TV Review: Shadowhunters (2×08) “Love is a Devil”

The party was suppose to be about Max’s big day, but things didn’t go as planned. Shadowhunters and friends can never go through a normal day without something going amiss, but some good did come out of the entire situation.

Let’s start with Max, the lovable younger brother of the Lightwoods, or so we thought. He finally made it to the Rune Ceremony, and Magnus threw a party in his honor, but his childlike wonder (and mouth) caused a little bit a drama. He told Alec that his parents were fighting back home and asked Magnus personal questions about being a warlock. He told Jace that Maryse didn’t consider him part of the family. Basically, Max was being a child, which wasn’t a bad touch at all. He’s still little, and kids aren’t exactly known for their subtlety, but through his honest opinions the characters gained valuable information, as well as the viewers. There was also a glimpse at the Rune Ceremony and the process necessary to receive your first rune.

Climon (Clary/Simon) is a thing! Personally, I’m team Maia, but I won’t ruin this moment. It’s nice that Simon finally gets a win for change. His character always has bad luck, but this was a solid victory. He put himself out there, and Clary felt the same. Simon is in the friend zone no more! Of course, there was the whole hallucinations part that almost ruined them, but it worked out. Hopefully his track record stays good for at least one more episode before everything gets bad again. Clary was solid this episode. It was nice that this wasn’t the stereotypical, “I don’t feel the same” moment. She seems to genuinely like Simon, which is why her hallucinations hit home so hard. She had her best friend put himself out there, and she had to “watch” him kiss another girl. Anyone would be hurt over that view. 

This new relationship puts a potential interesting twist on Maia and Jace’s characters. Maia told Simon to put himself out there in the first place, but she still has feelings for him. She seems cool about it now, but it could cause a problem down the line. Jace’s feelings are definitely in a weird spot because Clary is technically his sister, but he admitted that he still has feelings with her, which seems gross. He now has to grin and bare it, but who knows how long that will last.

Alec and Magnus took a stand and displayed their relationship in front of everyone even Maryse. It’s good that Alec is all in and that them having sex didn’t change anything for the worse, but instead made their bond stronger. A nice touch to their relationship was when Max said he didn’t care that they were together. In the end the couple did seem to break through to Maryse a bit, so she might be nicer to them.

Alec got to deal with his issues over Jocelyn’s death. He still feels responsible for her murder, and thanks to Magnus he didn’t take his life because of that guilt. Even though this subject has already been done, it was fine that it was brought up again because it wasn’t something that could be glossed over. His body was used to murder his friend’s mother. Good thing for him, Clary reminded Alec that she doesn’t hold him responsible.

Magnus not only impressed us, but he was pretty much the star of this episode. He got through to Maryse and kept everyone in line at the party. Plus, we got to see his magic in action with that warlock battle, which was the best display of magic this show has shown so far. It also enhanced the look of Magnus’s power, which last season didn’t show that well.

Izzy is still having drug problems, but thanks to Raphael, she might be getting better. He gave her one more dose and said that was it, but then he did it again. That second time didn’t feel right because Raphael seems like a vampire that would’ve had more control than he did. What’s important is that he didn’t do it a third time, and he gave her advice from his own experiences with blood being his drug. He led her in the right direction and hopefully she takes it. 

Lastly, let’s talk about the ending. Everyone now knows that Iris didn’t have a choice because Valentine took Madzie, and she only wants to protect her. Clary is now in charge of finding the girl thanks to her blood oath. There was also the revelation that Maryse is being cheated on. Personally, this upset me because the dad was always the nicer of the two, but it turns out that was all a show. Poor Maryse now has to deal with this personal issue while everything else is going on. What’s worse is that Izzy doesn’t know because it would destroy her to know what her father has done.

9/10

Shadowhunters airs Mondays at 8/7c on Freeform.