Shadowhunters 2x16

Shadowhunters 2x16

"Day of Atonement"

Thoughts and Feels

I think the biggest thing that I want to address from this episode is the reveal of Sebastien's background and how he fits into the world in relationship to the other characters. My huge question mark moment concerning all of this is that Sebastien was in hell? Even for Valentine, that seems extreme. For awhile during the episode too, I had no idea where they were going with it. But then, with the conversation that Seb had with Val it sort of makes sense- it's like Seb was sent there for a time-out. And by the end of the episode, I like this backstory because I think it will transition well for where the story needs to go. For those who have read the books, there is a connection to Lilith later that seems a bit out of the blue in the book, but this alternate story in the show creates a bridge that will make this connection much smoother and believable. So while it is a different backstory, I think it was well done and is a good set up for what I hope/believe is to come.


The single issue that I have with the Sebastien development is the line, "I've never given a damn about your mortal instruments, I never had." Um.....well shit. Am I remembering this wrong from the books? Maybe at this point in the show they're angling for a fatherly connection but Seb will eventually grow into caring about the Instruments so that he can make a psycho demon army. If this is the case, I actually think it will be really interesting for the development of the character. It will definitely make Seb more sympathetic to viewers which could be very interesting given what I hope will happen by the end of this season (cough*deaths*cough). I think Will Tudor could also do a really good job with this development. I am really enjoying his work with the character so far. His portrayal of Seb at the Institute versus in the cabin with Valentine is fantastic, so I definitely think he could handle a development like this.

Only question: are they cutting the sick sibling attraction Seb has for Clary? If so i think I'm OK with that one. We already had the weird maybe-incest stuff back when Clary and Jace thought that they were related, so I don't think we really needed the Seb stuff in the book. And while it was 100% more character development for Seb in that context, I think if the show handles his character in the way I described above, they might have enough for his character as it is. On the other hand, I don't think I'll ever complain for them sticking to canon book content. It would be hard for them to go wrong either way on this matter.

Switching gears away from the psychopathic demon-shadowhunter villain of the series, I really enjoyed the scenes with Simon and Maia. They have a really great relationship growing between them and the show is making it seem so natural and easy, which I really appreciate. The moments that they had during and after Yom Kippur made the feels come to the surface. I know that they probably won't last too long if they go along with the books for Simon's love interest, but it still is a very crucial element to the development of both of their characters. The each learn and get so much out of the relationship that they have with each other, and I think it's really nice for the show to have this included and I think they will do a good job with it. All that being said, it also makes me really excited because this means we are some steps closer to A) meeting Jordan (I really hope they get a Jordan on this show...maybe season 3?) and B) SIZZY- aka the more adorkable ship to every grace the YA community.



On the shipping note, I absolutely love how they are taking their time developing Clace. They aren't jumping straight from Simon to Jace, which is perfect because I don't think Clary and Simon have even officially broken up yet. But there was definitely a major Clace moment in this episode where Clary was hallucinating about Jace's safety after she swallowed the Lake Lyn water and OH MY WORD I LOVED IT. It was a moment that was so fuzzy-feely and it shows the growing feelings between them without them acting on it and I really really think it was done well. A+ scene. Another very entertaining piece to the episode was that Jace's sass was spot on. I don't if it was the screenwriting or if Dom delivered them differently or if it was simply the context of when they were said, but dang the sass was tangible. Perfect classic Herondale sass that I sincerely hope we see more of.

A big thing that circulated this episode was that it was directed by Paul Wesley, and I think he did a really amazing job. Even if you were to ignore all of the amazing shots that captured the indirect developments of the characters, Idris was stunning. I know that is something that may/probably was chosen by someone in set design, but the shoots and angles that were done in the episode showed it off beautifully. I am really looking forward to going back to Alicante so that we can see more of it. Back to the Paul Wesley thing, I think I am missing something: why is it such a big deal that he directed? Because there was a lot of hype around him directing this episode. I know him from the Vampire Diaries, but I haven't seen all of the episodes yet and I know for a fact that I have not gotten to the point where he has directed any of the episodes. He is a fantastic actor in my opinion, and after watching this episode I think he is just as good at directing, if not better (from a viewer POV only obviously). Did people know this from watching the episodes of VD that he directed? Is that what I'm missing? I think so.... either way, I really appreciate the work that he did with this episode.

At the point of writing this, I have seen a few interviews of the cast from Comic Con, and they have revealed that more than one person is going to die by the end of season 2. My predictions: Max, Valentine, and Ithuriel. These are all the characters that either should be dead already or will be dying according to the books. There is absolutely no way they are going to kill a main character, and I can come up with reasons why they won't kill each of the minor characters. Robert dies in another book, Malec is eternal, Rafael is needed later on, etc. etc. And while this news is terrifying, because character deaths always are, it is simultaneously relieving because I will say it again, Valentine needs to die. This probably sounds super harsh or aggressive, but for the sake of the plot and character developments this needs to happen. The villain focus needs to shift from Valentine over to Sebastien because if it doesn't then it will have a negative effect on not just the main characters, but the development of the Shadowhunting community.



There are only four episodes left of this season! I found something online too that said season 3 will be centered on City of Fallen Angels, which makes me think that my death predictions are probably right. Also, I think that season 3 will dip into City of Lost Souls a bit too, because CoFA isn't too long, and I don't recall it having too much happening in it.... there are definitely some big moments, but not enough I think for a whole season of TV shows.

Thanks for reading!