In this episode of Shadowhunters, titled “Dust and Shadows,” Clary makes some dangerous decisions in a desperate attempt to bring her mother back from the dead. Meanwhile, Alec deals with the aftermath of his involvement in Jocelyn’s death, and Simon fights to hide his new vampire status from his family.
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Alec’s Guilt
Alec is not handling his role in the death of Jocelyn very well and spends much of the episode blaming and isolating himself from the other Shadowhunters. When Jace tries to convince him that it wasn’t his fault ( but rather the fault of the demon possessing him) early on in the episode, Alec won’t hear of it and reminds Jace that it wasn’t just Clary’s mother he killed; she was Jace’s biological mother as well.
Later, Alec goes to Magnus’, and he and the warlock have a heart-to-heart. Alec asks how turning in Camille felt, and Magnus admits that it was awful. But he also tells Alec that hiding away and allowing himself to be hurt won’t help anything and that he trusts that Alec will eventually face Clary because it’s the right thing to do, and Alec always turns to that in the end.
Only, when Alec does finally go to apologize to Clary, he gets caught up in much more than an apology. She tells him that she thinks she’s found a way to bring her mother back, and Alec tells her that he will do anything to help her make that happen.
Clary’s Plan
After discussing the fact that Luke is apparently MIA, Clary entrusts to Simon that she thinks there might be a way for magic to bring her mother back. He has serious reservations about it, in spite of (or maybe because of) the fact that he himself was brought back from the dead, and they both go to Magnus’ to inquire about the possibility.
Magnus tells them it’s a bad idea, that it would require very dark magic and it’s not something he’s done before nor something he would encourage. He also reveals that as a child, after his mother discovered his part-demon status, she killed herself. And he admits that it took a very long time dealing with that to become easier. So he does sympathize with Clary but won’t help her in her mission to bring Jocelyn back. He does, however, give her a photo of the two of them together, from the day he met Clary.
But it seems Clary isn’t willing to take no for an answer. After leaving Magnus’ and splitting up with Simon, she goes to the Institute and does some quick research to find another warlock who may help her. Having just been to see Jocelyn’s body, and after talking with Jace about how they both wished they had more time with her, she is more convinced than ever that reviving Jocelyn is the right thing to do.
Meeting Iris
The warlock Clary goes to is Iris, a woman who lives in Park Slope and who also operates a doctor’s office and lives in the same building. She revives a dead bird in front of Clary and convinces her that the sort of magic involved isn’t dark, that all magic is equal. Clary is taken in by the possibility of bringing her mother back, but there’s one snag: Iris won’t perform the ritual unless Clary agrees to do a favor for her later, one that she won’t specify. Of course, such a thing would be pretty stupid to agree to, so of course Clary doesn’t agree, right?
Wrong. After taking some hair from Jocelyn and ignoring the warning from Jace, who says to her that you don’t bring people back from the dead as you don’t really know what you might get back, she decides to go back to Iris with the hair to complete the ritual. Alec agrees to go with her in order to assuage his own guilt. Apparently, none of the warnings Clary got or the fact that she’ll owe a mysterious favor to a warlock will stop her.
Jace and Iris on Lockdown
What are the others up to while Clary makes such a terrible decision? Well, Jace has been exonerated for his crimes at the City of Bones, but he’s banned from field duty by Aldertree, who argues that it would have been better for Aldertree to have died if it meant that Jace had kept the Sword from Valentine, who now has two of the three Mortal Instruments. So he’s left to stick around the Institute, and he and Izzy use some of that downtime to train together.
Jace had heard about a mission for some from the Institute to go to the Iron Sisters, who are apparently a group of tough warrior women, and passes on the gossip to Izzy, who is thrilled. She always wanted to be an Iron Sister — until she learned that they have to swear off men — and she’s determined to lead the mission. But when she goes to Aldertree, he examines the wound that’s still persisting in her shoulder, declares that she has a venom infection and deems her unfit to go.
But then he gives her some sort of antidote that, frankly, seems to give her a reaction akin to really good sex, which is supposed to help her heal faster. He lets her take it but warns her to only use a little bit at once. Somehow, I feel like that’s going to backfire.
Simon’s Pain
Meanwhile, poor Simon is still stuck between his world with his family and his new world as a vampire. Clary urges him to go to his own mother and tell her he loves her, after he consoles her in her grief. When he and his mother meet up, he tells her he definitely wants to move home. But he also tries to say that if he sleeps all day and is up all night, it’s only because of his grueling tour schedule. Again, I feel like this is going to backfire.
Later, his sister comes to his door while he’s trying to sleep, and after they reunite, she throws open his shades and finds his thermos full of blood, all within the span of about a minute. Simon tries to claim that the blood is fake, but his sister flushes it anyway, and he’s left without his supply — and with an appetite that suddenly can’t be satisfied.
When his mother comes to him and asks if he’s okay, revealing that Becky had revealed her discovery of the blood, Simon finally cracks and admits that he’s a vampire. His mother laughs it off, and he tries desperately to convince her that it’s the truth. She clearly thinks something is mentally wrong with him because she tries to call his doctor later, and really, who would believe that their kid was a vampire if they admitted that anyway?
Horrifyingly, Simon’s mother learns very quickly just how much he was not joking or lying. After trying to call his doctor, she opens his bedroom door to find him drinking blood from a rat. But we don’t get to see what happens yet, so I think it’s safe to assume things just got a lot tougher as far as Simon trying to balance his two worlds goes.
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The Ritual
Finally, back at Iris’, Clary and Alec are allowed in, but Alec has to proceed without a weapon. He’s also not allowed to go with her to the actual ritual, which clearly leaves him unsettled. While Clary is in with Iris, Alec talks to Iris’ god-daughter, Madzie, and the little girl eventually leads him up the stairs, where a baby is crying.
In the room where Iris is performing the ritual, Clary has already agreed to the favor, which Alec was initially unaware of, and she still has no idea what it entails. Again, maybe not the smartest move. Iris tells her to focus on a cherished memory with Jocelyn and begins to perform her magic.
As things get intense, a crow — possibly the same one Iris revived — smashes its way through the window, and Iris kills it before continuing on. Clary freaks out and finally calls off the deal. But even if Iris didn’t complete her end of the bargain, she claims the deal is still on, and Clary still owes her. Whoops.
The Deal
As it turns out, Iris needs the favor right at that moment. She reveals that she’s been using young women in order to essentially breed new warlocks by having a demon impregnate them. She also thinks she’s found an elixir so that the demon can get a Shadowhunter pregnant, which shouldn’t be possible, and she wants Clary to be her newest breeder. Yikes.
Clary realizes that Iris spiked her tea, so she’s powerless to fight back against the warlock. Iris reassures her that after she’s given birth, Clary’s memory will be wiped and she’ll forget the whole thing. But she’s still understandably freaked-out when she wakes up in a cell after losing consciousness around the warlock.
Saving Clary
When Alec follows Madzie upstairs, he finds a young pregnant woman, who had let him and Clary into the building, with a baby in one of the rooms. She reveals that she’s had several babies for Iris but that she doesn’t remember much of the experiences. He demands to know where Clary is, eventually going after Iris when he and the girl can’t find Clary or the warlock in the room where the ritual was supposed to take place.
Izzy and Jace realize what Clary might try to do, so they make their way to Iris’ as well. They get there just in time for Izzy to try to attack Iris, who has knocked Alec out after he found her, but Izzy is stopped when Iris takes Madzie into her arms. Madzie had tried to stop her god-mother from hurting Alec, and just when there may be hope for the little girl, the warlock steals her away in a portal, saying that Izzy can save Clary for now, but the Shadowhunter will still owe her a favor later.
Back where Clary is being held, some sort of demon is let into her cell, and she somehow envisions a rune and is able to make it appear on her, using it to kill the creature. Jace enters just as she kills it and says that Clary somehow shot sunlight out of her hand. He tells her that they should keep what happened a secret just as Izzy and Alec get there. And honestly? When are these people going to understand that secrets have not helped them so far?
In Memory
Finally, the memorial service for Jocelyn and the other Shadowhunters lost in recent days is held. Simon and Luke are not allowed to be in attendance, but Jace stays strong for Clary when she admits that she doesn’t think she can handle the event. They walk up to Jocelyn’s slab together, and the entire room recites a memorial ritual.
Clary breaks down when she’s called on to say her mother’s name, but Jace takes over and the Shadowhunters send the souls of the departed off into the universe. In a field somewhere outside the Institute, a bloodied Luke watches the energy depart and howls, having lost his love.
So just where has Luke been all this time and why does he look so beat-up? How soon will Iris call in her favor? And what will Simon’s mother make of his revelation? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Shadowhunters season 2 airs every Monday night at 8/7c on Freeform. Want more news? Like BuddyTV’s Facebook page.
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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
