Shadowhunters and Downworlders

That their friendship survives Jace not getting what a big deal this admission is to Alec—in fact, questioning why it is a big deal, directly and cluelessly—is a testament to its strength. Unlike Clary, Jace either hasn’t realized Alec’s feelings for him yet or isn’t comfortable speaking to them. Jace only knows an essential fact about his friend Alec that, of course, doesn’t change how he feels about Alec. Painful or not, the revelation that Alec didn’t ask for is the first open reassurance Alec receives that maybe he won’t lose everything if he’s honest with himself and the people around him. Maybe he won’t lose Jace. Maybe he’ll gain Magnus. By the time Alec and Jace talk about Alec’s feelings openly in City of Glass, the fact that these two will remain friends is clear. Jace rudely attempts to push Alec away, in a pure Jace-like fashion. He dismisses Alec’s crush as existing only because Jace is safe, in that he’s not a viable romantic partner. But we know this won’t ultimately push Alec away—not in the sense that matters most. Sure, it takes Alec time to announce his feelings for Magnus, but the real relationship he has with Jace, not the aspirational one, is his first reassurance that the people who love him will accept him as he is. His friendship with Jace is transformational: It helps him admit who he loves.

Once these key relationships are settled—and stronger—for being confirmed as best friends (only) for life, all-new connections are formed as a result among the other people in their lives. What happens when you’re the best friend who doesn’t exactly get along with the other people in your favorite Shadowhunter’s life? Well, it seems you make friends with them, sometimes by accident.





Familiarity Breeds Odd Couples


The unique thing about the Mortal Instruments is not just that the story honors these friendships but that the characters do too. In a sea of books where characters are often friendless until they lock eyes with someone hot across a crowded room or have a token friend who disappears once the action gets going and is never thought of again, it’s a refreshing change. How else to explain Jace’s unflinching decision to feed Simon his blood to bring him back to life during the climactic battle of City of Ashes? He saves Simon even though there’s no love lost between the two of them because he doesn’t want Clary to experience the pain of losing her friend. And if there’s one thing Jace and Simon both seem to understand about each other from the word go, it’s how the other feels about Clary. Though Simon at least briefly considers them romantic rivals, in every instance that truly matters, there’s a grudging acknowledgment by both that the other guy doesn’t want to hurt Clary, will protect her at all costs, and has a fierce loyalty to her. Each is aware that Clary needs both of them. She needs Jace, but she needs Simon too. When Jace is missing in City of Lost Souls, Simon’s presence allows her to sleep at night (much to Izzy’s dismay—more on that in a moment).

Just as it made for the unlikely scenario of Jace saving Simon, again, Simon’s friendship with Clary leads to something even more unlikely in City of Fallen Angels. Not long after Simon thinks to himself that the two aren’t even friends, this odd couple is out shopping for tomato soup together. Over time the boys’ shared care for Clary turns into a strange friendship of its own. Simon can’t not take care of Jace when he sees the other boy hurting. Perhaps that is partly because he knows what Clary feels for Jace and what Jace feels for her in turn, but I have to believe it’s also about what he and Jace have been through by this point. They might never admit it, but Simon and Jace have chosen—perhaps grudgingly—to become friends.

And it’s not so odd when you think about it. They’ve been through battles—plural—together. And Simon’s vampirism serves as an equalizer of sorts. Jace may be the gorgeous untouchable Shadowhunter, but as Simon continues becoming the hero he’s meant to be, he becomes perfectly capable of retaliating against Jace’s insults. That’s right: Simon starts quipping back. Male friends teasing each other is a tradition as old as time (or at least middle school) itself. And if Simon and Jace can be friends, anyone can. I dream of a world where Downworlders and Shadowhunters snark side by side, and it looks a lot like this.

The other odd couple with memorable scenes in City of Fallen Angels (and elsewhere in the series) is Izzy and Clary. Knowing she can’t call Jace to come to her and check out the mysterious address of the Church of Talto, Clary texts Isabelle. Just as with Jace and Simon, neither of these two will quite admit that they trust the other. Neither wants to admit they really are friends at this point, beneath their bickering. Izzy informs Clary that their “girl talk” is normal and seems strange to her only because Simon’s been her only friend. Still, I have always thought that Izzy is the one among the group who most needs a friend. Family is so important to her, but unlike Simon and Clary or Jace and Alec, she doesn’t have a best friend to call her own.

Surely part of what draws her to Simon is that so much of their relationship ends up being built on the roles friends usually play for each other. He makes her laugh. They talk. She’s confused by her growing feelings for him but also by the way his presence comforts her. And though Isabelle’s jealousy of Clary’s close relationship with Simon persists, I’d be willing to wager its days are numbered. If Simon and Isabelle work out, maybe she will finally understand—in the same way Jace does—what Simon and Clary are to each other and that their bond is not a rival to her own relationship with Simon.

This spiderweb of connections is woven into new patterns in each volume of the series. The more horrors our heroes go through together, the more resilient the web becomes. Not being friends with someone whose life you’ve saved—more than once—is hard. Just as it’s hard not to be friends with someone who’s a good person at heart, once you know them in the way that’s possible only after you’ve seen them vulnerable. Just as it’s possible to engage in mutual trust only once your friendship is established enough to chance showing that vulnerability.