There comes a moment with every show that you watch where you reach that moment of decision: will you give up or continue? Many times this decision is made with the idea of hate watching or your completist mentality in mind. However, sometimes a show is so enjoyable, the above questions never enter your mind, and you just eagerly anticipate the next episode. This is the place I am at with Shadowhunters, Freeform’s series based on The Mortal Instruments books, the biggest surprise of the 2015-2016 TV season
By all accounts, nothing about this show should have worked. It’s based on a series of YA novels from an author many people in fandom don’t like and who is currently going through some legal trouble, coming on the heels of a terrible movie adaptation. And yet, AND YET, here I am writing a post about how much sheer enjoyment I get out of the show and how obsessed with it I’ve become. I can’t wait for Tuesdays at 9pm to roll around so I can catch a glimpse of what my faves are up to.
In many ways, this show reminds me of the early episodes of Teen Wolf. I remember watching that show when it first aired and thinking it was a mess, but I got to episode 5 of the first season and settled in. I will always cherish those first two seasons because they fit perfectly into my summer TV watching and they were just so much fun, even with the imperfections.
Shadowhunters is in much the same boat as MTV’s ratings behemoth. There are many things about the show I’d love to fix, namely the weirdly shot action beats (that fast motion in a regular speed world looks awkward), most things involving Clary and Jace (last night was the first time I didn’t want either to die), and the pacing is a bit off. But what Shadowhunters has, that you can’t will into a show, is that the creators, actors, and network know exactly the kind of show they are making. Is there room for improvement? Yes, but I will always take a show that understands what it is vs a show trying to be something its not (aka Teen Wolf after season 2). How many times does a show try and do more than it should in an effort to be “better” or “more respected” and end up messing up the rythmn of the show? So far, Shadowhunters managed to avoid that.
Take a moment from last night’s episode. Alec, who is the straightlaced closeted leader of the Shadowhunters, comes back from his night with Magnus (the two halves of the biggest ship on the show Malec) and gets a bit of ribbing from his sister Izzy (Queen Izzy FTW). During the convo which touches on him not telling everyone about what happened and where two other characters currently were, we got the following line “I will be disowned by my father if he finds out that Clary and Jace are still out doing unsanctioned missions.”
Now, I’d like to replay this line with how it was experienced by anyone who is enjoying the show:
“I will be disowned by my father…”
*loud gasp from any of us who know how the world works/seen a tv show/feel for this closeted character*
“…if he finds out that Clary and Jace are still out doing unsanctioned missions”
*deep sigh of relief*
This was such a perfect blend of character and plot beats, and a moment that I think really captured what has made this show so enjoyable. In one line, they manage to hit you with plot relevance (Jace’s actions having blow back against Alec and Izzy, their growing relationship), thematic relevance (potential homophobia, familial obligations getting in the way of personal goals), and being the perfect set up for a sexual innuendo with Jace and Clary’s disembodied voices talking about the location of their current invisible selves.
The writers of the show have done the impossible, managing to take characters that failed spectacularly on the big screen and breathe new and exciting life into them. They give them lines that seem so ridiculous to the ear, but coming from these characters and delivered with such authenticity by an incredibly game cast, they work. I am particularly in intense obsession with Matthew Daddario (Alec), Emeraude Toubia (Izzy), and Alberto Rosende (Simon), who are given acting showcases based in deep character work every week. Alberto, in particular, has had a doozy of a storyline not just balancing the human side of liking a girl who doesn’t like him but also his descent into madness about possibly being a vampire. And I haven’t even touched how amazing Malec is as a ship and how nice it is to have a slash ship actually on screen or how brilliantly infuriatingly slow build the show is going with it.
Shadowhunters is such a fun jaunt of a show that combines intense pacing with wonderful character work and we should all be watching.