Shadowhunters season 3: Matthew Daddario breaks down Alec’s growing complexities (and why they’re problematic)
Hidden Remote: And there was also a beautiful moment with Maryse accepting Magnus and being proud of Magnus and Alec’s relationship. So what does it mean to Alec to finally have his mother’s approval?
Matthew: It’s a tremendous thing for him because I think he still — and we’re going to see this throughout the season — he’s still not entirely comfortable with it because he still feels… I mean, it’s been a very short period of time. You know, coming out at all, and then also trying to realize that the world can be accepting of this, so he still has trouble with that. Now, as it goes through, and we go further along, we will see that sort of shift a little bit, and I think that this is sort of a turning point.
With his mother’s acceptance, he realizes, ‘Ok. You know? This is good,’ and I think by the end of season 3, we’re going to see that he doesn’t even really think about what other people are thinking about the situation. He doesn’t care what they think, or he knows that they’ll be accepting. So this is a big turning point overall for how he views his relationship with Magnus for sure.
Hidden Remote: Ok I’m switching gears here a little. Alec’s parabatai is off doing some crazy secret things right now as the Owl. Are we going to have more parabatai moments and see that bond play a role in the fight against Lilith?
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Matthew: Mmm, ok. So, I wish there was like a really good way of saying this without just giving stuff away. Not really. Alec is focused on a number of things. He’s administrating, and he’s handling the Institute as a whole. The threat right now with the Owl doesn’t appear to be any major threat in the world. It’s just sort of a strange thing that’s going on. It’s kind of unpleasant, but you know, it could just be another demon. It’s just part of the crap day-to-day work.
When he’s looking at his parabatai, he’s thinking, ‘Ok, there’s something wrong with him,’ probably because of what happened at the end of season 2, and he’s trying to get to the bottom of that, but he’s distracted. He’s distracted by what’s going on with Magnus as we progress in his relationship with Magnus, and he’s distracted by other elements of his job and Izzy, so he loses focus.
Especially with his parabatai, who he’s now let down a number of times in my opinion, he’s going to feel regret. And he’s going to feel… he’s going to screw up. And that’s really where we’re going to see Alec over these next ten episodes. It’s that realization that he screwed up, and it’s going to come together in kind of a very disconcerning episode later in the season. I can’t remember which number it is, but the effects of that kind of neglect become very clear.