Shadowhunters

I finally got around to watching this series on Netflix after a long delay due to reading a few negative reviews but wanted to finally make my opinion.

Firstly I was interested in the story - I haven't read the books but was introduced to the Shadow Hunter world by the movie so I dont have much to comapre or judge, but it's the same story line I'm most interested in. (There will always be a divide between book and movie/tv versions of any narrative).

Yes I agree the first couple episodes seem a bit lacking but you can't hot a home run straight off the first bat. I kept watching and finding getting more and more drawn in & constantly hitting next episode. I was initially dissapointed there seemed to be only 2 seasons but so excited now it is still continuing because now I'm hooked!

Notes: I think more raw emotion coming from the actors/characters and little less cliche moments will benefit but all characters stories are smooth and not over complicated but detailed that it doesnt create plot holes. Perhaps more focus on the inner character developments so we can get really attached to indivudals backstory and their life choices.

But still I am hanging out for the next season and I recommend at least watching the whole first season before making a judgement call - if it aint your thing fine but dont rain on others parade.

The new season of Shadowhunters clearly makes a stable foundation of what makes its book counterpart so intriguing. I believe this is the time where it shines and subsumes itself to the character and environment of the book that all readers are familiar of. Season 3 is the stepping stone of what could become a long running show.

My advice, withhold all judgements on the first two seasons and be carried away of the new season.

I enjoyed the books. I know that no movie or show based off of books are nearly as good, so I will not rate this compared to the books, but as a stand alone show.

The acting is beyond dreadful, the lines are cheesy and the plot is very rushed. As always if you love fantasy shows with magic, demons, and such, you might overlook everything else and enjoy it for what it is.

Let me start by saying that I loved the books and hated the movie so much I tried to get through it twice and never made it beyond the first 15 minutes. Does this stick completely to the books? No, of course not. It follows the story line much better than the movie. Remember, this isn't a mini series so they need to set up a broader world. The characters are true to type and so much better cast than the crappy movie. I can already see that I am going to like Simon. He's pretty much exactly like in the book and bonus, Alec doesn't look like one of their dads :D. 1pilots are almost always meh and require setting up the premise so don't worry about it being plot heavy. They settle in nicely in the second episode. (already on Hulu plus a week in advance). Give it a shot if you like the books.

Shadowhunters, although not amazing and award-worthy, is still relatively enjoyable to watch. There are many aspects of the TV show that need improvement, but that doesn't mean that there aren't things the show has nailed. I personally have not read TMI yet and I feel that people are comparing the book and TV series too scrutinously. I feel that having not read the books has helped me enjoy the show rather than be frustrated that the show isn't sticking to the books. Among the cons, the acting of certain characters is quite cringe-worthy although some are new to acting so we can't judge them on this. The script was also pretty cheesy, but then again it reflects the target audience. Let's just hope that'll improve later on. Apart from that, I think a lot of us can agree that the institute design was not that great, it was way too techy and didn't feel homely at all. The pros, on the other hand, include SIMON! Simon is amazing in all respects! Alec and Isabelle were great throughout. Jace's character improved towards the end of season 1 which is great. I didn't know how to feel about Magnus at first but currently, at the close of season 1, I'm liking his character which is very much like Jack Sparrow, as youtuber Christine Riccio pointed out. With regards to Clary, I love her relationship with Simon, apart from that I don't think she grew much until towards the end of season 1, like Jace. I'm hoping for more improvement regarding the characters in the upcoming season.

One thing I had minor issues with was an episode - and I can't remember which episode - where it was just really overly trying to be sexual. There were so many implied sexual scenes, undressing, kissing, etc. and it all happened in that one episode. They might as well have just named the episode "Everybody's having sex". I don't know I felt like that was all so forced and I felt slightly uncomfortable, like it was a little forced as if the producers/screenwriters/whoever were like "lets just put some sex in". Although I do understand that it did sort of serve the plot, I think it was a bit unnecessary considering the original target audience - I'm a little confused now, like who's the real target audience? I feel like different aspects of the TV show are reflecting different target audiences.

With regards to the plot, I felt as though some things were all over the place, aspects of the plot didn't advance until end of season 1 in a rush to cram things in. But I can understand why, because I mean, they had to keep the audience interested/satisfied enough throughout the series so that they could invest in a second season which will hopefully advance the plot much better.

Knowing that freeform has rights over TID as well as TMI, I'm excited to see the incorporation of both stories into Shadowhunters, or if not, I'm dearly hoping that they'll give TID its own separate TV show.

But yeah, regardless, the show had a slow start, but it is gradually improving, and it has potential to be great in season 2!

So overall there are things it needs to work on, but the show is still entertaining to watch. I'm excited for season 2 and hopefully many more seasons to come!