Fans of Shadowhunters were undoubtedly thrilled by this week’s episode as Simon Lewis and Isabelle Lightwood finally had their first encounter. When we spoke to Alberto Rosende and Emeraude Toubia last October, they teased the meeting with laughter and anticipation knowing that their characters were huge fandom favorites.
Toubia had said that Simon was in a place where he wasn’t supposed to be at and now of course we know that he was at the Institute. At the end of the pilot, Clary is outside with Simon and Jace, both boys asking her choose between them. Ultimately she decides to stay with the Shadowhunter but brought Simon into her new crazy world as well. Once inside the Institute, he is able to see the facility for what it truly is after Jace (who had inscribed a rune on his own wrist) grabs his hand.
Simon is blown away by the modern interior that far more resembled a war room than an abandoned church. There he meets the beautiful Isabelle who had volunteered to stay with Simon while Jace and Clary talked to Hodge Starkweather about the Circle. The poor guy is totally caught off guard as Izzy explains that runes give Shadowhunters their demon fighting powers.
EMERAUDE TOUBIA, ALBERTO ROSENDE, DOMINIC SHERWOOD
What were Simon’s first words upon seeing Miss Lightwood? “So hot.” Agreed.
A protective Clary wasn’t sure she wanted to leave him with Isabelle but he shrugs her off saying that he’ll be fine. Sizzzyyyyyyyy!!
She takes him to her room while Jace and Clary talk to Hodge Starkweather about the Circle. In fact she even brings him breakfast! They chat more about runes and Isabelle explains that humans either die or go mad from them and then they have to kill the poor folks. She also tells him that Jace had applied a healing rune on Clary’s wound that saved her life. A distraught Simon stands up to go find Clary but Izzy stops him asking why his best friend would possibly need protection from her adopted brother. This scene ends adorably as she tells him not to worry because there’s a lot more food (that she cooked) to his dismay.
Later on as Clary and Jace go into the Silent City to retrieve her blocked memories, Isabelle volunteers again to stay with Simon outside since he can’t enter. She’s blatantly flirting but it’s not in a mean or man-eating kind of way. When Alec gets annoyed with him while they wait Izzy jumps to the rescue by asking Simon about what he wants to do with his life. When he responds by saying that he’s in a band and she seems genuinely interested in wanting to hear his music so they head back to the van to get his phone. Her protective instincts kick in after hearing a noise, instructing him to stay inside and lock the door while she goes to investigate. Unfortunately he is soon kidnapped by vampires Raphael and Lily (who want the Mortal Cup as well). Izzy is visibly upset that Simon vanished when Clary asks where he has gone after her ordeal with the Silent Brothers.
These first encounters are the beginning of Simon and Isabelle’s relationship and it’ll be great fun to watch them grow throughout the series as all sorts of twists and turns come their way. Both actors have brought a genuine tone to their performances with Rosende’s likable nerd and Toubia’s siren with a heart.
Watch our interview with the duo as they discuss their characters:
You can catch Shadowhunters on FreeForm Tuesdays 9/8 Central.
