The search is on for Simon in this episode of Shadowhunters, “Dead Man’s Party.” Clary learns a few more things about the shadow world and her abilities, and we strangely don’t check in on Valentine, her mother, or any of the other adult characters.
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Should Simon Be Saved?
With Simon kidnapped in the previous episode of Shadowhunters, Clary is determined to go after him when this one begins. But Jace, Alec and Isabella warn her that he was only taken because their enemies want to draw Clary out since they think she has the Mortal Cup. They’re gonna look pretty silly when they realize she really, truly, honestly doesn’t know where it is.
Alec wants to report the whole thing to the Clave, but Clary convinces Jace to trust her and they all basically determine that it’s better to ask for forgiveness later than permission before they go after the Mundane. And, anyway, the vampires broke the accord first, they justify, so it’s not as if they made the first move.
Sexy Graveyard Time
But first, they’ll need weapons. I’m not sure why they don’t already have sufficient weapons, but okay. Apparently, these weapons are hidden in a grave, so the four make their way to a graveyard in search of one in particular — except Isabelle quickly goes off to get some intel on her own, so it’s just Jace, Clary and Alec left to look.
Alec doesn’t get why Jace trusts Clary so much, though he wisely makes the observation that it’s probably because Jace wants to sleep with her. They don’t have much time to talk before Clary finds the right grave, but Alec quickly determines that it doesn’t have the weapon he needs, a bow. Okay, so there’s another stash of weapons somewhere else, right?
After Alec leaves, Jace teaches Clary how to use a sword she took from the collection. And since this is based on young adult fiction and all that, the lesson is a Very Sexy Lesson, not a regular lesson. Jace gets reeeaaal close to demonstrating to Clary how to use the sword, and she is clearly okay with the close proximity.
They almost kiss, Jace reveals that she and every other Shadowhunter are at least part angel and, finally, Jace tells Clary that his and Alec’s bond is so close that if one of them died, the other one would die a little too. So there’s quite a lot going on in that cemetery that night.
Isabelle’s Fae Friend
There’s a short explanation of the Seelie in this episode, which are a group of creatures that include the Fae. One such individual is the person Isabelle goes to get some “intel” from, though that’s not all she ends up getting in return.
Isabelle and Meliorn clearly have a history, and they make out a little while they both try to get information out of the other. We also learn that the Seelie cannot lie, though they can distract to try not to answer.
Luckily for everyone, Meliorn is also involved with a vampire that’s involved in Simon’s kidnapping, and in a post-sex exchange of questions, Isabelle manages to get some information from him about how to get into the site where he’s being kept while getting past whatever safeguard the vampires have up. So … that’s convenient.
Simon and Camille
The vampire Meliorn is seeing is Camille, and back at the Hotel Dumort, she’s distracting herself by playing with her new toy. This is after Simon already attacked her fellow vampire, Raphael, once (unsuccessfully) and after Camille freezes the panicky Simon once to have a chat with the other vampire about what they’re getting themselves into. Because, apparently, with the possibility that Valentine might come back, their best bet is to not make enemies of the Shadowhunters. Maybe they should have thought about that before?
So Camille and Simon do some making out of their own, but he seems very lightheaded and out of it, and I’m not entirely comfortable with the scenes where the two are pawing at each other. It’s not exactly consensual, first of all, but it’s hard to tell if Simon is really as incapacitated as he appears or if he’s faking some of it the whole time.
Camille does manage to get Simon to spill the beans about the City of Bones and Clary’s lost memories, and there’s a confusing scene in which it’s unclear whether she manages to get him to drink her blood and vice versa. I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s what happens, but I’m sure we’ll find out for sure soon.
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Jace and Clary’s Excellent Adventure
While looking for Simon, Jace teaches Clary a little more about her abilities, like how to “peel away” layers of reality to see the truth in what she’s seeing. He does this while they’re at a bar of some sort, and when they see a vampire with a motorcycle, he convinces Clary to charm the biker and see what happens — which seems like a weird request for the guy who’s clearly into her to make.
The biker dude, whose name I forget so he’s just going to be Biker Vamp, does a bit of weird magic on Clary that’s similar to what Camille was able to do to Simon, but Jace saves her before anything goes too far. Jace and Biker Vamp fight, and Jace is able to swipe Biker Vamp’s keys during the ordeal, so he and Clary are able to ride off together. Not sure why they needed a bike and couldn’t just get to Simon the way Isabelle and Alec did, but maybe I missed something.
The two of them literally fly off together on the motorcycle (yes, it’s also modified so it can fly! Convenient!), and go off to a secluded location so Jace can put some runes on Clary to protect her from encanto (that weird bit of magic) in the future. He also gives her some other rune marks that do other things as well, so she’s pretty much initiated into this whole Shadowhunter thing now, huh? Clary asks whether encanto would work on Simon too and whether it would hurt him, but Jace assures her that it feels more like falling in love. He also tells her that just drinking vampire blood isn’t enough to turn a mundane into a vampire, so Simon should be in the clear, right?
They make it to the Hotel Dumort around the same time as Isabelle and Alec, so the four of them will be able to find Simon and rescue him from Camille’s clutches just in time. Alec is still not totally on board with the situation, but he sticks with their plan — for now.
The Rescue
While Alec and Isabelle distract the vampires in one part of the hotel, Clary and Jace make their way to the place that Simon is being kept in another part. This involves killing a bunch of vampires, which the siblings seem to enjoy, so at least they’re having a little fun.
A fight ensues when Jace and Clary get to a part of the hotel where Biker Vamp is hanging out, but they hold their own until the others arrive and eventually they are all able to move on to where Simon is being held. The vampire that was manipulating him, Camille, is told to leave by Raphael, because apparently she’s too “valuable” if they’re caught by the Shadowhunters. So she heads out, and Simon is left with the other vampire when the cavalry arrives.
Before Camille leaves, Simon makes an escape attempt, so he’s clearly not as out of it as he seemed. It’s still unclear to me just how much he was affected, though. Maybe that’s the point.
When Clary, Jace, Isabelle and Alec finally get to where Simon is, Raphael threatens him with a knife to his throat and orders them all up onto the roof. But when they finally get to the exit, Raphael actually sends Simon with them, before giving Jace a cryptic message about remembering who his friends are. Is Raphael trying to forge a shaky alliance just in case Valentine does rise to power?
Two Friendships
Finally back together, Clary and Simon embrace, both relieved that the other is okay. When Clary tells Simon she couldn’t live without him, he puffs up with hope, but she quickly deflates that by saying he’s her best friend. Yeah, that boy is clearly holding a candle for Ms. Carrot Hair Extraordinaire.
Alec and Jace, on the other hand, are not in such good spirits with each other. Alec warns Jace that he thinks he knows Clary but he may not, and the two briefly argue. Alec tells his friend that he’s not his “shadow” (get it?), and Jace questions why Alec even helped Clary before the older Shadowhunter storms off.
And before the episode ends, we see Simon glance over at the new rune on Clary’s neck. But it becomes clear very quickly that it’s not the rune he’s looking at, but rather the beating vein underneath it. So maybe Simon isn’t completely out of the woods in regards to that whole possibly turning into a vampire thing after all.
What will happen next on Shadowhunters? So much has occurred and we’re only three episodes in! All we can do is watch and find out.
Shadowhunters airs every Tuesday night at 9pm on Freeform.
(Image courtesy of Freeform)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
