Shadowhunters season 1, episode 5 brought the angst as Clary’s presence continued to put strain on Alec and Jace’s relationship.
Alec and Clary
Alec opens the episode by pissing Clary off. The two then spar and Clary continues to run her mouth about how he isn’t doing everything he should to help her. It’s a great way to make new friends. Alec and Clary are more similar than they think — both are stubborn and have the hots for Jace.
Clary then takes off in search of a box she remembers her mother having. During this adventure Clary calls Alec out for being in love with Jace and he is not happy about it. His comeback is simply “you’re in love with Jace.” Slow clap for that one, big guy. Matt Daddario did an excellent job showing Alec’s many layers including just how afraid he is for people to know he loves Jace. He was definitely a highlight of the episode.
Jace and Alec
The tension between the two continues to build as Alec’s unrequited love reaches a fever pitch. The two share a moment where Jace makes Alec swear to keep his eye on Clary because he is being sent off on a mission with Isabelle. Things don’t go as planned, and Alec loses Clary to the wolf pack. Alaric takes Clary and Simon without Luke’s knowledge.
Jace and Alec have another epic argument. Jace blames Alec, a little unfairly, for losing Clary, and Alec finally defends himself. He even throws in a jab about Jace having feelings for Clary, because let’s face it: Jace is living in the land of denial when it comes to that girl. In the end, Jace chooses to help Clary over returning to the Institute and following orders from Alec.
Simon
At the end of the last episode we saw the adorkable Simon return to The Hotel DuMort. At the beginning of this episode he is still there until Raphael chases him away. When Simon meets up with Clary and Alec to go into Clary’s apartment he is definitely acting strange. He is faster, stronger and can all of a sudden see the runes. Then there is the issue of him being able to break free of handcuffs — like literally break them. It seems that Simon may be more than mundane.
The adults
Let’s talk about the token adults in this episode because there was a new addition with Maryse Lightwood. She is the coldest mother possible. Seriously, after meeting her is there even a question as to why Alec is so stern all the time? She storms the Institute and puts all the children in their rightful place. She is especially cruel to Isabelle, judging her clothes and her Seelie “friends.” She is also rather short with Alec, although for different reasons, like allowing unsanctioned missions on Clary’s behalf. The only one she dotes on is Jace.
We are once again treated to a few shots of mad scientist Valentine chillin’ in Chernobyl. Little to nothing is learned about what his plans are and why he keeps injecting people. We also have some wolf pack drama and Clary finally learns the truth about Luke even though he is mortally wounded at the moment. The best part about Luke’s wounds is that we will get more Magnus next week, as only a warlock can save Luke.
This episode brought up a very important question: Who is JC? The box that Clary’s mother cried over once a year was not her father’s but instead had baby items inside. This is a plot line from the books and it will be interesting to see just how far they take it in the series because it’s a doozy!