'Shadowhunters' | 'How Are Thou Fallen' S02E07 Review
Have you lost trust in someone you believed in, leaving you utterly crushed? In ‘Shadowhunters’ Episode 7, this is the issue each of the main characters seem to be dealing with… and it is simply glorious to watch.
SPOILER ALERT!
‘How Are Thou Fallen’ sees, quite frankly, many of the lead characters falling apart.
Jace has moved into Magnus’ apartment and is rebelling (as well as sulking) with alcohol and girls.
Alec is understandably disappointed, but distracted with his hope of taking his relationship with Magnus to the next level.
Meanwhile, Clary is disappointed in Luke for not wanting to believe in his proven disloyal sister, Cleophus, who is also dealing with disappointment of her own.
Simon is struggling with his emotions now that beautiful Maia has remixed them, and with (a lack of) help from Jace, Simon too ends up disappointing Maia on their supposed date by being a total ass.
Unfortunately, Isabelle is disappointing viewers of late (and no doubt her family and friends) in showing desperation to get her hands on yin fen, and therefore become further addicted.
It should also be mentioned that Cleophus deals with the greatest disappointment and breaking of trust when she realises Valentine has broken all covenant and reason by torturing an angel.
So what it boils down to is, ‘How Are Thou Fallen’ is just a fancy title for all the disappointment experienced by the characters in this episode.
However, the episode itself was far from disappointing. In fact, certain aspects could even to be applauded.
Kudos should be duly given to the writers, and Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum Jr. for portraying a healthy relationship. Communication, even when it was awkward, was made key: Magnus appreciating his own feelings out loud in regard to how special the relationship is to him; Alec talking for clarity about sex and expectations in his relationship with his sister, and then again to Magnus; Magnus expressing his vulnerability and his concerns; and finally, Alec allaying those fears with not just actions, but words when he simply yet poignantly says “I want this.”
Isabelle’s addiction, and specifically her withdrawal symptoms were also conveyed fairly well. We see Izzy constantly sweating and agitated throughout the episode, and behaving out of character: snapping at Clary, lying to Magnus, asking Simon to bite her (and then covering it up as a bad joke), and even seeking out vampires; this is a good indication of just how addictive yin fen is, how quickly things can get out of hand, and how tricky it is to come down from - especially when the withdrawal is so profound. One hopes that when Izzy does come off the drug, the full withdrawal process will be included in the show.
It was extremely pleasant to watch a less antagonistic encounter between Simon and Jace this week. Although lacking explanation, viewers are witness to an awkward tutorial of how to flirt and become desirable to women, officiated by Jace of course who was decidedly off the rails in this episode. It was uncomfortable yet funny - the kind of light-hearted moment needed to balance out the heavy drama of the other storylines. It also leads to a great conversation between Simon and Maia after he upsets her by listening to Jace that makes this viewer’s heart sing.
Finally, the angel Ithuriel. How excellent it is that Ed Decter and his writers included Ithuriel into the plot of the series, as it is a crucial moment in the books.
Ithuriel is portrayed fairly well, considering the angel is supposed to have been held captive and tortured for nearly two decades (if going by the books). The vision Ithuriel imparts Jace and Clary with is suitably vague and hard to interpret, although one wonders if special effects could have made the vision a little less flat. The penultimate moment in the scene was the display of Ithuriel’s wings, which were beautiful and not at all cheesy.
All in all, this episode had everything fans desire: sword fight scenes, romance, humour and angels to balance the immense disappointment felt by the characters throughout.
‘How Are Thou Fallen’ is a true joy to watch.
'Shadowhunters' airs weekly on Netflix.
