Shadowhunters 3×11 Review: “Lost Souls”

Shadowhunters is back! The final batch of episodes opens with “Lost Souls”, an aptly-chosen title as throughout the entire episode we see the return of various characters who left for whatever reason. Season 3B kicks off with a bang (not literally) as our intrepid heroes are scattered all across the globe.

I do believe “Lost Souls” suffered a bit from the official 3B trailer, which revealed that Clary was alive right away. Naturally I knew she would be (this isn’t Game of Thrones, they aren’t going to kill off the main character like that), but I felt that the show could have done with a little bit of mystery. I’m actually quite surprised that Clary appeared so early in the episode. I thought for sure they wouldn’t reveal that she was alive or her location until close to the end of the premiere. I honestly think that would have been better; so many scenes would have had more impact if we didn’t know for certain that Clary was still alive. The montage of everyone remembering her in the own way was sweet, but would have tugged at my heart strings a lot more if I didn’t know Clary was chilling in Siberia with her brother. Luke and Jace’s entire scene where Luke struggles to convince Jace that Clary may be alive just comes off as weird when the audience knows for sure that she’s alive – and that Luke’s theory is completely accurate.

Plus, the reveal they did end the episode with – that Clary and Jonathan are linked – was not a big shock, unless you were like Clary and ignored what Lillith was saying.

As for the rest of the episode, while it makes sense that they would highlight the loss of Magnus’s magic by showing him unable to protect himself (or others), I would have liked to have seen more of Magnus struggling to get used to not having his magic in little ways. The eyeliner was a nice touch, but he is over 400 years old, and I’m sure there are a lot of everyday ways he uses his magic that he would just forget about.

The domestic Malec scenes were everything. I was dying of the cuteness. Alec reading a bedtime story to Madzie was the most adorable thing I’ve seen, and domesticity is such a rare thing to see among LGBTQ+ couples on TV. They don’t usually get to be happy, so it’s incredibly appreciated when they are. Not only that, but there were some excellent moments of communication (Alec telling Magnus it’s okay to let other people take care of him), and I very much liked that Alec relented and let Magnus help, even though he ended up getting kidnapped. Magnus is the one who knows Iris the best; it would have been stupid to leave him out of the mission.

Speaking of Iris, “Lost Souls” saw the return of several characters who left for whatever reason. Maya is back (she only went to New Jersey…or Maryland…I’m not sure which Ocean City she’s from), Iris reminded us that she escaped from prison, and Izzy tracked down Raphael for Simon. Of these three, Raphael’s appearance was my favorite. Yes, he did terrible things, but I just missed seeing his face. He’s in Detroit, so I don’t know how good the odds are that we’ll see him again, but my fingers are crossed. I also don’t think we’ve seen the last of Iris, even though it looks like the Clave is up to some shady dealings.

All in all, “Lost Souls” was a fairly solid premiere. The longer wait was worth it for the hope that we’re going to get some real closure when the series ends at the end of the season.

Did you all see “Lost Souls”? What did you think?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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