'SHADOWHUNTERS' Mid-Season Finale (Part 1) | 'Familia Ante Omnia'
To drive home the epic-ness that is the 'Shadowhunters' mid-season finale, both episodes 9 and 10 were joined into one massive 2-hour finale. Here we will focus on Ep. 9, 'Familia Ante Omnia'.
[Click HERE for Episode 10 'Erchomai'.]
In the first part of this finale, Clary is facing death at the hands of the Clave. She is brought to a Clave culling and is made to witness death row prisoners as they are burned to death. Once she discovers the Clave is after something, she bargains for her life. Unfortunately, this bargain means she has to use her magical abilities to bring back Valentine so the Clave can interrogate him. Clary achieves this a little too well, as after revealing that her brother Jonathan has Lilith’s blood running through his veins, Valentine escapes, realising he cannot be killed (again). It is up to Clary to undo her rune magic on Valentine.
Little does Clary know that her best friend Simon is also having one of the worst days of his life. Heidi, the unhinged, totally Simon-obsessed vampire is back (thanks to Lilith). Heidi takes Simon’s mother and older sister hostage. Simon hasn’t fed because of all the stress, so Heidi taunts him with his own sister’s blood, revealing to his family that he is a vampire. They of course don’t believe Heidi until Simon, completely out of control, attacks his sister Becky, nearly draining her dry.
Becky and Simon are saved from this nightmare by Isabelle. Jordan is also there but not entirely helpful. As they try to get Becky to a hospital, Simon’s mother tries to kill Simon with a knife, telling him he is a monster - not her son, and that he is to stay away from her family; it is a brutal scene to watch.
Also doing it rough are Alec and Magnus, who try to figure out which of their many problems they should address first. Alec is resolved to kill Jace, honouring his last wish if they cannot save him from Lilith’s possession. Magnus, who is still suffering from guilt for his role in helping Lilith control Jace, is determined not to let it come to that. He proposes using a spell to channel several warlocks’ powers into his own and use it to free Jace. The catch? He must ask for permission from the new High Warlock of Brooklyn, Lorenzo Rey (Javier Munoz) who has it out for Magnus.
Although this episode was definitely setting up for the second part of the finale, it did not lack in drama or heartbreak.
The opening scene characterised the drama with its lack of dialogue and muted grey filter as two Shadowhunters roughly attend to Clary. Clary, donned in a bright red robe (the one thing besides her hair that stands out in the grey) is marched into a cage with other similarly dressed prisoners. Consul Penhallow then announces that this is a culling, and that they should all prepare to die. While this sequence is beautiful and thoughtful, it is very atypical of 'Shadowhunters', making it seem as if it is trying too hard to impress. Although experimenting with new cinematography is to be commended, when the rest of the double-episode returns to the same visual routines, it forces the opening to standout for all the wrong reasons.
Clary is a strong character and well-written character in this episode. At times, it seems too much, but when we see Clary afraid, uncertain, even angry, it put her overconfidence and gusto into perspective. It’s also impressive how much power she has over the Clave, just by being different in history, skillset and attitude. However, now that Clary has revealed her ability to create powerful runes, she is in a lot of danger; people will want to use or study her, and that never bodes well.
Another amazing female character in this episode is Heidi. She is a great villain due to how her human nature is mixed with supernatural ability. Her logic is twisted but human enough to make her understandable - especially when watching her encounter with Lilith and quickly respecting her for being a strong woman who takes what she wants. A duo of badass individual women, strong on their own merits and appreciating each other’s power, fierceness and womanhood makes for highly thrilling television.
Another compelling moment belongs to Magnus, who is desperate enough to attack Lorenzo Rey. We know Magnus as the character who always does right; but weirdly, it’s fun to see him challenged, to really see how far he will go. Although violence was never going to achieve anything, it was cathartic to see someone so upset with a figure in power who reaps benefits and strokes egos, but fails to make the hard decisions and sacrifices, and thus fails to lead well. Viewers hope Magnus can dethrone Lorenzo in the future. Let's just wait and see...
Overall, episode 9 achieved its goal of keeping fans glued to their screens!
'Shadowhunters' is steaming on Netflix now.
[Read the Mid-Season Finale - Part 2 HERE.]
