Shadowhunters 2X13 “Those of Demon Blood” Review

In Shadowhunters 2X13 “Those of Demon Blood,” we feel Jace’s growing pains like they’re our own

It isn’t long before being given the title of Herondale that Jace is faced with his first big challenge. Shadowhunters are being found with the runes carved out of their skin, and the culprits seem to be a gang of Downworlders. With the recent Soul Sword massacre, things are already incredibly tense between The Clave and those they swore to protect. While the friends of the Shadowhunters are cleared immediately, this does little to appease their superiors. Inquisitor Herondale appoints Jace as the new head of the New York Institute and tasks him with enforcing the new Clave policies. Under the guise of keeping everyone safe, the Downworlders are all expected to submit to a GPS chip. As one can imagine, it does not go over well.

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While bodies continue to turn up, the relationships between our favorite characters are pushed to their limits. When Alec goes in search of Magnus’s hair sample, the warlock becomes furious with his love. After Clary is attacked and nearly taken by the killer, Simon’s refusal to leave her side lands him in Institute detention. Maia is locked up as well after she is found within a block of a fresh body, despite not being tracked to the murder’s location. In the end, it is Izzy who solves the puzzle by working with Downworlders rather than against. With the aid of both Raphael and Meliorn (awkward much?), they find out that a Seelie named Kaylee is responsible for the crimes. Despite her capture, Jace and the others are suspicious there’s more to the story than they know…

Loyalty and trust are rare traits to come by, and it is something Jace had to remind himself of this week. Let’s see how he came full circle in learning to trust himself, shall we?

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Are pigs flying? We never thought we’d see the day Jace act so humbly…

Look, we love Jace (Dominic Sherwood). However, we’re not blind to the fact that he has always had his fair share of ego. Being deemed one of the best fighters the Clave has isn’t small potatoes. Finding out you’re basically Shadowhunter royalty…well, that’s enough to go to anyone’s head. Interestingly, when his grandmother declares him the head of the Institute, he is beyond reluctant. However, he does his best to live up to her expectations, even when it means he goes against his gut and his friends. Luckily for us, he takes Clary’s words to heart when she reminds him of how he was treated just days before. Once they solve the murders, Jace owns up to his inadequacies and puts the Institute back into Alec’s hands.

Jace: “You were right. Downworlders and Shadowhunters…we’re all a mix of human, angel, and demon blood. If we let the Clave forget that, we deserve a revolt. I’ll always be a soldier, but you’re a leader, Alec.”

We definitely think that Maia hit the nail on the head when she told Simon that Jace is lost. After all, he himself mentioned it to her, stating that having three last names in one summer was quite a lot. We don’t blame him for wanting to live up to the Inquisitor’s expectations, because we know what it feels like to want approval and love. That said, we are pleasantly surprised at how much Jace has grown. After all, first season Jace wouldn’t have hesitated to beat Maia to prove himself the better fighter. He certainly wouldn’t have apologized for his behavior and saved his romantic rival. While Jace may not be as good a leader as Alec, he’s not as bad as he thinks he is. Besides, he can still count on his cocky charm…

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Kaelie may have been avenging her brother’s death, but was she working alone?

After the first Shadowhunter turns up dead, runes carved out and claw marks all over him, the Clave goes on high alert. Soon, other bodies show up with telltale vampire bites and Seelie wounds. When Izzy (Emeraude Toubia) seeks Raphael out to clear him, she quickly realizes that he knows more about who might be involved. He discloses to her that in the past, Downworlders met to talk demands, during which a Seelie knight recommended removing the runes off Shadowhunters as a statement. Who was it? Meliorn. Izzy uses an old shirt of his to track him, but believes him when he insists he’s on their side. Together, the three of them find Kaelie in the act of kidnapping Max and kill her during an ensuing struggle.

Isabelle: “She had everything. Werewolf claws, vampire fangs, Seelie blades. She used it to make it look like a Downworld uprising.”

Jace, Isabelle, and Alec didn’t become some of the best Shadowhunters in the world by accepting only what’s in front of them. They aren’t just fighters; they’re crime solvers. As such, they question how wanting revenge for her brother’s death would lead to such an elaborate plan. After all, she could have just killed Jace, who was directly responsible for his death. Shadowhunters writers, we see your intrigue and raise you our TV detective skills. First, taking Max would have been out of the killer’s M.O. and highly risky. She had just killed someone; taking a child would trigger an immediate manhunt. Second, we’re not sure that Seelie strength would account for taking down adult male Shadowhunters who are trained to fight. Even drugged, their bodies would be extremely heavy to carry. Conclusion? She’s got a partner, and we’ve got some guesses as to who…

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Isabelle isn’t the only one with her share of Downworlder exes…

After being tortured with an agony rune by the Clave while trapped in Valentine’s body, Magnus is clearly not himself. When Alec comes over to see him, he comes to the door with a new look. Nonetheless, he becomes angry at his lover’s request to offer up a hair sample. While compliant, he demands Alec leaves as soon as the strand is given. Later, Dot (Vanessa Matsui) comes over to visit, bringing him a gift of some dragonfly wings. She doesn’t know it was Valentine in his body before, and Magnus chooses not to tell her. Instead, we find out that they were once together over a drink and ruminating over past loves. One dance and a near kiss later, Magnus reiterates his love for Alec to Dot. When the Shadowhunter returns to apologize, he accepts.

Magnus: “I see. So again, you’re just blindly carrying out orders. What happened to following your gut?”

We have no doubt the way that Magnus behaved with Alec wasn’t purely from being asked for a hair sample. He’s got unresolved anger over the Shadowhunter not believing him and nearly allowing the Inquisitor to kill him. Add to that the years of pain he’s no longer suppressing, and you’ve got a recipe for relationship disaster. Luckily, Malec is stronger than that, and the two kiss and makeup by the end. On the positive side, we finally got to see Harry Shum, Jr. make use of those dancing feet – something we’ve been waiting for since he was cast as Magnus Bane. It would have been a crime not to see his graceful moves on the show. We thank the writers and director Michael Goi for the few minutes of musical bliss. Consider this our plea for more in season three!

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Final Verdict: In “Those of Demon Blood,” we learn to see beyond differences and follow our guts

This week’s episode was about two things: trust and redemption. The former we saw in the way that our Shadowhunters fought for their friends and in each other. Even Jace chooses to ignore the pressure to live up to the Herondale legacy and listens to his friends. Izzy’s faith in both Raphael and Meliorn is what ultimately solves the crime. In the latter, we saw Alec put back as head of the Institute, and his sister shaking off the yin fen addiction when it counted most. Jace comes full circle in accepting his true identity, but also choosing to remember that he already knows who he is. The thread of racism and discrimination was weave throughout the episode wasn’t too heavy handed. Instead, we think it was a great way to raise awareness in the context of the show

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If there is one thing that we should always expect from Shadowhunters, it’s that questions abound. We know that Kaylee’s motivations were more than revenge, but just what was it? Could there still be a killer on the loose (we think so)? If Clary was over Jace, why does she seem to be avoiding him? How long will Simon be able to avoid leadership? How angry will the Inquisitor be once she finds out what Jace did? Was Jace the only one trying to get over someone, or did Maia have her own reasons for hooking up with him?

While there were many great moments this week, we have to take some minor issue with it. For one, if Maia was tracked to one block from a dead body, why couldn’t the Clave put her at the scene of the crime? The GPS device should have been enough to track her entire path. Second, if Meliorn was tracking the killer, why not notify someone? He would have known immediately that someone would remember his comment from decades ago. Third, considering that Magnus has lived for four centuries, we’re surprised he wasn’t the one doing the apologizing. After all, he should understand he was being overly harsh with Alec and has the maturity to know it was a matter of circumstance.

Nonetheless, “Those of Demon Blood” made up for these small things with generally great writing, an engaging mystery, and a magical dance sequence for Harry Shum, Jr. to boot. We were also happy to see more of Dot in this episode and learn more about her. Vanessa Matsui is such a delight on screen. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t give a shout-out to Alberto Rosende for that amazing musical performance at the end. We’re heading over to iTunes right now to purchase the song!

With the Downworld and the Shadow world temporarily back on cordial terms, we know that peace isn’t that easy. Valentine may be in Idris, but the Circle members are still out there, and we know he’s got something up his sleeve. If Kaylee did have a cohort, he or she is out there planning the next step in triggering a war. Jace and Clary continue their will-they, won’t-they dance, even if neither of them will admit to it yet.

We have to admit, we missed Sebastian’s easy, British charm this week, so we’re looking forward to his return. Now that Izzy is starting to get back to her former, ass-kicking self, we’ll be excited to see what’s coming up for her. Jace may have helped to save the day this week, but when word gets back to his grandmother, who knows what he’ll be in for. Let’s just say the next 7 days will be quite the wait to see how things work out!

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While Simon is taking a break from his set, let’s take a moment and ponder some questions…

• Valentine may be down right now, but we know he’s not out. What can we expect from the Circle next?
• Jace may be at peace with his decision to step down, but just how will the Inquisitor feel once she gets word of what he’s done?
• Who else was involved in these killings? Someone else had to have been helping Kaylee…
• Simon’s fans are growing in number. Can he avoid inadvertently challenging Raphael at some point?
• Will Magnus finally talk things out with Alec about what happened at the Institute?
• Where was Sebastian during this whole thing? It seems odd that he wasn’t there during the lockdown…
• Can we get a Simon Lewis album? We’re digging his new sound!
• Three words: MORE MAGNUS DANCING. That is all.
• While we feel Clace is endgame, it might be fun to see Jace and Maia together for a bit…

AN ALL NEW SHADOWHUNTERS AIRS MONDAY, JUNE 26TH, 2017 AT 8/7C!