The hunt is on for Jace Wayland, and Alec and Isabelle hope to reach him before the rest of the Shadowhunters do. With orders from the Clave of “shoot to kill,” the Lightwood siblings must act fast.
Also on his own search, Simon turns to Magnus for help when he finds himself at odds with both Raphael and Aldertree. Meanwhile, Clary struggles to find where she belongs since she doesn’t seem to fit into the Shadowhunter world, yet can’t go back to her mundane life

A Door into Dark:

Warning: This will contain spoilers from previous episodes

I watch this episode later than I usually do simply because I was away, and I am so sad that I had to. Overall, I really enjoyed A Door into the Dark. I feel that everything has up the ante this season and it grows bigger and better as the season goes on.

We are only on episode 2 and I can see such an improvement from season 1 and it’s getting me excited. The tension is growing, the stakes are becoming harder and I don’t know who to trust.

Like last week A Door into the Dark starts off where the last episode finished. I am really liking this so far. Not only does it leave suspense, but then we don’t miss anything in between.

Clary

In A Door into the Dark we get to see Clary (Katherine McNamara) shine. We are able to see the Clary that we know and love from the books, stand out. Most of this episode focuses on her trying to figure out where she belongs, where she fits it. She is not a mundane, but she also isn’t a shadowhunter. And they don’t let her forget that.

So far this season I see a growth in Katherine McNamara as Clary that I am totally happy with. In season 1, I felt that her emotions weren’t there, that she over-acted. But this episode, I could feel her emotions. I could feel her heartbreak, her loneliness.

Tension

Like last week the tension is high in A Door into the Dark. With Valentine (Alan Van Sprang) on the loose creating an army with Jace (Dominic Sherwood) by his side – and everyone is on edge.

With Aldertree (Nick Sagar) still in command and a ‘kill order’ still on Jace. The Lightwood siblings are taking it hard, especially Alec (Matthew Daddario.) Not only is Jace a brother to Alex, but he is his parabatai. Without him, Alec is lost and he will stop at nothing to find Jace. Because of this, we are able to see the tension that grows between Alec and Clary that we see in the book. All the emotions are brought to the surface and no one is biting their tongue.

The tension also continues between Clary and Jocelyn (Maxim Roy) this episode. It’s something that I am really enjoying this season – because it is staying true to the books. Jocelyn and her dislike for Valentine has been transferred to Jace and she wants him dead.

Simon and Magnus

One of the things that I loved about The Mortal Instruments series is the banter between characters, especially Simon (Alberto Rosende) and Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) And that can totally be seen in this episode. The banter had me smiling throughout and I cannot wait to see what these two can bring. Magnus has taken Simon under his wing and doesn’t want him to fade away into the dark. He doesn’t want Simon to be alone.

We also find more about Magnus and his life in this episode and I cannot wait to know more and see where they take it.

Dialogue

Like last week the dialogue was a little rough – but it’s getting so much better. At the start of the series, everything was chopping and clunky. And now things are starting to click, the dialogue is becoming smoothing. Hence the acting is becoming more realistic.

I also feel that the younger actors are better than the older ones. I don’t know what it is, but they feel more real. It’s like the older actors aren’t attached to their characters, they don’t feel it.

Visual Effects

The filming and visual effects of season 2, is 10 times better than the first season. It’s like it’s a totally new series. I don’t feel like things are animated or you can tell its CGI. The way the blades look and move, the fights, the magic. It’s all coming together and I am really enjoying it.

Something that I am not sold on at the moment, is the portals. They are still a bit iffy for me, but they are so much better than the movie one.

Where are they going?

As much as I am enjoying watching this series. I also know that they are veering from the books and sometimes it doesn’t sit right with me. I completely understand that they can’t do everything from the book. But, then they start adding things or changing things around. They take away from the book and turn it into something else.

I wasn’t set on the ‘seeing’ rune. Where you can show someone the past. It was totally weird and didn’t sit right with me.

Overall

I enjoy this episode, however, I don’t know what to expect yet and that is worrying me. Nevertheless, I can see an improvement in the acting, dialogue, and the visual effects. I love that these characters are starting to feel real as though they have jumped from inside the book.

Have you watched Episode 2 yet? Did you enjoyed it as much as me? What are you looking forward to most from season 2? Lets’s Chat!