Shadowhunters TV show: short review

I know I haven’t posted in a while, its been a hectic couple of weeks and before I upload any kind of content, I edit it around 5 times and make so many changes. So for the meantime, how about my general ideas on the second adaptation of The Mortal Instruments?

First of all, I’ll start by saying that I am not the biggest fan of the TMI but I enjoyed the books enough to want to see the new TV show. I haven’t watched the movie City Of Bones yet, simply because I’ve heard terrible reviews about it from die hard fans. Recently after this series has come out, people are actually reflecting on how accurate the movie was in comparison to the TV show.

Cast: Honestly, I had no problem with the cast, in terms of appearance, I feel like they all definitely looked the part of their characters. For me the most believable character was Simon ( Alberto Rosende). His mannerisms and the way he delivered his lines were pretty close to the Simon from TMI. There were some scenes in the episodes where Simon would do something that Simon from the book would never have done ( wow that was a mouthful!), but  I guess that comes down to the writing and I’ll talk about that later on… In terms of the other characters I thought Alec ( Matthew Daddrio) was quite good, and he was actually funnier in the TV show than in the books which was nice to see. Jace ( Dom Sherwood) was too serious most of the time, he was supposed to be witty and sarcastic, yet he was always getting into arguments about Clary.( I think I ‘ll leave it here in terms of cast otherwise this will turn into a several page review which no one has the time to read!)

The script/writing : For me this was the main downfall of the show. From the dialogue to the way some scenes were portrayed it just didn’t gel for me and a lot of other viewers. Let me start off by saying that if you haven’t read the books prior to watching Shadowhunters you’d really have no clue what’s going on. The plot line is rushed, certain information we discover in book 2 or 3 is happening within the first 6 episodes. That being said, the plot line was the only thing developing at all, the relationship between the characters doesn’t change, they don’t develop. Especially the relationship between Jace and Clary, it’s all very confusing. At this point I don’t know what they are. I also didn’t like the way they portrayed Jace, he is so depressing, every time he appears in a scene he’s either in a mood or arguing with either Simon or Alec.

This being a TV show we were all expecting additions to the books and definitely some changes but at this point I honestly don’t know what’s going on. The new additions just add to the already existing confusion. Some of the basic aspects/concepts of the Shadowworld are still very unclear and we’re already finding out that Valentine is testing Seelie blood for the Mortal Cup. Also, how is Simon already turning into a vampire? Another thing that was incorporated into the TV show that was completely unnecessary and slightly sexist, Isabelle and her ways of retrieving information. I am NOT a prude, but I also found it slightly annoying that when we’re talking about Jace and Alec we acknowledge how they’re both great fighters, but when we think of Isabelle, she just sleeps with downworlders for info? She’s supposed to be distinguished by her ability and skill especially with her whip but most of her involvement has been sexual. I’ll conclude this section by saying there have been some minor improvements from episode 1 to episode 6 but there is still a long way to go.

Visual/sound effects( inc. CGI animation): I don’t even know where to begin with this… Lets start with the runes, well they were terrible. Everything looked fake , from the runes to the warlocks ‘magic’. Had it been any other genre where special effects weren’t crucial, it wouldn’t have mattered that much but its fantasy. Try and make it a bit more believable!

I think its best if I end this review here… Looking back I’ve noticed that most of the review is critiquing the show but as I said I do see that it’s improving (slightly). Hopefully by the end of the season I’ll understand what’s going on in each episode? On a completely unrelated note, I’ve heard that the adaptation for The Shannara Chronicles is really good, apparently better than the book! Thinking of giving it a try…