#lilith the great with her great plan that fails greatly

[primordialruin]

Despite representing the consequences of actions taken (positive and negative), Lilith's saving grace is that she's not a dictator or tyrant. You will receive punishment regardless if you agree to follow her or not, but you will enter into her good graces if you choose to become a dependable figure in her grand scheme of turning Hell into a Paradise. (It's meaningful because it will be done with your own blood, swear and tears rather than having that handed to you!) The punishments always come with the ability of reform, so there's never truly a bad end in sight for anyone. She believes that hopelessness is the root cause of evil. Why would anyone dare to be different if there's no different path in sight aside from what you already know? The choice belongs to the oppressor/offender at all times. Those who are truly vile will take longer to get in anyone's good graces, but they can still be used for something. The work doesn't end. There is enough labor for everyone to contribute to a better future if the past is stained beyond repair.

She has a responsibility to the community to give out the consequences, and she rewards those who work with her on her vision of the future. She calls it "The Great Plan". This ties in with her "surname" being Magne, which translates to "mighty" and "great".

[originalwinnercheesecake]

The Owl house Season Analysis Bottom 5 and Top 5 episodes of the Owl House

I have wanted to do this post for a while. its what the title says,my opinion on the five worst episodes and the 5 best episodes... Now everybody knows what a good and a great episode are. I have heard some people try to argue that The Owl House does not have bad epsidoes, just less good episodes...

Yeah as much as I love what this show grew into that is pure denial and we are not doing that. Season 1a of The Owl house is mostly bad shooting for passing, with  2 outlier episodes that somehow managed to be good (you can probably guess which ones) I like 3 characters in in season 1a: King, Amity, Tiny Nose. Other characters, particularly Luz an Eda, suffer greatly from the writing focusing more on giving them popular (woke) labels and not really exploring them, which negatively effected the show because instead of making them better it felt like the show could only keep them on top by making all other characters lamer. 1b ranges from okay to kinda good. This was when Luz stopped basically playing pretend that she was Azura, and actually put effort into learning magic, becoming Luz the human whitchlet. Hexside was a great setting and putting Luz in a classroom setting,where she spent more time with kids her own age, gave the show the chance to flesh her character out more and give her differences and weird corks that were cute instead of destructive. Also I love, love, loved that they added learning differences to the character diversity. That is a difference that is largely overlooked in modern media. Eda changed from a mentor (which she failed at) to a parent figure, which was an improvement, but she still felt like a very hollow fusion of the Stan twins. She had what was cool about them, but they were also goofy looking, were often in over their heads and very concerned for themselves and their families. Eda is beautiful, the curse is largely ignored, and she is supposedly to powerful to concern herself with the plans and threat of her enemies.I also felt like it took her until half way through 2a to gain the kind of heart Stan and Ford where both shown to have like 2 episodes into their characters. In a character focused show like The Owl House it’s a poor character who only experiences highs, lows make characters compelling and have you root for them to get back up again.

 Season 2 was when the show took what it had and ran to becoming a great show. The Show finally knew what it wanted to do with Luz and Eda, it also picked which on of Kings three roles (small adult roommate, furry pet, young child) it was going to stick to. These choices allowed it to go deeper into the stories of our three mains and up the stakes. Because the stakes were up it could finally make the villains/anti hero’s (we got anti-hero’s) competent, and the threat became something real. Also the show was finally able to put actual thought and character into the secondary and side characters (see Lilith and Hooty... I am sorry Lulu and Hootsifer’s character glow-ups).

Again I really do love this show, and like to compare its lows to its highs because, like with the characters, the lows make the high better. So here are the worst and the best episodes (in my opinion) of the owl house

Bottom 5 episodes number 5 Once Upon A Swap: Yeah you knew this one was going to be here. Its on everyone’s bottom 5 lists. Body swapping episodes are a cliche. It added nothing to the story in the long game. It could have been a decent stand alone episode if it had been funnier, but the majority of the jokes miss their marks. It’s a very skipable episode unless you are just completely board. All of that being said its only fault is being boring and skipable. I left it low on the list because their is nothing in it that really made upset or disappointed, and nothing in it that negatively effected future episodes.

Top 5 episodes number 5 The Intruder: Remember when I said that 1a had 2 outlier episodes that were actally good. Well you probably guessed that I meant “The Intruder’ and ‘lost in language”. As much as it hurts me to not have the first great Lumity episode we got on this list (to many great episodes in season 2) The Intruder is the better episode. Its the second best episode at handling horror elements. We see King and Luz bond for the first time and its sweet. Luz learns her first (and for season 1a her only) gliph, thus answering if or if not she can really do magic. Also we get the introduction of the curse, which is both one of the most fascinating concepts in the show, and a really tasteful metaphor for a chronic illness or disability. This was the owl houses first brilliant episode, and 37 episodes latter it is still one of the best.

Bottom 5 episodes number 4 convention day: Yes I am listing “Covention Day” as one of the worst. I know some people like to argue that its one of season 1′s best because its the first episode to talk about the covens as more than school tracks, explains the sigils and gives a reason for Eda being wanted a wanted criminal.. oh but not evil. Well even if this episode was plot important, I still strongly dislike it for two very big reasons: reason 1 Luz; reason 2 Eda. What I said up top about how at first the only thing likable about them is that they are label representation,  that in the beginning they are handled badly as characters, and the show forces them on top by dragging everyone else down. Yeah convention is all that at its worst. They both talk like they are the best, but in action they are nothing but a couple of lazy, annoying, fakers, who put no actual time, or effort where their mouths are. I did not want Luz to give up magic ( After “The intruder” I wanted her to actually start seriously studying it and for Eda to actual at like a mentor), but I loved Amity for telling Luz that she had no right to toot herself a “Luzara Greatest witch ever parade’ and calling her out, and I wanted Lilith (an implied accomplished study and teacher) to wipe Eda’s smug “I cheat my way above everybody else because I rule” grin off her face. The twist that Lilith was cheating too was lame, clearly written in to try and save Eda and Luz’s faces as mentor and student, and I hated it, along with being seriously annoyed at Eda. Luz, and Lilith. Amity started this episode by purposely stomping on King’s cupcake and she is somehow still the only one of these four with any actual integrity or honest morals.

This episode is low because the fight between Eda and Lilith is animated totally awesome and a very enjoyable watch... at first. My only complaint is again Eda. Lilith was totally about to win before Eda’s little fake out cheat. This particular fight is one Lilith should have been allowed to beat Eda. Luz won’t have to give up being a witch because Amity and Luz undid their bet spell and weren’t the ones fighting. Eda and Lilith only had a verbal bet going on, and since Eda is such a cheating con of course she wouldn’t honor her end of the deal and would slip out the back door. Lilith beating Eda at the Convention would be a great metaphor for the hold Belos has on the witches and magic. Giving us a small example as to why many witches are fooled into believing that covens and sigils make them stronger (Lilith would still only be stronger because Eda is curse), and why wild magic has become less popular. It also would start the Emperor’s coven out as being competent and seeming more like a real threat earlier on. But in season 1 Eda was rose-colored like crazy and had to come out way on top every time and had to be “better than everyone else” because the show writters I guess did not know another way to make her and wild magic seem cool.

Top 5 best episodes number 4 Labyrinth Runners: This was after Disney cut season 3 down to 3 specials and canceled the show premature. This is likely the last time we will ever have a episode at Hexisde. Our last chance to explore the school tracks, and possibly our last chance to give focus to many side characters the audience had come to love. The show pushed a lot of characters and concepts into the background believing they had time to do them later. Then they were told they couldn’t. So they made this banger of an episode that answered all the fans questions about background characters, showed them in their best light, and also seemed to apologize for upsets fans felt about some o these charcters not getting focus they deserved: Gus did not get the A-plot enough so he gets it here, and the writters want to make sure everybody knows what a great witch he is. Amity and Willow rebuilding thier friendship was thrown out in favor of focusing more on Lumity, so its the B plot of this episode, complete with Amity apologizing to Willow for underestimating her skills as a witch all these years. Fans really really wanted to know what happened to Hunter after he ran away in Hallow minds and were upset Luz did not seem concerned about him? Do not worry, Luz sent a text to her friends to keep an out for him and Gus finds him this episode.

They also included a unclear and idoitic director in the form of Head illusionist Adrain Graye, who was not only a continuation of the coven heads being what you wouldn’t expect; but also his bad instructions, unlikable attitude, and the way he got beaten up by children at the end wasn’t just some throw away comment roasting the Disney producers. Oh no we got a love letter to characters and fans, complete with a full on barbecue of the producers, and it was deliciously petty.

Bottom 5 episodes number 3 I was a teenage abomination: My problems with this episode are basically the same as my problems with “Covention Day” but this ones does not have a cool witches dual to try and save it. I do not mind Eda having Luz do chores, they are a fair payment for room and board. But It was annoying hearing ‘laboring for me is the best job there is, you don’t need no education” every second line. King talks like he is a better mentor to the slug monster, but he gives it no training, and it was obvoius it was going to try and eat him and Eda once it got bigger. Both he and Eda are useless teachers and I pittied Luz... Then I saw how she was acting. Amity is supposed to be the bully right? Let’s see what she did: worked and studied hard on her abomination, accidentally did a bad job of giving Willow a pep talk on taking her studies more seriously if she wants to prove herself as a witch, was proud of her grades, and called Willow and Luz out on committing academic fraud after Willow unfairly stole her top mark. Now let’s look at what Lux and Willow our protagonists and “hero’s” do: Luz with Willow’s help illegally trespasses on a school campus, Willow with Luz’s help commits Academic fraud on an important assignment and steals a top mark from a student who actually did the work. When they are called out by Amity they keep up lying to Willow’s professor and get Amity in trouble even though she is right. Lie to and try to con the Principal. Destroy part of the school. Remind me again why Amity is the bully girl when Luz and Willow are acting much worse?

Because Luz was almost dissected by Bump? Yeah Bump was in abominations growing up, and is a principal. He totally knew Luz was kid and was trying to scare her and Willow into confessing. Also I am sorry but Luz deserved to be scared like that when you remember that again she trespassed on school grounds without permission to help a student commits academic fraud. If Luz doesn’t want to risk being hurt them she shouldn’t rush to situations a toddler would know are dangerous and wrong. Willow being that strong at plants without any training, getting rewarded at the end by being transferred to the plant track, and her dads who previously insisted she take abomination instead and banned her from plant magic accepting this for some unknown reason, was all a terrible choice then unless we were never going to see Willow. again. That is her whole story and arc. It should have taken at least 1 season for her to get transfered, complete with exploring her pasions and learning type, why her parents wanted her in abomination, and why it was a bad fit for her; then another season for her to fully master plant magic once transfered. Instead it's all done in wrapped up in her first episode. I blame this episode for nearly all Future Willow episodes being more about Lumity or Hunter. I blame it for why she was sidelined so hard in season 2, once Luz and Amity did not need her to create situations for them to come across each other. There was just little to virtual nothing that could be done with Willow after this episode wrapped up her whole arc with school and latent powers. This episode had little basically nothing good, our protagonists were worse than out antagonists, and it ended an important characters journey before it had time to be explored; so I have to put it on this list.

Top 5 Best Episodes List number 3: Knock Knock Knocking on Hooty’s Door. Now here is another episode everybody knew would be on the list. If Labyrinth Runners” was the best episode for developing the seondary charecters "Konock Knock Knocking On Hooty's Door" was the best Episode for developing core characters inside the owl house. Hooty now wants to be a life coach after Lilith implied he was a protector in a letter. Side note it is nice to see that Lilith did follow through on her promise to be pen-pals with Hooty after leaving with her mom. It is also nicer to see that they talk about Hooty’s feelings and troubles to. Lilith’s got more going on of course since she is starting over, but healthy friendships are a give and take relationship, and Hooty’s troubles are important too. The animation is beautiful, it addressed very real feelings and fears with all four characters, and it ended with them all getting great development. Hooty’s confidence in his own importance is restored, King has powers, Eda makes peace with the owl beast, who was actually once a demon that was captured in paper by the collector, who threw it away to be discovered by the curse sales man (I had been wondering all season how Lilith was able to find and afford such a strong and complicated curse)... And Lumity are officially girlfriends.

Bottom 5 episodes list episode 2 The First Day: Oh look an episode that took place after 1a? Yes the show got better in season 1b, but it still was not consistently good yet and there were a few episodes that were set backs. This episode was the worst of the set backs, had me scared we going straight back to early 1a episode quality. Luz went to hexise because after “Lost in Language” she got serious about wanting to learn magic, and Eda was not able to tech it to her. At this stage Luz knows only two gliphs and is really novice at controlling both of them, her entrance exam reminds us that. With how psyched she to go to the school and finally start learning you would expect this episode to be about Luz settling into to school, and starting to put more work on finding alternte ways to do magic. Bump even helps her out by sticking her in the potions track. Its an all purpose magic track, she does not need a bile sack because the magic will be in the ingredient, and it was the same track Eda was in so Luz can continue her Legacy... Luz decides  almost right away potions (Potions!) is the most boring of the track, and sneaks out of her first class to go play with the oracle tracks equipment. She is then immediately caught and sentenced to the detention track for the entire semester (harsh! This is her first offense, no warnings Bump?) But then we learn that the detention track is all education loving rebels, who use secret tunnels to learn all the different types of magic. Wow this track is even more perfect for Luz than potions!.. of course she does not stay. By then end of the episode this untrained, novice, witch, who has only been on the isles a couple months at most, and at the school less than a day manage somehow convinces the principal to change the system and permanently allow multi-tracking at Hexisde and protect any teacher and student in that program. A feet that seasoned witches with lots of talent, years of learning magic, and who begged for the chance to do more could not because... they are not main heroines.

That was only my second problem. My first was that the dentition track kids are all written to be idiots and jerks. It was blatantly obvious that the bad stuff Luz told her friends about the detention track was from before she learned about their club. She has been with them since learning it, and has not spoken to anyone else. Plus they know sitting at a desk doing nothing is boring, that is why they sneak into the tunnels. It would be one thing if Gus or Willow were known as blabs and they were afraid of their secret getting out and the tunnels being boarded up, but no. Luz did nothing wrong and they are bullying her for stupid and forced reasons to create drama. I do not like seeing other characters be jerks to Luz in a situation where she did absolutely nothing to them first. I heard Dana originally saw the detention trio as unimportant and was never going to bring them back, but did later because of fan demand... Well of course fans would like these characters and see them as important. They are the first young characters to be shown as negatively impacted by Belos’s one type of magic per witch laws, and the first to mix their magic. They were always going to be important and should have always been written with care.

On the bright side this was the first episode to convince me that Lumity might become a real couple instead of just friends who are supossedly coded as being more

Top 5 best Episodes number 2 Enchanting Grom Fight: Secondary characters had Labyrinth Runners, Core characters had Knock Knock Knocking On Hooty’s door. This is the episode the cliche slice of life episode that did the best job of developing them all together. The episode starts with Luz talking to her mom on the phone and feeling guilt at having to lie to her. SO Luz and Camilia must normally have a pretty hones relationship. We also learnt hat they speak Spanish to each other (representation!). When the school starts talking about Grom we learn Skara had a boyfriend back then and hey were adorably excited to go to grom together. Gus and King are hanging out after “really small problems” and are doing the announcement together. Eda got invited to chaperon. Luz owns an otter suit. when we get to the dance we see that their are gay couples dancing together as well as straight ones, mattholomule trying to boost his status by dancing with an older girl who clearly only agreed to the dance out of pity. Willow confidently handing out homemade corsages to classmates. King gets stage fright (just like Raine) and Gus helps him. Cat and Pufferfish head apparently know each other and went to Grom together. In the beginning of the show it seemed like the mouthhead girl was going to go with the beast-keeping jerk, but I guess they split because she spends the night hanging out with Amelia instead. You would expect Boshca to go with the quarterback but instead she goes stage and spends the night hanging out with other singles...interesting. Poor Ed and Em got stood up (I hope they TPed their dates houses)...

I liked Grom’s take on peoples fears. It starts out with kinda joke fears, things that are a bit creepy or a little embarrassing, then moves on to bigger fears. Nobody’s worst fear is actually as bad as it seems, but all of them are relatable to a degree and nobody is shamed for having them. Then of course that heartfelt moment where Lumity faced Grom together, Luz offering to go to the dance with Amity since she was to scared to ask her crush, who we get actually get confirmation was Luz. Thier dance together was absolutely stunning. Amity has gotten so strong with abominations. Luz is only on single gliphs but has perfected those enough to become  a formidable fighter. And then they combine their powers and their attack gets stronger, metaphorically these two are powerful and capable on their own but better together. Their last go turns Grom into a beautiful pink tree right int the forest: Metaphor the right support can help you find the beauty in a bad situation. This was wonderful.

Bottom 5 epsidoes number 1 Escape of the Palisman: My least favorite episode. I waited all season for the owl beast to reappear and to get more on the curse, and now that it happens, nothing. King takes it to the park to win an argument with a baby about a slide. That’s it? Rip off! Plus with Luz and her friends going to a stadium to watch a sports game from bleachers sounded boring to began with but it would have been better than watching Luz steel from Eda, injure Owlbert in a way that looked bad, get off scoot free (note she never apologized to Owlbert or Eda), and Learn nothing.The trials that were supposed to be exciting were not because the show could not even be bothered to at least pretend they were anything more than the BAT Queen’s chores, again did nothing to strengthen Luz and Owlbert’s bond, and again Luz never had to apologizes or actually make what she did better. The worst part of this was that this was set right before the first hiatus and it left us with with virtually no suspense, questions, or anything to look forward to when the hiatus ended. We saw a blurry shadow of who cursed Eda, but she barely cares and is unlikely to investigate (she never did. Lilith told her). The Bat Queen’s backstory was the highlight of the episode but I knew right when she said that she did not remember her giant we were unlikely to get anymore on it for a very long time (it’s looking like never). At the end o this episode I felt nothing but annoyance and I honestly did not care if the show never came back after hiatus, and that’s a problem

Top 5 Episodes number 1 Hollow Minds: It had to be Hallow Minds. This was the climax of season 2, the one where every mystery and secret that had been built up all came out. Were both The Emperor and he writers stopped playing games and got serious with us. I loved the first part of the Emperors mind (his lies) was beautiful and royal looking, but the deeper parts (where the truth lay) was so dark and sinister. We saw Team Red working together and it was a welcomed laugh. Hunter and Luz are forced to work together again and their enjoyable reluctant sibling relationship from Hunting palismans. Worried mama Eda is back and is willing to protect her children magic or not. How Team Red get the potion to Eda. OF course we all had long sense known the reveals by then. We knew that Hunter was a grim walker clone of Belos dead brother., and not the first golden guard. We knew that Belos was Phillip, and that Phillip was a witch hunter from the human world. We knew that Luz had helped him with Gliphs in the past (when she thought he was some great and heroic adventure/inventer). None of that prior knowledge made it any less suspenseful to watch Luz and Hunter go deeper into the Belos’s mind, and none of that made their shattered reactions to Them learning these secrets any less painful. The one thing I did not expect, but maybe I should have, was that scared kid Belos was the real inner Belos and he wasn’t shaking because he was scared. When we heard him break, unable to contain his laughter anymore and hem morph into himself, when the zombie was revealed to be his palisman victims trying to warn Luz and Hunter... as chilling as Scooby Doo Zombie Island. The moment he tells Hunter "good bye” and tries to get rid of him as Luz cries. When he uses Luz’s fake name and clips of her calling him his real name to torture Luz. Hunter saying Luz’s real name instead of “Human” as he once again chooses to save her over giving Belos what he wants, knowing this time Belos see and he will not be safe... This is a fabulous climax to the season, and in my opinion the best and most engaging episode of The Owl House

[hiddlesgirl]

SH 311: Lost Souls

After a torturously long 9 month hiatus, Shadowhunters is finally back! I am so excited. This was a great mid-season premiere: packed with action, heartbreak and tender moments. Now it was slightly choppy, jumping from scene to scene and almost ending certain scenes too abruptly, but that’s understandable because we have eight main characters to catch up with in a short amount of time. That being said it was still an amazing episode that made me cry, laugh and smile.

The episode opens with Alec, Izzy and Jace on a mission together; even though it was a short scene I really liked it because I love seeing these three siblings on missions together, and it’s a little reminiscent of Season 1. Plus, they haven’t really been on a routine mission together (that hasn’t involved life threatening situations for at least one of them) for quite a while.

It is abundantly clear that Jace is spoiling for a fight; his moves are more aggressive and uncoordinated than usual; even though he is up against what appears to be a Seelie Knight he is bested much faster and easier than usual. His emotions are getting in the way and interfering with his concentration.

With no hesitation he runs head on into the Seelie’s spear with the clear intention to injure himself even despite Alec and Izzy’s presence, he is in complete self destruct mode. Before walking away he tells Izzy that if it wasn’t for him Clary would still be alive. We all knew that he was going to take her ‘death’ extremely hard, especially with the actions of the Owl hanging over his head. He feels that her death is his fault and is determined to punish himself for it in whatever way he deems fit right now.

I would like to touch on the fact that we seemed to have completely glossed over Alec’s injury at the end of 310, for it being such a big emotional thing in the last half of the episode it is slightly disappointing that we didn’t get to see the direct aftermath. I understand a small time jump but I also don’t like Alec being hurt simply for the sake of an emotional scene and then not seeing the moments after. But it seems like whenever a Shadowhunters gets injured lately an Iratze completely erases it a moment later (e.g Clary landing on the car and now Jace getting run through with a spear).

Also, it also bugs me a little the inconsistency with the Parabatai bond; such as in Season 2 Alec felt Jace cut his hand but in this scene Alec doesn’t even flinch at Jace being stabbed. It just is a bit annoying that they keep placing this huge emotional weight in the bond (especially from Alec’s side) and then being inconsistent with the details of it. At the end of the day it’s something I can put to one side to enjoy the show, but it’s still a little annoying.

The next scene is an absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful montage of Simon, Magnus and Jace thinking about Clary. It’s so beautifully put together from the editing of the flashbacks, to the amazing acting, to the breathtaking song that they use (Lost Without You by Freya Ridings). It hasn’t failed to make me cry yet and I’ve already watched it five times.

Firstly, Simon’s absolutely devastated and swimming in guilt; he believes that he killed Clary, that the mark on his head killed her. You can clearly see how much it is weighing on him and his desperation to be rid of it is clear when he takes a carpenters knife to his forehead. I also think the music was timed brilliantly because as the mark glows the lyrics ‘to have no control’ are sung and that completely encapsulates how Simon is feeling right now.

It completely breaks me to see Simon like this; he is in so much pain with losing Clary and his mother within hours of each other. Once again I am in awe of Alberto, he is so amazing at emotionally charged scenes and whenever Simon cries I cry too.

Magnus has covered his balcony in candles in tribute to Clary, all lit by hand, and his pain at losing her is clear. She was like a little sister to him, he watched her grow from child into the woman she became. We all know that Clary is one of those that he took under his wing (like Raphael, Simon and so many others). I hope that we get some Magnus and Simon interaction in the upcoming episode because I love their dynamic plus I think that they would be a really great support for each other right now.

Seeing Jace cry really hits me because he presents himself a such a stoic character that anytime he breaks down I break down a little too. You can see how much he loves Clary and how much he misses her, plus he feels like he can’t properly grieve because of his guilt. Again, the song timing is brilliant because during his scene the lyrics ‘I’ve been strong for so long I never thought how much I needed you’ are sung, and that is so true for Jace.

Clary is alive! (But we knew that already). She is definitely not happy that Lilith’s plan to resurrect Jonathan has succeeded, he may be her brother but after everything he has done and all the hurt he has caused she is not welcoming him with open arms. Jonathan on the other hand seems to be very eager to please, with multiple offers of breakfast; referring to her as his little sister, his family, more than once. He is trying to endear himself to her by using words that evoke positive feelings in her, he knows how strongly she feels about people she calls family so he is hoping that by driving home their blood connection she will come around to seeing him as such.

When Clary returns his sentiment of them being the only family they each have left you can see the micro-expression of hope of his face, Luke Baines is definitely very good at expressing without much facial movement and I am looking forward to his portrayal of Jonathan. I also noticed that Clary and Jonathan have the Iratze rune in the same place, the right side of the neck, just flipped; I think that this is a very interesting little detail, I wonder if it is something from the books or was a choice made with the makeup team? If anyone knows please let me know.

First Malec scene of 3B! Who else is screaming? Just me ... okay. Although it is only a few seconds long it is a beautiful little moment, we are getting our first look at how much Magnus life has changed now that he is without his magic. Alec reassuring him that he doesn’t need to go to the trouble of applying makeup because he is beautiful the way he is, is everything I needed; I love that Alec is reaffirming that he finds Magnus beautiful. Also that cheek kiss is adorable and long overdue in my opinion (we have waited so long for a sweet cheek kiss).

I also like that when Magnus explains, in a roundabout way, that having eyeliner makes him feel more like himself Alec accepts that. He knows that with everything that has happened Magnus needs some semblance of normalcy, even if that means taking an eternity to apply eyeliner.

It is clear that Simon is absolutely drowning in his guilt over Clary and believes that her death is his fault, Maia is trying to reassure and help him but it seems that she may be struggling with knowing how to help him best. She has never seen him in the state before, and didn’t live through these events with him, so is a little lost about how to help. For Simon, while he understands why she left and need space, really needed support and the person he was dating wasn’t there; he isn’t accusing her or trying to make her feel guilty, just expressing his feelings of needing her.

For Maia, she definitely needed that time to process and I don’t blame her for that at all, the situation with Jordan is messed up and she needed to do what was best for her at that time. But I think that she also understand that she wasn’t there when Simon needed her which has caused a bit of a rift. While they are sitting near each other the scene lacks intimacy and there definitely feels like there’s a slight disconnect.

This is a difficult situation because Maia did what she needed to do and in that time Simon went through some terrible things during which he need support from those he cares about. There is no one to blame, life just happened and it’s no one’s fault.

We know that the escaped prisoners play a big part in 3B especially for Izzy and I think that this is going to be a very interesting storyline; Izzy has always rebelled against the Clave’s view of Downworlders and is very steadfast in her beliefs about justice. I am looking forward to her investigating these allegations of torture at the Gard, it will be great to see her get a complex and important storyline that will impact the Shadow World greatly.

I feel a lot of sympathy for Jace because not only is he grieving for his grandmother (who he only knew for a few short weeks) and the woman he is in love with but he is also trying to process all the memories from the Owl. He knows that they weren’t his actions but he has to deal with the memories inside his head and the knowledge that his body was used to hurt people. He is a whirlwind of pain, anger, grief, guilt and is at a loss at how to deal with it all; especially because in the past he has repressed emotions.

I love his moment with Izzy, she misses Clary too; she was her friend, her sister. She knows that Jace needs comfort and someone to share his grief with, but she also knows that she can’t understand the full extent of his grief. I think that her expressing these emotions with help Jace a lot, that someone is acknowledging his pain and effectively saying that everything he’s feeling is okay. The little kiss Jace bestows on her hand is so adorable, and I love seeing their bond more because we have had some wonderful moments between Alec and Jace or Izzy and Alec, but not so much between Izzy and Jace; so I really look forward to seeing more scenes between them and their sibling bond.

I absolutely love the scene between Magnus, Alec and Madzie; it is so cute, Alec reading to her and Magnus watching fondly. I also love that Madzie has come so far out of her shell since we first met her in 205, she has become much more outgoing with the support of Catarina, Magnus and Alec.

I feel for Magnus when he cannot create a nightlight, you can feel not only his sense of loss for not being able to perform magic but also at not being able to do it for Madzie. But he is so proud of her when she creates her own, you can see his love for her and their goodnight exchange is so sweet. My whole heart is bursting at the adorableness of this scene.

Alec is once again expressing his support for Magnus adjusting to his new reality, validating his feelings and making sure Magnus knows that he is there to support him. I giggled so much at Alec’s expression when Magnus refuses to kiss him because of Madzie, he is so put out at not being able to kiss his boyfriend. It really shows how far he has come in that he feels so comfortable using the word boyfriend and that he hates being denied kisses; when in Season 1 he couldn’t comfortably occupy the same space or the same sofa with Magnus.

Then I outright laughed at Magnus’ line ‘Oh, you know how we get.’ Implying that they easily get carried away when kissing, it’s so funny (as is Alec’s reaction) but also hints at the passion they have for each other which I love.

Unfortunately, Iris interrupts their cosy night in plans by trying to take Madzie; what I really like is that despite the fact that Iris had raised Madzie she does not want to leave with her, telling her ‘Nana, no’. This shows that Madzie is happy with Catarina (plus Magnus and Alec) and that given the choice she would choose her new guardian; she has this new support system of people who love and support her whereas before she really only had Iris.

My heart clenches when Magnus throws out his hand and nothing happens, you can see the confusion change into disbelief, realisation and then defeat at not being able to defend Madzie. She runs straight to him, clearly feeling safe with him powers or no powers, but Magnus is clearly devastated at feeling helpless and failing in protecting her.

In planning to find Iris Alec wants Magnus to stay behind, he has just seen the reality of Magnus losing his powers; him not being able to defend himself. Alec is afraid of Magnus getting hurt, especially because they know how ruthless Iris is and that she will do anything to get Madzie back. But Magnus refuses to stay behind; he is not willing to stay on the sidelines and is prepared to do whatever it takes to protect Madzie. Alec relents because he knows that if he was in Magnus’ position he wouldn’t stay behind either, they are so similar in that respect; when it comes to protecting the people they love they will do whatever it takes no matter the risk to themselves.

I like that Alec makes the point of telling Jace that he is acting irresponsibly; so many people made sacrifices to save him from Lilith, Magnus lost his magic, Luke and Simon risked their lives (not to mention Izzy and Alec risking their lives, and Alec the Parabatai bond, in 308). It would be disrespectful to them to throw away his life after everything; plus Clary would not want him to do this to himself and using his grief for as an excuse to hurt himself is a disgrace to her memory.

I know that some people didn’t like how Alec handled this scene and that he should have been easier on him; but I think that Alec handled it perfectly. Jace needed someone to tell him the truth, not to sugar coat it, he needed a firm hand to snap him out of his rut. In addition, Alec cannot just act as a brother but also as a leader, as the Head of the Institute, he cannot allow an emotional and reckless person into the field especially when they are showing self harming tendencies. He knows that for his health Jace needs to take a break to process.

Plus, Izzy has already reached out with comfort and I don’t think Jace would have responded to it from Alec at that point. I like that the two scenes also sort of reflect Izzy and Alec’s relationships with Clary. For Izzy, she was always there to comfort, support and love Clary; they had a very close friendship. But with Alec, his relationship with Clary was more reluctant siblings; but their bond was always based on honesty, even if it was brutal.

Izzy tells Maia about what happened with Heidi, it is understandable that Maia didn’t know about this because it’s not something Simon would have felt comfortable talking about, especially so soon after. Again, this was a scene that divided opinions for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I don’t think Izzy was accusing her when she commented on Maia not being here; I think that she was simply stating that she could not have known the entire situation because she wasn’t there to witness and live through it. This situation was always going to be difficult and awkward because I think that they understand that Maia needed space to be by herself and process her own things but she didn’t live through what happened.

Secondly, the slight contradiction of Izzy saying she has needed to be alone but that she is the sort of person who needs to be around other people, like Simon. I know that some people felt that it was more about further pushing Simon and Izzy together by giving them things in common rather than it being true for Izzy. However, while it is a little contradicting I think that Izzy does and has felt both.

When she was going through her addiction she needed that space for herself in the beginning but she began dealing with her recovery with Alec, she was able to recover better when she was surrounded by people she loved. Just because she has felt the need to be alone, and has sometimes acted on those feelings, doesn’t mean that when things get difficult she deals with it best when surrounded by people she cares about.

I need more Izzy, Alec and Magnus going on missions together; I just need more Izzy and Magnus scenes full stop. They always have such wonderful little interactions that I really want them to have a more in depth scene together. I love Magnus with a sword, and the holster he is wearing is gorgeous; I love how he deflected Iris’ attacks with it.

Jonathan and Clary have a conversation about how being raised influences who you become; Clary, raised by Jocelyn, has a strong moral compass and is generally a well balanced person; Jace, raised by Valentine, is a good person but he has some difficulty with emotion and the prejudices he was raised with (those Valentine instilled about Downworlders, I’m referring to Season 2 when under trail of the Soul Sword he said ‘yes and no’ when asked about believing in Valentine’s quest to eradicate the Downworld); Jonathan, raised by Valentine and Lilith, is emotionally stunted and has a very skewed moral compass.

When you look at how he was raised and what he has been through you can understand why he has difficultly showing emotion appropriately, issues with anger and a desperate yearning for love but not really knowing how to get it. I read that Luke actually worked with a profiler to help construct a profile for a real person who would have experienced the kind of traumas Jonathan went though. I think that this is brilliant because it helps you get a better understanding of a person and gives real world context; it also shows his dedication to portraying him authentically.

Luke is breaking my heart, his desperation and hope is clear in his wall of clues, his demeanour and his stuttering when rushing around to show Jace his work. He seems to be in complete denial over Clary’s death, has been working for three days straight to put together all these little clues on the small hope that his daughter is still alive. He loves her so entirely and he is not ready to let her go easily especially so soon after losing Jocelyn.

I’m a little sad to learn that we won’t be seeing Ollie and Sam again as they have been relocated, but it is understandable character wise. But Luke being so separate from the pack, and later leaving to find Clary, is going to cause a real strain on his relationship with the pack and is going to put his status as Alpha under threat.

We get a small glimpse into Magnus’ past when Iris infiltrates his memories; there is so much pain in them that it breaks your heart, moments from his childhood with blood on his hands are interesting because did they happen while he was with Asmodeus? I love that when he thinks of Alec and the Omamori charm it effectively kicks Iris out of his head, Alec said it would protect him and it did. I really hope that we continue to explore Magnus past.

Alec feels guilty about Magnus being taken because he didn’t insist on Magnus staying behind, what he feared has happened. He is scared because he knows how ruthless Iris is and that she is probably hurting Magnus right now but there is nothing he can do.

We find out that Raphael has taken up residence in Detroit and he seems to be genuinely remorseful for not only his direct actions but Heidi’s actions too; he feels responsible for all the hurt she has caused because he is the one was made sure she turned. I in no way excuse what he did, it was terrible and cruel, but he does appear to want to make any amends that he can to start to repair all the hurt he has caused. I would really like to see him apologise to Magnus for lying to him because we know that have an extremely close bond and we all felt betrayed when he lied to him, especially involving his sister.

Is it just me that finds it a little hilarious that the oldest vampire in New York, possibly the world, lives in the sewers? I get the need to hide away from other but surely there’s a more comfortable place? I guess we’ll find out in 312.

The second round of Magnus’ memories really hurts because they are all about his losing people he loved; the necklace he gave Camille, George, Alec in 2B and his mother. I also find the order of the memories interesting, are they in the order that hurt the most? I wonder if this was intentional or if they were just randomly put together.

This time he uses the memory of defeating Iris in 208 to kick her out of his head; I admire him so much in this scene because despite how much pain he is in he refuses to give up and is determined to keep Madzie safe. When Iris gets the note from Catarina he does appear genuinely worried but I think that he doesn’t completely realise it’s a trap because he is confused and in pain from what Iris was doing to him; if he was thinking straight I think that he would have know right away, but you can’t blame him for being disorientated. Plus being faced with the possibility of Madzie going back to Iris, which he has endured so much pain to prevent, would feel devastating.

Of course it’s a trap, Izzy being a complete badass rescuing her brother in law. While I did find it a little out of character for Magnus to seem to go after Iris after she’s been restrained I think that it was because he was in pain, angry and feeling humiliated; all that emotion was directed at Iris and he wanted to lash out.

Alec holds him back and they have a sweet little reunion moment; Magnus’ desperation to make Alec understand that he did everything he could to protect Madzie is heart breaking because he feels the need stress that he tried to protect her. Alec is just relieved he is back and knows that Magnus would have done everything in his power to prevent Iris finding Madzie, that was never in question.

Iris is taken back to the Gard, now I do feel that this storyline was a little rushed but I also understand why. There is going to be a lot happening in the coming episodes so they really needed to get this out of the way beforehand; if they hadn’t have gotten Iris out of the way now we would have questioned where she was and why she hadn’t come for Madzie in later episodes.

I am so happy that Consul Penhallow pardons Clary of her crimes and you can see the relief from Alec, it is going to mean so much to everyone that her memory isn’t burdened by those charges. However, she is not a fan of Alec’s which is slightly understandable but not justified; which is clearly felt in Alicante. When Izzy brings up the torture of prisoners the Consul denies it, but there is a hesitation and definitely something off about her demeanour; this storyline is definitely going to be very interesting.

We see the Seelie that they captured being restrained by unknown individuals, he remarks that it isn’t the Gard; it makes you wonder if they have taken him somewhere separate because of what he told Izzy and they are worried. But what the fuck are they doing to him? I have no idea what they are injecting him with but the way his body reacts reminds me of Luke from the Freeform trailer, he also had glowing veins and eyes which makes me extremely scared.

The speculations of Luke becoming a Shadowhunters again did make me wonder if the Clave are testing way of purifying demon blood as a way of getting rid of Downworlders? Instead of killing them, they turn them into mundanes? This may be completely wrong but it was just a thought that I had when connecting the Seelie with Luke and those rumours.

Alec is so proud of Magnus for being able to withstand Iris and keep Madzie safe; he knows that it must have been so difficult for Magnus to partially relive those memories (parallel to 212 anyone? Ouch). But Magnus feels ashamed that he wasn’t able to stop her directly and got injured because he wasn’t able to defend himself against her attack. He isn’t used to being physically vulnerable; it is frustrating and makes him feel more vulnerable than he has in long time.

Alec doesn’t allow Magnus to avoid the conversation and follows him around the room, he won’t let Magnus shut him out or believe that he is useless; he knows that Magnus is so full of inner strength and power, he needs to make Magnus understands and sees that as Alec does. You can see that Magnus is grateful and touched that Alec sees him that way and that kiss is wonderful, plus we finally get to see it in a wide shot; we see them embracing each other, Magnus’ hand on Alec’s waist and them moving into each other. It’s such wonderful soft intimacy that I just wish they had better lighting, it is very annoying that time and again their kisses are ruined because we can’t see them properly. Get an extra lamp in there for angels’ sake.

When Magnus pulls away you can see Alec’s face fall, he wants to be able to comfort Magnus and is trying everything he can; from verbal comfort to physical comfort. He keeps questioning Magnus to get to the route of Magnus’ emotions, he wants him to open up and stop bottling up his emotions. He knows that getting them out in the open will make him feel better, plus Alec may be able to understand better and even help.

Magnus feels humiliated because he is so used to being the caretaker that it is a complete reversal to have people take care of him; he has always been so self sufficient that it is an alien feeling to rely on others so heavily. He doesn’t want to feel like a burden to anyone. I adore Alec, ‘You’ve been taking care of others your whole life. Sometimes it’s okay to let others take care of you’. He understands that feeling because he also used to refuse to let people help him but he knows that it’s better to take help when you need it and to let people be there for you. Again, this shows how much Alec has grown that not only does he allow other people to help him and rely on them, but he is advising Magnus to do the same and wants to be the one he leans on.

Magnus is determined to hone his fighting skills so that he can protect himself better because while he can fight he is so used to relying on his magic that he needs to retrain his body to defend himself without it. Alec, of course, offers and I love the flirty way he says it and the flirty vibe they both move into; plus I love Alec’s little accent slip ‘So, what d’ya say I help ya out’, definitely more New York than his usual voice. I am so excited for the training scene next week, we’re not going to survive.

While Simon and Izzy try to find the vampire in the sewers Maia is going to check in with the pack; she knows that Luke is going to be struggling right now and after being away for about a week she wants to see how they are. The whole scene feels a little awkward and stilted, like they don’t know how to be around each other. Even though they reassure each other they will always be there for the other there definitely seems to be a disconnect. Apart from their initial hug they haven’t really touched each other, even casually; you can see that a rift has definitely formed in their romantic relationship.

Clary, in a bid to escape, stabs Jonathan in the jaw; unfortunately she inherits the wound. This is the absolutely confirmation that when Jonathan is injured Clary will get the same injury, it is yet to be seen if the reverse is true; if Clary is injured will Jonathan inherit it? You can see the horror on her face when realising that they are so intrinsically connected, that it is not going to be as easy to get rid of him this time around.

I have a lot of questions about steles though, when I first saw the scene I presumed he was using Clary’s stele but it actually looks like Alec’s. Is that the generic stele style? Are there a few different styles and all Shadowhunters just have one of the few designs? Because Alec, Izzy, Clary and Jace’s stele’s all look different.

Plus, where did he get it? Did Lilith acquire it? Did the Owl steal it? Where is Clary’s stele? Does Jonathan have it (I presume he does)?

So, to sum up, yes the episode was a little rushed but that it completely understandable with the amount of characters we had to catch up with in such a short amount of time. I think it was a great episode, with emotional scenes but also some very sweet moments. Definitely a fantastic start to 3B.

In 312, Morgenstern siblings in Paris, Clace reunite (hopefully Luke and Clary too), Sizzy on a mission and the long awaited (a whole freaking year) Malec training scene. I am screaming!