Shadowhunters Discussion || Pt. 3: The TV Series

Part Three:

The TV Series

Raphael: Stay. Good dog.
Luke: Bite me.
Raphael: Roll over.

Luke: Play dead.

Simon: Boom! *High-fives with Luke*
-Raphael and Luke banter, while Simon supports Luke, Shadowhunters Season 1

The following post contains spoilers. You've been warned.

From left to right: Isaiah Mustafa as Luke Garroway, Matthew Daddario as Alec Lightwood, Emeraude Toubia as Isabelle Lightwood, Katherine McNamara as Clary Fray, Dominic Sherwood as Jace Wayland, Alberto Rosende as Simon Lewis, Harry Shum Jr. as Magnus Bane (from www.cafecomlivroo.com)

I have to say, people of the Shadowhunter fandom has been through a lot. They've been through the incest, the excessive love triangles, the passion cries for the right casting for the film, the movie itself, the failure of the movie, and finally this. The Mortal Instruments converted itself into a television series on Freeform, and it started to air last January of 2016. Before the series even began, the reactions to this has been a mix-bag. Everyone was pretty comfortable with the movie casting, so I can understand if everyone panicked when the casting has been brought to a clean slate. Then the trailers came, and people worried. It was easy to say that the budget given to this series is not as big compared to most, and it is quite evident in the special effects. Plus, a lot of people were not comfortable with the acting skills of the actors and actresses portraying the characters. Recently, the series has ended and it has been renewed for a second season in 2017. Now the question remains...did it give justice to the Shadowhunter fandom? Welcome to the last day of our Shadowhunters Discussion, where we finally tackle the first season of Shadowhunters.

As usual, I would like to talk about the positives for this. Since this is a television series with a total of thirteen episodes, there is more room for development in many aspects. The series has done surprisingly well with its storyline. For the fans who are very meticulous about plot changes, then you do not have to worry. Shadowhunters deviated from the book, but at the same time, it did not deviate from the book. How is that? Well, let's say the objectives of the game still hasn't changed. Clary's mom goes missing, they need to find the Mortal Cup, the incest plot twist is still present, yadda yadda. But the way these elements connect altogether, that's where Shadowhunters becomes its very own TV adaptation. So the mechanics of the game is the one that changes.

The other supporting characters have their own story. The book and movies did not dive into character arcs yet because of their sequels (in the case of the movie, it tried to set up one but failed), but the TV series decided not to wait for a time to make the other characters look interesting. It even took advantage of filling in the gaps and holes that not even the books were able to explain. So in this series, Jace and Clary are not the only characters we needed to focus on. Isabelle, Alec, and the rest of the characters have their problems and motives that tie well into one of the book's greatest features, which is the politics and culture of the Shadowhunter world. By doing that, we are immediately introduced to ideas and characters that were meant to appear in the second book, City of Ashes. We are introduced to the Inquisitor, who judges Isabelle's trial. Magnus and Alec's romance starts off early, making Alec come out of the closet a bit sooner than expected. But that's not the best part. Like I said, the supporting characters were made interesting. Meaning, these characters have their own stories to tell. 

The Lightwoods were seen as the most controversial family, because of Maryse and Robert's history with the Circle. I loved how the series was able to tackle that, because this issue did not have that much depth in the books. I almost forgot that the Lightwoods did not have an appealing to the Clave until I watched this and witnessed how they were being treated. Alec is not just a frustrated homosexual in this series. He was also being pressured by his responsibilities of being the eldest and upholding his family name. Basically, he wants to please his family and the Clave because he thinks it is the right thing to do. So in this series, you see him struggle with his sexuality and his responsibilities because the two are bipolar opposites and he knew that he would have to choose between what he wants to do and what he is expected to do. Then we have Isabelle, who surprisingly has more substance in the series than in the actual book. Izzy's relationship with Meliorn the faerie becomes the kick-starter. If Book Isabelle jumps into different relationships with different downworlders just to grab the attention of her parents, TV Isabelle takes her relationship with Meliorn a bit more seriously. This very relationship causes a rift between Isabelle and her parents, because downworlders are not seen as the ideal partners. Isabelle's reputation has also been tattered and her image is almost similar to that of a slut. At first, Isabelle did not care because she was proud of who she was. Now this is familiar because this is the Izzy we knew in the books. Then when the problems started to brew, she too had to decide between doing what she wanted and doing what is expected of her. This surprised me because this is a major deviation, and it worked. The actions of the Lightwoods show how the Clave has the upper hand. Yes, there are issues like this in this TV series, and not just sappy romances.

I am very surprised that the TV series decided to keep the love triangle very very subtle. This has been a major subplot in the book, and what supposedly drives the fans to further support the fandom. But the writers of the script decided to overlook that, which I totally appreciated. Simon does show that he has feelings for Clary, but he doesn't immediately confesses it when he started to get angry. Instead, he suppresses this and tells Clary how uncomfortable he is with her seeking help from strangers that have the tendency to do dangerous things. This was a very realistic portrayal of what a teenager would most likely do when his crush is hitting it off with someone who appears to be a bit douchey. The story even decides to make Simon a vampire a bit early, because his transformation occurred in City of Ashes. I guess they did that, so Simon would have more significance. This was a deviation that I didn't mind, but it was odd that he was able to accept his fate as a vampire much more quickly than I anticipated. Simon in the books did not take his vampire transformation so well and he wasn't able to return to his usual self when it happened. Simon in the series seemed less conflicted than what I would have imagined. Hopefully the second season would give him more struggles to deal with. But I prefer this vampire transformation over the one in the film, because there was a lot of sexy action. Just kidding. Anyway, Movie Clary saw the vampire bite, and decided not to react or bothered to tell Simon that he has a weird bite on his neck. Yes it was setting up for a sequel, but it was the most unrealistic and lazy hint I've ever seen.

www.ibtimes.co.in

The main characters are also very different. This version of Clary is the one I prefer the most. She wasn't annoying, she wasn't useless, but serviceable. Clary's character attempts not to be very cliched by being a YA heroine who doesn't seem to be so irritated with having an overprotective mother. She's also seen to have a vision for her life; in the first episode, she applies to an art school and gets in. She's actually...a very nice character. A character that you would most likely encounter in real life, because she's shockingly very likeable. She supports her friends, I could tell she really loves her mom, and she is able to set her mind on something. This series even establishes a good friendship between Alec and Clary, which is something that never happened in the books at all. And I thought it was necessary because Clary seemed too focus on Jace and Simon in the books. This series gave her a chance to regard everyone else. Again, the romance is very subtle. In this season, it is hinted that they are just attracted to each other and that they respect each other. That's it. Then it moves on to the bigger problems. There's no tormenting tension where Jace asks her why he is being crazy whenever she's around or something like that. Clary in this series even asks Jace what kind of relationship did they have, and this was after they kissed. But Jace responds with an I don't know and that they should deal with that later. See? You don't need a seriously overdramatic dialogue just to make a story look good. Because of this, the love triangle almost looks nonexistent. Clary equally cares for everyone and Jace and Clary decided not to lose themselves in each other. The only love triangle strong was surprisingly... Alec, Lydia, and Magnus.

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So this series introduces us to a brand new character and that is Lydia Branwell. Yes, my shadowhunter fans. A descendant of Charlotte and Henry, at last. I am not gonna lie; when I first saw her, I was very skeptic. She was sent to the Institute, the moment the Clave is aware of the existence of Clary, Valentine, and the search of the Mortal Cup. They learned that Jace and his friends have been doing unauthorized missions, just so Clary can find her mom. So they send in Lydia as their leash. But that's not the only thing she does. In this series, it has been made very clear that Shadowhunters need to put their duty before their desires. Lydia provides us with a backstory proving that point; she married someone not everyone approved, and well he died. So she decides to live life in a different angle by marrying someone that the Shadowhunters would approve. And that person was Alec. Alec allows this because he thought that marrying someone from an established family would bring honor to the Lightwoods. But of course, he's gay and he's secretly into Magnus, who secretly likes him back. Now this love triangle story is something that I actually liked because it plays into the story so well. Who Alec chooses as a significant other would completely affect his place in the Shadowhunter world. Again, it's a choice between desire and duty. Love either weakens you or strengthens you; it's the central theme to this entire Shadowhunter world. No, there were no petty fights between Magnus and Lydia fighting over Alec. And of course, the Malec chemistry does not disappoint. Harry Shum Jr. totally gave justice to Magnus' character. 

www.sheknows.com

The setting was very different too. If the books and movie gave the Institute a very classy and ancient ambience, the TV series made it look more advance and modern. Also thank you, TV series, for not making the runes look like body paint. They didn't stay black after being on the skin for a long time. It stays red, giving the impression that it was burnt into the skin and that it can eventually fade. 

www.tvserial.it

My only issue was Jace. If I liked Movie Jace, I have no official opinion for TV Jace. I didn't totally disliked his character, but I did not really admire him either. Here's why; I do not understand what kind of personality he has. The people around him claims that he is the typical narcissistic jerk that we know from the books, but his actions tells me otherwise. Just like Clary, I found him likeable. He's like another male friend that you would have. He's that friendly and the only person he's mean to is obviously Simon. But overall, he seemed like a nice guy and that did not correspond to what people say about him (except the talented and skilled part) in the episodes. In the last few episodes, he started to become interesting. Like Movie Jace, he is horrified by the idea that was actually raised by Valentine. But this time, he questions if he is truly a good person or not. This is how TV Jace becomes different from the other versions. Although he is close to the one in the books, but TV Jace showed struggle and denial; these are things I did not see from Book Jace. He suddenly struggled in figuring out his identity, because it looked like he lost sight of that the moment he learns the "truth" (emphasis on the air quotes because we all know the truth is not really true, later on). In other words, he became confused and that scared him; this is something I failed to see in Movie Jace. Metaphorically speaking, TV Jace was slapped in the face so hard and he wasn't so sure what was real or fake anymore. Fear develops inside of him; the fear of realizing that he was never innately good in the first place and that he was potentially evil. The best analogy to this kind of situation would be that moment when you get separated from your mother in the mall and you can't find her. Now that's really scary.

Were there other things I didn't like? Well, since this is a TV series, I had many issues with the acting. It can get either wooden or over the top. The best performance in my opinion was Harry Shum Jr. because he killed it as Magnus Bane. He's basically the Magnus in the books. Another thing is the special effects. There was too much of it and they all looked not so genuine. There is this thing they do to show how swift a Shadowhunter's moves are by doing this slow motion yet fast-paced edit. It looked so weird. I preferred that the natural fight scenes between Shadowhunters had minimized the special effects and relied on the stunt work. There is not much to say about the action, because it's just there. Since this is marketed to teens (again), then expect a lot of shirtless men working out. 

I think Shadowhunters is doing good so far, just as long as they keep up with the good storytelling. Hopefully, season 2 will be able to give them more resources...so maybe better special effects and editing will be done? Also, there is a need of improvement in the acting methods. But luckily, there was a good story behind this, so I didn't really think it was that bad. Even if you're not part of the fandom, I would recommend it if you're into fantasy stuff. You just have to get pass through the weak acting and special effects. 

And that is the end of the Shadowhunters Discussion. I am kinda excited for season 2, since it ended on a cliffhanger. For next week, I will have my Psycho-Pass 2 ready. But after that, I am not sure if I am going to do another anime review. We'll see. Till the next post~

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