#I’m apparently supposed to take her side cuz she’s ‘plucky’ or ‘fiery’ or ‘brave’ or some shit. Well I don’t. lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

theravennest · 7 years

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Luke and Alec in 2.14

I’ve always wanted more of this relationship since they gave me hints all through the end of S1. For example, when Luke calls Alec over the Forsaken attack or how it was Luke and Alec who tracked rogue Jace, who had lost his mind over Valentine.

There were two things I really loved about Alec and Luke last episode:

How Luke was allowed to express his emotions over Valentine and the Clave.

How Alec understood that and still talked to Luke with grace and respect even when he disagreed with him.

I loved seeing Luke be so angry and frustrated, just allowed to feel emotions over a situation not having to do with Clary. We rarely ever see him just be allowed to have feelings outside of Clary. He always just...subsumes his desires and motivations in order to do what he thinks is best for her. It’s understandable for him as a father but it’s frustrating to watch as someone who cares about Luke as an individual.

Valentine has hurt Luke over and over and over: trying to get Luke killed by werewolves, repeatedly trying to kill him because he’s a werewolf, killing dozens of his pack, getting Jocelyn killed, trying to hurt his daughter, actually hurting his sister...like, it is never ending. Luke has every right to go for his revenge and stop this menace from ever hurting other people again.

With that in mind, I also loved that Alec never tried to steamroll Luke even though he didn’t agree with Luke’s methods. He gets why Luke is pissed off. He gets why Luke is dissatisfied with how things have been happening with the Clave for the last 20 years. Yet I never once felt like Alec would ever, oh I don’t know, taser Luke in the back because he wanted to do a different plan or had a different opinion.

When Luke said he didn’t want to join the Cabinet because it felt futile, Alec listened to him then presented a valid counter argument that showed why the Cabinet meetings were important for the NY community even if the Clave wouldn’t listen. Luke changed his mind because Alec had a point and he showed his deep respect for the werewolf clans in general and Luke as a Clan Alpha in particular.

Later, when Alec caught Luke trying to kill Valentine, he wasn’t angry that Luke was enraged or that he tried to kill Valentine, he just wanted Luke to go about it a different way, a diplomatic way. Because it was reckless and a massive security risk; if Luke had lost that fight, Valentine would’ve been loose in the Institute with no one the wiser. Or if Luke had won the fight, Luke could’ve been at risk for being arrested by the Clave, which no one wants.

I still love that Luke did it though. The show really needed to showcase Luke and his internal self more, This episode did that beautifully. Because Luke is also right: the longer Valentine is alive, the more likely it is he’ll hurt more people. That said, I don’t want Valentine dead at the expense of Luke so while I’m glad Luke was allowed to go on a vengeance quest, I’m equally as glad Alec was able to stop him before the Clave got wind of it.

And I loved that Alec listened to Luke’s issues in the cell afterwards and explained why he stopped him. I loved that he showed Luke that he was frustrated with his attempt to kill Valentine because of all the damage it could have done to shadow world relations, but he did it in a way that didn’t feel like it as invalidating Luke’s own rightful anger or disrespecting him.

This episode was exploring Alec as a leader and as a diplomat. Not only that but Alec is also interacting with other leaders who are all more experienced than him, who are older than him, and who have all had much more negative experiences with the Clave and Valentine for far longer. Luke is at least 20-25 years older than Alec; Raphael is pushing something like 90; Meliorn, according to the books, has at least a century or two under his belt; Magnus is very much 400+ years old. All of them have survived decades of shadowhunter prejudice and oppression, including Valentine’s particular genocidal violence and abuse.

Alec was able to approach them as equals in a way that engaged with their greater experiences but established himself as a leader as well. And it was completely believable. He was well established as a warrior in his own right, he has been training for diplomat work his whole life with his parents, he has a sharp desire to be a leader, we’ve gotten to watch him alter his own biases when confronted with opposing views, and we’ve seen him work through issues by opening dialog with others so he can talk about things that aren’t working.

When Alec talks about wanting to effect change in shadowhunter society and with the Clave, I believe him and I believe that he will find a way to do it. At the very least his sincerity feels genuine. Even more, I understand why Luke and the others are willing to listen to him too. He’s able to present his goals and his arguments in a logical and respectful manner that shows exactly how much he values everyone else at the table with him.

It took him some time to figure out how to do that, and he made mistakes such as his choices with Meliorn’s interrogation or his initial compliance with the downworlder DNA testing. But he is shown learning from those mistakes, correcting his behavior, and making different choices. I believe that he is growing into someone I can respect, and subsequently I believe it when other characters respect him too.

Anyway, I just really loved watching Luke and Alec this episode because I really felt their scenes brought out some of the best characterization for each.

I can’t believe there are still people out there that don’t like that Alec is being characterized as a driven and capable leader on a path to higher levels of leadership. Or that so many people still ignore that Luke is a main character in the show and sleep on his potentially complex narrative. Like, Luke and Alec are two of the most interesting characters the show has to offer and people are seriously upset at their increased screen time and more focused character arcs? Can’t relate, forreal.

#shadowhunters #luke garroway #alec lightwood #matthew daddario #isaiah mustafa #meta #The biggest problem I’ve had with the books and the show trying to push Clary as a leader is that she is just not believable.#She is extremely inexperienced and she never bothers to listen to those more experienced than her #or understand other people’s situations when it comes to their people or their politics.#She doesn’t give a crap about dissenting opinions; it’s her way or the highway.#This is why she was absolutely okay with screwing over Raphael to get Camille instead of reasoning with him verbally #why she decided to ignore Magnus’ warnings about her mother’s resurrection #why she decided to taser Luke in the back instead of talking with him about Cleophas.#She acts like a complete asshole with other people.#I’m apparently supposed to take her side cuz she’s ‘plucky’ or ‘fiery’ or ‘brave’ or some shit. Well I don’t. lmao #I put this is the tags cuz this isn't really supposed to be a post about Clary as a protagonist but just know I feel this way.

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