#i couldnt find the font youre gonna have to forgive me

[kkoct-ik]

whos this goober in my death game

the silly :)

[flower-of-the-desert]

2x10 Thoughts

That should have been the title of the episode tbh. It would have been a really solid good ending to this part of the season if they’d paid a bit more attention and didnt take the easy way out of every tricky situation.

Sidenote: dispite the beginning, this is not a total hate post. In fact, I dont think it’s hate at all but more so discussing the writing issues that I think exist in the show. I’ve also included some more of my thoughts and an explanation of why I’m perhaps being a bit harsher on the show and certain characters (yes, I mean Alec) than might be strictly necessary and where exactly my problems with them stem from. So if you wanna read about silly old me and my thoughts, give it a try.

We need the vampires to attack Clary but Magnus is there too? No problem, just have someone hold his hand because apparently he cant do magic without waving his hands around??????

We need a dramatic reveal of Dot in the cage but Luke just said everyone there was either dead or gone? Lol, what werewolf senses???

Maia needs to confront Luke but she doesnt know where he is? Just have her wait in a random sreet in the hopes he might pass by!

Have Simon knock Valentine unconscious but we still need him to go be the Big Bad Guy? No worries, Jace and Simon are just gonna leave him there on the ground because... reasons.

Then we need someone to steal the soul sword? Pff, Clary can just drop it onto the ground and leave it there, no biggie.

And so on. I think the thing that really gets to me is not exactly that there are plot holes, I mean every story has them but it’s just... because I think the writers are in fact capable of creating good solid storytelling. When they decide to do it right, they do and the result is great! I havent shied away from praising the things that I think were done well. So they proved that they CAN do it but apparently sometimes they just... dont want to? Dont care enough? And that pisses me off. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think the show has amazing potential, the idea at the core of the worldbuilding is hella interesting, the characters could be well-rounded and appealing, the plots could really suck you in with interesting action scenes and emotional confrontations and just... it could be so much MORE than what it is and I WANT it to be that. Instead I get episodes like this one and I want to flip a table or two.

Anyway, moving on to the rest of the ep. I love Maia continuously calling out Luke for his clear favourism of Clary and shadowhunters in general over his own pack. And I hate how Luke is treating her like some naughty child that needs a time out. Honestly, I’m even surprised he didnt just leave her on the street there.

And Aldertree’s sob story... man, you finally got me. Look at the tears streaming down my face. *sarcasm font* His story was tatal bullshit as much as his claim that he had warned Izzy of the risks. Dont make me laugh, pal. When exactly did you warn her? When you were trying to get her to spy on Clary? Or when you came onto her? Yeah, didnt think so. And frankly, this would have been the PERFECT chance for Alec to stand up for downworders and show he’s slowly but surely changing - have him defend Aldertree’s poor dead girlfriend and say something like it wasnt her nature, you dumb asshole, anyone in her situation would have reacted like that, you just killed the woman you claimed to love to save your own ass (which is true).

This is why I’m harsh on him (and shadowhunters in general). Because yeah, maybe it’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, maybe it seems like I’m nitpicking. And both the narrative and some fans seems intend on ignoring those small things like they never happen (or are totally acceptable). But they matter to me. Because it’s those small things that make up the bigger picture. It’s those small things that pile up and shape a character who doesnt come across to me as what I’ve been told he is. So here I am being harsh on poor Alec because someone needs to. Someone needs to point out his mistakes, big and small, because otherwise it seems like it’s tots ok for him to an ass and casually racist, it’s only an issue when the “bad” shadowhunters do it.

This is especially true within the canon itself because if someone doesnt sit him down and explain to him what he did/said wrong and WHY it’s wrong, how is he supposed to learn to be better? How am I supposed to believe he really doesnt view DWs (Magnus included) as either soulless demons or children in need of his management when we dont get to see him work though these things and come to the conclusions that he needs to come to in order to improve. And the same goes for Jace and Clary and Izzy and all the others. This is what I want for him. I want him to get better. I want to cheer for him and be ridiculously sappy about his love life. But I need to see him changing and getting better, not just have someone tell me he is from one episode to the next. I dont think he’s some evil bastard that needs to die but he’s not as innocent and “woke” as people think either. His casual racist remarks and actions show that clearly enough and I want that addressed beyond a simple I’m sorry (do you even know why you should be sorry or why you acted like that in the first place?) and I forgive you

And since we are on the subject, the I love you scene was actually... quite nice? I mean I thought I’d have a issue with it but it was really good, all things considered. I liked the display of emotions and affection Alec portrayed and the whole omg, I thought you were dead so now I just need to tell you how I feel is a true and tested romance cliche but damn if I dont fucking love it to bits so yeah. I think the thing that bothers me more is the overall context rather than the scene itself. The last time Magnus and Alec saw each other was when Alec confronted Raphael and was rightfully pissed at Magnus for keeping it a secret. And then they dont interact at all after that (and I dont believe it’s mentioned that they’ve seen each other off screen either) till the love confession scene. So it just feels a bit disjoined. Plus I think there really needed to be some kind of closure on that. I mean Alec beat the crap out of Magnus’s son and Magnus didnt tell Alec his sister was off getting high all this time. I’m pretty sure this classifies as something that needs talking about.

I still feel so bad for Jace. I honestly cannot believe the show has managed to take this character I was so annoyed with at best and couldnt stand at worst in s01 and turn him around so much that I can honestly say I like him now. See what I mean about the writers being capable of good storytelling when they want to? I wish they’d do the same with Simon because as much as I’ve come to enjoy Jace, my annoyance with Simon has been raised to the same level. And this whole daywalker thing isnt helping because I still think it’s stupid as hell. What has Simon deserved to be given his special ability anyway? And why should he not have to deal with any consequences of being a vampire? I wouldnt be surprised if next season he finds a way to stop drinking blood too. If you’re gonna have a vampire character, then why remove all his limitations and characteristics of being one???