Shadowhunters continues with ‘A Kiss From A Rose’. This was entertaining, but was absolutely a transitional episode in terms of the different story arcs. Let’s have a look at why.
- This week places a lot of focus on a handful of characters, with the brunt of the time being dedicated to further Clary’s relationships with Jace and Jonathan. In terms of our protagonists, Clary and Jace have some sweet moments together. The best of these was Jace taking Clary ice skating despite not knowing how to himself. He’d spotted a photo on her dresser where she and Mum were skating and she looked happy. After Jonathan’s actions, we get to see a minor wedge driven between them in terms of physical contact, but it’s understandable. That they stick together throughout is itself a good sign though, and I thought that their relationship now growing was well done. I’m impressed too. Jace did far better than I do at ice skating.
- Jonathan meanwhile is in creepy mode this week. The episode opened with him having gotten a Seelie to pretend to be Clary in order to play his fantasy of her joining him. Once he knocks Jace out at the ice rink and assumes his form, he proceeds to plant a kiss on Clary too. Between the kiss and subtly talking his true self up though, his sister starts to pick on it not being Jace that she’s with. In a genuinely smart moment, Clary tested her idea that it’s Jonathan by way of pricking herself with a rose and then contacting backup. Unfortunately, when Izzy, Jace and a small group of Shadowhunters turn up, Jonathan does something to Clary and she’s unable to subdue him. That little moment creates a good sense of Clary being at a real disadvantage in this battle, and leaves her seeming vulnerable no matter how much Jace promises to protect her. That’s good, because peril is important to keeping the story interesting. Jonathan is certainly confident though.
- Magnus gets some good screen time this time around too, with the biggest story being that he convinces the current High Warlock, Lorenzo, to give him his powers back by way of a magic transfusion. This was interesting for many reasons. First was that, for all his progress in recent weeks, Magnus still chose to take the risk to get his magic back. He stated that he feels alive with it and that without it, he feels like a stranger that doesn’t matter, even though he knows that he does. Second was that Lorenzo requesting his apartment in payment was entirely to humiliate Magnus, which led to a clash between Lorenzo and Alec. That tension could easily bubble over at any time, which is not good given the battles to come, especially now that Magnus and Alec have figured out that finding the Morgenstern Sword would allow him to call forth a army of demons. Finally, despite having his powers back, Magnus soon discovers that opening a portal is giving him nosebleeds. This kinda ties into when Lorenzo told him that a major risk to regaining the magic is that his body, now being mundane, may not be able to handle the process. I liked that as it does still open the potential that he’ll end up having to choose, at which point I would expect him to choose no magic and just a lifetime with Alec.
- The aftermath of the massacre at the Jade Wolf played out with Maia and Jordan mostly locked in the same back room we left them in. The scenes were fine, but for me, they didn’t really achieve too much. It was nice seeing Maia and Jordan helping each other as best they could, and it certainly seems like they could end up back together, but otherwise, it was all very muted for me until Luke and Simon turned up to let them out. Their part of the episode ended with Luke getting his prints all over the dead wolves and getting arrested while Maia and Simon take Jordan to Praetor, so that they can try to save Jordan from silver poisoning.
- One thing that was only touched upon though was Izzy’s continued investigation into the torture claims. She decided that her informant’s comment of ‘inside’ could be literal, and performs an autopsy, wherein she find something. I’m guessing a computer chip. Whatever it is though, I’m glad the arc wasn’t forgotten this week, and I’m hoping it’s a sign that next week will see some advancement as to what’s going there.
So, not a perfect episode, but one that does a great job of setting up other things going forward. In all, I enjoyed it. But what about yourselves? What do you think of the series? How did you find this return? Let me know in the comments below.
Matt Doyle Media 