Shadowhunters season 2, episode 3 reveals the backstory of the bond that runs deeper than Jace and Alec’s parabatai rune.
Jace and Alec are slipping further and further away from each other. Shadowhunters season 2, episode 3 tests not only how far Alec and Jace can go before they break, but how well everyone around them can hold it together.
The most complicated issues in Shadowhunters boil down to where loyalties lie. What does blood mean? Then there are the members who make up your chosen family. These are the people you let into your life. The ones you hope will mold you into the best version of yourself. When push comes to shove, which tie can you cut without regret?
Family issues make things more complicated for shadowhunters and downworlders alike. Simon discovers the rift that must exist between old world family and his obligation to his new reality. In flashbacks we discover that Jace and Alec’s bond would not exist without the love and unconditional support of Izzy. But as Valentine and Camille run rapid through New York City, chosen family becomes just as important as blood.
Simon’s internal battle
With his sire on the run and his mother MIA, Simon is stuck between a rock and hard place. There is no place in the daylight for a vampire and no place among the downworlders for a person who longs for his family.
Caught between Clary, his mother, and Raphael, Simon must figure out who he can lean on when push comes to shove. If Raphael has his way, Simon will not speak to anyone except a vampire until a stake meets his still heart. But in Clary sees the importance of family and friends in addition to duty. A duty he did not ask for.
Raphael takes one major step against Simon by luring his mother out of her worry and presenting Simon with the chance to say goodbye for good. It is not a gesture of kindness but a challenge. Cross Raphael again and Simon’s mother will no longer be someone Simon has the ability to choose.
A connection deeper than most
Alec and Jace training in the Institute highlights the importance of the bond that existed well before the parbatai runes were in place. The Lightwood siblings welcome Jace into their lives for different reasons. To Alec he presented the chance to have a friend, someone to train with, and fight alongside. To Izzy, he brought out competition for her brother’s attention.
Years of play, turn into years of training, through which a trust and deep bond blossoms. In the end, Alec and Jace were on their way to becoming parabatai. But one thing held Alec back from going all in– he grew to love Jace as more than a brother. Izzy, it turns out, is the person who talks sense into her brother. One day someone else will come along who will love him “heart and soul.”
The scene between Alec and Izzy in the training room highlights how important the bonds outside of the parabatai are to showdowhunters. His familial relationships, the ones he does not choose to have, help support the ones he pursues. His relationship with Jace, considered a blessing among the shadowhunters, for parabatai bonds are rare, require a great deal of faith and trust from the members of his family.
Izzy comes in to ensure the brothers always find each other in the darkest and lightest hours of their lives.
The parabatai oath
The first words that bound the two together forever are the words that keep them together in the end. They reflect the beauty of their bond and the depth of their friendship. Something that cannot be touched by anything other than death.
Entreat me not to leave thee,
Or return from following after thee—
For whither thou goest, I will go,
And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.
Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried.
The Angel do so to me, and more also,
If aught but death part thee and me.
That is until Aldtertree arrives and places Jace under arrest for high treason!
Maia’s badass entrance
One last thing before we await Jace’s sentencing. Maia is finally here! She may be new in town, but she seems to be adjusting to the werewolf lifestyle rather well. At least when she is in control of her body. Maia is new to the world, but well-versed in the laws governing the relationships between the shadowhunters and the downworlders.
Her instincts are strong, but her ability to listen to reason in the face of betrayal, needs some polishing. She is going to be a vital point of contact for Simon moving forward. Maia and Simon both have a lot of ground to gain as they adjust to the rules and traditions of their respective packs.
While Simon grapples with where he belongs in the world, Maia will question what makes her standout in her pack.
Shadowhunters season 2, episode 4, “Day of Wrath,” Monday, January 23 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Freeform.
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