SHADOWHUNTERS (S3 E21, 22) “Alliance” & “All Good Things…”: A Gripping Finale Brings The End To Shadowhunters

It is with sadness that I begin my last and final recap for Shadowhunters. While bowing out to a mostly satisfying conclusion, I find it was not enough to quench my desire for more. If only there could have been just one more season – though in honesty that probably wouldn’t be enough. And I know I am not the only one to think so. Last year, Shadowhunters fans did everything they could think of to save their beloved show, to no avail. Even flying a plane over Netflix Headquarters with a banner reading #SaveShadowhunters was not enough (never mind Times Square and San Diego Comic Con). Unfortunately, it is time to say goodbye.

While the two hour series finale, broken into two separate episodes, should have been enough, I felt that much of the remaining time (like parts of the season) was rushed to satisfy fans and to deliver resolve, and a shocking twist in Clary’s (Katherine McNamara) storyline (with only about 10 minutes remaining!) left me still hopeful for a save, left me wanting to see more. When a series ends, I want to feel as though I can imagine the future for these characters, satisfied that their adventures can continue within the imagination. Here, it felt as though there was supposed to be more.

The End of Edom

When “City of Glass” concluded last week, Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) had sacrificed himself to save Aliconte and the mortal world, closing the rift Jonathan (Luke Baines) had ripped open between earth and hell. Unfortunately, for the rift to stay closed, Magnus would have to stay in Edom forever. Determined to save him and bring him home, Alec (Matthew Daddario) was unrelenting in his mission to bring him back – I mean there is a wedding to plan!

The stakes are only raised higher and the hour glass thinner as he learns Lilith (Anna Hopkins), the Queen of Hell, is preparing to attack Magnus, removing him from his high ranking position in hell and reopening the rift. Yet, Shadowhunters can not enter Edom, as death will greet them the minute they set foot. Enter Clary and her mysterious ability to create runes rather than just activate them. She believes she can make a rune that will bind a downworlder to a Shadowhunter, allowing them to share their powers between them. And by the Angel, they are going to need it.

One Final Battle

The peace and tranquility that settles in with Magnus home does not last long as Jonathan makes his final return. After leaving Aliconte, Jonathan begins to undergo a change, metmorphisising into one of the most powerful demons the world has ever seen. By breaking the bond between Clary and Jonathan, his true nature was finally able to be released. Of course, what is a little change without a protective mother to see it through? Enter the Seelie Queen (Kimberly-Sue Murray).

The Seelie Queen has been one of the most devious and manipulative characters within the entire series, and it was time for her to get hers. While she cared for Jonathan, aiding him in learning his new powers, she finds that she is just as expendable as anyone. Jonathan will not be held back any longer. After he vanquishes the Seelie Queen, he sets his eyes on the The Clave.

Hitting institute by institute, the body count rises and the hope of winning this battle continues to diminish. Clary, knowing she is the only one that can get close to him, as well as the only one who can truely defeat him, portals to Jonathan. She pleads with him, finally revealing how she dreamed of the boy in the tower, had longed since childhood to save him. Yet, as she does, Clary draws her final rune, growing wings of her own, killing Jonathan in her embrace.

The End of Segregation

With Edom vanquished, Jonathon dead and every demon in hell obliterated, there is nothing left to do but start immediately planning for the wedding of the century. Yet, it is not just any marriage, but one whose public nature will break down the barriers set up between downworlders and shadowhunters. No longer will they be forced to live separate, those who would have embraced it free to have their voices heard.

Also, through Clary’s binding rune connecting downworlders and shadowhunters, as well as the unified power to save Isabel (Emeraude Toubia) from the shrapnel when Glorious shattered, there is a sense of family that spreads, an understanding that by working together, rather than against one another, more can be achieved than ever before. It is in this moment you see how the characters have evolved over the last three years, how much has changed in the shadowworld for the better. We are not leaving our beloved characters in the same world as when they started. We are leaving them stronger.

Final Goodbyes

While the Clary twist may be the biggest surprise with the series final (we will get into that further in a moment), there were so many storylines that were completely satisfying. We had the return of Clary’s mother Jocelyn (Maxim Roy), returning by the power of the angel to warn her daughter. Raphael (David Castro) made an appearance, informing Isabel and Simon (Alberto Rosende) that he has entered the priesthood, continuing his journey for repentance. He was also there to bestow his blessing on the newly formed couple, one that any help Raphael and Isabel shippers find peace.

Even Maia (Alisha Wainwright) returned (even though it seemed as though her sendoff was last week), reopening the wolf den under a more unified and inclusive restaurant for all of the shadowworld to enjoy. Even The Lightwood patriarch returned, with the littlest of the Lightwood, Max (Jack Fulton), not too far behind. It was great to have many of these faced throughout the series come in and out of both episodes, giving fans a moment to recall what they have loved, characters that had been lost and relish in the final moments.

A Final Twist

As the final moments came to their conclusion, there was still that feeling for more, a sense that Clary’s story was not yet finished. Should season four have happened, viewers would have been shown Clary recovering, slowly returning back to her life as a Shadowhunter – slowly returning to Jace (Dominic Sherwood). Now don’t get me wrong, I am not completely dissatisfied, though I just wanted more. And color me shocked when this twist was presented with only ten minutes remaining. Yes, I was in shock, asking the TV,” What? Where is this going?”

After saving Magnus from Edom, Clary was visited by her mother, sent by the Angel Raphel, to warn her against ever creating her own runes again. This was not a power given freely to her and one that the angels feel she has been abusing. She has been upsetting the balance, the order. If she makes one more rune, she will no longer be a Shadowhunter – a consequence that would strip her of her Shadowhunter sight and her memory of the last three years.

Yet, as Jonathan comes to destroy the Clave and every Shadowhunter, Clary knows that she is the only one who has the power to end this. Drawing her own rune once more, she sacrifices her life (after she had just asked Isabel to be her Parabatai!) as a Shadowhunter to save them. From the moment of Jonathan’s death, her runes begin to disappear. With little time left, she gives each of her loved ones a coy goodbye before slipping back into the life of a mortal.

While everyone moves forward, a year time jump giving insight to the future for each of our characters, viewers will find they are back to the beginning. Clary is showing her work at an art gallery, when she notices Jace. Walking up to him, he is shocked that she can see him, his rune no longer hiding him. Running from her, as he did in the premiere, she calls after him, her memory coming quickly back to her. As the curtain closes on the series the camera pans away.

My biggest question would be why the Angels would punish Clary for utilizing her gifts for the better. Are the Angels that biased? Are they so consumed by their belief of what “balance” is that they cannot see the progressive nature of Clary and what she stands for? This could be another example of today’s young adult content speaking to the resistance to change throughout our society. While those above who have the control continually try to keep the status quo, there are plenty like Clary who are unafraid to speak their minds, to push for a different future. As we see everything that Clary strived to progress between worlds was accomplished, a new order, a new balance in her wake, like many who are the catalyst for change, her sacrifice enabled the future.

In these final moments, with Clary’s memory returning, almost mirroring the series premiere, viewers are left with the understanding that she was always going to be a Shadowhunter, she will always be a Shadowhunter. It is in her blood and no one can take that away from her. The fact she is able to draw runes even though the Angels did not specifically give it to her speaks to the fact she may be someone entirely different than the Nephilims before her. With her memory returning at the last moment, her vision of the shadow world renewed, it speaks to her constant transcendence of the accepted norm.

Singing off…

While not the ending one would have expected, leaving you still wanting more, it was not the worst of series finales. With that being said…

“We are all pieces of what we remember. We hold in ourselves the hopes and fears of those who love us. As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.” – Cassandra Clare, City of Heavenly Fire

… maybe the ending was perfect.