“How did you get Magnus to let Jace leave?” “Traded him for Alec.”

Random Fandom – Shadowhunters:

This must be the year I distract myself, because it keeps happening; but considering it is a fandom, I will share what takes over my brain.  I swear, I am about halfway through the next season of Race to the Edge, but I decided one evening to put on The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie and remembered, hey, I like this movie.  I should re-read the book series.  Oh yeah, I remember liking these books.  Then telling myself, you’re not getting into the show.  I remember when the show premiered and had told myself then I was not watching it, which I did not.  But seeing enough things about the show on Pinterest, I decide to give it a whirl…slightly bad idea because I’ve gotten completely distracted. 

It is a bit odd to be reading the books while watching the show, which does not fully follow the books, but integrates a lot of the books in different ways.  I love sassy Jace from the books, yet Jame Campbell Bower perfectly portrays Jace in the movie, yet, Dominic Sherwood brings his own spin to the character in the show that I also love (and want to wrap into a hug…he gets a sad look on his face and I want to give him all the love).  And my brain which has not given up on developing essays and academia wants to write a paper comparing how both actors bring elements of the character to life; maybe the same aspect, but in different ways, yet they work.  And I utterly adore how Matthew Daddario and Henry Shum Jr portray Alec and Magnus; there were times I was watching simply to watch Malec (the pairing of their characters and completely canon).  I also have another set of brothers to add to my future project of brother relationships in different fandoms (Francis and Bash were also recently added…this project is going to end up being a book, lol).  And there are some wonderful videos about the two, just like Francis and Bash, often using some of the same music (oh my heart).

I will admit, it was a bit odd to see so many familiar faces in the movie that I did not know when the movie came out.  Well, I knew Aidan Turner as Luke since he’s Kili in The Hobbit and Mitchell in Being Human (the BBC version; I think an American version came out later).  And I will always see Henry VIII from Tudors when I watch Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays Valentine.  But Lena Headey is Jocelyn, but we know her as Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones.  Jamie Campbell Bower is Young Grindelwald in Harry Potter [opposite Toby Regbo as Young Dumbledore…we just saw him as Francis in Reign], Caius in the Twilight Saga, and King Arthur in a short-run Camelot series (that show was a bit odd and dark).   We know Jared Harris, who plays Hodge, as King George VI from The Crown and as Moriarty from Game of Shadows with Robert Downey Jr.  Dorothea is played by CCH Pounder; I’ve seen her as Loretta Wade in NCIS: New Orleans.  And we’ve seen Kevin Durand in Robin Hood with Russell Crowe.  It was further strange to see Alan Van Sprang in the show as Valentine after just watching him as Henry de Valois in Reign; he wasn’t a great father in either show.

I honestly like all three; the books, the movie, and the show.  Each has their pros and cons.  The relationship development of Magnus and Alec is wonderful in the show.  I did really enjoy Jace in the movie and Clary wasn’t quite as annoying as she gets in the books and the show.  Jace was also wonderful in the show and well developed, particularly his emotional storyline in season 3.  And I now want to get my own copies of the books and get the other series Cassandra Clare has written in the universe.  Which, a thanks to my cousin for lending me the books, and I guess I should apologize for getting you back into the series *wink. 

The show has inspired some more writing; it doesn’t quite fit into my series as well as elements of Reign.  But it is helping me develop another character.  And since it features the Seelie Court and Queen, it makes me stop and think about how similar or different my Faerie Realm will be from traditional version of the Seelie.  And how I’m going to have to properly work in a Library/Archives type institution.

I should stop saying what is Up Next, because anymore, my brain says no, let’s go on a side quest.