Shadowhunters season 2 episode 12 review: Magnus is not himself

Shadowhunters season 2 episode 12 kicked off with some good and bad news for various characters. When it comes to Clary and Simon, they woke up together and had a nice moment … before of course a message from Jace came in and complicated things. Also, why is Clary keeping secrets from Simon? Hasn’t anyone learned from a billion other television series at this point that series are bad news? Apparently, not so much.

Meanwhile, the bad news for Magnus is fairly simple: He’s stuck dealing with Valentine stuck in his body. Much of the first part of the episode was spent watching Harry Shum Jr. play this different version of the character — this was fantastic fun for us as a viewer, but not anywhere as much fun for Alec given that he had to wonder what in the world was going on.

As for the other bad news, Sebastian’s driving a rift between Izzy and Alec. He’s not altogether happy that he’s around and helping someone who he wants to help himself. Sebastian has this impeccable ability to bond with other people; he forged a bond with Clary in a fairly short span of time thanks in part to some of what they’ve been through.

How about a third round of bad news? It was actually Izzy who clued Simon in as to Jace and Clary not being related, and not Clary herself.

Here’s where things get crazy

We saw near the end of the first episode was the first signs of Sebastian’s true power, as he was able to emotionally break Clary to the point where she channeled her power. The good news is that thanks in part to this, Valentine and Magnus were stopped in time, and are now firmly back where they belong.

Did Sebastian actually save the day? Well, it seemed in this case, he was an asset. The big thing to be concerned about is what happens in the event that he ends up using some of these powers for eivil rather than good.

In the aftermath of the transformation, Magnus and Alec did have a moment where they shared some of their feelings. Alec wanted to be there for him, but it was hard since the experience brought back memories that were certainly many years in the past.

Oh, and Sebastian asked Clary out on a date. She said no, citing that she has a boyfriend. Isn’t this love triangle that much more complicated? Well, sort of. She’d have to have feelings back.

Oh, and big reveal time: Jace is from the Herondale bloodline.

Overall take

The Valentine / Magnus scenes were a trip, and arguably the best part of the episode since it was such a nice shakeup to the story and the character. Also, this was the best episode for Sebastian to date (granted, it is only two characters) — we’re seeing more of the producers’ take on him.

Now, the one negative — why in the world are these characters holding so many secrets? Don’t they realize at this point that this sort of stuff never works? Hey, at least Simon already told Clary that he knows what she was keeping from him. Grade: B.

What’s coming up next for Shadowhunters this season?

Then be sure to head over to the link here to get some other news when it comes to the show! (Photo: Freeform.)