Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments Season 2 Episode 1- The Guilty Blood Review

                 A pretty cast mixed with cheesy writing was the biggest complaint I read about the first season of Shadowhunters, I'll be honest upfront and admit that I've read maybe half of the first book and my first real introduction to this world was the forgettable movie from a few years back. I had no expectations going into the first season and I enjoyed it, the story was good and the characters were relatable and it had all the elements of the various genres that I love. The first season had a light tone through the majority of the episodes but in the last couple the tone changed and the darker tone is carried over into the first episode of the second season, The Guilty Blood.



                

        If your taking the time to read this I'm going to assume you've watched Season 1, if not beware of spoilers..........


                The main character Clary went through a lot of changes in Season 1 and it looks like this season is going to be difficult for her as well, the revelation of the man she fell in love with being her brother is still a focus point for most of this episode. She feels a loyalty to Jace because he's family and this extends to the main core of the group as well, Alec, Isabelle, Simon and Magnus and it's their the need for loyalty ends. The new leadership within The Institute quickly makes the decision on Jace which divides the core group from the people in charge, the element of them going rogue was present through Season 1 with little consequence but that looks to change this season. I for one would like to see Clary rebel against the people in charge where if she comes up on the losing end that nothing with will be forgiven, it raises the stakes for her and her sometimes reckless actions.

                     The real standout character of Season 1 was Magnus Bane, Harry Shum Jr really brought this character to life and one of my friends who is an avid fan of the books said this take on the character was better than the books. The growing relationship between him and Alec was teased through Season 1 with various interactions and it paid off towards the end of the season, their interactions seemed a little forced at the start of the episode but towards the end their interaction fell more like a couple in my opinion. I also like the fact that Alec is growing more into his own this season instead of falling in line with orders as he did for the majority of Season 1, his main concern is the safety of Jace and he's willing to turn his back on his family. The character of Isabelle is sidelined for the majority of this episode, she knows her place is within The Institute but she does have a training session with Clary to help her understand how to escape. I'm curious to see what they do with her character this season because we never got a real good understanding of her through Season 1, the writing was all over the place so I'm hoping to see her more fleshed out this season.

                 I think this season will focus a lot on Jace after the reveal he was injected with demon blood while still in his mothers womb by his father, this episode shows he still holds his loyalty to Clary and his family. He is dealing with the fact that his father is Valentine, who is also the father of Clary and the biggest threat to the world, the focus with his character is where his true loyalties lie and it's teased that the demon blood will drive him to kill when he slaughters a nest of vampires along with their leader who surrenders. These actions are done in front of Clary and Simon and I think this will lead to Jace being a potential adversary this season, the episode ended with Jocelyn, the mother of Clary and Jace coming face to face with her son and attempting to kill him. Valentine takes the arrow for his son and Clary blocks her mother from taking another shot but this allows Jace and Valentine to escape.

Episode Score: 3.5/5

Notes-

Jocelyn working the new leadership to kill Jace will strain the relationship between Clary and her mother, she spent the first season doing anything to get her mother back only to be betrayed like this.

Valentine showing a human side taking an arrow for Jace, there may still be some good in him.

The Lightwood family is still trying to repair their legacy and it may cost them their children.

I really hope Simon isn't going to spend this season being secretly in love with Clary, he's a vampire now, own that shit.