Shadowhunters || The Tea

The Tea: 

Shadowhunter’s – TV Series

Shadowhunter’s. At first glance you’d see demon fighting Nephilim with cool tattoos. It’s a great lead in but how does it hold up as a series? That’s what I’m here to discuss. This is adapted from Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series, but this isn’t a compare and contrast so much as a review of the show. Book talk will remain to a minimum.

So, what is Shadowhunter’s?

Besides another television show with a very attractive cast, which is all I really knew before actually deciding to give it a try. Well, it is a supernatural drama series about this group of angelic beings that protect regular mortals from things like demons, rogue vampires and werewolves, rouge warlocks, or other supernatural beings. These angelic beings are called, Shadowhunters. The demons, vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and fae are called downworlders. We follow a core group of four Shadowhunters and the people in their lives, including downworlders.

Broadly speaking I loved it. I thought each character had a story and a journey that we got to see play out despite being cancelled after only three seasons. There’s character development and growth and not just for our main heroes. The plot throughout stays connected to the season prior, and the “big bad’s” didn’t get ridiculously overpowered. And while the dialogue may sometimes be a bit cheesy it was engaging. Now, I loved all these things about it. Does that mean it was perfect? No, of course not, it certainly has its flaws. But I don’t believe I have come across a perfect show, and I am sure most you reading haven’t either. What I mean here is the overall good outweighs the overall bad.

So, what was some of the bad? For me, the worst offenders were the special effects in season one and the sometimes-cheesy dialogue. The special effects did improve after season one as their budget increased. So those particular issues weren’t necessarily the shows fault as they did their best with what they had to work with but it was definitely cringe worthy at times. The dialogue had lines that made you think you were watching some sitcom and not a supernatural drama and at times could make a serious situation lose all its merit. If you read the books, a downside for you might be how they deviate from the series. I read one book, and not from the original mortal instrument’s series, before watching the show so that was not a deal breaker or negative for me personally. If you’re curious, and haven’t seen my YouTube videos, the one book I read that got me into watching the show was The Red Scrolls of Magic.

They unnecessarily paired up everyone at the end. By that I mean Izzy and Simon. Their relationship felt incredibly rushed and I feel both characters would have been better off if left single. This was probably a move to match the books but they would have faired better had they not done this.

Maybe my least favorite thing about this show, that isn’t necessarily an issue with the show but with Shadowhunters in all mediums, is the idea of Parabatai. The acting was done well but I absolutely hate the concept. And I hate how Alec got treated. Jace is his Parabatai, they are supposed to be closer than brothers and bonded in battle. Yet, the minute Clary showed up Jace completely turned his back on Alec. He chose Clary over his Parabatai. It took Alec nearly dying for Jace to put him first again and all Alec did was put Jace first. And because Alec put Jace first, so did Magnus. Magnus risks his life so much because he wants to help Alec who wants to help Jace. What is the point of Parabatai if it’s so easy to dismiss your angelic bond?

What really worked for me? Well, I loved the casting choices. I thought the actors did great. The story progressed in way that had good transitions between the villains of the seasons. I also really enjoyed how each of the main villains were connected to each other. The show also didn’t make the antagonists too overpowered, at least in my opinion. Shows like Supernatural kept making their main antagonists more and more powerful as the seasons progressed to the point they were backed into a corner and had like one viable thing left to do. We didn’t see that here. Valentine was still just a Shadowhunter, nothing was special about him. Jonathan was special being experimented upon by Valentine with demon blood but he wasn’t invincible or that hard to kill when the opportunity was there. Lilith was by far the strongest of our antagonists but even she had weaknesses. I think if they had more seasons they could have done wonders with places like Edom and the greater demons.  Shadowhunters did only get three seasons before getting the proverbial axe, but it’s so easy to fall into that power imbalance scale with your bad guys.

My favorite thing about this show, however, is the characters themselves. There are so many wonderful characters, whether you love them or hate them. I personally love to hate fictional characters. The supporting characters were honestly wonderful. Maia, Luke, and Raphael probably being my favorite. Maia has so much growth over the course of the show. She starts off so mistrustful, barely even trusting Luke who is her werewolf pack leader, but in the end becomes a great ally. Even Lorenzo, the warlock who replaces Magnus as High Warlock, doesn’t remain the pompous jerk he is when he is first introduced.

There’re also many great relationships shown throughout the show. Magnus and Alec, or Malec, are by far and away my favorite relationship, as well as characters, and they deserve all the happiness in the world. Magnus and Alec had by far the best relationship in my opinion. It started off rocky and they had their struggles but then they become such a loving power couple. And maybe the most stable of relationships. They also got to be the ones to start to change the way the Clave, or Shadowhunter council, views downworlders. I would have loved just a series about Magnus and Alec. But, it’s not just them that I loved.

Raphael and Izzy had this very sweet relationship for awhile there. It wasn’t exactly romantic in the physical sense, but I think that’s what made it so wonderful and I wish they had remained closer. They had such a sweet emotional connection that I think could have had more done with it. And a non-sexual relationship for Izzy would have been a great development in my opinion. Another relationship I wish had lasted longer was Simon and Maia. I think they had so much in common and worked so well together. I personally liked Maia and Simon over Izzy and Simon. I felt they had better chemistry overall and was disappointed when they didn’t work out and Simon ended up with Izzy. They share pretty much no interests and they didn’t have very good romantic chemistry from what I observed. I also wish Luke and Maryse had been given a proper chance, as I think they would hav been great for each other. Both suffering from a loss and their chemistry was there.

The ending I think has had mixed reviews with fans. It was cancelled so they had to conclude everyone’s stories a bit early. Overall, I was happy. Magnus and Alec FINALLY got to be married, and it was a beautiful wedding. Clary got to save the day once again, though there were consequences to her actions as she went against the Angel’s orders and created runes to stop Jonathan. She is left with no memory of the shadow world, but we see her start to regain her memories at the end leaving up lots of interpretation that she and Jace will reunite. Izzy and Simon are a happy couple. No huge questions left unanswered as some cancelled shows leave us with. But they do leave us with enough open ends to fill in blanks or space for a revival someday.

I am very disappointed with myself for not checking out Shadowhunters sooner. While yes, it can be cheesy at times, it is still action packed, supernatural, has compelling characters, and drama for days. All things I love in my TV shows.

7.5/10 Biscuits

And That’s The Tea

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