Shadowhunters - Dust and Shadows - Review

This week on Shadowhunters, Clary tries to bring back her mother and almost gets impregnated by a demon. She discovers a new power while captured. Jace is cleared of all charges but banned from field duty so basically on house arrest. Alec is struggling with the guilt from Jocelyn’s death, while Luke is completely MIA. Simon returns home and tells his mother the truth, which she may or may not believe. She then walks in on him eating a rat. Izzy is still in pain from her shoulder wound and given a substance called Yin Fen by Aldertree. 

Character that deserves a head slap: Don’t get me wrong, I love Alec. But he was really stupid this week. If he hadn’t felt so guilty about what happened to Jocelyn, he would have never agreed to help Clary. I mean, come on. This is Alec-must-follow-the-rules Lightwood we’re talking about. The minute Clary mentioned bringing her mom back from the dead, red flags should’ve gone up. Pretty sure that’s lesson one at the Shadowhunter Academy. Clearly, homeschooling the Lightwoods wasn’t the best idea Maryse and Robert ever had. 

NO NO NO NO! While we’re on the subject, oh Izzy. This makes Alec’s actions this week pale in comparison. I get that she didn’t know what Yin Fen is, but she should have been way more on her guard with Aldertree. I’m sure that even the viewers not familiar with the substance’s history realized that this was not going in the right direction. If you don’t want to know what Yin Fen is exactly, I suggest you avert your eyes now. No matter how badly you’re imagining it is, it’s worse. Yin Fen is not only highly addictive but also lethal. If you try to quit, you experience terrible pain that’ll push you close to death, but if you continue taking it, it’s slowly killing you. For some reason, it also drains the person of color (eyes, hair, skin). I’m not sure if Izzy’s hit the critical point yet, but if she starts to spot gray hairs, it’s probably already too late. 

That won’t end well: The minute Simon’s mom mentioned that she’d always love Simon, I knew she was going to find out the truth. It’s that cliché TV thing where they rub something in, while the other person is keeping a secret. We’re about to see how unconditional her love truly is after finding Simon eating a rat. 

Wasted opportunity: I kind of wish the writers had gone with a warlock from the books, rather than add a new character. There are so many warlocks to choose from. I’m still waiting for when we finally get to see Catarina Loss. Although to be fair, if Clary had gone to her with this she would’ve just given her a look and told her to stop being stupid. Which is exactly what Clary’s plan was. She may have grown up in the mundane world but there are like a thousand movies that prove that bringing someone back from the dead is a bad idea. Especially when the person doing it requires a blood oath promising a vague favor. Honestly, the only interesting thing that came out of this episode is that Clary discovered a new ability. Which means her storyline from the second book is definitely moving forward. 

Saddest scene: The funeral was beautifully done. Clary had been in denial since it happened but I think this is the first time that she truly realized that her mother is gone. I wish Luke and Simon had been able to be there. I did like the last shot of Luke seeing it from afar. But I can’t help wonder if he’s just struck with grief or if something else is going on. 

Questions:
- With the sudden inclusion of Yin Fen, will we be seeing more TID references?
- How long until Simon’s mom kicks him out? I give it 5 minutes into next week’s episode. 
- What's going on with Luke?

Best quotes: Jace: “Out of the infirmary in record time. Looking good. “ Izzy: “I always look good.” 
Izzy: “I made some food for her but she didn’t want to eat it.” Jace: “Can you blame her?” 
Everyone: “Ave Atque Vale.” 

That’s it for this week. Check in again next week for an all-new review and let me know in the comments what you thought of this week’s episode.