In The Wounds," that didn't happen here.
Maia's memories of their first encounter, their first "I love you," and the wolf scratch perfectly framed the progression of their relationship. We witnessed the beginning, the end and the moment she felt her happiest with him. These three scenes framed a narrative that shaped how they ended up reuniting in Simon's apartment.
And, thanks to the flashbacks, we learned a lot about Maia that gave her character more depth! We need to know more about why her parents were so distant, and how her brother died. We know so little about her as is.
The most heartbreaking scene had to be when Jordan took off after his first transformation.
Maia was heavily bleeding on the ground and he took off running! The long trail of blood from the body may have been overdone, but the set-up of the attack illustrated how near-death she was after he lost control.
Based on that attack, it was a miracle that she survived! Those claw marks were deep and bloodied.
Jordan: I want you to know what happened. It started the weekend I went camping, when I got scratched.
Maia: Why didn’t you tell me what was really happening?
Jordan: How do you tell the girl that you love that you’re an animal? A werewolf.
Maia: You should’ve trusted me. I would’ve been there for you.
Jordan: I know that now. When I first turned, I wasn’t thinking straight. I wanted everything to go back to normal but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I lost it. And when I saw you with that guy
Maia: That night you attacked me ... to get revenge.
Jordan: Revenge? Is that what you think?! It wasn’t revenge, I was jealous and I couldn’t control my turn. I never meant to scratch you, Maia. I swear to God.
Maia getting her vindication was a long time coming. She deserved all the applause and cheering music for telling Jordan off.
He may not have intended to hurt her, but he did. Jordan attacked her and left her to die in the middle of a muddy field; there was no guarantee that someone was coming around to save her before she bled out. His actions had negative consequences and he's going to spend a lot of time to earn his redemption.
It was big of her for telling Jordan not to quit.
Anyone would rather have a bad ex like Jordan gone, but she outweighed the importance of keeping him around. With him near and with the Praetor Lupus, he could watch over Simon and protect him.
Hopefully he won't create a wedge in her relationship. Maia could do so much better than reigniting a relationship with Jordan.
When it came to Luke's hunt to save Ollie, he's going to do whatever it takes to cure her.
After warning Sam and getting slapped by her, there's a possibility that interaction eliminated any chance that he would be forced to kill his partner. It's either going to be saving or death by consequence. There's a gut feeling that this climax is building up to a moment when Luke will make that choice, but he won't do it.
Related: Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 4 Review: Thy Soul Instructed
Case in point: He refused to hurt her when they reunited at the chapel. Reasoning with the new demonic Ollie had no power, but at least he tried to win her over. With her corruption still in hold, there's now only one way to save her.
Ollie will need to be cured of her corruption by the owl demon if there's any chance to keep her alive after this storyline.
Simon's life is now in danger yet again.
His Daylighter mark killed two of Lilith's acolytes with a simple barrier and the effect hurt her immensely. Lilith doesn't want anything (and especially, anyone) standing in her way of bringing Jonathan back. And now that Ollie sacrificed her mother, the demon queen's ritual is nearly complete.
We could see the Lilith go after Simon to make sure he doesn't interfere. His mark had the power to turn her acolytes into dust by simply knocking them back; a power like that could wipe out her entire team.
Is that mark extra powerful against demons? What power could that have against someone like Lilith herself?
What did you think of "Salt In The Wound"? Will Lilith try to kill Simon? What dangers await Clary now that she's been captured? Will Magnus discover the cure for Jace?
If you missed the latest episode of Shadowhunters, you can watch Shadowhunters online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments about the episode.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
