What 'Shadowhunters' Means to Me... And So Many Others

It’s been about two and a half weeks since my favorite show, Shadowhunters, was cancelled. I’ve been actively online working with the Save Shadowhunters movement, adding the proper tags to almost all of my tweets — not every single one because I don’t want to get blocked from tweeting into the hashtag. (I even created another account just in case.)

Since the show was cancelled I’ve been looking for the right words to express how much the show means to me, but nothing actually seems like enough. So let’s start with the simple fact that I have made friends with this show. The friends I’ve made being a part of this fandom speak to me more than the friends I made in school. These friends are the most caring and warm individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Secondly, the show has taught me what strength truly is. Watching Clary lose every person in her life that meant anything to her: her mother, her father, though he wasn’t a good man, and same with her brother. Jonathan was the villain, as was Valentine, but they were still her family. She still felt a small connection to Jonathan, hoping she could save him. Even in season three A she lost Jace, the man she’s falling in love with, to Lilith. She even lost her mundane life and was thrown into the Shadow World. Through all of that, Clary Fairchild never stopped. She pushed through. She comes out of every bad situation so much stronger than when she went in. For a long time I thought she was annoying and needed to go away, but after rewatching the show and really looking at this poor girl's life, I admire her. I admire the strength she has to keep pushing on.

Then you watch Alec, fighting for his love, his career, and his family. As soon as his mother informed him that she was to be exiled and de-runed, Alec was ready to fight for his mother to stay within the Shadowhunters ranks. When Isabelle was on trial he made sure that she had proper representation in Magnus. He wasn't going to let his little sister be exiled and de-runed. He fought for his rightful position as Head of the New York Institute. He thought he had to be the typical Shadowhunter and marry someone to get ahead in his career, but as he stood there with Lydia and staring at Magnus walking in he knew he couldn't go through with the charade. He knew he had to be true to who he really was despite the consequences. It takes so much strength and courage to come out in front of so many people who you know will not accept you, and then stand there demanding they take you seriously as a leader, which Alec has done in every single episode since he came out and kissed Magnus in front of the most respected members of The Clave. And no matter what happens between he and Magnus, he never gives up on the man he loves.

That brings me to my third point. There are so many times in my life that I want to give up and run somewhere to hide from the big bad world, but I look to this show to show me what it’s like to never give up, to keep going no matter what life may throw my way. Every single character on this show has been through absolute hell and they just keep going. They literally keep fighting: Izzy with her addiction, Luke being forced out of his pack, Clary losing everyone, Magnus and his past, Jace and being taken over by Lilith, Maia with Jordan, Simon having to leave his family, and Alec and his coming out. They keep going and that reminds me to keep fighting not run and hide from the hard times.

Shadowhunters has taught be to keep fighting, stay strong, and to love no matter what challenges it may bring. Watching the young couples fight for love. Watching Maryse slowly falling in love with Luke after being cheated on by Robert. Risking that hurt again, even if it's not canon, yet. One of the new characters in season three informed the fans that Shadowhunters loved once and they love fiercely, and you see that in all of the characters. The way Alec loves Magnus and risked so much to love him. How Jace and Clary love each other even when the world seems to want them to be a part. The Lightwood family always putting each other first. The way they fight for each other.

It hurts knowing that this show was taken from the fans only because of a financial dispute between the network and their funder. When I first found out about the cancellation my heart felt like it was caving in. Then my entire body went numb. It was like a horrible nightmare that I still haven't woken up from. All I knew to do was to tweet out my support for bringing the show back because this show means so much to millions of people out there: the diverse cast, the major LGBT+ representation, the strong females leading the charge, the strong and positive messages that it sends to everyone who watches the show.

Finally, the amazing Shadowhunters cast. I have had the opportunity to meet a couple of the cast members of this show. They are always so kind to fans, even when it's raining. They are all so humble and kind to every single fan they meet. They show their love for the fans with everything they do: all the conventions and meet and greets, the interviews and how they take time to talk to each person individually, the way they each take their role seriously, how Harry is always terrified of portraying Magnus poorly and he and Matt just want to do the LGBT+ community justice in telling Malec’s story. The cast never has a bad word to say about anyone or anything; they are always telling the fans to be nice to each other, encouraging us to say kind things to each other. They never fight back when people are being cruel to them. They respond with politeness and grace. Not only are their characters inspiring, but the cast is incredibly inspiring. They all work so hard on every aspect of their role and show. And they make it all look so effortless. I aspire to be as talented and kind hearted as this cast is.

A couple other things I just wanted to talk about are people, or a person, online telling the Shadowhunters fandom that they need to give up and focus energy on more important things. Well, it may be true that there are major things happening that need to be fought, but it does not mean that the fans of the show aren’t fighting for two things at once. It’s completely possible to fight for more than one thing at the same time. And the ignorance of someone calling out an entire fandom, an international fandom, is appalling. So many people look to TV shows, movies, books, and music to get away from what’s happening in this world. And having that taken from them makes it hard to handle what’s happening in our world right now. It was incredibly disrespectful to say that to this fandom. A fandom that has done so much good and raised thousands of dollars for charity since the show being cancelled.

Lastly, I want to commend the fandom for everything they have done in just the past two weeks. They have raised over $11k for The Trevor Project, over $600 for Girl Up, and they’ve created ‘Save Shadowhunters’ merchandise where all of the proceeds go to The Trevor Project or Girl Up, already donating over $1.3k to both charities through the merchandise sales. It’s truly incredible what this fandom has been able to do in such a short period of time. Not only are we fighting for the show, something we love, but we’ve put that passion to good use raising money for amazing organizations that help people get through the hard times in their lives.

This show means everything to me. It’s taught me things, at age 23, that I didn’t know. It’s showed me that I have strength and fight within me that I didn’t know I had. It’s showed me the power of your family’s love. It's taught me that true friends will never leave your side when things get a little rough, that I can get through anything in my life because the things in my life have made me stronger not weaker as I had previously thought. And I know that all of the fans of this show have learned lessons similar to these. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been such an outcry when the show was cancelled.

(Please consider donating to The Trevor Project and Girl Up, two amazing organizations that help millions of people every single day.)