A listing of characters that strictly appear in the Shadowhunters television series. Beware of unmarked spoilers from prior seasons!
For the characters as they were portrayed in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments, its prequel series The Infernal Devices, its sequel series The Dark Artifices, The Eldest Curses, The Shadowhunter Codex, The Bane Chronicles and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy, see here.
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Main Characters
Clarissa "Clary" Fray
Clarissa "Clary" Adele Fray/Fairchild/Morgenstern
"Right now, I just really need my mom."
"For eighteen years, you made me believe that I could live a normal life. This life. But I can’t, can I?"
Clary was perfectly content with living life with her overprotective mother and geeky best friend. But her normal life is turned upside down she starts seeing things other people can't. When she comes home one evening to find her apartment sacked, her mother missing, and a demon in the room, she is thrust into the world of the Shadowhunters. Which sucks, considering she was totally unprepared for it. And if that wasn't enough, she might be the only one who can stop the impending war.
- Action Girl: Not initially, but after getting trained by Izzy and Jace, she's able to fight quite ably. She and Jace make quite an effective team.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: She's very I Am Not Pretty in the books, and the narrative doesn't describe her too flatteringly. Katherine McNamara is extremely glamorous. Though it is helped by the Age Lift, since Clary is now a confident young adult instead of an awkward teenager.
- Adaptational Badass: She starts getting the hang of fighting sooner than her book counterpart. Notably, in the books Jace killed the demon in her apartment. In the show, Clary does it herself.
- Age Lift: She turned 16 2/3rds of the way through City of Bones; in Shadowhunters she starts off the series celebrating her 18th birthday.
- Amnesiac Hero: Technically — she isn't completely amnesiac, but she does lack any memory of her childhood as part of the Shadowhunter world, since Magnus had those memories sealed away at Jocelyn's request. He attempts to get them back for her, but it doesn't work.
- Author Avatar: It's probably not a coincidence that the heroine is named Clary while the author's name is Cassandra Clare. (It is worth noting, however, that Cassandra Clare is just a penname — the author's real name is Judith Rumelt.)
Clare has stated when asked by a fan "What kind of a name is Clary?" that she was named after a friend, whose full name is Clarissa, much like the Clary in the books. The only real similarities seem to be red hair (though Cassie also states that she imagined Clary's a much darker shade) and the first four letters of their names. - Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Clary's beauty is on full display, especially during the multiple scenes of her drowning in Lake Lyn.
- Betty and Veronica: In the first two seasons, she's caught in a love triangle between her sweet, dependable childhood friend Simon and Jace, a sexy, brooding demon hunter.
- She is also the Betty to Maia's Veronica and Simon's Archie.
- Bio-Augmentation: Valentine unknowingly added angel's blood to her before she was born.
- Body Horror: Due to the Blood Oath she owes Iris, her hand starts to turn blackened and burned until she fulfills the oath.
- Brother–Sister Incest:
- In Season 1, she falls in love with Jace, who turns out to be her brother. Subverted when Valentine confesses that Jace isn't actually his and Jocelyn's child.
- In season 2, Clary is asked out and later kissed by Sebastian, who is her brother Jonathan. He later mentions that he "wanted" her.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Clary tears into her mother for depriving her of her Sight and not preparing her for the Shadowhunters' world.
- Chekhov's Skill: Her ability to draw — this helps her create Runes of her own.
- Child of Two Worlds: Early in season 2, she admits to being angry with her mother for putting her in the position of not fitting into the Shadow World because she wasn't raised in it and not fitting into the human world because she's part angel.
- Damsel in Distress: Initially in the first season, due to Clary no having any knowledge or understanding of the Shadowhunter world. Unfortunately, this doesn't change very much in Season 2, where after formal training she is still the weakest among the main characters and can't even swim her way out of a lake when she accidentally portals herself and Jace right into one.
- Deadpan Snarker: Drifts into this sometimes, especially when talking to Jace.
- Die or Fly: A key part of her role as protagonist. Despite having been raised with no knowledge of her Nephilim ancestry, she starts to exhibit an intuitive, and encyclopedic, knowledge of angelic runes once she gets caught up in the events of the Shadow World.
- Fiery Redhead: Clary is easily upset and often lashes out at people.
- Fish out of Water: Clary is not a hardened Shadowhunter or a Downworlder like the rest of the cast, at least at first.
- Hot-Blooded: She can be very emotional. Jace even describes her as having a bad temper.
- Intimate Marks: Some of her Shadowhunter rune tattoos are near her breasts.
- It's All About Me: Initially, even though her intentions are usually good, she tends to favour her own priorities over others. For example, she intends to use the mortal cup to rescue her mother even knowing how dangerous it is in the wrong hands and brings Simon back as a vampire, with all the baggage that entails, because she doesn’t want him dead. She gets better as the series progreses.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Prior to the series' start, Jocelyn brought Clary to Magnus Bane every two years to have her memories of the Shadowhunter world wiped.
- Like Brother and Sister: She and Simon come off as this at first, with Simon holding the status of Unlucky Childhood Friend until they start dating in season 2. They break up after Simon realizes that she still harbors feelings for Jace.
- Long-Lost Relative:
- Valentine Morgenstern is her biological father. He went into hiding before she was born.
- Subverted with Jace, whom Valentine claims is her brother but it later turns out he isn't related by blood, since Valentine adopted/kidnapped him.
- She has a biological brother named Jonathan, who is currently disguised as Sebastian Verlac.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Her biological father is Big Bad Valentine Morgenstern, which she learns through a vision.
- Meaningful Name: Clary sage is a plant historically used to help clear the eyes, so Clary is a name suitable for a heroine who sees the Shadow World, which most people are blind to.
- Ms. Fanservice: Not to the level of Izzy, but she is shown underwater in Lake Lyn, drowning in multiple scenes, enforcing this trope.
- Nice Girl: As Magnus notes, one of the major differences between her and other Shadowhunters is that she protects Downworlders because she honestly cares about them, rather than just doing it out of a sense of duty.
- Patricide:
- Clary, in 2x20, justifiably kills her father Valentine for killing Jace and wanting to use the wish of the angel Raziel to kill the entire downworld.
- She also does this again, after she brought Valentine back from the dead in 3x10.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Like Maryse and Isabelle Lightwood, Jocelyn Fray greatly resembles her daughter, only with sharper features.
- Surprise Incest: Subverted. She and Jace are revealed to be siblings at the end of season 1. They spend some time angsting about their attraction, until it's revealed that Jace was adopted.
- Tangled Family Tree: She is raised by her mother Jocelyn, and thinks of her mother's devoted, if platonic, boyfriend Luke, who is really a Shadowhunter named Lucian Graymark that was turned into a werewolf, as her stepfather. He later gets a Relationship Upgrade with Jocelyn. Her birth father is the Big Bad Valentine Morgenstern, who is also Jace's adoptive father, but Jace has no idea that Valentine isn't his birth father until halfway through Season 2. Valentine intentionally leads Clary and Jace to believe they're biological siblings by saying that "blood calls to blood". Given that he infused both of them with the blood of the angel Ithuriel in his experiments, however, this had some truth to it.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Jace. Nothing much ever seems to happen until they figure out they aren't related.
Jace Herondale
Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Wayland/Morgenstern/Herondale
"I don't know who I am anymore. There's darkness in me. It's always been there."
"It's cute. You assume I have feelings. I don't. Save the apologies for the mundanes. Everyone has a sad song. My mother died when I was a baby. My father died when I was ten."
Sarcastic, cynical, and a ladies' man, Jace seems like the archetypal Byronic Hero. But it's not like that arrogance is unfounded — Jace is widely renowned as one of the best — if not the best — Shadowhunters of his age. He lives with the Lightwoods at the Institute, and is, for some reason, incredibly attracted to Clary.
- Abusive Parents: Valentine, who was posing as Michael Wayland, physically and emotionally abused him. He would regularly beat Jace and on one occasion killed Jace's pet falcon right in front of him.
- Action Hero: Jace is very willing to get into fights.
- Age Lift: Was 17 in the books, but is in his early twenties in Shadowhunters.
- Angel Unaware: The angel's blood that Valentine used to experiment on him with gave him certain characteristics.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: He considers himself an agnostic even though he belongs to an order founded by an angel and has met and killed many a demon himself. He claims it's because he's never personally met an angel or knows anyone who has but he does know that holy water, sacred ground and blessed weapons work because he uses them on a regular basis.
- Badass Bookworm: He is very knowledgeable of classical literature and very talented at killing demons.
- Betty and Veronica: He competes with Simon for Clary's affection. Jace is more mysterious and thrilling, but he can also be a jerk. The fact that everyone briefly thought Jace was Clary's long-lost brother adds a Forbidden Fruit element to him too. Meanwhile, Simon is her casual, dorky friend that's she known her whole life.
- Big Brother Instinct: He tends to be very protective of his adopted siblings.
- Big Damn Heroes: In Season 2, he saves Alec from dying through their parabatai bond.
- Brother–Sister Incest: In Season 1, he falls in love with Clary, who turns out to be his sister. Subverted when it's revealed that she's not actually his blood sister.
- Byronic Hero: Handsome, brooding, charismatic, aloof, the list goes on. Also a Death Seeker and drenched in Mangst. Jace has a very strong personal presence, but he's not exactly a source of much positivity.
- The Cynic: Jace tends to have a pretty dim view of the world. Growing up with a parent like Valentine will do that to a person.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He saw his father, Michael Wayland, murdered in a pool of his own blood. That was staged, of course. And Michael Wayland was never his father.
- Deadpan Snarker: The snarkiest in a World of Snark. Applies mostly in the books.
- Death Seeker: Can get like this often, much to the frustration of Alec and Isabelle, and later almost everyone else. Sometimes it is just reckless overconfidence, other times it is because of his traumatically confusing family history.
- Distressed Dude: In season 2 he's virtually being held prisoner by Valentine on a ship in New York harbor. He manages to escape with Clary and Dot's help, but gets separated from Clary and blamed for Gretel's murder. He eventually manages to prove his innocence of Victor Aldertree.
- Elegant Classical Musician: Valentine taught him to play the piano. Whenever he made a mistake, Valentine would break a finger.
- Happily Adopted:
- By the Lightwoods. Granted, Maryse and Robert are not the most emotionally engaged of parents, but they do care for him greatly. His adoptive siblings all love him dearly.
- His relationship was Maryse becomes deeply strained after she agrees to help the Clave hunt him down. Furthermore, she told Max that Jace wasn't really his brother. She apologizes for it later and reaffirms Jace that she actually loves him, just that her own problems have entirely messed up her mind-set.
- Averted with Valentine. Jace grew up thinking Valentine was Michael Wayland and his biological father, but neither of those things turned out to be true. Jace despises Valentine intensely for all the abuse that was inflicted on him throughout his childhood, as well as for Valentine's genocidal plans for the Downworlders.
- Harmful to Minors: His childhood, basically, the least of which involved his father murdering his pet falcon.
- Heroic Sacrifice: At the end of season 1, Jace willingly joins Valentine to stop him from killing his friends.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Alec Lightwood. Alec's sexuality and initial attraction to Jace notwithstanding, the two share a "parabatai" bond which is explicitly stated as being a permanent platonic bond of partnership even stronger than that of brothers.
- I Have Many Names: He grew up thinking he was born a Wayland, but was Happily Adopted by the Lightwoods, whom he considers to be his real family. Then it was revealed that Valentine impersonated Michael Wayland and Jace was told he was a Morgenstern. However, it is finally revealed that Jace is actually a Herondale.
- Jerk Jock: Simon directly compares Jace to one that he and Clary went to school with. Jace is very much aware of his good looks and tremendous fighting skills, and doesn't hesitate to remind everyone around him of them. At times he can even be pretty arrogant towards Alec, who technically outranks him, something Simon also calls him out on noting that Jace barks commands at Alec as if he were a dog. This just increases Jace's antagonism towards Simon.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be quite abrasive but he's a good guy at heart and often shows kindness to those around him.
- Like Brother and Sister: With Isabelle, whom he has a purely platonic relationship with.
- Lightning Bruiser: Jace is very fast, very strong, and very enduring, thanks to Valentine's training.
- Long-Lost Relative:
- Valentine informs Jace that he and Clary are long-lost siblings, though it turns out he was only telling part of the truth, since Clary is Valentine's biological daughter but Jace is his adopted son.
- It's eventually revealed that Jace's biological parents are Stephen and Celine Herondale, who are both long-dead. His grandmother is Imogen Herondale.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Michael Wayland was never his father. Valentine Morgenstern is; he raised Jace while under the guise of Michael Wayland.
- Manchurian Agent: In season 3, he's possessed by Lilith and made to do her bidding as "The Owl", a possessed semi-demonic state. He has no memory of his actions and is plagued by nightmares of Jonathan.
- Mr. Fanservice: Much attention is given to how attractive Jace is, especially since the main character is in love with him.
- Moment Killer: Jace manages to be this for Magnus and Alec three times within a span of four episodes.
- Narcissist: Partially. At the very least, he has a high opinion of his physical beauty, which is best summed up in his own words:Jace: This is a glamour. A rune that makes me invisible to mundanes. (Beat) It's a shame really, because I'm denying them all this.
- Nay-Theist: He believes that there is a God, just not that God cares, after seeing his father murdered in front of him.
- Neat Freak: Clary notes that his room is as neat as a pin. When he is rooming with Magnus Bane, the poor messy warlock is driven nuts by Jace fixing up his apartment.
- Oblivious Adoption: Jace had no idea that Michael Wayland, the alter ego of Valentine Morganstern, wasn't his biological father and kidnapped him from his birth family, the Herondales. Therefore after learning that Valentine was Clary's birth father and that Michael had always been Valentine in disguise, he and Clary thought they were biologically brother and sister from the last few episodes of Season 1 to halfway through Season 2. Jace never even suspected otherwise until the Soul Sword compelled Valentine to tell the truth.
- Not Blood Siblings: He and Clary are dismayed to learn that they're brother and sister because Valentine Morganstern is father to both of them. When they eventually learn that Valentine was Jace's adoptive father, their relationship is no longer taboo. Although they do both have the blood of the angel Ithuriel running in their veins due to Valentine's experiments on them, which explains why he said that "blood calls to blood".
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Jace comes from the initials for Jonathan Christopher, which hardly anyone calls him. When his full name is revealed in Season 1, its significant because it makes Clary think he's her long-lost brother
- Pet the Dog: He can be a pretty nice guy at times, even to Simon.
- Rank Up: His grandmother Imogen promotes him to head of the New York Institute in "Those of Demon Blood", but he passes the position over to Alec.
- Shipper on Deck: For Alec and Magnus, despite traditional Shadowhunter prejudices about both homosexuality and Downworlders.
- Significant Monogram: Jonathan Christopher "Jace" Wayland. The "JC" variation.
- Stalker with a Crush: Very much so early in season one, only to ease off a bit later on and in season two. Jace is prone to following Clary around, even inside of the Institute to the extent of lurking outside her room and eavesdropping on her conversations with Simon. Going by what Valentine said, the fact that they have both have Ithuriel's blood inside them has something to do with this.
- Surprise Incest: He and Clary are revealed to be siblings at the end of Season 1. They spend most of Season 2 angsting about their attraction. Then Jace finds out that they're not actually related by blood because while Valentine is Clary's biological father, he adopted/kidnapped Jace.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: For someone who claims to really dislike Simon, he certainly sticks his neck out a lot more for him than would be necessary. Sure, he says he's doing it all for Clary, but he often goes above and beyond, with such examples being giving some of his blood to Simon, unwittingly turning him into a Daylighter.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Clary. Nothing much ever seems to happen until they figure out they aren't related.
- Wrongfully Accused: The werewolves believe Jace murdered their pack member, Gretel, and that's why Maia tries to kill him. Valentine is the one who actually killed her.
Simon Lewis
Simon Lewis
"Afraid of? Where do I start? Elevators, snakes, clowns, Raphael trying to burn my junk off."
Played by: Alberto Rosende
"Feed? Are you kidding? That's what this is now? That's what my life's about? Like I'm in a zoo?"
Clary's best (and probably only) friend, Simon, along with her, inevitably discovers the world of the Shadowhunters — something he then becomes a part of when he gets turned into a vampire.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the books, Simon was sired by Raphael; here, he is sired by Camille, although given the circumstances Raphael is still the closest thing he has to a vampiric mentor.
- Adrenaline Makeover: After getting turned into a vampire and everything, Isabelle notes he's gotten more attractive.
- Age Lift: Was 17 in the books, but is 18 in Shadowhunters.
- Betty and Veronica: At first he competes with Jace to be with Clary. Jace is new and exciting, while Simon is an ordinary guy whom Clary has grown up with.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Simon manages to give a No Holds Barred Beat Down to a rogue vampire when Clary has been kidnapped by Valentine
- Blood Lust: After he becomes a vampire, he needs blood. Badly.
- Boy Next Door: Caring, attentive, and has been at Clary's side for years. It's eventually shown to be a detriment when he betrays the New York Clan to help Clary, rightfully infuriating Raphael and the other vampires when several Clan members are killed.
- Daywalking Vampire: As in the novels, Simon becomes one after drinking extra-angelic blood from Jace.
- Deadpan Snarker: One of the snarkiest in the series. And that's saying something.Simon: Right, why would you need a powerful warlock when you've got a scrappy nerd from Brooklyn.
- Distressed Dude: Simon fills the role most of the time before his transformation into a vampire.
- Don't Tell Mama: Simon's desperate to keep his mother and sister in the dark about his vampirism and either disappears or comes up with bizarre stories to keep them from finding out. Even Raphael gets roped into it, but the facade starts to crumble by mid-Season 2. By the end of season 3, Heidi forces him to come out of the coffin when she kidnaps both his mother and sister. Rebecca decides to keep that secret after he bites her in front of their mother, but he is forced to make his mother believe that he died and that him being a vampire is just her way to cope with the loss.
- Fish out of Water: He is not a hardened Shadowhunter or a Downworlder like the rest of the cast. He does get turned into the latter.
- Geek: Big time. He has several geeky interests, including video games, and comics. His mother at one point thought he'd joined a cult... called World of Warcraft.
- I Hate You, Vampire Dad: To Raphael at first, although Camille is his actual sire. It gets a little better by Season 2 as Simon slowly begins to accept his vampirism and Raphael becomes less of a Jerkass.
- I Just Want to Be Special: To the point of genuine pathos. It gets Simon into a lot of trouble at times, most blatantly when he didn't heed Raphael's warnings and returned to Hotel Dumort to confront Camille. He becomes very "special" after that... in a vampiric sense.
- Informed Judaism: Averted. His Judaism is brought up on a regular basis and is portrayed fairly accurately.
- Insult of Endearment: Following Jace's lead, the Shadowhunters tend to consistently refer to Simon as "the mundane", despite him proving himself useful (and at one point saving their lives). Later on it gets switched to "the vampire".
- Jewish and Nerdy: Simon's Jewish heritage is mentioned several times and he has an intense love for pop culture, comic books, video games, and other stereotypical nerdy pastimes. His mother even thought he joined a World of Warcraft cult at one point.
- Like Brother and Sister: His relationship with Clary, at least from her perspective. Simon's feelings for her are more romantic than platonic.
- Love Martyr: He's is devoted to Clary and he hangs in there even after it is absolutely clear that Clary wants to be with Jace.
- Motor Mouth: Simon can talk a mile per minute and tends to ramble on and on when he's nervous or bored. It drives Raphael nuts and he never fails to snap at Simon about it.Raphael: Even starvation can't shut you up.
- Muggle Best Friend: He's the only "regular" main character at first and only gets involved in the adventure because his friend Clary finds out that she's a Shadowhunter. Jace, Alec, and Izzy are initially skeptical about bringing him along since they don't think a "mundane" can keep up with them. Subverted later on when he gets turned into a vampire, thus making him a Downworlder like Luke and Magnus.
- Nice Guy: Simon is a very pleasant and kind person.
- Non-Action Guy: At first, he is the only main character that is completely a mundane and has no skills to fight supernatural creatures with. However, this is ended when he is turned into a vampire in the latter part of Season 1.
- Not Growing Up Sucks: When Raphael points out that he won't physically age past eighteen, Simon is distraught because this means that he's going to far outlive his mother, sister, and friends.
- Only Friend: He's the only mundane Clary is ever seen interacting with.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Simon has a bad habit of rambling about things that he either shouldn't know or shouldn't be talking about. This gets him into a lot of trouble with Raphael and the vampire clan in late Season 1.
- Secret-Keeper: Currently hiding the secret of Jace's blood turning him into a Daylighter from everyone in the city. Simon is aware that revealing this will put a target on Jace's back and he's determined not to let that happen.
- Token Minority: He's Jewish, while the rest of the cast are gentiles. This is especially hard for him once he becomes a vampire, since Judaism prohibits consuming blood (which Simon now needs to survive).
- Vitriolic Best Buds: As noted in Jace's entry above, the two boys have this dynamic. As much as they snipe at one another and claim they really, really don't like each other (and only tolerate one another for Clary's benefit), they still will go well beyond the bare minimum to take care of each other (with Jace giving blood to Simon, and Simon keeping the fact that said blood made him a Daylighter a secret so that other vampires won't go after Jace to become Daylighters themselves, among other examples). The faux hatred really isn't fooling anyone at this point.
Isabelle "Izzy" Lightwood
Isabelle "Izzy" Lightwood
"There's nothing a Shadowhunter can't do in heels."
"Not everyone gets the luxury of following their heart."
Alec's younger sister, Isabelle is beautiful, confident, and dangerous — she is an accomplished Shadowhunter, after all. Being the middle child, Isabelle is rebellious and attention-seeking. Unlike her book counterpart, she is openly warm, loving and instantly becomes friends with Clary.
- Action Girl: Isabelle combines a Femme Fatale aesthetic with being a highly skilled warrior.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: In the show she's much less elitist and prejudiced against Downworlders than in the books and is far more friendly towards Clary.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Described as an Action Girl with waist-length dark hair, although she's quite a bit shorter than her literary counterpart. Isabelle is also very proud and distant, as well as an accomplished Shadowhunter.
- Badass Bookworm: She's considered one of the best forensic anthropologists in New York and also able to take down guys twice her size.
- Betty and Veronica: In the Isabelle/Simon/Maia love triangle, she 's the confident, dangerous and sexy Veronica with Femme Fatale tendencies to Maia's brave, loyal and compassionate Betty.
- Big Sister Instinct: Isabelle may be a few years younger than Alec, but she's also fiercely protective of him. In "Parabatai Lost", she defies Aldertree and helps Magnus move an unconscious and dying Alec to his apartment, utterly refusing to follow orders that will cost Alec his life.
- Brainy Brunette: At merely 18/19 years old, she's consummate in forensic pathology, to the point that she's dubbed the best in New York.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: She has some shades of this, constantly complaining and lashing out at her parents. It was implied that this was at least partially a ploy to distract their parents from Alec's sexuality.
- Cain and Abel: When possessed by a demon in Season 2, it's revealed during her attack on Alec that deep down, Isabelle is very jealous of the Parental Favoritism that's always being shown towards her brothers.
- Combat Stilettos: Isabelle wears heels constantly and fights in them when she needs to. She has even been known to use them as weapons, slashing and impaling targets with her kicks. Note the quote listed above.
- Cool Big Sis: To Max, who really looks up to her.
- Daddy's Girl: Isabelle is much closer to Robert than her mother, if only because Robert shows his daughter some affection and doesn't constantly criticize her.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Izzy's relationship with the seelie Meliorn is heavily frowned upon and is given as a reason for her being unsuitable for the arranged marriage plans.
- Deadpan Snarker: Very often. Kind of inevitable when you've grown up with Alec and Jace.
- Demon Slaying: She's Nephilim like the rest of her family and like Jace, is always raring to go against any demon that gets in her path.
- Drugs Are Bad: Thanks to Aldertree, she gets addicted to a substance called Yin Fen, which is made of vampire venom.
- Foil: The seasoned, snobbish, girly Nephilim to Clary's naive idealist tomboy.
- Has a Type: All of Isabelle's love interests were Downworlders: Melior n (a Seelie), later Raphael and Simon (both vampires).
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: She forms a close friendship with Clary, even describing her as the sister she always wanted.
- Hidden Depths: Izzy. She's more than a pretty face. In "Of Men and Angels", one of the crew calls her the best forensic pathologist in New York. And she earns it too, performing an autopsy on a monster and ascertaining why it was there simply through noticing an oddity in its blood.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She's actually quite lonely underneath her snobbish exterior. And as revealed in "Day of Wrath", feeling like she's The Unfavorite child doesn't help matters, either.
- Hotter and Sexier: Isabelle's outfit in Pandemonium was rather conservative in the book. In the show it's much skimpier, and she even does a sexy dance to distract the demons. Justified as in the book she's 16 while the show has aged up the cast making her older (and thus something she can get away with wearing).
- Incompatible Orientation: To an extent, with Raphael. While he's not Aromantic, he is asexual, and so when she tries to kiss him he lets her know that biting is the only kind of physical intimacy he's into.
- Interspecies Romance: In Season 1, she had a long-standing and non-exclusive relationship with a Seelie named Meliorn. They often met up in his dwelling and sometimes used the opportunity to get information out of each other. In Season 2 she begins dating Raphael. By the end of the third season, she falls for and dates Simon, also a vampire after a long period of Will They or Won't They?.
- Intimate Marks: She has some of her Shadowhunter rune tattoos on her breasts (in fact, one is shared over both and between them).
- Lady of War: Isabelle is the daughter of an old, prestigious Shadowhunter family. She herself is very talented at Demon Slaying and manages to fight quite effectively even while wearing dresses and high heels. Her preferred tactic is to use her weapon of choice, an enchanted whip made of electrum (an alloy of gold and silver).
- Lethal Chef: Although she enjoys cooking, Isabelle isn't good at it and everyone hates her food.
- Like Brother and Sister: With Jace, whom she has a purely platonic relationship with.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Isabelle is always raring to go into fights, not to mention she consistently dates boys her parents would hate. Jace says she does it to get attention, as she is not only the only girl but also the middle child.
- Ms. Fanservice: As Jace puts it, Izzy is very comfortable showing off her body and she usually wears revealing outfits that show off her legs and bust. Very early in the story she gets a very heavy fanservice scene when she seduces Meliorn, getting a Lingerie Scene and showing some Toplessness from the Back.
- Nice Girl: She's the friendliest to Clary and Simon, helping them adjust to their new circumstances.
- Race Lift: She was white in the books, but is played by a Latina-Lebanese actress here.
- Razor Floss: Edges her whip to make it more lethal from a distance.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: According to Jace, Isabelle is very comfortable with her own body and she usually wears skimpy and revealing clothing, sometimes bordering on the stripperiffic.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: With Alec. Isabelle is not averse to showing off her beauty, is generally nicer, and, like Jace, always rushing headfirst into demon-slaying. It's implied that Isabelle is the way she is in part because she wanted to draw attention from her brother's homosexuality, as she didn't want her parents to find out before Alec was ready.
- Stripperific: Some of Isabelle's clothes are quite revealing, being skin tight and showing ample amounts of cleavage, legs, and abdomen. As Jace puts it, she's very comfortable in her body. Partway through season 1 however, pressure from her family to adopt a more responsible role as a diplomat and leader cause her to adopt a more conservative look.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Like Clary and her mother, Maryse Lightwood greatly resembles her daughter.
- The Unfavorite: Isabelle views herself as this. Her brothers are always receiving more attention than her, either because of their ages, constant crises, or ability to please their parents. It doesn't help that Maryse rarely shows Isabelle any affection, either.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Isabelle has an accent that can be hard to pinpoint because her actress is Latina and grew up in Texas. Isabelle's accent is especially noticeable because neither of her brothers or parents have any accent at all.
- Weapon Specialization: Her primary weapon is a silver-gold whip when she fights demons, one which can somehow cut through flesh and bone. It's partially magical, however, which explains its unusual cutting capacity.
Alexander "Alec" Lightwood
Alexander "Alec" Lightwood
"Don't misread this as friendship."
Played by: Matthew Daddario
"You know, it's like, you have this plan for your life, and you know what you need to do and what your responsibilities are. And you think, you know, if you follow the rules, everything's gonna be fine. Then somebody comes along and... pushes you off that path."
Alec Lightwood is the brother of Isabelle and Max Lightwood and the parabatai of Jace Wayland. The eldest of the group, his responsibility as acting head of the New York Institute in his parents' absence and his strict moral code forces him to follow the law to the letter. The immense pressure placed on him by Robert and Maryse has caused Alec to become a deeply conflicted individual, torn between being himself and not bringing shame to his family.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: Courtesy of Magnus Bane in late Season 1. Once Alec sees the other man at his own wedding, he can't force himself to marry Lydia and suffer through a loveless marriage.
- Armored Closet Gay: His own sister calls him out on it several times, although more in a concerned than malicious manner. Magnus eventually helps him to realize he no longer wishes to hide who he is.Isabelle: You know you'd be a lot happier if you weren't so frickin' repressed.
- Big Brother Instinct: He takes his job as the eldest Lightwood sibling very seriously and displays a protectiveness over his friends. He is the oldest of the non-immortal cast and is already in his early twenties by the first season, making him the most experienced member and increasing his sense of responsibility for the others.
- Birds of a Feather: He and Lydia are very similar in their serious, by-the-book approach to their work, and get on very well with each other.
- Brutal Honesty: He generally doesn't make much effort to soften his words.
- Bungled Suicide: In "Love Is A Devil", a spell amplifies his regrets and insecurities, making him believe that Clary hates him for his possession-induced murder of Jocelyn. He tries to jump off a roof, but Magnus saves him.
- Calling the Old Man Out: As far back as finding out that his parents were in the Circle and only increasing in frequency as he clashes with Maryse repeatedly over things like her treatment of Jace and her attitude towards Magnus. Alec shows steadily less interest in pleasing his parents or sharing their fixation with Clave politics.
- Cool Big Bro: To Max whom he is noticeable more relaxed and friendly around as well as Izzy.
- The Comically Serious: Alec's serious attitude sometimes loops back around to being comedic, largely due to him trying too hard to be serious.
- Coming-Out Story: In the first season, he comes out rather awesomely by kissing Magnus in the middle of the entire Clave, including his parents.
- Deadpan Snarker: Alec's default mode of communication. Softens up a bit around Magnus, his siblings, and kids though.
- Death Seeker: He tends to put himself in situations that could get him killed.
- Disney Death: Alec appears to stop breathing in "Parabatai Lost", only to wake up when Jace finishes the Parabatai oath.
- Friend to All Children: Alec gets along very well with little kids, as evidenced by his gentle interactions with Max and Madzie. He even manages to pull a little smile out of Madzie at one point.
- Gayngst: He struggles with his sexuality, thanks to the Clave's homophobia and the general attitude his parents have for what's expected of him as the eldest of the Lightwood children. In the episode "Raising Hell", a memory demon requires everyone loses a memory of the person they love the most, making the memory visible to everyone for a few moments. When Alec's memory is of Jace, he freaks out so badly that the spell is wrecked, ruining their only lead at finding the Mortal Cup.
- Gentle Giant: Alec is 6'3 and has no trouble using his height to intimidate when necessary, as well as being sarcastic and sometimes downright mean; but he loves his family, will literally kill himself to help them, and is protective towards children and other innocents. Even early on, when he was worried about Clary's disruptive influence, he never refused to help, and it's solely because he was nice to her that Madzie doesn't kill him.
- Good Is Not Nice: He's firmly on the side of good but he's overly serious, often abrasive and has no trouble getting his hands dirty for the greater good. He gets a bit better in Season 2 though.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With his literal brother in arms, Jace Wayland. His sexuality and initial attraction to Jace notwithstanding, the two share a "parabatai" bond which is explicitly stated as being a permanent platonic bond of partnership even stronger than that of brothers.
- Incompatible Orientation: He had feelings for Jace, but never said anything due to the fact that they were raised as siblings and also that Jace is manifestly straight.
- Interspecies Romance: With warlock Magnus Bane.
- Iron Woobie: Alec has grown up being, at the very least, verbally abused by his parents for never being good enough, consistently feels responsible for everyone else, and very clearly has an actual panic attack when his wedding is going off the rails.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Alec can come across as very blunt and rude to people not familiar with him, but he's actually very loyal and loving under the stern exterior. He especially has a soft spot for children.
- Large and in Charge: He's head of the institute and stands at 6'3, towering over everyone but Luke.
- Manly Gay: Alec is as manly a Shadowhunter as Jace, so the reveal that he's gay can be quite surprising for non-book fans.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Alec becomes involved with Magnus Bane, who is centuries old, when he is only in his early twenties.
- Mr. Fanservice: He's quite fond of working out shirtless.
- Must Make Amends: He tells Clary he'd do anything to take back killing her mother, and, when Clary proposes seeking out a warlock who could accomplish that task, Alec promises to stay by her side no matter what.
- My God, What Have I Done?: While possessed by a demon, he inadvertently kills Jocelyn. He's so horrified and guilt-ridden that he can barely face Clary.
- No Sense of Humor: Possibly because he tries too hard to be the mature one of the group. Somewhat subverted in that he can be quite open to banter with his siblings and is shown to be quite amused by Magnus's many quips and innuendos.
- Rank Up: Jace passes the position of Head of the Institute to him in "Those of Demon Blood".
- The Reliable One: As the eldest sibling, Alec has a deeply ingrained sense of responsibility where his siblings are concerned, and a deep desire to follow the law in accordance with the Clave's wishes throughout season one. He's also shown to go far for the people he cares for, even at great expense to himself.
- Shipping Torpedo: He isn't a fan of Jace/Clary at first, because Jace keeps putting himself in danger for Clary and because Alec has feelings for Jace himself. This doesn't last terribly long after Alec meets Magnus, who he grows closer to as season one progresses and his own bond with Jace becomes strained. By the beginning of Season 2, Alec seems to have fully embraced the fact that Jace is his brother and parabatai, and is looking to explore the possibility of a relationship with Magnus after asking him out on a date following their Big Damn Kiss at Alec's wedding.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He's three for three on this one.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: He can be this at times. Alec's the tallest character in the main cast (after Luke Garroway, who beats him out by just an inch), has dark hair and eyes, and his humor tends to be very dry and blunt, almost to the point of being insulting if he's feeling annoyed.
- To Be Lawful or Good: More of an issue with Alec than it is with Jace or Izzy, both of whom consistently lean more towards Good. Alec wants to follow the Law, but is conflicted due to the Clave's tendency to be Lawful Stupid in situations where the Law is a hindrance.
- Transparent Closet: Everyone seems to either know or suspect that Alec is gay before he tells them. Except his parents, judging by their reaction to him kissing Magnus at his wedding.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: The main part of Alec's character arc in the first season is him learning he needs to do things for himself and not just to make his parents proud of him.
- When He Smiles: When he smiles, it's really sweet and endearing.
Luke Garroway
Luke Garroway/Lucian Graymark
"Some of us transform ourselves and hide the idiot within."
Played by: Isaiah Mustafa
"Some things can't change. And when you find the one, that's it."
A close friend of Jocelyn's and Honorary Uncle to Clary, Luke might be more part of the Shadowhunters' world than he lets on.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: On more than one occasion when Luke has needed to acquire some allies in a hurry his solution has been to find the nearest werewolf pack, kill the Alpha, and take over as leader.
- Berserk Button: Becomes infuriated when he learns that a member of his pack is thinking about hunting mundanes and turning them into werewolves against their will.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Initially one of the unlucky variant for Jocelyn. Although as Season 2, it turns into Victorious Childhood Friend as Jocelyn seems to reciprocate his feelings.
- Death Seeker: He was one for a time, after Valentine set him up to be bitten by a werewolf.
- Discard and Draw:
- Being bitten by a Werewolf erased his runes and took away his Shadowhunter powers, granting him werewolves abilities instead.
- In season 4, he consume the last vial of the Divine Fire Cure, removing his werewolf powers but bringing back his Runes and Shadowhunter abilities.
- Fair Cop: He's a police detective, and a very handsome one at that.
- Gentle Giant: Luke is the tallest of the main cast, but also extremely caring and acts as a father towards Clary and Simon.
- Hidden Badass: He seems like a regular cop, but as a former Shadowhunter-turned-werewolf, he can be quite hardcore when he needs to be.
- Honorary Uncle: Clary considers him to be like an uncle since he's been around her whole life.
- Interspecies Romance: With Shadowhunter Jocelyn Fairchild.
- Meaningful Name: Luke Garroway sounds like loup-garou, French for werewolf.
- Mysterious Animal Senses: His lycanthropy enables him to hear and smell things better.
- Papa Wolf: Puns aside, he is violently protective of Clary. When Meliorn suggests they execute her on sight, Magnus has to visibly stop him and intervene to keep Luke from killing Meliorn for the suggestion alone.
- Parental Substitute: Helped raise Clary along with Jocelyn. In a way, he was sort of a father figure to Simon, too, as the latter's father died when he was younger.
- Race Lift: He was white in the books, but is black in Shadowhunters.
- The Runaway: After his baleful transformation into a werewolf, he becomes this. However, like Simon, he eventually comes to grips with his new life and returns to Downworld society.
- Second Love: He's the second person Jocelyn falls in love with, after her disastrous marriage to Valentine.
- Token Minority: Luke is Black. He's one among just two men of color in the main cast.
- We Used to Be Friends: He and Valentine were once best friends and parabatai. Now, they're both trying to kill each other.
Magnus Bane
Magnus Bane
"I was alive when the Dead Sea was just a lake that was feeling a little poorly."
"I may be the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but... even I can't see the future."
Magnus Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn. With eccentric style, he is wise, fierce, cunning, and keeps his cards close to his chest. Toward the beginning of the series, he is described as someone whose tastes are both "exquisite" and "excessive." While his reputation for greed and hedonism precedes him, Magnus is quickly revealed to be someone of immense compassion and empathy, who not only works hard to protect his people from Valentine but helps Clary's Rag Tag Band Of Misfits on numerous occasions, free of charge.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- An inversion: he refers to Alec as "Alexander," his full name. Nobody else calls him that, not even his family.
- He often calls Clary "biscuit".
- The Ageless: Warlocks stop aging once they reach adulthood.
- Agent Peacock: He features glitter eye shadow, red velvet suits, and awesome ass-kicking.
- Animal Eyes: Magnus has greenish-yellow eyes with vertically-slit pupils, like a cat.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Magnus is a very charming, friendly and fun person but he's still an extremely powerful Warlock and isn't afraid to remind people of how he got his position and reputation.
- The Dandy: No matter what era he is seen in, he's always flamboyant and fashionable.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Magnus has made several references to his past and none of them have been pretty. His mother committed suicide when she found out he was the son of a demon, so Magnus was forced to grow up and learn how to survive the Downworld all alone. And then there's his prior relationship with the Ax-Crazy Camille...
- Deadpan Snarker: Tends to speak sarcastically. It becomes even more pronounced when younger characters (which is most) make rash or downright stupid decisions.Clary: Is he going to be alright?
Magnus: I don't know. Does he normally lay like that without moving? - Eccentric Millionaire: He's the High Warlock of Brooklyn, darlings. The loft he owns is huge and spacious and located in one of the more expensive parts of modern New York City, implying that Magnus is at the very least a multimillionaire.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles: He is quite fond of his body glitter and his magic itself does sparkle.
- A Father to His Men: Magnus views the Downworlders he's taken under his wing as his children, giving them the guidance and care that he himself didn't have as a child. He even banishes Camille to Idris for trying to turn him against Raphael, whom Magnus has acted as a father to for decades.
- Fluffy Tamer: He once created a fire-breathing cobra to be a pet for Camille and claims it was the best gift he ever gave. When Simon stumbles upon it in Camille's deserted home, Magnus is ecstatic and calls the snake his baby.
- Friend to All Children: Magnus really likes kids. He's been concerned for Clary since she was a little girl, tries to get Max to be more comfortable with downworlders, and easily gains Madzie's trust.
- Glamour Failure: Magnus disguises his cat eyes using magic; however, this can occasionally fail when he's sufficiently distracted as seen the first time he has sex with Alec.
- Half-Human Hybrid: As with all warlocks, Magnus is the child of a human/demon coupling.
- Interspecies Romance: He's dated vampires, faeries, and djinns. Now he's dating a Shadowhunter, Alec Lightwood.
- Immortality Bisexuality: Supposedly he has had 17,000 relationships over the last few centuries, and he's openly a bisexual man.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: He spoils the stray cats that show up around his loft. In the alternate universe, he has two cats of his own.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: He can induce it, such as his work on Clary. However, he can't undo it.
- Like a Son to Me: Raphael is this to Magnus, and Aldertree is more than willing to use it against him.
- Mark of the Supernatural: Warlocks have a distinguishing mark that's unique to each one. He has cat eyes.
- Mayfly–December Romance: He is centuries old and dating Alec Lightwood, who is in his early twenties.
- The Medic: Frequently called in to provide healing whenever somebody suffers an injury that the usual Shadowhunter healing Rune cannot fix.
- Missing Mom: His mother committed suicide after realizing that he was the son of a demon.
- Ominous Chanting: Magnus chants in Latin when he does more complicated spells.
- Papa Wolf:
- Magnus does not take kindly to Aldertree and Camille's constant threats against Raphael and the other Downworlders. In the latter's case, she got vanquished to Idris for trying to use Raphael against him.
- When Alec starts beating up Raphael for letting Izzy get high on his venom, Magnus immediately jumps in to force Alec away and then states that he can't mess with Magnus's family, even though they're dating.
- Parental Substitute: To Raphael and many other Downworlders. Due to his advanced age and compassionate personality, Magnus has been around for a long time and has taken people of many different species under his wing. When he has to choose between Camille and Raphael, he doesn't hesitate to choose the latter.Magnus: (to Camille) The Downworlders I take under my wing are my children. My family. I'll do whatever it takes to protect them.
- Really 700 Years Old: While stated in the show to be at least somewhere over three hundred years old, Magnus' exact age has not been revealed, as of yet, and if the showrunners are any indication, his true age may be far older than in the books.
- Squishy Wizard: He has immense magical powers, but is still susceptible to physical injury. Considering how many enemies have Super-Strength, Super-Speed and Super-Reflexes this can be a weakness.
- Superpower Lottery: Basically anytime somebody needs something that is not explicitly covered by another character's power set, all eyes turn to Magnus. As a very old, powerful and knowledgeable warlock, if he doesn't know the specific spell needed, he usually knows where to get it.
- Team Dad: He is like a father to many characters on the show, most notably Raphael and Simon.
- Twofer Token Minority: He is East Asian, proudly bisexual, and also a warlock.
- Vague Age: On one hand, he claims to have had around 17,000 lovers, we have his character quote on this page, and Alec stating that he is at least 800 years old in Season 3 Episode 6. But, on the other hand we have the Clave's records stating he was born in Batavia note , and when we see flashbacks to him as a child, his mother is Indonesian and his step-father is Dutch, which means it is highly unlikely he was born much before the late 1590s (the time of the first Dutch expedition to Indonesia).
Maia Roberts
Maia Roberts
"Right... patience isn't really my thing."
Played by: Alisha Wainwright
"Well, you look like you could use a drink... and a towel."
Maia Roberts is a bartender at the Hunter's Moon and one of the newest members of Luke's pack.
- Action Girl: She's a werewolf, which makes her terrifying in a fight, and has no problem tracking Jace after he's accused of killing a member of her pack.
- The Bartender: Her occupation. She also serves drinks at the party for Max's rune ceremony.
- Betty and Veronica: At first she's the dangerous and mysterious Veronica to Clary's loving Betty, but then becomes the compassionate Betty to Isabelle's alluring and hot Veronica. But in both cases, Simon is the lucky Archie.
- Body Horror: Maia's transformation into a wolf is very unsettling to watch.
- Broken Pedestal: She looked up to Luke, but felt betrayed when he chose to try to save Clary from her, putting the rest of the pack at risk.
- Cassandra Truth: Her parents never believed her when she told them her brother was abusive.
- Claustrophobia: She has a fear of tight spaces due to something that happened in her past.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Her first transformation into a wolf was highly traumatic and she accidentally injured an innocent person. When Luke tries to reassure her, she states that she doesn't have anyone who cares about her.
- Fur Against Fang: In City of Ashes, she dislikes Simon, who's a vampire, at first. Very much. Until they both end up being captured by Valentine.
- Hidden Depths:
- She is revealed to be taking Marine Science classes online, and wants to transfer to Columbia.
- In a Flash Back, it was shown she had gotten into Rutgers to study Marine Biology on a full scholarship before she was turned.
- Intimate Marks: She has a butterfly tattoo that is... well-hidden (implied to be somewhere one won't see with all of her clothes on).
- Revenge: She tried to kill Jace because she thought he had murdered her friend Gretel, only stopping because the others revealed it was actually Valentine who killed her.
- The Stoic: Due to her past, she doesn't express emotion a lot.
- Twofer Token Minority: She's a biracial woman.
- The Unfavorite: Her parents preferred her brother, and when he died they seemed to forget about her altogether.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: She tries to kill Clary after learning that Valentine can use her to destroy all Downworlders by making her touch the Soul Sword. However, Maia hates having to hurt anyone and feels horrible about it.
Shadowhunters
Jocelyn Fray
Jocelyn Fray/Morgenstern (née Fairchild)
"Honey, there's still so much you don't know."
Played by: Maxim Roy
"Everything you saw tonight has a meaning and an explanation, and I've dreaded having this conversation with you since the day you were born."
Clary's overprotective mother, who tried to leave shadowhunting behind and live a normal life.
- Action Mom: Was actually a talented Shadowhunter, but decided to leave the lifestyle behind her when Clary was attacked by a demon as a small child.
- Convenient Coma: In Season 1, she induces a coma on herself to avoid anyone squeezing information out of her about the whereabouts of the Mortal Cup. The only person who knew how to revive her aside from the warlock that cast the spell was an old acquaintance, who gets killed before the series.
- Death by Adaptation: She's killed off early in season 2, despite making through the book series alive.
- Hidden Badass: Under the overprotective parent stance, Jocelyn was a powerful, talented Shadowhunter who plotted to overthrow her husband during the Uprising. Not to mention she ran away from Valentine to prevent his turning Clary into a "monster" like he did Jonathan.
- Hooked Up Afterwards: With Luke.
- Interspecies Romance: With werewolf Luke Garroway, but they'd had feelings for each other in his shadowhunter days before he had been bitten and turned into a werewolf.
- It's All About Me: Magnus calls her out on this in "Parabatai Lost", saying that all she ever does is manipulate everyone around for her own and Clary's benefit. Considering the absolute hell that many Shadowhunters and Downworlders have gone through since Season 1 to help her, Magnus' blow-up is more than understandable.Jocelyn: I was only trying to find Clary.
Magnus: No, you're only trying to do what you always do. Manipulate people into helping you fix problems that you created. And now Alec is paying the price for it. - It Was a Gift: The tarot cards she gave Dorothea, which contained the Mortal Cup.
- Mystical Pregnancy: Valentine experimented on her while she was pregnant both times, giving her daughter Clary angel's blood and her son Jonathan Christopher demon's blood, resulting in both having supernatural powers beyond the powers available to most shadowhunters.
- Offing the Offspring: Played with. She tries to kill Jace for having demon blood in his veins. Jace isn't actually her child, but she genuinely thought he was and came close to taking his life.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the Circle uprising, Jocelyn fled Idris with no intention of ever returning.
- That Thing Is Not My Child!: Valentine injected her with demon blood whilst she was pregnant, causing her to give birth to a demonic child who she was convinced was monstrous and evil..
Valentine Morgenstern
Valentine Morgenstern
"People said I was mad. So I owned it."
"I want you to wake up your mother. I know that you'll both join me eventually. It's fated."
The Big Bad of the first two seasons, a powerful and charismatic Shadowhunter who aims to destroy all Downworlders.
- Abusive Parents: He physically and emotionally abused Jace throughout his life. When the reunited late in season 1, Valentine continues that same abuse, with added manipulation.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the books, he is described as having white-blonde hair, however here he has dark brown hair that he shaves.
- Back from the Dead: Valentine is briefly resurrected by Clary in season 3 when the Clave wants to question him about Lilith. However, he goes on a murderous rampage at the Gard and releases the prisoners, including Iris. But Clary tricks him into coming with her, distracting him long enough to deactivate the Necromancy rune on his chest.
- Berserk Button: In "The Mortal Cup", Valentine kills one of his underlings for insulting Jocelyn.
- Big Bad: Of the first two seasons.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: He's infuriated that Jocelyn got together with Luke. When Valentine accuses Luke of stealing the woman he loved, Luke replies that Valentine drove her away himself.
- Dead Person Impersonation: He killed Michael Wayland and took over Michael Wayland's identity while raising Jace
- Dissonant Serenity: He is always calm, even sarcastic, even when ripping out people's hearts.
- Driven by Envy: Despite the fact that the Shadowhunters are effectively the dominant power in the supernatural world, Valentine greatly resents the Downworlders for their unique abilities, such as the vampires' ability to change shape or the magic wielded by the faeries and the warlocks.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He seems to actually care about Jace. He also seems to care for Clary, Jocelyn and Luke in his own twisted way.
- Fantastic Racism: Even by Shadowhunter standards, and that's saying something. He hates Downworlders enough to ally with demons to eradicate them.
- Faking the Dead: While posing as Michael Wayland he faked his own death to strengthen Jace.
- Guinea Pig Family: Experimented on his own children in the womb to create better Shadowhunters.
- Happily Married: Surprisingly, to Jocelyn, for a few years before everything starts getting worse.
- Hypocrite: Expresses hatred and disdain for the mixed-breed Downworlders, and contends that the Shadowhunters must keep the world safe from demons. But he deliberately taints his own son with demon blood.
- Long-Lost Relative: He is Clary's biological father.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He is Clary and Jace's father. Though City of Glass reveals that Jace's father was actually Stephen Herondale. Valentine adopted him after his mother died, and raised him under the guise of Michael Wayland.
- Meaningful Name: "Morgenstern" means "morning star" — signifying, of course, Lucifer.
- Names to Run Away From: His last name means "Fallen star", referring to the fallen angel, Lucifer. You'd think that an organization as biblically based as the Shadowhunters would have been a little concerned when the guy who's last name essentially meant "Lucifer" began to gain so much power...
- Never Found the Body: In City of Ashes, after his ship is destroyed - which naturally means that he's still up and kicking. That is, until he gets stabbed by the angel Raziel in City of Glass, is cremated and has a funeral. He is dead for good. Unlike his other son.
- Pet the Dog: He's rather nice to Madzie, despite kidnapping her.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Valentine gives so many of these during the series. Ultimately he is on the receiving end of one from the Angel Raziel.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He tends to favor tailor suits, when not dressed in gear.
- Straw Hypocrite: Was this in his younger days when he formed the Circle. Although the stated goal that he used to woo his followers was to reform the Clave (by taking it over), his real objective was simply to set himself up as their ruler. But he ditched his followers the moment the odds turned against them. Once he reappeared years after the Uprising and his failed coup attempt, he was a good deal more open about his true objectives.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Unfortunately, his plan to reform the Clave to protect against demonic threats involves raising a massive demon army and slaughtering them all.
Robert Lightwood
Robert Lightwood
"Remember, the honor isn't in the name. It's in the deed."
Played by: Paulino Nunes
"Oh that's a joke, Maryse. You and I both know how the Clave handles things."
Robert Lightwood is the father of Alec, Isabelle, and Max Lightwood and the adoptive father of Jace Wayland. He runs the New York Institute with his wife, Maryse.
- Action Dad: He's one of the most powerful and dangerous Shadowhunters out there, with three biological kids and an adopted one.
- Battle Couple: Robert and Maryse, as veteran married Shadowhunters, although they're not given a lot of screentime as such.
- Broken Pedestal: For Alec, when he learned of his parents' involvement with the Circle. He even calls Robert out on it when he accuses Alec of tearing their family apart.
- Everyone Went to School Together: They were members of the Circle alongside Clary's and Jace's parents.
- Fantastic Racism: He's not much better than his wife or other Shadowhunters when it comes to discriminating against Downworlders and mundanes. When Robert learns that Alec is interested in Magnus Bane, he tries to warn his son away from Magnus by claiming that even by warlock standards, Magnus Really Gets Around.
- Hypocrite: He accuses Lydia and the wedding of destroying their family despite the fact that he and Maryse were once members of the Circle. Alec calls him out on this, saying that Robert wanted his children to fix his past mistakes instead of doing it himself.
- Parental Obliviousness: He and Maryse had no idea Alec was gay. When Alec confronts his father after the cancelled wedding, Robert says he had no idea his children were so miserable or felt like they were never good enough.
- Parents as People: Robert loves his four children, but is pretty clueless about their feelings and often buckles under to whatever Maryse wants, even when it would be better for the kids if he spoke up on their behalf.
- The Patriarch: Of both his family and the New York Institute. However, it's Maryse that's really pulling most of the strings, or at least has the most influence.
- The Perfectionist: Not quite as bad as his wife, but Robert has high expectations of his four children and puts so much pressure on them that Alec claims they always felt pathetic and inferior.
- Pet the Dog: To Isabelle. He's much more open and affectionate with her than Maryse is, giving his daughter gifts, reminiscing about when she was a little girl, and saying his favorite part about coming home is seeing her.
Maryse Lightwood
Maryse Lightwood (née Trueblood)
"Life is not about what you want to do, it's about what must be done."
Played by: Nicola Correia-Damude
"Never trust a people who can't lie. They find much more inventive ways to stab you in the back."
Maryse Lightwood is the mother of Alec Lightwood, Isabelle, and Max Lightwood and the adoptive mother of Jace Wayland. She runs the New York Institute with her husband Robert.
- Action Mom: Maryse is as competent a Nephilim as her husband, as well as being a mother of four.
- Battle Couple: Robert and Maryse, as veteran married Shadowhunters, although they're not given a lot of screentime as such.
- Because I Said So: She expects her children to do everything she says to the letter. This backfires when she insists on an Arranged Marriage between Lydia and Alec, who are clearly not in love with each other and never will be because of Alec's homosexuality. The wedding gets canceled in spectacular fashion as a result.
- Everyone Went to School Together: They were members of the Circle alongside Clary's and Jace's parents.
- Fantastic Racism: Just like most other Shadowhunters, Maryse thinks Downworlders are beneath her and doesn't have much time for them and their issues. She's openly disapproving of her children's connections with them and is horrified when Alec enters a serious relationship with Magnus Bane.
- Good Is Not Nice: It's her job to run the New York Institute and keep demons from terrorizing Downworlders and mundanes. However, she's also not the friendliest person, constantly criticizes and puts down other races, and shows very little affection to her children.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Not an extreme example, but she herself noted that she was the one to recruit Shadowhunters into the so-called Circle, and has a huge redemption arc, spanning over three seasons. While she betrayed Valentine 'because everyone did it' and because she had to keep her face, she is shown to be verbally speciesist against Downworlders, especially when it comes to the romance between her son Alec and the Downworlder Magnus. This gets gradually better. At the end of season 3A, she is shown apologizing for her biases and thanks Magnus for loving her son. She also accepts the punishment that the Clave sees as fitting for the crimes she committed under Valentine.
- Hollywood Old: Despite having two children in their twenties, Maryse Lightwood is played by Nicola Correia-Damude, who at 37 is less than ten years older than the actors portraying her older kids.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Almost seems to be her life's philosophy. If it's for the good of the Clave and the Institute, then she's going to do it.
- Mum Looks Like a Sister: She looks like an older sister to her oldest (biological) children, Alec and Izzy, due to their actors being less than a decade younger than actress Nicola Correia-Damude.
- My Beloved Smother: She may be emotionally distant from her children, but Maryse has no qualms about dictating or influencing every part of their lives. It finally comes to a head when she tries to force Alec into an Arranged Marriage and he refuses to go through with it.
- Parental Obliviousness: She and Robert had no idea Alec was gay.
- Parents as People: Maryse loves her four children, but because of her position at the Institute, she is first and foremost their superior and demands respect and quasi-perfect behavior at all times. This makes being an openly caring parent very difficult, especially when coupled with her workaholic personality.
- The Perfectionist: She's tough-as-nails, runs everything by-the-book, and expects her children to be the way, opinions be damned.
- The Proud Elite: She definitely views Shadowhunters as being this. She firmly believes that Downworlders and mundanes aren't as good or trustworthy as her people and talks rudely about them all the time.
- Race Lift: Like her daughter, she was white in the books, but is played by a Hispanic actress in Shadowhunters.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Maryse resembles her two elder children very closely.
- Supreme Chef: Maryse is very good in the kitchen. Unfortunately, Isabelle did not inherit these skills and is quite the Lethal Chef.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In season 2B, she takes strides to be kinder to the people she's hurt in the past, especially her children.
Max Lightwood
Max Lightwood
"I never get to hear the good stuff."
Played by: Jack Fulton
"Alec, you think you could get my stele back?"
Max Lightwood is the youngest child of Maryse and Robert Lightwood and the brother of Alec, Isabelle, and the adoptive brother of Jace Wayland. He is a young Shadowhunter still in training.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: He had dark hair in the books, but has blond hair in the television series.
- Big Brother Worship: Max adores his older brothers and even tries to imitate Alec's walk when he's visiting the New York Institute.
- Cheerful Child: He's a friendly little boy and loves being around his older siblings. Unfortunately, he also has difficulty telling some runes apart and tends to light things on fire by accident. Max doesn't look too saddened by this.
- Children Are Innocent: He has yet to be hardened by a life of slaying demons, unlike his older siblings.
- Incendiary Exponent: If what happened at the Mumbai Institute is anything to go by, then the kid's pretty darn good at blowing things up.
- Innocent Bigot: Max merely imitates the bigotry towards Downworlders that he sees from adult Shadowhunters such as his parents but doesn't appear to really understand it. For example, he asks Magnus, who is hosting a party for Max, how much of him is demonic.
- Playing with Fire: Max keeps mistaking the Nourishment rune — which he claims is important because studying makes him hungry — for the Heat rune, despite the two runes looking nothing alike. It's led to him nearly burning down the Mumbai Institute and having his stele taken away.
- Rite of Passage: In "Love is a Devil" he completes his training and undergoes a rune ceremony to mark the start of his days as a warrior.
Hodge Starkweather
Hodge Starkweather
"Unfortunately, we're all out of bitter revenge at the moment."
Played by: Jon Cor
"You remind me of me, Alec. A loyal friend standing in the shadow of the Chosen One. Hey. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Look where it got me."
The tutor at the Institute, who taught Alec, Jace, and Isabelle everything they needed to know about Shadowhunting.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, he is described as a thin man with a long, beaky nose who looks older than he is (which is around 36 according to Word of God). In Shadowhunters, he is played by the handsome and youthful-looking Jon Cor.
- Age Lift: In both adaptations. Word of God states that Hodge is around 36, but Jared Harris was in his early fifties when he played him in the film. On the opposite end, Cor is only 30; this is especially notable since his students, Jace and the Lightwoods, are now older in the series.
- Back for the Dead: He briefly returns in season 2, still locked up in the City of Bones for high treason, in a cell next to Jace's. Hodge is killed by Valentine while looking for the Soul-Sword.
- Et Tu, Brute?: He betrays the Institute by giving the Mortal Cup to Valentine. The Lightwoods are hit especially hard by this betrayal.
- Everyone Went to School Together: Was school friends with Clary's, Jace's, and the Lightwood siblings' parents.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: After Hodge brings Valentine the Mortal Cup, Valentine kicks him to the curb rather than allowing him to join his side, aptly pointing out that turning against the Clave means that he can't be trusted. He's imprisoned and later killed in a confrontation between Valentine, Jace and Aldertree.
Lydia Branwell
Lydia Branwell
"You deserve to be happy."
"And then John was killed. Everything was ripped away; my love, my dream job... Piece of advice: in this line of work, the only thing worth falling in love with is the work itself."
A high-ranking member of the Clave who's sent to the New York Institute as an envoy.
- Arranged Marriage: To Alec, in order to save his family's reputation and grant her the opportunity to run an Institute.
- Birds of a Feather: She and Alec have similar personalities and get on very well — as friends.
- Canon Foreigner: She was invented for the show, though there is a Branwell family in the book universe.
- Deadpan Snarker: Not as often as those around her, but Lydia can get some sarcastic jabs in from time to time, especially if someone is annoying her.Lydia: (to Raj) You know, you might wanna cut back on the 'smart ass' after getting manhandled by a warlock.
- Establishing Character Moment: She enters the New York Institute disgusted as Valentine to assess how prepared the Institute's Shadowhunters are for an attack. Only Alec meets her expectations.
- Everyone Is Related: She's a distant cousin of Jocelyn and Clary.
- Good Is Not Nice: Lydia is a by-the-book Shadowhunter who believes the only way to achieve peace is by following the Accords, even if she has to step on some toes. Her fiance died because she couldn't bring herself to torture a warlock for information and she never wants to repeat that mistake.
- Hidden Depths: Under her ice queen facade is a lonely young woman who's just trying to do what's right and protect people, even though she goes about it the wrong way. She's also very accepting of Alec's sexuality and encourages him to be with Magnus.
- The Lost Lenore: Her late fiance, whose death still affects her deeply.
- Married to the Job: Because she's lost her fiance, Lydia decided the only thing worth falling in love with was her work.
- Put on a Bus: Lydia is sent to Idris after Day of Wrath due to her actress getting cast in another show.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Lydia is seen mostly in her business suits and occasional battle clothes. At her wedding she looks gorgeous, and a lot of the characters look impressed at the result.
- Shipper on Deck: She's happy for Alec when he gets together with Magnus, and is completely understanding when he tells her that he can't go through with their marriage. It is probably helpful here that she is still devoted to her late fiance, and never had romantic feelings for Alec herself, so she doesn't feel betrayed.
Victor Aldertree
Victor Aldertree
"All Downworlders are forbidden from entering the Institute without my prior approval."
Played by: Nick Sagar
"Challenging the authority of the head of the Institute is grounds for severe punishment... including de-runing."
Another high ranking member of the Clave. In Season 2, he's appointed the Head of the New York Institute, following the Lightwoods' failure to bring Valentine to justice.
- Affably Evil: Most of the time, at least. He keeps trying to convince Clary, Jace, Alec and Izzy that he's an ally, not an enemy.
- Anti-Villain: He genuinely wants to stop Valentine, but that doesn't prevent him from being a cruel, callous bigot.
- Blatant Lies: He passive-aggresively tortures Raphael into revealing Camille's whereabouts, despite him truthfully having no idea where she is. When Raphael tells Victor that torturing Downworlders goes against the Accords, he describes this tactic as "motivation" to get him to cooperate. Raphael doesn't buy it.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: He tortures Raphael for information on Camille with concentrated UV rays similar to sunlight, causing horrible burns all over his face.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Was once in love with a werewolf, but when he left to go to a meeting with the Clave, he returned to find her entire pack slaughtered by a demon. She was driven so mad by grief that she wolfed out and tried to kill him. He had to kill her in self-defense. It was this incident that sparked his harshness to Downworlders and his belief that they and Shadowhunters should not intermingle.
- Dr. Feelgood: Repeatedly references his background as a field medic and gets Isabelle hooked on yin fen, allegedly because it will help her heal from an injury. But his behavior towards her suggests a more sinister Date Rape motivation, especially when he tries to pressure her to go to dinner with him.
- Fantastic Racism: He bans all Downworlders from the Institute after taking over... unless he needs something from them.
- Put on a Bus: Gets sent to Idris after season 2a, and his job is temporarily taken over by Imogen, then Jace, and Alec permanently.
- Smug Snake: Seems to take great pleasure in having the authority to boss other people around and does so with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. He’s also extremely manipulative and not above using peoples emotions to exploit them.
- The Bus Came Back / Put on a Prison Bus Appears in season 3 as the leader of the Heavenly Fire group, before being arrested by the Clave and locked up in the Gard.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Downplayed. He's not evil (as far as we know), but he's definitely antagonistic toward the protagonists, particularly Jace. As Head of the Institute, he places everyone on lockdown, tries to play Clary against the others, and refuses to work with Downworlders on equal footing.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Jace saves Victor's life in the City of Bones, thus proving that he's not willingly collaborating with Valentine. Instead of thanking Jace, Victor rebukes him not stopping Valentine from getting the Mortal Sword and bans him from field work.
Imogen Herondale
Imogen Herondale/The Inquisitor
Played by: Mimi Kuzyk
A high-ranking Shadowhunter and the Clave's Inquisitor, sent to keep tabs on Jace after the revelation of his heritage.
- Back for the Dead: Imogen only returns in two episodes of season 3. In On Infernal Ground she congratulates Clary for killing Valentine and declares her a fully-fledged Shadowhunter. In Salt in the Wound, she winds up killed by Jace, possessed by the Owl.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Mercilessly tortures Valentine for information about the Mortal Cup.
- Character Death: In Salt in the Wound, Jace, under the influence of the Owl, kills Imogen by stabbing her in the stomach with a blade and cuts off her thumb to gain access to the Cemetery of the Disgraced and obtain, on Lilith's orders, a rib from Valentine to complete Jonathan's rebirth. Imogen collapses on the floor and dies, using her final moments to alert Clary, Alec and Isabelle about his presence through a fire message.
- Iron Lady: Cold, uncompromising, and utterly dedicated to her job.
- It's Personal: Her son was a Circle member and died serving Valentine, which is why she's dedicated to taking him down.
- Nepotism: Promotes Jace, her grandson, to Head of the New York Institute.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her son died serving the Circle.
- Long-Lost Relative: Jace is her grandson.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Softens greatly to both Jace and Clary over time, especially after she learns Jace is her grandson.
Sister Cleophas
Sister Cleophas Greymark
"I thought his way was the only way to make the world a better place. A safer place."
Played by: Lisa Berry
An member of the Iron Sisters and Luke's younger sister.
- Affectionate Nickname: Luke calls her "Cleo".
- Broken Pedestal: She truly believed in Valentine's message until she realized that he was holding an angel captive. The revelation brings her to tears.
- Evil All Along: Appears to be a dedicated member of the Iron Sisters, but she was a loyal Circle member who joined back up with Valentine as soon as she heard he was alive. The only reason she even joined the Iron Sisters was to avoid execution for her crimes against the Clave.
- Heel–Face Turn: After learning that Valentine has been imprisoning and torturing an angel, she goes from being his loyal supporter to desperately wanting to stop him.
- Like Father, Like Son: She joined the Iron Sisters just like her mother. However in the book she was actually Luke's mother, rather than his sister.
- Secret-Keeper: Clary tells her about the new rune she was able to create, but Cleophas tells Valentine about it very quickly.
- That Thing Is Not My Brother!: She harshly disowned Luke after his transformation into a werewolf.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: She injures herself to trick Clary and Luke into trusting her. They don't buy it for a minute.
Sebastian Verlac
Sebastian Verlac/Jonathan Morganstern
Played by: Will Tudor (as Sebastian), Luke Baines (true form), Dominic Sherwood note
A young Shadowhunter who was originally from the London Institute but went to New York to deal with his addiction to yin fen. He's actually Jonathan Morganstern, son of Jocelyn and Valentine, in disguise.
- Adaptational Nationality: In the show he's British and from the London Institute, but in the books he was from the Paris Institute.
- Big Bad: He replaces Lilith, after she's banished to Edom, as the main threat in season 3B.
- Big Damn Heroes: He's first introduced rescuing Isabelle from a Greater Demon named Azazel.
- Body Horror: While in Edom, the realm of demons, they burned off all his skin. He gets it back after resurrection.
- Brother–Sister Incest: Although he is her biological brother his feelings towards Clary don't seem to be... entirely fraternal, naturally she doesn't reciprocate.
- Cruel to Be Kind: He harshly reminds Clary she's just lost her mother, found out that Jace isn't really her brother, and her father will never truly love her so she can use that pain to reactivate her rune powers. Later he does apologize, since he didn't really want to hurt her.
- Dark Secret: He has a person tied up in a secret room for some as of yet unknown purpose.
- That person is the real Sebastian Verlac. He's actually Valentine's son, Jonathan, and because of experiments Valentine performed on him in utero he has demon blood in his veins.
- Dead Person Impersonation: He captured and later killed the real Sebastian Verlac and assumed his form and identity.
- Fake Brit: In-universe. The real Sebastian Verlac is from the London Institute so Jonathan Morgenstern uses a British accent while impersonating him. He reverts to his American accent after resuming his true identity.
- Elegant Classical Musician: He's shown playing the piano at the end of "The Fair Folk".
- Kill and Replace: He did this to the real Sebastian Verlac.
- Long-Lost Relative: He is Clary's biological brother.
- Missing Mom: His mother died when he was young. According to him she wasn't a great mom, but he eventually forgave her because he knew she loved him. This is a lie; Jocelyn is his mother. When she left the Shadow World, she thought he was dead.
- Nice Guy: He's friendly and supportive toward Clary and the others until his true identity is revealed.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: He starting torturing and killing others when he was just a child.
- Recovered Addict: By the time he is introduced, he's already beaten his addiction and decides to help Isabelle deal with hers.
- Synchronization: After his resurrection, he is bonded to Clary this way; any injuries inflicted on him are also inflicted on her.
- Walking Spoiler: It's rather difficult to discuss him without giving away key elements of the story.
Jonathan Shadowhunter
Jonathan Shadowhunter
The very first Shadowhunter, who formed a pact with Raziel to be able to slay demons. After being given the Mortal Instruments, Jonathan turned his sister Abigail and best friend David into Nephilim as well. The three of them would go on to form the Clave.
The Silent Brothers
The Silent Brothers
"Silent Brothers have superior powers. Who possess the ability to recover memories."
" If the Clave is willing to subject Meliorn to the Silent Brothers, if they’re willing to go this far, what do you think will happen if they get The Cup."
— Magnus
Male Shadowhunters who devote their lives to medication and archiving of Nephilim. They reside in the Silent City and keep watch over the Nephilim dead. They were founded by David, former parabatai of Jonathan Shadowhunter. The most frequently seen Silent Brothers are Jeremiah and Zachariah.
- Character Overlap: Brother Zachariah is Jem Carstairs, who appears the way he does due to being unable to complete the entrance rituals because of the yin fen in his body.
- Creepy Good: Despite their appearance, and that of the City of Bones, they are actually anchorites who sacrifice normal life in order to serve the cause of protecting the world from demonic threats.
- Eye Scream: Silent Brothers don't have eyes, as seen above with Brother Jeremiah.
- Impartial Purpose-Driven Faction: They don't take parts in the disputes of the Clave and Downworlders, instead devoting their time to writing all of it down.
- Magic Librarian: They keep extensive catalogs on the history of Nephilim and their duties cover a wide variety of specialties, including those of archivists, researchers, librarians, scholars, doctors, priests, and healers.
- The Medic: An entire order of them.
- Mind Probe: Often do this, to Clary's chagrin. Most Silent Brothers possess the ability to reach into the minds of those around them, thus allowing them to recover memories, communicate with others through their minds, or even control others.
- Mouth Stitched Shut: They have their mouths sewn shut. They give up their speech for telepathy.
- The Order: They're completely devoted to the lore and knowledge of the Nephilim and to strengthen their minds, they have taken upon themselves the most powerful of runes known to Shadowhunters.
- Ancient Order of Protectors: They guard the Mortal Sword.
- Sacrificial Lion: A lot of the Silent Brothers are murdered while protecting the Mortal Sword from Valentine in the second season. Brother Jeremiah was among them.
- The Speechless: They cannot speak due to Runes that mutilate their appearance, instead communicating through Telepathy.
- Theme Naming: Silent Brothers give up their birth names upon joining, instead taking on the name of a man from The Bible.
The Iron Sisters
The Iron Sisters
Female Shadowhunters who craft the steles and weapons used by Nephilim. They were founded by Abigail, older sister of Jonathan Shadowhunter.
- Amazon Brigade: They're an all-female team of elite warriors. Izzy has looked up to them since she was a little girl.
- Age Lift: In the books, most of them are retired Shadowhunters and thus elderly. Here, many of them are clearly decades younger than that.
- The Blacksmith: A whole order of them. They're the only ones who can handle adamas, the heavenly metal from which Nephilim weapons are forged.
- Celibate Hero: According to Isabelle, the Iron Sisters must swear off relationships to join the order.
- Ethereal White Dress: They wear long white gowns that blend in with the mists of their home, so when summoned they look like they appear out of nowhere.
Downworlders
Vampires
Raphael Santiago
Raphael Santiago
"I might be a vampire, but I was raised a good Catholic."
Played by: David Castro
"Do you have any idea what the Clave does to vampires who violate the Accords? They nail us to crosses, then let shafts of sunlight burn off our body parts, one at a time."
Current leader of the New York vampire clan.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the books, Simon was sired by Raphael; here, he is sired by Camille, although given the circumstances Raphael is still the closest thing he has to a vampiric mentor.
- Adaptational Sexuality: Raphael is still asexual as in the books, but apparently not aromantic like he is in the books, because he develops feelings for Isabelle when they both get addicted to him feeding on her. And he says he hasn't felt that way for anyone in a long time, rather than never.
- Benevolent Boss: Raphael is a much better Clan leader than Camille, so it's no surprise that almost every vampire sided with him when given the chance to overthrow her.
- Big Brother Instinct: He still goes to see his younger sister, who's now in her 70s, to make sure she's alright. When Simon implicitly threatens her, Raphael wastes no time trying to kill him, only stopping after learning that Simon is a daylighter.
- Brought Down to Normal: In 3x17, he's exposed to "Heavenly Fire" which turns him human. At first, he's overjoyed until he realizes how it's affecting other Downworlders.
- Consummate Liar: He's very silver-tongued and persuasive. It's implied that he had to become this in order to survive under Camille's Ax-Crazy rule.
- Dashing Hispanic: He has his moments, frequently speaking in Spanish and referring to his upbringing as a good Catholic.
- Drugs Are Bad: When he first turned, he quickly got addicted to blood and became out of control. Magnus helped him get himself back together. In Season 2, he gets hooked on Isabelle's blood specifically, while indulging her craving for vampire venom.
- Fake Guest Star: Despite having a good amount of main storyline focus and interactions since near the beginning of the series, David Castro has not been promoted to a main cast member as of Season 3.
- Fantastic Racism: Tends to make rude remarks against anyone who isn't a vampire. Subverted a bit since he's close friends with Magnus Bane and shows genuine concern about how breaking the Accords will affect other Downworlders.
- A Father to His Men: Raphael tries to be this to the Clan vampires, especially after Camille is overthrown. He points out that although Simon and the Shadowhunters may look to the Clave for justice, his vampires look to him.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: His motivation for experimenting on Heidi. He wants to be a daylighter to get a small part of his old life back, and to watch a sunrise with his sister.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Considerably moreso than his book version. Raphael is usually willing to help Simon even though he is annoyed that Simon is avoiding formally joining the clan. Likewise, he is very chivalrous towards Isabelle and her problems even though she's a Shadowhunter and he was tortured by Aldertree recently.
- Meaningful Name: With Biblical themes: he shares his first name with Archangel Raphael whose name translates to "God heals" which makes a parallel with him turning Simon into a vampire to save his life. His second name "Santiago" is the Spanish form of Saint James, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and he is regarded as Patron Saint of Spain, Nicaragua, Guatemala and certain parts of Mexico and the Philippines.
- Number Two: To Camille in Season 1.
- Older Than They Look: He is stated to be at least 70 years old, but looks like he's in his early twenties. Of course, it's Justified since he's a vampire.
- Pietà Plagiarism: When Simon is killed and Turned by Camille, Raphael carries him back to the New York Institute in this fashion.
- The Proud Elite: In some cases an even better example than Isabelle, but it's played with as while he's certainly proud and he does see himself and vampires as elite, the magical world (the Clave) does not see them as so.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Compared to Camille, he actually seems to care about the Clan and tries to make decisions that won't bring the Clave or other Downworlders onto their heads.
- Religious Vampire: Being a vampire hasn't stopped him from practicing Catholicism. He even prays with holy water, though it burns him.
- Running Gag: Simon has a bad habit of ruining his jackets.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Raphael almost always wears tailored suits, waistcoats, and nice shirts or jackets, sometimes even out in the field. He claims that wearing nice clothes is essential to properly representing the Clan to outsiders.
- The Starscream: Subtle at first, but Raphael openly questioned Camille's decision in early Season 1 to violate the Accords and antagonize the Clave when Valentine Morgenstern posed a very real threat to them. However, when Camille continues to constantly break the Accords and cause trouble for everyone, he successfully appeals to his fellow vampires and is able to overthrow her and take over as the leader of the New York Clan.
- Super-Empowering: Like other vampires, he is capable of turning other people into vampires.
- Undying Loyalty: To the vampires of his Clan. Raphael views it as his responsibility to protect them and will do anything, including overthrow Camille, to keep the Clave and other Shadowhunters away from his family.
Camille Belcourt
Camille Belcourt
"Have you ever tasted Shadowhunter blood? It's heavenly."
Played by: Kaitlyn Leeb
"Blood is stronger than will, stronger than desire, even stronger than love."
Camille Belcourt is an ancient, powerful vampire and the former leader of the New York vampire clan.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Her silver blond hair and green eyes were given extra attention in the books because of how striking they made her look. In Shadowhunters, she's dark-haired and dark-eyed.
- Bad Boss: She's a pretty terrible leader and never takes the Clan's safety into consideration. It's the main reason why Raphael chooses to overthrow her, and almost all of the vampires side with him.
- Honey Trap: Camille seduces Simon to get information about the Mortal Cup.
- Knowledge Broker: Although she usually only shares information with Magnus. This proves to be very dangerous for Simon and the younger Shadowhunters, who don't quite realize the full extent of Camille's manipulative nature. In exchange for her freedom and a Writ of Transmutation, Camille tells them where Dot hid the Book of the White... but the Writ also says in blood that Simon had asked her to Turn him into a vampire, thus protecting her from the Clave's retribution.
- Lady of War: All of the vampires are wary of her, including Raphael, who warns Simon that she's much more powerful than she appears. In the end, it takes Magnus and his magic to finally get rid of her.
- Older Than They Look: According to Raphael, Camille is around 300-400 years older than him. This means that she's at least 400 years old, and was probably born in the 1500s or 1600s, putting her on par with Magnus in age.
- Race Lift: Camille Belcourt was white in the books, being described as having silvery blonde hair and green eyes. In the series, she is played by a Chinese-Irish actress.
- Relationship Sabotage: To Alec/Magnus. Almost every time she encounters Magnus, Camille asks him how his Shadowhunter boy-toy is doing and even kisses Magnus in front of Alec in an attempt to ruin their relationship. Thankfully, Alec sees through all of her sexual ploys.
- Working with the Ex: With Magnus, who is definitely more than a little uncomfortable in her presence. It's only in the short-term though, since Magnus vanquishes her to Idris early in the second season.
Heidi McKenzie
Heidi McKenzie
Played by: Tessa Mossey
A former mundane who frequented "bleeder dens" to let vampires drink her blood. Eventually she became one after Raphael stole her body from the morgue.- Asshole Victim: By the time Maia finally kills her, she has done enough atrocities that you probably won't feel remotely sorry for her.
- Axe-Crazy: She's unhinged, sadistic, and uncontrollable.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Deconstructed; Heidi had a miserable life where she felt nobody cared about her as a mundane, and Simon was the first person she met who seemed to actually worry about being kind with her. This, combined with her being turned insane from month of torture, resulted in her becoming fixated on him to the point of turning into a dangerous Yandere.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: The reason she is so unstable and cruel is due to Raphael keeping her prisoner and painfully experimenting on her in an attempt to figure out how to become a Daywalking Vampire.
- Dark and Troubled Past: She states that she went to bleeder dens to escape her troubled home life and goes on a rant about how families are a source of pain.
- Manipulative Bitch: In season 3b, she effortlessly plays the werewolves, vampires, and shadowhunters against each other.
- Pet the Dog: From her perspective, at least. She ends up feeling bad for killing a mundane, so she turns him into a vampire. But Clary and Izzy are forced to kill him when he attacks them.
- Revenge: She tries to kill Raphael for experimenting on her. He was trying to find a way to make vampire walk in the daylight, so she chained him to rooftop and left him to burn in the sun. Fortunately for him, Clary and Izzy find and save him, but Izzy learns what Raphael did to Heidi, chews him out, and banishes him from the city.
- Yandere: After becoming obsessed with Simon she tries to kill Maya and his mother and sister.
Werewolves
Alaric Rodriguez
Alaric Rodriguez
"You're pack leader now, you don't need to ask."
Played by: Joel Labelle
"The pack wants to know how long you're gonna let your little vamp friend hang around in werewolf territory."
Luke's partner in the NYPD and a loyal member of his pack.
- Character Death: He and several other Downworlders are killed when Jace accidentally activates the Soul Sword, allowing Valentine to use it.
- Number Two: He usually follows Luke's lead, especially after Luke kills Theo and becomes leader of the pack.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He obeys whoever leads the pack, despite his personal loyalty to Luke. When Theo was leader of the pack, Alaric followed his instructions to kidnap Clary and Simon, though he did try to protect them.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Mostly towards Simon after he became a vampire.
- Undying Loyalty: To Luke. It's more than just wolf instincts — despite some reservations, he genuinely believes in Luke,
Gretel Monroe
Gretel Monroe
Played by: Joanne Jansen
"We know Luke said you could crash here. But not here!"
A member of Luke's pack and a close friend of Maia.
- Character Death: She's kidnapped and murdered by Valentine. Her body was thrown off Valentine's ship and washed up on a beach.
- Jerkass: After Luke lets the newly Turned Simon stay with a wolf pack, Gretel constantly antagonises Simon, making it clear he's not welcome because he's a vampire.
Kyle
Jordan Kyle
Played by: Chai Hansen
Simon's new roommate. A member of Praetor Lupus and Maia's ex-boyfriend, who turned her.
- Adaptational Nationality: American in the books, Australian in the series.
- Last-Name Basis: How Simon knows him.
- Surfer Dude: He has the tanned skin, shoulder-length hair, Aussie accent. Simon even calls him "like a surfer werewolf" at one point.
Warlocks
Dot Rollins
Dorothea "Dot" Rollins
"It wasn't from Little Italy, it was from Rome."
Played by: Vanessa Matsui
Clary and Jocelyn's neighbor. She's a warlock who's been Jocelyn's friend and companion for years.
- Adaptational Badass: In the show she helps Jocelyn fight off some of Valentine's minions, although she ultimately fails to stop them from kidnapping Jocelyn. She does no fighting in the books or movie.
- Adaptational Name Change: The show gives her the surname Rollins and the nickname Dot.
- Adaptation Species Change: She's a mundane in the books, but a witch in the movie and show.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Dot is sociable and upbeat in the show, but Madame Dorothea was originally reclusive and somber.
- Age Lift: In the show she's only in her thirties, whereas her book and film counterparts are old women.
- Ascended Extra: While still a minor character, Dot has many more scenes in than she did in either book or film. She also survives longer on the show, so she's involved in more plot lines and interacts with characters she didn't meet elsewhere.
- Body Horror: Valentine's experiments are doing a number on her. She gradually becomes more withered and and dark veins appear on her face. Once she finally escapes, she starts getting better.
- Chekhov's Gun: Her tarot cards: the Ace of Cups was the Mortal Cup.
- Cool Big Sis: She is Clary's older sister figure and someone she's very close to.
- Damsel in Distress: She's kidnapped by Valentine in season 1 and endures months of torture before Clary, Luke, and Jace manage to free her.
- Fortune Teller: Supposedly; she decorates her apartment with several generic Fortune Teller themes as a cover-up for her customers.
- Made a Slave: Because of experiments Valentine performed on her, Dot is compelled to serve him against her will. She's freed by Clary, Jace, and Luke halfway through season 2.
- Race Lift: Her race is unspecified in the book, but she's black in the film and Asian on the show.
- Spared By Adaptation: In the books she's killed after being possessed by a Greater Demon, but on the show she's still alive.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It remains unclear what exactly happened to Dot as she was last seen about to confront Jonathan to buy some time for Clary and Jace to escape his wrath. As of the third season, Dot doesn't appear nor is she even mentioned at all, not even by Jonathan of all people.
Lorenzo Rey
Magnus's rival and replacement as the High Warlock.
- Asshole Victim: Considering his personality it’s hard to feel sympathy when Asmodeus turns him into a chameleon.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He's very envious of Magnus because he's greatly admired by the whole warlock community. He gets over it at the end of the third season.
- Jerkass: Arrogant, deceptive, and more than willing to take credit for things that aren't his deeds.
- Jerkass Realization: When Alec and the group summon Lorenzo and Meliorn's help to rescue both Isabelle and Magnus from Edom, Lorenzo is initially unwilling to help, but he has a change of heart thanks to the words of Alec and company and decides to help them.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: What we see of him in the finale, proves that there is a decent person under all that arrogance.
- Reformed, but Rejected: In the series finale Lorenzo actually seems to believe that this will happen, after all the strife he caused, and attempts to bow out gracefully, after telling Magnus how he hopes that one day he may be lucky enough to find a family, like Magnus did. In the end though, the trope is defied by Magnus, who is honestly grateful that Lorenzo helped save him and extends him an olive branch in form of an invitation to his and Alec's wedding.
- The Rival: He has some intense rivalry and animosity toward Magnus Bane.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Subverted. Alec has Caterina restore Lorenzo, who was turned into a lizard by Asmodeus, back to normal. However, while Lorenzo thanks Alec, he makes it clear that it still doesn't change anything between them or Magnus, then goes as far as to reject parttaking with Alec and the group in helping rescue Isabelle and Magnus, mostly the latter. Alec stops Lorenzo from leaving, reminding him that he would've remained a lizard had he not saved him. These words make Lorenzo have a change of heart.
Ragnor Fell
Ragnor Fell
"I must speak Prattling Fool, since I can understand you."
Played by: Adam Kenneth Wilson
"Though I know you won’t believe me, someday someone will come along who will tear down those walls you’ve built around your heart."
The former High Warlock of London and a long-time friend of Magnus Bane.
- Character Death: He's killed by a Shax demon in his own home while helping Magnus, Clary, and Jace find a way to wake Jocelyn from her potion-induced coma.
- Crazy-Prepared: Around the same time Valentine reappeared, Ragnor hid out in his country estate outside of London and placed protective wards all around his property to keep out those with bad intentions.
- Old Friend: To Magnus. They've been close for centuries and Magnus is devastated by his death.
Iris Rouse
Dr. Iris Rouse
Played by: Stephanie Belding
"Dark magic is a term used by warlocks who are afraid of their own powers. For someone like me who can harness those powers, all magic is equal."
A warlock who manipulates Clary into owing her a favor. As her cover among mundanes, Iris is a physician with her own clinic.
- Blood Oath: Iris makes Clary sign one saying she'll perform a favor for Iris if Iris brings her mother back to life. Clary changes her mind when she realizes that she doesn't want to risk her mother's soul, but Iris is adamant about Clary fulfilling her end of the bargain — giving birth to a warlock child. She ends up using the oath to make Clary find her adopted daughter instead.
- Canon Foreigner: Iris is completely original to the show.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Her adopted daughter named Madzie whom she adores and is very protective of. Valentine holds Madzie hostage to force Iris to steal Magnus's spellbook.
- Evil Genius: Not only is she a doctor, she found a way to breed Shadowhunters with demons and plans to test this out on Clary.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: She's a physician who uses her clinic to lure in mundane women and then forces them to breed with a demon and give birth to warlock children.
- Necromancer: She practices dark magic that bring the dead back to life. The result, however, are unpredictable. Clary asks her to bring her mother Jocelyn back to life and she agrees, hoping to use Clary to produce a part-Nephilim, part-demon warlock child.
- Oh, Crap!: She becomes terrified after realizing that Clary is Valentine's daughter because she extracted a blood oath from Clary. If anything happens to Clary, Valentine might kill her.
- Voluntary Shapeshifter: She turns into a cat to crash Magnus's party and steal his book of spells.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Her actions are undoubtedly horrible, but she's only taking such desperate measures because she's afraid Valentine will wipe out all warlocks.
Madzie
Madzie
Played by: Ariana Williams
A young warlock who was adopted by Iris, whom she calls "Nana". Valentine kidnaps her and manipulates her into working for him.
- Badass Adorable: A wide-eyed little girl with braids who can curb-stomp adult Shadowhunters.
- Child Mage: She's around five years old and an exceptionally powerful warlock for her age. Deconstructed in that it takes almost no effort for Valentine to trick her into doing his bidding.
- Fish People: Downplayed. She has gills around her neck, but otherwise looks completely human.
- Happily Adopted: All she wants is to get back to her adoptive mother. Valentine manipulates her by promising to get her back to her mother.
- After Magnus's intervention, she is now being taken care of by Catarina.
- The Quiet One: Madzie almost never speaks.
Catarina Loss
Catarina Loss
Played by: Sophia Walker
A powerful warlock who is an old friend of Magnus. She works as a nurse at a mundane hospital.
- Mystical White Hair: Her warlock mark, along with her blue skin.
Seelies
Meliorn
Meliorn
"It's bad enough not to have a vote — it's worse to be treated as inferiors."
Played by: Jade Hassouné
"Shadowhunter, have you ever seen a Seelie Knight fight? I wouldn't be so cocky about your prowess if I were you."
A Seelie with whom Isabelle shares an on-and-off relationship.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Like other Seelies, he's incapable of telling a straight lie, but he's very creative when he needs to go around the truth.
- Deadpan Snarker: He loves to snark and poke fun at Shadowhunters, especially when they act arrogant and superior to Downworlders.Meliorn (to Jace): I see Isabelle is the smart one in the family.
- Facial Markings: He has a green leaf marking on his cheek.
- The Golden Rule: After Clary and Jace help save his life, he returns the favor by opening a portal to another world to help them stop Valentine.
- The Nose Knows: In season 2, Meliorn quickly deduces that Raphael is now dating Isabelle because the scent of her perfume is on him.
- Scars Are Forever: He gains a few scars on his face after the Seelie Queen punishes him for helping Clary and Jace in season 1.
- Wrongfully Accused: He's wrongfully arrested and sentenced to execution by the Clave, but the main characters (sans Alec, who's following the Clave's orders) manage to free him. Izzy is caught and placed on trial for treason.
- Happens again in Season 2: Raphael and Izzy suspect he is the one murdering Shadowhunters, as it is implied that Meliorn has suggested doing so in the past. In this instance, he helps track down the Seelie really responsible for the killings and Izzy is willing to believe him much more quickly than anyone else falsely accused on the show, since he definitively says that he hasn't been murdering anyone and Seelies really can't lie.
Kaelie
Kaelie
"My brother Samuel was all I had in this world... and now he's gone! Thanks to your brother, Jace."
Played by: Michelle Argyris
A bubbly Seelie that Jace has a casual relationship with.
- Big Bad: Becomes this in the episode "Those of Demon Blood" as she is responsible for the deaths of numerous Shadowhunters, as she holds Jace responsible for her brother Samuel's death, who was a victim of the Institute massacre caused by Valentine and goes as far as to pin them on innocent Downworlders to cover her tracks.
- Character Death: Stabbed by Isabelle after kidnapping Max.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Introduced as a random girl that Jace has been sleeping with, later revealed to be the one murdering Shadowhunters and trying to make it appear as though there's a Downworlder uprising.
- Face–Heel Turn: Kaelie grows resented and spiteful after her brother Samuel is killed during the raid at the Institute, killing numerous Shadowhunters to avenge him.
- Ms. Fanservice: Kaelie is very sensual at first sight, especially as she is seen naked having sex with Jace. However, since it's a PG-13 series, Kaelie covers her chest as Alec arrives.
- A Threesome Is Hot: Kaelie proposes this to Alec with her and Jace, but he awkwardly rejects her.
- Woman Scorned: It's initially intended to be Played for Laughs when Jace, who was partially responsible for the deaths of many Downworlders, tries approaching Kaelie when she arrives at the Hunter Moon. Kaelie's response? She wordlessly spills her drink on Jace's pants and walks out, which Maia finds amusing, especially due to his attitude. However, it soon becomes serious after Kaelie is seeking revenge against the Shadowhunters and Jace for her brother Samuel's death.
- Would Hurt a Child: She kidnapped Max and was about to murder him before Isabelle and co. rescued him.
- You Killed My Father: Kaelie murders numerous Shadowhunters and tries to make it look like there's a Downworlder uprising because her brother was killed in Valentine's massacre in "By the Light of Dawn".
The Seelie Queen
The Seelie Queen
Played by: Lola Flanery (child form), Sarah Hyland (adult form)
The mysterious leader of the Seelies who resides in another realm.
- Ambiguously Evil: The Seelie Queen isn't evil per say, but her morals clearly differ from humans, making her a ally or antagonist depending on the episode. Most notably, she focuses on protecting anything unique and special, be it good or bad. Including Jonathan.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Like all Seelies, but she is so ancient and practiced at manipulating the truth it is almost irrelevant.
- Creepy Child: She often appears as one, but she's really an ancient being.
- Dual Age Modes: She can appear as a child or an adult. Given that she has sex, the latter is hopefully her real form.
- The Gadfly: After Simon accidentally kills some of her subjects, she forces Clary to kiss the man she desires most — which turns out to be Jace. The Seelie Queen is clearly amused by Simon's heartbroken face and all the relationship drama she just stirred up.
- Interspecies Romance: We have yet to see her lover, but season 4 reveals she apparently is in a relationship with a Warlock. She later sleeps with Jonathan, a Nephilim with demon blood, and confesses having feelings for him - though he doesn't share them.
- Killed By The Adaptation: In the book series, she's still alive.
- Killed Off for Real: Jonathan murders her after she helped him grow into his full powers and taught him how to control them.
- Older Than They Look: She's ancient but (initially) chooses to appear as a cute little girl. In other appearances, she shows up as an attractive young woman.
- Verbal Tic: Whenever she says the word “dead” she repeats the word 3 times.
- The Worf Effect: She is one of the most powerful and ancient characters in the setting, to the point even Lilith threatening her failed to make her even flinch. Which leaves all the more impact when Jonathan makes her genuinely afraid enough to beg him for mercy and easily kills her.
Mundanes
Elaine Lewis
Elaine Lewis
"Have you joined a cult again?"
Played by: Christina Cox
"I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him. Rebecca and Simon, they're all I have."
Elaine Lewis is the widowed mother of Simon and Rebecca. She's a successful lawyer and has high expectations for her children, although not to the same extent as the Lightwoods.
- The Alcoholic: Simon becomes very concerned when he finds an empty bottle of vodka in Elaine's room, saying Elaine went on a drinking bender after his father's death, but has been sober for years.
- Happily Married: She and her late husband were this. Simon says she turned to hard liquor to deal with his father's death.
- I Have No Son!: Elaine does not take well the fact of Simon being a vampire after he unconsciouly feeds on his own sister Elaine, even though Heidi manipulated him into doing so by taking advantage of his starving after holding both of them hostage, threatening to kill him if he ever comes back. Subverted when Simon hypnotizes her into believing that he had died in an accident and that her feelings are a way to process her grieving.Elaine: You get away from her! Don't you touch her! You...hurt her again and it will be the last thing you ever do, I swear to God! You stay away from her. You stay away from this family or I swear to God, I will kill you!Simon: Mom...Elaine: You are NOT my son! You're a monster. Get out! [Beat] Get out!
- Good Parents: She's a very loving mother who'll do anything for her children. When Simon starts acting strange and doesn't answer her phone calls, Elaine begins to panic and worries that he's gotten involved with a bad crowd.
- Jewish Mother: Elaine isn't as extreme or overbearing as some other examples, but she did tell Simon that she wanted him to only use his indie band as a hobby and instead focus on becoming a CPA. So, by the time Simon graduated high school, Elaine's constant comments about it finally persuaded him to major in accounting.
- Parental Obliviousness: Simon either disappears or comes up with wild excuses to keep her and Rebecca in the dark about his Turn to vampirism. The facade finally starts to crumble in mid-Season 2.
- Put on a Bus: Sometime after they were captured by Heidi and she was discharged from the hospital, Elaine and Rebecca move to Florida for a fresh start. It is also known that Elaine was getting for an interview at the district attorney's office.
Rebecca Lewis
Rebecca Lewis
"Okay. So, none of this behavior seems crazy to you?"
Played by: Holly Deveaux
"I know that I'm not usually the sentimental one here, but... we're here for you."
Rebecca Lewis is the older sister of Simon Lewis and only daughter of Elaine.
- Big Sister Instinct: Like her mother, Rebecca becomes concerned when Simon starts distancing himself from them. However, unlike Elaine, Rebecca has no problem confronting her brother about what's wrong with him.
- When she finds out that Simon is a vampire, after being hospitalized by him, she tells him that she will always love him. Warts, fangs and all.
- Put on a Bus: Sometime after they were captured by Heidi and she was discharged from the hospital, Elaine and Rebecca move to Florida for a fresh start, although Rebecca still supports Simon after finding out about his vampirism.
- The Bus Came Back: Rebecca briefly returns to New York to visit Simon and spend time with him on Halloween. She even encourages him into making a move on Isabelle after deducing that he has feelings for her.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: After being bitten by Simon, she tearfully asks him when she will become a vampire.Rebecca: "I've read enough YA to know what happens. So how long is it until I turn?
Maureen Brown
Maureen Brown
Played by: Shailene Garnett
A friend of Clary and Simon's, as well as a member of Simon's band. She's a mundane and has a crush on Simon.
- Age Lift: She's a little girl in the books, but on the show she's around the same age as Clary and Simon, who are already older than their book counterparts.
- All Love Is Unrequited: She's in love with Simon, who's in love with Clary, who is aware of this, encouraging Simon to date her. Maureen does briefly hooks up with him, until he calls her "Clary" by mistake.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She is not heard of again after the first season. However, she has a brief mention in the second season when she, on the phone, tells Simon that she's dropping out of the band and cuts all ties with him.
- We Used to Be Friends: Maureen refuses to perform with Simon ever again due to his active absence from his mundance activities.
- Wrong-Name Outburst: When Simon imagines her as Clary.Maureen [as Clary to Simon]: Simon...when are you gonna ask me to be your girlfriend?Simon [hesitates]: Clary...Maureen [her voice changes back]: Excuse me? Clary?
Captain Vargas
Captain Susanna Vargas
Played by: Lisa Marcos
The police captain of the NYPD and Luke's boss.
- Benevolent Boss: She's good at her job and cares deeply about her officers.
- Canon Foreigner: Vargas has no counterpart in the books.
- Character Death: She's killed by a demon who briefly takes her appearance to get more information about the Mortal Cup. Her body was stuffed in a cabinet in her office.
- Nice Girl: She's on good terms with Jocelyn and Clary and was genuinely concerned when Clary was acting strange in the pilot.
- Shipper on Deck: Vargas knows Luke is love with Jocelyn and tells him he should marry her.
Ollie Wilson
Detective Olivia "Ollie" Wilson
Played by: Alexandra Ordolis
Luke Garroway's new partner in the NYPD
- Canon Foreigner: Unique to the series.
- Demonic Possession: By Lilith via the Owl. She kills her own mother.
- Fair Cop: Like most of the cast, she's fairly beautiful
- Matricide: Invoked. Ollie murders her own mother under Lilith's influence, resulting in her getting investigated by the NYPD and Luke suspended for supposedly covering for her.
- Put on a Bus: Sometime after she was freed from Lilith's control, Luke mentions that Ollie and her girlfriend Sam were both relocated by the Praetor Lupus and gave them new identities to keep them safe from the Shadow World.
Charlie Cooper
Dr. Charlie Cooper
Played by: Brooks Darnell
A pediatric surgeon whom Izzy dates in season 3
- After Action Patch Up: Stitches up a cut on Isabelle's forehead after she fought with a demon.
- Canon Foreigner: Does not appear in the books.
- Hospital Hottie: Manages to convince Isabelle to go out with a mundane (not that he knows about The Masquerade).
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Was scared of blood as a child but forced himself to overcome it as both his parents were doctors and expected him to follow in their footsteps.
Angels
Ithuriel
Ithuriel
Played by: Alec Stockwell (imprisoned) and Benjamin Sutherland (free)
An angel being held captive by Valentine.
- Angelic Beauty: After he is freed from Valentine, his appearance is young and beautiful.
- Broken Angel: His imprisonment has left him fragile and hopeless. He gets much better after being freed.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Just before he could tell Clary just who the Owl is serving, his heart is ripped out from behind by Lilith in the form of a great winged demon
- Mysterious Backer: He blessed Clary and has been providing her with knowledge of new runes. She's also able to hear him cry for help.
- Winged Humanoid: After Clary and Jace free him, he spreads his wings, gives them a vision, and flies off.
Raziel
Raziel
Voiced by: Anthony Head
The patron angel of the Shadowhunters.
- Light Is Good: Is surrounded by a blindingly bright light.
- Literal Genie: Whoever possesses all three of the mortal instruments and calls upon him will be granted one wish.
- Summoning Ritual: The Mortal Instruments are required to summon him, a ritual that can only be done once. Once they have all three, he will come to them and will grant any single wish the summoner wants.
- Winged Humanoid: A lot more angelic in appearance than Ithuriel: whereas Ithuriel looks like a human with feathery wings, Raziel is obscured by a bright golden light.
Demons
Azazel
Azazel
Played by: Brett Donahue
A powerful greater demon currently at large on Earth searching for the Mortal Cup.
- Affably Evil: Is usually quite charming, even while performing heinous acts.
- Demon Lords and Archdevils: Is described as a Prince of Hell and is a lot more powerful than Magnus. Izzy's demon detecting ruby pendant actually cracks and burns out in his presence.
- For the Evulz: After killing two Shadowhunters he casually murders all the other people in a mundane restaurant with a snap of his fingers because, well, "Let's make it a party".
- Humanoid Abomination: Though he is wearing the form of a handsome human, his appearance sometimes flickers giving a hint as to his true demonic nature.
- No-Sell: Clary's sunlight rune, previously shown to be very effective against lesser demons, fizzles out when she tries to use it on Azazel. He then proceeds to shatter the magical pentagram holding him.
- One to Million to One: Rather than dodging attacks by Shadowhunters armed with seraph blades, Azazel simply dissolves his body into a swarm of flying insects.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: His human form is very much this.
Lilith
Lilith
Played by: Anna Hopkins
The Queen of Edom, and one of the most powerful demons in existence. Also happens to be the demon Valentine took blood from in order to birth Jonathan, making her his mother. She appears in season 3, where she attempts to resurrect Jonathan.
- Big Bad: Of Season 3.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: She sports long dark hair and very light skin.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She genuinely loves her son Jonathan, and goes through all her efforts to ressurect him. Of course, like all demons, her concept of "love" is insanely twisted.
- Hot as Hell: When in human form. She is beautiful and always wearing very figure-fitting dresses.
- Love Father, Love Son: She seduced Cain who is technically her stepson since she is Adam's first wife.
- Mama Bear: Valentine used her blood to give Jonathan his demonic powers and she raised him after Valentine sent him to Edom. Jonathan called out to her as he was dying, and now in season 3 she's trying to use Blood Magic to resurrect him.
- One-Winged Angel: She usually appears as a woman, but her true form is one of a giant, pale red, dragon-like winged monster.
- Revenge: After using Jace, she plans to kill him for killing Jonathan.
