I reviewed the first episode of Shadowhunters as a video. I wasn't expecting Freeform to release the second episode early on their app like they did, so I had watched it already when I filmed my first review. I debated for a bit making the review for the first two episodes, but then I decided to separate them. That being said, I did kind of talk about the second episode already in that review. For that reason, I'm going to try to stay briefer in this review. The first review involved me rambling for far too long.
Since this is my first review of the show here, I do want to say that I've enjoyed the show as a whole so far. It's not perfect by any means. There's some stuff I don't like. The special effects aren't always great, and sometimes the acting makes me cringe. Overall though, I think they're doing a good job of capturing the tone of the book, and that's keeping me optimistic. For the most part, I think the actors get their characters, which is good, and I'm hoping they can keep improving as the show goes on. We'll see what happens.
I did talk about this in my video review, but I have to say that I'm quite happy with how Sizzy was dealt with in the second episode. They really felt like Izzy and Simon from the first book to me, and I appreciated that. I think they're doing a good job both with the romantic relationships and the friendships as a whole so far. I'm not blown away by Clace (which I know I'm not alone by), but that's the same as with the books really. I enjoy them together well enough, but I'm not that enthusiastic about it.
As my favorite character, Alec had me worried going into the show. So I'm happy to say that I like what they've done with his character so far. Matthew Daddario's acting is, like everyone else's, not perfect all the time, but for the most part, I think he's playing Alec in a way that shows he understands Alec. I appreciate that if nothing else, and for the most part, I like what they seem to be doing with Alec from a writing standpoint. We'll see how that holds up in the future.
The Silent Brothers had completely slipped my mind going into the show. I hadn't thought about how they might be presented and what they might look like. I thought the makeup for them was actually quite good. I think there was a nice balance where they were creepy but not terrifying, which is how it should be.
We find out in the second episode the Simon's an only child, meaning they cut out his sister. Not really important considering she's hardly in the books, but I found it interesting that the fact got thrown out there so early on like they wanted to establish that she'd been cut out.
The last thing I want to mention about the episode (since I think I said most everything else in the video review) is about Simon being captured by Raphael at the end of the episode. Ever since the promotion that hinted heavily at Simon being a vampire, I've figured that he'd get turned early on in the show. They have said they kind of combined stuff from the first several books, and I think this is one of the things they're doing much earlier.
I actually think that's a great idea after the first couple of episodes. Simon's been floundering along as a mundane, so I get why they want to turn him into a Downworlder as quickly as possible. It will help him have more to do, and he'll fit into the world better. I don't know if it'll happen in the next episode or a handful of episodes from now, but I have little doubt that it will be within this season.
It's tempting to end with "we'll see" when it comes to Simon being a vampire, but I think I've said that too much already. I think that's still my overarching sentiment when it comes to the show. For the most part, I like where they're going, but it's still early enough that I still feel cautious about everything and whether or not it's good or bad. But, like I've said, we'll see. I'm excited for episode three and seeing what happens at least.
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