Warning: If you haven’t completed the series, there are spoilers ahead!
“When you love someone, they become a part of who you are. They’re in everything you do. They’re in the air you breathe and the water you drink & the blood in your veins. Their touch stays on your skin and their voices stays in your ears and their thoughts stay in your mind. You know their dreams because their nightmares pierce you heart & their good dreams are your dreams too. And you don’t think they’re perfect, but you know their flaws, the deep-down truth of them & they don’t frighten you away, in fact you love them more for it, because you don’t want perfect. You want them.” – Lady Midnight
For more than 10 years, Cassandra Clare has provided us with her unique stories which show us that there a whole different world lies behind an invisible curtain. A world where all the legends are true and where everyone can be a hero. Welcome to the world of Downworlders and Shadowhunters!
After The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, and some short stories in between, the latest series within the Shadowhunters Chronicles is The Dark Artifices. As of 2018, Queen of Air and Darkness marked the final instalment in the series.
Just like every Shadowhunter fan around the world, I have been waiting for this book for quite some time! I could not wait to get answers on some leftover burning questions, even if it meant to say goodbye to this particular part of the Shadowhunters world and to some characters which have become very dear to us.
The Dark Artifices follow Emma Carstairs, Julian Blackthorn, and his siblings who live in the L.A. Institute with their teacher, Diana. During the Dark War, which took place in the end of The Mortal Instruments series, Emma lost her parents and the father of the Blackthorns. Since then, Julian is leading the Institute in secret to protect his family and has to cope with the fact that he is in love with his parabatai, Emma, which is forbidden and could have serious consequences if this is made public. However, these are not the only problems they have to deal with. There is a new threat coming their way which will change their lives forever.
Now that this trilogy has been finished, it is time to reflect on it. Was it better or worse compared to the other series? Did we really get all the answers or are we left with some unanswered? Let me tell you, I thought a lot about it and now I will break it down to some points of which I think are the most relevant ones.
You’ll fix me, because we’re parabatai. We’re forever. – Lady Midnight
The most fascinating part for me since TMI is the meaning of the parabatai bond. To know that there is a person in your life which is so important to you that you want to bond yourself to them is for me the ultimate meaning of friendship. It never occurred to me that there could be a dark side to it as well. In the Infernal Devices, we learn what happens to a parabatai when the other one dies. It literally breaks your heart and you will never feel whole again.
But what happens, when you make the bond out of the misinterpretation of your feelings? Julian bonded with Emma, but what he really wanted was for Emma to be with him in another way. Now, because they fell in love with each other, they have to face the parabatai curse, which will drive them mad and her powers will be uncontrollable.
To be honest, I am not a fan of that outcome. I mean, how can something so beautiful turn into something unbearable because you fall in love with your parabatai? It is not fair. After all, love is an important part of the bond, right? It felt cruel to me that after everything they had gone through, they had the weight of this on their shoulders as well. But on the other hand, this is what makes for a good story.
Parabatai. A cruel sort of bond, he thought, that made one person out of two people, and left such devastation when half was gone. – Queen of Air and Darkness
When the story continues to the big fight in the third book, the last piece of the puzzle is revealed and the curse is what safes Idris and the Shadowhunters. The curse is also what sets Emma and Julian free. Everything can have a dark side and you should be aware of it, but the solution was right in front of them the whole time. It is love which bound them together, and it is love which saves them.
We fear things because we value them. We fear losing people because we love them. We fear dying because we value being alive. Don’t wish you didn’t fear anything. All that would mean is that you didn’t feel anything. – Lord of Shadows
No other Shadowhunters series has left its readers speechless and heartbroken as this one. I think it is important to realise that there is no shame to be afraid of things or situations. It is a big part of our lives. I am grateful for the way Cassandra works with that topic and brings it to her audience, no matter the age. We all prefer to not talk about our fears and think that we are broken when we admit it to ourselves, which is wrong.
At the end of Lord of Shadows, Cassandra made the brave choice to kill not one, but two beloved characters, which was a shock for every reader. Let’s be honest, we all thought that at least one character will have to die. It would have been a miracle if everyone would have survived the serious dangerous situations the Blackthorns have been in. But two within a couple of pages?
Livvy’s death hurts me the most as I was afraid to see what Livvy’s death would do especially to Ty. I guess Cassandra did not want to let her go without bringing her back one more time to the story and I did not expect to read about a completely different Livvy who lives in an alternate dimension. I am glad that Cassandra found a way to let Livvy be a part of the story even after her death. Ty wished her to come back as she was, but I think it is a good solution to have her as a ghost around him, like his own guardian angel to which he can talk to. After all, it is a world where legends are true, right?
Everyone Can Be A Hero
“Ty isn’t weird”, says Julian in Lord of Shadows, ready to defend his brother. All Kit answers is “he’s just autistic, it’s not a big deal”, and has nothing more to add.
I salute you, Cassandra Clare. That is how you build a diverse bunch of characters and do them justice. No wrapping in cotton or point the fingers on them. It started with a bisexual warlock and now there are characters who are autistic, transgender, white, black, human, fairy, demon, and whatnot.
Mark comes back and doubts everything he does. He is broken in his own way and tries his best to cope with everything. One would say such a fragile soul can never restore themselves, but he does. Ty, a person who is not really interested in fighting but more in gathering knowledge, can be a hero as well. Everyone outgrows themselves. It was time for stories like this to show readers that everyone is valuable and worthy.
Different Times, Different Realms
We fans are used to it that some characters from other stories come by and visit the current protagonists in their story. I absolutely love it and always look forward to it. Emma and the Blackthorns get visited by the New York Institute crew. Clary gives advice to Emma, Jace tries his best with Kit, while Alec and Magnus are mostly giving advice to Julian and taking care of Tavvy, and then there is Jem who looks out for Emma and does his best to guide her.
In Queen of Air and Darkness we also go back to the fairyland in which time passes differently and visit an alternate dimension which is upside down to all we know. It needs a magic touch to intertwine all the different characters of different storylines together and do not get lost so that the story still makes sense.
The Ups and Downs of Life
As we all have an infinite capacity to make mistakes, we all have an infinite capacity for forgiveness. – Queen of Air and Darkness
As mentioned before, Cassandra Clare is not afraid of touching on the sad things that happen in life. Through the Shadowhunters Chronicles, she showed her readers that after darkness there will be light again. In The Dark Artifices trilogy, she shows that sometimes this dark times stick around longer than we want them to and when hope is lost, you are still strong and to not stop fighting, because something good has to happen, right? The Blackthorns have gone through hell and back and somehow they managed pretty well considering the circumstances.
Julian had to take care of his family for years while he was mostly a child himself. Ty accepted an outsider, Kit, into his life who he trusted completely which he only did with Livvy and Julian before. Everyone has a bit of sadness in themselves. Cassie teaches us that when you embrace it, it can make you stronger and not weaker. I think that is a very important lesson.
One of the most touching dialogues in this series, of which are plenty, is between Kit and Alec in Lord of Shadows:
“Kit: Jace isn’t much like you.
Alec: That’s an understatement. But it doesn’t matter. Parabatai don’t need to be like each other. They just need to complement each other. To work well together.
Kit: And you and Jace complement each other?
Alec: I remember when I met him. He walked out of a Portal from Idris. He was skinny and he had bruises and he had these big eyes. He was arrogant, too. He and Isabelle used to fight … But to me everything about him said “Love me, because nobody else has”. It was all over him, like fingerprints.”
Love is Love is Love
There is an infinite amount of ways where love can be shown. The love within a family, the love between brothers and sisters, the love you feel for your friends, and the love you feel for your parabatai.
A relationship can blossom between two, but what if your heart falls in love with two people at the same time? The ultimate love triangle, which pushes all who came before into the shadows.
Cristina first falls in love with Mark, who still has feelings for Kieran. Then Kieran and Cristina fall in love as well. How can one decide whom they will give their heart completely? Usually one person would leave heartbroken. In this case, it would have been all three of them. So how about, all three of them give it a try together? Let this sink in. Can this work? Is this the solution which can be adapted into real life? It sure is a brilliant way of showing that love does not know no boundaries.
My Personal Opinion
Hands down, I think The Dark Artifices provides the readers with characters in which everyone can see themselves in. They show us love in their different forms.It shows us the meaning and power of friendship, in having a parabatai – the good and the bad sides, obviously.
To be honest, I had a problem with Julian going to Magnus and asking him to help him with his feelings. I hate the spell Magnus put on him.
Ty: All the lights and the shouting and the people. It’s like broken glass in my head.
Kit: What about fighting? Battles, killing demons, that must be pretty noisy and loud?
Ty: Battle is different. Battle is what Shadowhunters do. Fighting is in my body, not my mind. As long as I can wear headphones. (Lord of Shadows)
The one character who stole my heart completely is Ty. He is a great representation for those with autism and to remove the stigma from people who are affected. He shows, that he is so much more. I can relate to him as life can feel overwhelming sometimes. This can have a serious impact on you and it is important to talk about mental health more than ever and accept people how they are. To choose time with yourself instead of being around people is nothing to be ashamed of. However, I felt that at the end of the series he did not have as much “page time” as I wished him to have. I mean, after Livvy, I would have expected to see a lot more of him.
This brings me to the big but also predictable reveal that Kit is in love with Ty. However, it seems that Ty overheard his confession or that he just does not care about it, because as fast as it came out of Kit’s mouth, we speed forward in the story. Then, Kit chose to leave with Tessa and Jem without a last conversation with the Blackthorns, especially Ty. How can you, Kit? But, then I remembered that this is not the last time we will see the two together…
What’s Next?
Cassie revealed that she plans to write a series about Kit, Ty, and Drusilla. The series will be called The Wicked Powers. Unfortunately there is no publication date known so far, which drives me crazy.
This year, the next trilogy in the Shadowhunters Chronicles will start. Chain of Gold is the first book in The Last Hours series, a sequel to The Infernal Devices.
Also publishing this year will be The Red Scrolls of Magic, the first book about Alec and Magnus in The Eldest Curses series.
