Shadowhunters Review: Dead Man’s Party (Season 1 Episode 3)
We are introduced to two more species in “Dead Man’s Party,” and I’ve gotta say: so far, I’m a vamp fan.
Although, the way the vampires disintegrate upon death in Shadowhunters is truly awful. I say this as someone who has watched far too many vampire shows in her life. It’s like they turn into burned up tears of paper or something? So, so stupid.
“Dead Man’s Party” picks up right where “The Descent Into Hell Isn’t Easy” left off: Simon has been kidnapped by the vampires, and Clary is desperate to find her best friend. Desperate Clary is now my favorite Clary, because she’s so damn sassy and powerful in this episode. She is finally beginning to feel like a strong protagonist we can root for. She totally kicks ass in the fight against the vampires when the group finally makes it into Hotel Dumort.
Actually, this episode presents just about everyone in a more likable light, and the chemistry between the main five (Jace, Clary, Alec, Izzy, and Simon) improves tremendously. The cast has clearly gotten used to one another by now, and it shows.
The Izzy/Clary friendship (Izzy is her number one cheerleader, basically) also provides the only version of Izzy that I can even remotely stand.
The Jace/Clary pairing is still a little bit too in-your-face, though. That sexually-charged training scene in the graveyard with the sword is so groan-inducing.
A sampling of the on-the-nose dialogue during that scene:
Jace: Now, it knows you’re a Shadowhunter, so it wants to respond. But you have to be firm with it. Let it know who’s boss.
Jace: It’s saying you belong together.
Clary: It felt like you were still with me.
Jace: I am. I will be.
Am I the only one who kept an eyebrow firmly in perma-raise throughout this whole thing? Geez! Get a room, you two. Also, get on with the training so you can go save Simon!
OK, show, we get it: Jace and Clary are soulmates. Can we please see them get to know each other a little bit at least, before all the innuendo-laden sword dialogue?
Though, I will admit that their magic carpet demon-energized motorcycle ride over the Manhattan skyline is very cute. See? I’m not totally made of stone!
Meanwhile, Clary’s other would-be suitor, poor friend-zoned Simon, remains separated from the group for nearly the entire episode. On the bright side, he gets to hang out with super cool and sexy vampires!
All jokes aside, the vampires (one of several species called “Downworlders”) are the only creatures we’ve met so far who seem three-dimensional, threatening, and actually interesting. The warlocks are whatever (they all took off with Magnus through that portal last week and haven’t been seen or heard of since), the demons are still a bunch of idiots, and that one Seelie we meet this week, Meliorn, seems to basically only be interested in having sex with Isabelle and wearing a badly-drawn leaf on his face.
It also doesn’t hurt that the actors playing Camille and Raphael are two of the more talented ones that we’ve seen so far on the show.
“Dead Man’s Party” nicely demonstrates the tension between the factions, while underscoring the larger picture: Valentine is the real threat to all of them and banding together might be the best option. Raphael makes this really clear when he hands off Simon to the group at the episode’s end and warns Jace to remember who his friends are. This is obviously going to crop up again sooner or later, when Valentine comes to town.
In the closing moments of the episode we find out that Simon is a little… bloodthirsty after the time he’s spent making out hanging out with Camille. I am extremely into the idea of Simon as a vampire and seeing how this will change him (and change his relationship with Clary).
Speaking of that last scene: can you say “dramatic tension?” Seriously, I kept thinking someone would pop a neck vein with all the intense staring going down.
The Clary/Simon reunion hug and SUPER TENDER KISSING gives me the warm and fuzzies. I think I’m broken, guys, because Clary/Simon is so much better than Clary/Jace, to me, and Shadowhunters is making me feel like a big old idiot for thinking that. Simon’s tangible love for Clary and the look on his face when Clary says she can’t live without him and kisses him on the cheek is far and away the most genuine thing I’ve seen on this show so far.
Of course, Jace gets all intensely serious and angst-y seeing the two like this. At that moment, it seems like he finally understands what Clary means when she says that Simon is to her what Alec is to Jace (a parabatai, one bonded to his or her partner for life and willing to die for them). Layering on top of that Jace/Clary/Simon angst is the afore-mentioned Jace/Alec angst. Alec makes quite clear that he does not trust Clary and that Jace might not really know her, but Jace trusts her implicitly (illogically, if you ask me). Naturally, this is creating an ever-widening rift between the parabatai.
Alec storms off, Izzy touches up her lip gloss, Jace and Clary exchange intense glances, and Simon is suddenly hyper aware of the blood pulsing in Clary’s neck vein. Drama!
Other Thoughts:
- The music in this episode is bomb. I love all of it, particularly the song playing during the beginning of Camille’s seduction of Simon.
- Izzy keeps her heels on in bed with leaf-tattoo Meliorn and just… why? WHY, IZZY? STOP.
- Hodge is fine as hell, and I like that he is in this episode for two minutes for no real reason other than to clap Alec on the neck awkwardly and issue warnings about Alec remaining in Jace’s shadow.
- This episode has zero Valentine and that is probably for the best. I like him as a villain so far, but we’ve seen a lot of him all up front. Keeping him a bit mysterious is helpful in establishing him as menacing.
- The runes look less dumb when they’re fresh.
- Alec keeps whining about telling the Clave things, how they should report blah and blah to the Clave. We haven’t even met the Clave yet and they’re already annoying.
What did you think of this episode of Shadowhunters? Is Simon definitely a vampire now? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Shadowhunters airs Tuesday at 9/8c on Freeform.
Caralynn Lippo
Caralynn is a freelance writer and editor, but most importantly, she is a diehard TV addict. A few of her current favorites are Mr. Robot, You're the Worst, iZombie, and The Vampire Diaries. She also writes about TV for Romper, The TV Junkies, and TV Fanatic.