The day has come at last!!!  I have watched the creation of this show via Twitter and the Shadowhunters TV Website, from casting, location photos, and costumes, to the set visits with author Cassandra Clare.  I was already a total fan!  Now I get to delve in to the first episode and really discuss it.

The first episode is the set up for the whole series.  It introduces the characters and lets us see a glimpse of this universe.  I watched the show with my "Mundane" husband.  Of course, I know the story backwards and forwards.  But I wanted to see if the storytelling would make sense to him.     So, I quizzed him after the show.  I think he was a bit puzzled trying to sort out the various groups and so he isn't sure if he liked it Shadowhunters or not.  I, however, unabashedly loved it!!!
                        
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What I liked: 

Characters:

• Jocelyn was such a bad-ass fighter!  I loved that she kicked butt and she got a chance to show she was a true Shadowhunter.  
• Simon was adorable and you could see there was great chemistry between him and Clary.  I loved Simon's reactions when he couldn't see who Clary was talking to.  So funny!
• Isabelle was as stunning as I imagined her from the books.  I thought her outfits were really amazing and I liked her interactions with Clary.
• Jace was arrogant, bossy, handsome, and very funny.  "What?  No thank you for saving your life?"  Again, he is just as I thought he would be from the novels.
• Clary was so sweet and cute!  I loved her rapport with Simon and how she only needed a look to shoot Jace down.  

Special Effects:

• I was worried that the effects would be cheesy but overall I was impressed.
• I thought the glowing green demon eyes were a particularly nice touch and it helped the audience figure out who was a demon and who was not.
• I also enjoyed the runes on the shadowhunters.  I liked that they seemed like they were formed with blood, and were not tattoos.

 Dialogue:

• Some of the lines were priceless, especially if you are a fan of the books!
• I had a big smile on my face as Clary lamented, "My life couldn't be more mundane."
• All the times Simon references how strange Clary is behaving, "Do we have a Meth problem, Clary?"

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 What I didn't like:

•  Clary's reactions were sometimes over the top.  Perhaps it was the dialogue from that scene that made it seem overly dramatic, but I felt Clary's reaction was overdone in the scene where she goes through the portal and leaves her mom.  I DO love the actress.  I loved the tears and most of the times where she was terrified.  The chemistry between her and the other characters was great.  I just wish the director had dialed it down a notch in that one scene.
• We didn't get to see much of Alec!  I think he had about five lines in the entire episode.  I know this will change in upcoming shows, but I was disappointed that there wasn't a bigger introduction.

Overall, I think that this show is off to a great start and I look forward to watching it again every Tuesday at 9pm on the Freeform channel. 

                   
via GIPHY