MID-SEASON RETURN | 'Shadowhunters' S02E11
The beginning of June brings us a brand new episode of 'Shadowhunters', which the series creators are calling Season 2B.
Episode 11, titled 'Mea Maxima Culpa' (latin for some version of “through my own fault” or “my most grievous fault”) creates an ominous feeling for the entire series, especially considering little actually happens in this particular instalment.
'Mea Maxima Culpa' follows a few days after the summer season finale, with Valentine captured and in the hands of the Clave. He is being tortured by Inquisitor Herondale for the Mortal Cup, and continues to be so by various characters throughout the episode.
Meanwhile, a greater demon is out on the loose, killing people in search for the Mortal Cup and generally strutting around try to make viewers nervous for what he will do in future episodes.
Jace, on the other hand, is reminded that he should be feeling something after accidentally activating the Mortal Sword for Valentine, inadvertently killing hundreds of Downworlders. He is also dealing with the new secret - that he is not Valentine’s son, and therefore, is Clary’s brother.
Isabelle is coping miserably through yin fen withdrawal, leading her to some dangerous doorsteps throughout the episode. Luke and Maia are struggling to keep their werewolf pack together after one-third of them died in the aforementioned Valentine attack, and several others leaving due to a lack of trust in Luke.
Finally, the one character actually doing well in this episode is Simon, who is now a ‘Daylighter’. Although a vampire that can now go out in sunlight with no risk to his life, because he is Simon, his paranoia plagues him throughout each scene, making the entire episode for all characters one of foreboding and anxiety.
Though all seems dark and dreary, there are some positive developments to be mentioned. For instance, all the characters seem to have experienced personal growth in the communication realm.
Throughout the episode were well-written scenes where characters made healthy decisions to confide and talk tough situations out. Alec and Jace are prime examples of this, as Alec tries to figure out how Jace is coping and eventually leading to Jace crying his feelings out in Alec’s arms on a rooftop (because he is always so dramatic). Clary and Simon acting sweet and optimistic, Raphael being an adult and reporting Izzy’s disappearance to Magnus and Alec, and Izzy and Alec’s warm and open conversation over the phone are equal examples of the characters' maturity.
However, there is not much for fans to be excited about in this episode. There is no standout dialogue, the writing and acting is nothing short of ordinary, and the cinematography and editing were average.
The editing especially was a little jarring, with its overuse of special effects. When Izzy begs Raphael for more vampire venom, she experiences weird out of body moments shown by an indescribable special effect; this bad, because even following the episode's end, it’s difficult to understand what actually happened.
During the ‘fight’ scene at the end of the episode, Jace manages to break through the greater demon Azaziel’s spell and try to skewer him with his sword. More awkward special effects were used to show Jace’s epic leap over to Azaziel, which highlighted only the average camera work and dull writing of the scene.
Clearly money has been spent in other areas - perhaps martial arts training and special effects, but at the risk of exposing the show’s weaknesses, was it worth it?
That said, there is hope for the writing yet. The final scene where Magnus stumbles down the street, muttering "filthy warlock" in conjunction with the promo for next week definitely builds the drama and anticipation for Episode 12.
If this episode was attempting a jilting hill start, then next week is putting the pedal to the metal.
'Shadowhunters' is available to view on Netflix now!
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