Shadowhunters (TV Series) Not-Quite-A-Review Review

Let me start by saying that I love The Mortal Instruments books, The Infernal Devices, and pretty much anything slightly related to the beloved Shadowhunters world. Although I wasn’t in love with The Mortal Instruments movie, I was still disappointed that we wouldn’t get to see the rest of the books come to life (and hey, the Twilight movies got infinitely better after that first monstrosity). So, when it was announced that there was a TV show, I was thrilled!

On that note, I’ll start with the characters I love, most notably, Simon Lewis! I didn’t think that anyone would be able to live up to Robert Sheehan (because I loved him so much from Misfits), but Alberto Rosende really brings the same humor and energy that makes Simon such a great character to screen. I can without a doubt say that he is the best thing about this show so far. Next up, Matthew Daddario and Harry Shum are so perfect. They both have such a great presence on screen. Though we’ve seen little of Malec so far, I can’t wait until these two really make magic together.

I’m also a fan of the changes they have made to the show. They’re minor changes overall, but enough to make it interesting to those of us who have read the books and watched the movie. I also appreciate that, so far, Clary isn’t the worst. She’s actually focused on finding her mother and not being a horrible person–completely different and so far more likeable than book Clary in my opinion.

However, I’m not a huge fan of the actress who plays Clary, Katherine McNamara. I don’t feel that she’s ever really projecting the right emotions for whatever scene she’s shooting, and her dialogue delivery just seems flat or monotonous every time. And Dominic Sherwood is gorgeous, obviously, but he’s not my cup of Jace. He’s good at brooding and looking like a deliciously perfect, well-trained demon killing machine, but he’s not sarcastic and witty like Jace in the books.

Continuing on the acting derailment, the chemistry between Clary and Jace is non-existent right now. I would be okay with that and them falling in love slower than they do in the book, but other characters have mentioned their so-called obvious infatuation with each other, and I’m just sitting here like, “Where?”

Honestly, I could go on and on about things I love and hate about this show, but I’ll end it here. I really am on the fence about how much I actually like the show versus how much I’m only interested because I’m already invested in the Shadowhunters universe. For now, I’ll be continuing to watch it as long as it’s on the air. It’s not great, but it’s good enough.

How do you all feel about Shadowhunters now after watching several episodes?