Shadowhunters season 3 episode 3 review: Who is the Owl?

Shadowhunters season 3 episode 3

Shadowhunters season 3 episode 3 had a simple goal from the start: To surprise you. Now that we’ve seen the entirety of the hour, it feels fairly safe to say that this episode delivered.

Who is the Owl? For most of the episode, Jace was doing his best to hunt the mysterious new force throughout New York City and he was convinced that it was Jonathan. Yet, in the end it turns out that he was chasing his own tail. Jace is the Owl! In what seems to be the most devastating consequence of being brought back from the dead we’ve seen, Jace now carries with him some rather demonic tendencies. He may not be aware of them but they are nonetheless still present. He is now carrying out some of Lilith’s duties, and in the closing minutes we saw the Mother of Demons using him in order to further along her own personal endgame: Reviving Jonathan once and for all. It does appear as though she’s not that far away from it happening.

Remember in the first two episodes how it appeared as though the team was getting a leg up on Lilith? Well, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening anymore. Instead, she’s more in the driver’s seat since the last thing we imagine anyone thinking is that Jace has something to do with this. Clary is more concerned at present with him having to use the stamina rune in order to continually give him energy to keep up the search.

Consider this the twist that we should’ve all seen coming, but didn’t.

Alec’s mother stopped by

While Izzy was continuing some of her work in the field (while getting phone numbers along the way) and comforting a hurting Raphael, Alec and Magnus served as hosts for Alec’s mother! For all of the effort that Malec made to walk on eggshells on the subject of her divorce, she actually came bearing different news: Her departure from the Clave. That’s not altogether easy to digest, but she’s clearly in “I’m doing my best mode,” wanting to drink and be happy without thinking about it too much.

Did anyone else find these scenes funnier than they imagined? Consider this another reminder that nobody works the charm quite like Magnus does. He helped to put her at ease, at least in some moments.

Trouble for Simon

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the full origin of his new ability tonight; instead, we basically saw Luke have to kick him out over what happened with the wolves last week. Luke was put into a position where he had to choose between his people and Simon, who he cared about deeply. We’re not sure if he will regret this choice but it’s pretty clear that it weighed on him before making it. Simon understood, but we imagine that for a supernatural being, finding a new place to call your home is no easy task.

CarterMatt Verdict

What Shadowhunters season 3 episode 3 did so effectively was figure out a way in which to frame the story where there was an almost-constant sense of surprise. You were led down one road with the Owl almost the entire way only to have that be completely flipped in the closing minutes. This is the season’s best reveal and it sets the stage for exciting stuff the remainder of the spring.

What did you think about Shadowhunter season 3 episode 3 overall?

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