"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Relationship Spotlight: Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments)


Since I did a post on Magnus, a write-up on his relationship with Alec was bound to show up sooner or later.  You know a ship is popular when the show titles an episode with their ship name (in this case, Malec.)  While Clary/Jace is the central relationship on the show, I’d say Magnus/Alec is the most beloved (a few Magnus/Alec-related spoilers.)

Right off the bad, one of my favorite things about this pairing is just how quickly the show makes it clear that it is a potential pairing.  Many a fan-favorite slash ship languishes in queerbait territory for a show’s entire run, and even canon same-sex pairings have a tendency to remain subtextual for ages before anything is directly shown or said out loud, if ever.  Honestly, watching Alec and Magnus made me realize just how coy so many shows can be with their same-sex ships, because they stand out so refreshingly.  Even though the two still dance around each other for the better part of the first season, the question is, “Will they, won’t they?”, not, “Is there anything to see here?”

If you know anything about Magnus Bane, it won’t surprise you to know he’s the most demonstrative from the jump – he practically says, “Well, hello, sailor,” the first time he sees Alec.  Alec, meanwhile, isn’t as forthcoming.  However, that’s largely due to 1) his secret unrequited love for his (straight) best friend and 2) the fact that he’s in the closet.  But even so, it’s still instantly obvious that he’s into Magnus.  The tightly-controled Alec immediately starts to relax whenever the two of them are alone together, and I doubt Alec is even fully aware of how much he turns into a puppy around Magnus.

Like many same-sex pairings before them, the chief obstacle for Alec and Magnus early on is Alec’s reticence fueled by his fears.  He likes Magnus and recognizes that what they could have together is what he needs, but he’s afraid of fully being himself in front of his loved ones.  (As it happens, when they do finally make that leap with each other in front of everyone, it turns out his parents are entirely focused on Magnus being a Downworlder/warlock and don’t care that he’s a guy.)

Since then, they’d been a pretty solid couple whose issues largely stem more from supernatural complications than anything else.  “How do I cope with my boyfriend beng immortal, knowing he has 100s of exes and can never grow old with me?”  “I’m a Shadowhunter/in charge of our Institute and my boyfriend is the high warlock of Brooklyn.  What do I do when our opinions about Shadowhunter/Downworlder relations clash?”  “One of the greatest villains in our world is claiming to actually be my boyfriend, having caught the wrong end of a body-swapping spell.  Do I believe that it’s really him?”  You know, the usual.

Through it all, we see their enjoyable dynamic together.  Magnus and Alec collaborate more often than they fight; though both can be strong-willed, they also trust one another’s instincts and make a good team when they work together.  Romantically, Magnus is patient with Alec’s more tentative/awkward moments, and as Alec becomes more self-assured in his relationship, his care and devotion is evident.  While there are always things that threaten to get in the way – secrets, insecurities, some new apocalyptic crisis – they’ve proven themselves to be strong enough together to weather just about anything.

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