Shadowhunters Talk: 2x19 "Hail and Farewell"

I'll start off talking about this episode on a high note: the Forsaken.

Interestingly enough, even though they play a significant role in the books, the Forsaken aren't a part of the story that have stood out to me over time. While I haven't forgotten about them, they're not something I've thought a lot about since the last time I read the books (which is going on a few years now), so I feel kind of vague when it comes to them. It feels like something that was never fully explored in the books, but I'm not sure if that's true or just my hazy memory.

Either way, the Forsaken in the TV show have left a more lasting impression, and I can say that with confidence since I'm writing this so long after this part of the show aired, yet I have a much clearer memory of the show's version of the Forsaken than the books'.

In the TV show, the Forsaken remind me a lot of zombies, which isn't how I thought of them in the books even though, looking back on it now, I can see some parallels. I'm really not a zombie fan. I've tried before to get into zombie stories, and I always find them incredibly boring in the end. Because of that, I'm glad the Forsaken never played a larger part in the show, but I did like the way they were used.

Seeing Raphael apologize to Izzy was nice. There was a moment where I thought it might be signal that the show was going to reignite their relationship, but I'm glad they didn't After what the two of them went through together, I don't think things could work out between them. They need to move on, but I also hope to see them learn how to be friends. After all, they can relate to what the other went through in a way that others can't. I want the friends to come after they've gotten their distance though, so I'm glad the show didn't do it right away. I'm only hoping we can see hints of a developing friendship in the limited time we have left with the show.

This episode includes Clary killing Sebastian. It's been so long now that I can't remember what my initial reaction was, but since I don't remember being surprised about the later developments, I'm pretty sure I always expected him to come back somehow. Sebastian being gone would have meant losing the big villain without anyone geared up to take his place. While there are other characters who could become the primary antagonist (not least of which is the Clave), there didn't seem to be one queued up.

(Of course we did get a new antagonist after this, but I'll talk more about that when she appears, and it's connected to Sebastian anyway.)