What just happened? Was that really the Season 2 finale of Shadowhunters? While the second season was extended to twenty episodes, the season finale definitely felt lacking when comparing it to how other shows usually end with a bang…
Last week saw Jonathan’s position at the New York Institute compromised so he and Valentine had to try to escape the city except the Shadowhunters and Downworlders were out to stop them. At the end of the episode, Jonathan was severely stabbed by Jace and pushed into a river whilst Valentine was seen meeting with the Seelie Queen, and she appeared to be more than interested in what he had to say.
Demons and Betrayal
The start of the season finale sees Jonathan washing ashore, because in dramas they never search for the body and nobody ever actually dies, and somehow he manages to use his blood and demonic abilities to open a rift to bring demons into the world, whilst also calling to his mother… The Institute is soon alerted about the flying demon and our main Shadowhunter gang heads off to face it.
Meanwhile, Luke and Simon ask Magnus for his help in finding Maia, but after his dismal, the two head to the Seelie Court only to discover the Queen playing games and also giving Valentine passage to Idris. Simon ends up talking to the Seelie Queen, and after they find Maia, she says they can leave, but Luke doesn’t trust her as he believes there’s a catch.
The news of the Seelie Queen helping Valentine soon reaches the Shadowhunters, so Clary and Jace portal to Idris in order to stop Valentine and Izzy and Alec stay back to fight the demons. Unfortunately the number of demons grows and Alec reluctantly asks Magnus for his help, which then Magnus reluctantly gives.
The trio head to the source of the rift and Magnus works his magic, but not before another demon flies out and begins to attack them. Magnus is forced to aid Alec while closing the portal and you can’t help but to smile over that scene.
Idris: The Incredibly Unsafe Shadowhunter Capital
When Clary and Jace reach Idris, they meet the Shadowhunters guarding Lake Lyn, only to discover Consul Malachai is a Circle member and now his prisoners. Somehow this then leads to Clary’s head almost being chopped off, but Jace’s eyes light up and he breaks free to kill the Shadowhunters before they can.
With a quick embrace and no time for kisses (thank Raziel there was some practicality there), they rush to the lake and realise Valentine has yet to arrive. But suddenly Valentine leaps out and stabs Jace in the heart, which he obviously feels, but so does his parabatai. Cue the emotional flashbacks of Alec and Jace whilst Clary comforts him and Jace confesses his love for Clary just before he dies. Alec’s parabatai rune disappears and Valentine apologises as the two of them were just to dangerous together apparently.
The Angel Is Here!
After Clary attempts to kill Valentine but instead gets knocked out by him, she wakes to find Valentine preparing to summon the Angel Raziel. Surprisingly, the summoning was actually quite magical and it was even more impressive when Raziel began to speak and is voiced by freaking Anthony Head.
Valentine makes his request but must spill his blood, but Clary stops him and faces off against him once more. Just as Valentine is about to bludgeon and defeat her once more, she grabs a knife and slashes his throat. But it doesn’t end there as she begins to stab him multiple times and then stops to spill her own blood before Raziel.
Her request? To bring Jace back of course. Raziel then disappears with a horrible and cringey twinkly sound just as Jace begins to wake. Jace with the common sense questions Clary’s decision as bringing people back from the dead always has a consequence. Sorry Jace, but obviously she didn’t learn after she tried to bring Jocelyn back earlier in the season.
Alec, Izzy, and Magnus find the pair kissing (because it’s not a season finale without some pashes) and Alec is shocked to find his parabatai alive, and very well according to what Izzy is seeing. When they ask how, Jace merely replies with an “I don’t know”.
Celebrations and Couples Aplenty
The Downworlders and Shadowhunters celebrate their victory at Hunter’s Moon, and there’s plenty of sweet moments throughout this scene. From Clary and Izzy calling each other their sister, and to Simon and Clary becoming best friends again. Then of course the highlight is when Alec and Magnus talk with Alec apologising and confessing he can’t live without Magnus, the two kiss and make up!
But not everything can be merry as when Maia asks Simon why the Seelie Queen let them go, he brushes it off and then admits he has to head off, but not before he gives Maia a longing hug and his friends a wistful look.
Another random storyline comes back into play, but luckily it’s sort of balanced out with seeing drunk Luke as partner turns up to ask him how long he’s been a werewolf, so that will definitely come into play next season.
The Tiny Cliffhanger
Lastly, we see Simon at the Seelie Court and the Queen is very excited for what is to come, whilst Jace collapses outside of Hunter’s Moon and screams in agony.
At the very end of the episode, the demons which escaped the rift have gathered and begin to fly directly into the ground and sees a demonic female woman turn up in their place. She walks over to the bloodied and dying Jonathan to give him a sweet(?) caress and calls him her son…
Overall Thoughts
Well, Shadowhunters has certainly progressed a lot this season with elements from the second and third books of The Mortal Instruments series coming into play in a very different way than its source material. While it has been made clear from the start the show is its own, which is often ignored by many book fans, I am not entirely sure why they did this episode the way they did.
For a season finale, it felt incredibly anti-climatic with the only interesting part being the two deaths, and then possibly the Jonathan scene at the end. The overall episode felt very choppy as we were seeing three plots, but there was not really much flow between them and it felt slightly jarring when moving to a different scene.
Unfortunately, I do wish they did drag out more of the plots, not extensively, but a little longer would have been nice as I am very disappointed to see Alan Van Sprang’s Valentine be killed already. I personally don’t think Clary was ready as a character to do something like that, despite her father being the villain, and I think in another season’s time she would have had that development, and more training, for such an event to seem plausible.
As for Jonathan, although the storyline has been brought forward significantly, I am very excited to see what Lilith will bring to Season 3!
What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below and check back next week for our full Season 2 review!
3 Comments