SEASON FINALE | 'Shadowhunters' | 'Beside Still Water' S02E20
The 'Shadowhunters' season 2 finale 'Beside Still Water' was set to be emotional, dramatic, and action-packed. It definitely delivered on all these fronts, leaving viewers satisfied and eager for Season 3 at the start of 2018.
Episode 20 began with Sebastian, slowly dying, using his blood to open a door to a demon realm, and letting a demon through. We see Izzy, Alec, Jace and Clary running through New York to vanquish these demons, only for them to act like hydra when you kill them. At the same time, Simon and Luke discover that the Seelie queen has made a deal with Valentine and kidnapped Maia. They promptly share the news, leaving Jace and Clary to portal alone to Idris to stop Valentine. This rush and fight to stop Valentine takes up the rest of the episode but ends in death, revival, reunions and celebration.
SPOILER ALERT!
For the most part, this episode and particularly its ending, was satisfying. It was a fun ride to see how the writers achieved similar results to the book, but got there in different and creative ways; however, considering the last four episodes were building up to this finale, it did feel a little anticlimactic. The “showdown” between Jace, Clary and Valentine happened very fast. Although it was cathartic to see Clary go badass and literally slay Valentine, it just seemed a bit easy.
Another moment that appeared rushed was the summoning of the angel Raziel. Though it makes sense Valentine doesn’t want to dawdle, he did put the instruments down to gloat once Clary gained consciousness. In the books, there is a process to summoning the angel, which the show did follow but it felt only half-hearted. In the novel series, there is a long pause once the summoning is complete, where nothing appears to happen; this does not happen in the show either, which was kind of disappointing and left no room for tension or suspense.
The decision not to give the angel Raziel a corporeal body was clever and worked well. The actual interaction between Valentine and then Clary with the angel was very lacklustre though. Despite the show clearly proving it would not follow the books religiously, the overall resolution paled in comparison to that of the third 'Mortal Instruments' novel, 'City of Glass'.
What was done well was the death of Jace. The suddenness of it was impressive, and the reactions of all the characters on point; this was a clear, established moment where, despite the fast pace of this episode, things slowed down. Clary breaking down was an excellent display of Kat McNamara’s growth in acting, as was the excellent decision to mute out her screaming. There is a moment on screen where the camera has panned out and we see Clary hovering over Jace’s prone body, and Valentine in the background, looking down, silent, still and sad. It was rather beautiful.
What made this moment even better was the switching to the perspective of inside the New York Institute where Alec, Izzy and Magnus are working before Alec collapses to the ground, crying out in pain as they all watch his parabatai rune start to fade. This was something the books never covered, and it was so, so wonderful to see it addressed in the show. Alec’s declaration that Jace is dead followed by the others shuddering to the floor was epic and emotional. Their reaction when they find Jace and Clary alive, Valentine dead, and everything okay was also well thought out and fantastic. Watching Alec be so relieved and embrace Jace made whatever happened in the episode okay and viewers so happy.
It was interesting to see that the last ten minutes of the episode was dedicated to the celebration and reflection of built relationships over the last season. We saw Maia and Jace have a friendly, supportive conversation. We saw Maia and Simon be cute together. Magnus and Alec finally made up. Izzy and Clary officially dubbed themselves sisters, which was definitely the highlight. Luke got happy drunk and exchanged a bear hug with Clary and a hilarious moment with Jace. Overall it was a warm, poignant moment that would put a smile on anyone’s face.
What made the moment even better was how right at the very end, behind all this joviality, pieces are already starting to fall apart. Simon is shown to be at the whims of the Seelie Queen. Luke is confronted by his police partner about being a werewolf. Jace leaves the party to collapse in confusion and pain. And Sebastian, who is dead, still manages to summon his “mother” who is no doubt a creepy and very powerful demon.
Though this episode seemed rushed at points, there were countless amazing moments to bask in and approve of. Now the four and a half month wait for Season 3 to begin!
'Shadowhunters' Seasons 1 and 2 are available on Netflix.
