Shadowhunters Midseason Finale Review: The Monster Rises
Justin Carreiro
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The battle for Edom's most treasured son has ended with a bang. Lilith promised to deliver fire and death in her quest to bring Jonathan back from the dead. And she accomplished her goal.
The missing pieces of the puzzle were acquired on Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 9 and Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 10. She had everything going for her, but you don't mess with family. Especially the family you create for yourself.
During the two-hour midseason finale of Shadowhunters Season 3, the theme of family came to the forefront. In fact, it was a topic that had served as an overarching narrative for the first half of the season.
Every storyline we had witnessed in the past about family, like Simon's shaky relationship with his mother/sister and Lilith's obsession to reunite with her lost son to name a few, came to a climax.
The decisions characters made were driven by their love of family members. Sacrifices were made, battles were fought, and hearts were broken in the journey to reunite with loved ones. This conclusion was a powerful message that ultimately left our favorite characters reeling after the big bang.
Ever since Shadowhunters Season 1 Episode 1, family had always been the main driver.
Clary discovered a new world and the truth about her real family. That beginning led her all the way to this moment that potentially took her life.
Though, there's no way she's dead. She's Clary Fairchild!
The main character of Shadowhunters can't be dead after that shocking cliffhanger. Especially after going through so much to get to her fight with Lilith.
Clary awaiting execution at the prison was a tad nerve-wracking. Her survival seemed guaranteed, but the cost was up for debate.
Her preparation to be placed into the pen almost seemed inspired by the royal court executions from history, like that of Anne Boleyn. (Obviously without any of the Shadowhunter runes and magic spells.) She was dressed, cleaned up and made to look like a prisoner to await her execution.
The fire executions looked extremely painful!
Burning up a Shadowhunter while standing on a rune was inhumane. And, to sweep away the dead body into a hole showed the Clave had little to no respect for the dead. Even though they're criminals, that move was rude.
If Iris had not shared Consul Penhallow's secret, Clary would've been another ball of ash. As was mentioned before, Clary is one lucky Shadowhunter! Her means to avoid death was placed into her lap.
Were you surprised that Valentine returned? (The shock was real!)
When Clary first brought up the idea of resurrecting Valentine, there was a thought that potentially her move had been a diversionary tactic. She needed to do something to avoid the flames, and giving Penhallow what she wanted was that right move.
Though, Valentine is a dangerous villain; he should not have been brought back from the dead. Just look at the damage he caused in the few minutes he was alive! He nearly decimated the entire prison with his fighting skills.
Had it not been for Clary, the resurrected Valentine would've reinstated the Circle and swept through Alicante in a wave of death and violence. But, for as much as Valentine was an enigmatic and fun villain, it was his time to go once and for all.
We've closed the book on the Valentine story.
He made his mark on the series and ultimately triggered the sequence of events that led to this moment. He was dead, buried and closed off in the previous chapter.
Let's finally make peace and move on.
Clary: Let me talk to him. Please. Give him back to me. I can’t lose him again.
Jace: There is no version of this where your Jace wakes up and comes home.
Clary: Jace, if you can hear me in there. I will never give up on you. Never.
[She head butts Jace and runs for it. He catches her.]
Jace: The life you knew is gone. You belong to Lilith now.
Side-note: Does the resurrection rune mark the third time that Clary created a new symbol from scratch?
This rune now joins the list of the sun rune and the transportation rune. We should keep our eyes to Clary because she could be an untold well of new powers in the Shadowhunters' world.
Consul Penhallow not interrogating her about this new power was a tad strange. Only necromancers can bring people back from the dead. So, Clary's new ability didn't fit with the Shadowhunter world of powers.
Lilith: Losing Jonathan, hearing him call for me with his final breath was the single most painful moment of my very long life.
Clary: You say that like you loved him?
Lilith: Why wouldn’t I?
Clary: Demons aren’t capable of love.
Lilith: A failing of frail human imagination. Demons live, we die, we feed, we lay. Why wouldn’t we love like you? I need to care for Jonathan like you and your father never would.
Clary: If there’s one thing Valentine and I can agree on, is the fact that the world is a much better place with a monster like Jonathan dead and buried.
[Lilith slaps Clary and uses magic to bind her]
Lilith: My son is not a monster!
Clary being the final piece of Jonathan's resurrection ritual was a nice surprising twist.
We didn't know much about the ritual, except that it needed A LOT of blood and the flesh of his father. When Jace kidnapped Clary from the prison and brought her to Lilith, the connection didn't make a whole lot of sense. Why was she needed all of a sudden?
Lilith had everything at the altar to complete her spell. Jonathan should've been able to rise with or without his sister by his casket.
On the other hand, when the truth was revealed, the twist was a good tie back to family. In the end, his 'mother' would bring him back using materials attained from his father and sister. Quite clever!
This new connection between Clary and Jonathan will have untold ramifications.
His life is now tied to her's, and as long as she lives, so does he. That revelation is dangerous news because she can't stop a terrible villain without harming herself in the process. Lilith had created the perfect catch to keep her son alive once he came back.
Though, that's not to stop someone from trying. Both Clary and Jonathan are missing after that explosion; they could be anywhere.
It's a shame that she'll be missing the grand reunion with Jace now that the Owl Demon is dead. We're getting being deprived of their happy reunion for even longer.
The demon was particularly cruel to her once she got kidnapped. He was so close to completing his mission that he didn't care about engaging her or listening to her words. Clary was simply an impending death to him.
The same can be said about Alec. The Owl Demon was taking plenty of joy over the potential of killing Jace's parabathai. You could feel the happiness in his words when he was about to plunge the arrow deeper into his chest.
Luckily Magnus was able to reverse the curse and bring Jace back from the darkness.
We need to have the good Jace back in our lives. We had gone through half of Shadowhunters Season 3 with an evil corrupted version of Jace manipulating our minds and hearts; we needed the good, moody guy back.
Lilith: Oh, anger isn’t a good look on you. Neither are those clothes.
[She snaps her fingers and two acolytes appear beside Clary]
Lilith: Get her cleaned up and into a change of clothes for her brother’s rebirth. Perhaps something blue? That’s what your kind wears when a lost returns, isn’t it?
Magnus sacrificed a lot in his pursuit to stop Lilith and cure Jace.
He paid the ultimate price by giving up his magic to do good in the world. But, to what extent did his deal with Asmodeus also cost him?
He may not have his powers, but there's always a deeper catch to these deals with demons. Asmodeus wouldn't relent so easily without getting more out of Magnus in desperation.
Related: Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Salt In The Wound
Hopefully, it has something to do with getting rid of the High Warlock of Brooklyn.
Come on, Lorenzo is the worst! He's that unbearable mix of a smug politician, entitled socialite, and power-hungry jerk. Lorenzo was willing to sacrifice everyone so that he could get a leg up on Magnus and Alec.
That thinking was not the right way to lead the community in the city. He's going to get everyone killed if he doesn't learn to trust and work with people, especially his frenemies.
Though, I can't deny that Lorenzo's magical fight with Magnus was terrific. Their arcade-inspired battle was one of the highlights of the finale.
A lot of thought and effort was put into the special effects and choreography of the fight. We witnessed magical blasts, slow motion, and flying characters being knocked back by their opponents. Their battle might be one of the best fight scenes on Shadowhunters ever.
Luke was another character who sacrificed a lot for family. He put his future at risk to try to save his daughter (i.e., Clary) from the prison and Lilith's clutches.
There's no doubt that the wolves and the police officers will be coming after him. Luke abandoned his post and responsibilities to save Clary; those groups won't merely brush his attitude under the rug, especially when their lives were at risk.
Luke has more to fear with the werewolves than the police offers.
Once Ollie returns to the Mundane world, suspicion will be taken off Luke. He may help her readjust to the real world, but he won't be considered a suspect. Ollie is back, and the police will have questions for her, not Luke.
When it comes to the werewolves, they could feel abandoned by Luke and take their anger out on him. He's supposed to think of their needs first, and he has in the past, but this move was a blatant decision to step away from the pack. Someone could take a stand against him (possibly for wolf authority?) and retaliate.
Hopefully, it doesn't involve Maryse Lightwood.
She and Luke are still reaffirming their bond with each other. We can't have this romance end anytime soon.
We finally learned the truth about Simon's mark, and the information made a lot of sense.
When the demons exploded into salt on Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 8, that attack was the first time where Simon's mark killed anyone. The barrier had only knocked people back or pushed them away. We were left to wonder if this reacted differently due to the acolytes being demons.
'The Mark of Cain' granted Simon protection from any attack and delivered a reversal attack at sevenfold. We had seen werewolves, Raphael and demons react differently to the shield, so it fit the storyline. Only the demons attacked to kill; they died due to the blast.
The Seelie Queen mentioned she gave the mark to Simon because he was special and they protect special things. However, time will tell if that was really the case.
Simon: I am so sorry.
Becky: I’ve read enough YA to know what happens. So, how long is it until I turn?
Simon: You won’t, I promise. You have to have died with my blood in your system then get buried and then ... feed as soon as you crawl out of your own grave.
Becky: Oh, Simon. You went through all of that on your own? You died? [She cries]
Simon: Medically speaking, yeah.
Becky: Well, I guess all your sketchy behavior makes sense now.
Simon dealt with the most heartbreaking moment of his life: He had to say goodbye to his family officially.
Don't get me wrong, his farewell to his family was bound to happen. Simon is a Daylighter/Vampire, so he'll live forever. His mother and sister, on the other hand, are Mundanes and they will die eventually. However, the pain in his words and the tears left me broken.
He loved his family. And he made it work for as long as possible to stay in their lives pretending to be a human. His plan was working, and he could've had a few more years with them as their lives progressed together.
Damn you, Heidi and Lilith!
Simon got his revenge against Lilith (or as she's known now, 'dust in the wind'), but I can't wait for the day until he gets his revenge on Heidi. Her obsession with him crossed the line, and she hurt a lot of people that meant a lot to him. If she truly loved him, she wouldn't have done this.
Heidi deserves all the karma she will be receiving.
Not to minimize her evil plans, but she got lucky that Simon was low on blood. His appetite was clouding his senses, and if he had food in his system, he wouldn't have reacted wildly. Becky wouldn't have gotten attacked, and his mother wouldn't have threatened him.
And what was the point of telling his family that he was a vampire?
Lilith had this master plan to manipulate Heidi, but all it did was push Simon away from her. His mark would've protected him, and if Heidi tried to hurt him, she would've gotten hurt instead. And, the feeling of revenge would drive him to seek it against Lilith.
Overall, Lilith and Heidi's deadly alliance didn't make sense.
Related: Shadowhunters Season 3 Episode 6 Review: A Window Into An Empty Room
Simon simply compelled his mother to forget everything and gave her the peace of mind to live a happy life. He sacrificed his happiness to protect his family. The villains did nothing except for nearly killing Becky and ruining Simon's life.
Nevertheless, they couldn't take away Simon's selfless move. He made the ultimate sacrifice for the people he loved for their happiness.
At least he had Isabelle by his side through this low moment in his life for support.
(Side-note: Might they become a new couple? Maia did need space, and Isabelle mentioned that her and Dr. Charlie were over. That type of dialogue isn't usually included unless a new romance plot is teased.)
What did you think of "Familia Ante Omnia" and "Erchomai"? Is Jonathan back from the dead? Will Luke regain his place within the pack? Will Magnus get his powers back?
If you missed the latest episode from Shadowhunters, you can watch Shadowhunters online via TV Fanatic. Come back here and share your thoughts in the comments.
Justin Carreiro was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.
