Comparing The Mortal Instruments: City of Fallen Angels to Shadowhunters

Mae Polzine

5 years ago

Camille

In the show, Camille is the vampire who turns Simon and is his sire. In order to find the Book of the White they needed to use Simon to track her down. They go to one of her many estates where he ends up getting her grave dirt but doesn’t realize it until after Raphael points out how to get the box open. After Camille has been turning more vampires that are creating an issue in New York City, Magnus sends her away to the Clave to be locked up for her crimes. Raphael though not always the best, helps Simon out with making sure the Shadow world is a secret when Simon’s mom finds out.

In the book, Camille approaches Simon and asks him to join her clan after assisting her in overthrowing Raphael. She gives him five days to decide if he will join her and hands him grave dirt to summon her when he’s made his choice.

Nightmares

In both the show and book, after Jace is brought back to life he starts to have nightmares in which Clary ends up being killed by his hands. In the show, Jace most of the times ends up hallucinating that Jonathan is there and as he tries to protect Clary from Jonathan ends up killing her. However, he does not push her away. In the book, fearing he might hurt her by accident due to the nightmares pushes her away and becomes more distant. Even going so far as avoiding her. But he of course can’t stay away from Clary and during one of their makeout sessions he ended up cutting her with a knife unable to control himself. Clary takes Jace to the Silent City where the Brothers inform them that Jace is being influenced by a demon but not possessed. In order to protect him, they need to perform a ritual on him with an Iron Sister which would make the demon influence vanish.

In the show, he brings up the idea but is stopped by Lilith’s possession over him so he never ends up making it there. He is also fully possessed and has been used by Lilith to get followers. Clary has to learn from an alive Ithuriel that Jace is vulnerable to possession after he was brought back to life just before Lilith kills the angel and steals some of Clary’s soul to use in an anti-love potion to allow her to have full control over Jace.

In the book, he makes it to the City with Clary but leaves before getting treatment. Before he leaves the Silent Brothers state he is vulnerable as somehow the right every infant Shadowhunter gets when born that protects them from possession is gone. Since he was reborn in a way when he was brought back to life. At this point, Lilith gains control over him but doesn’t use him to get followers as she’s got a whole cult of mundanes for that.

Resurrection Rune

Both the book and show feature Clary creating a resurrection rune, but for two completely different reasons. In the show, Clary creates the resurrection rune to bring Valentine back to life as a means to get a stay on her execution for using The Wish for personal gain of bringing Jace back to life. In the book, Clary creates the rune to bring a dead Shadowhunter back to life to figure out who killed him… which turns out to be Camille.

Simon Gets a Roommate

After Simon gets the Mark of Cain his residence in the book and show both fall apart causing him to need somewhere else to crash.

In the show, he had been staying at the Jade Wolf but was kicked out as the wolves thought he overstayed his welcome. Simon goes apartment hunting and almost gets run over by Jordan Kyle, going by just Kyle at the time. He offers Simon the spare room in his apartment, which when Jace comes over questions how Simon could get so lucky to find an apartment with literally everything he could want. Then he breaks into Kyle’s room to find Wolfsbane and informs Simon that his roommate is a werewolf. Later when Maia stops by she informs Simon that Kyle is actually Jordan Kyle, the ex-boyfriend who turned her into a werewolf.

In the book, Simon left after telling his mom he was a vampire then made her forget. His band mate, Kyle, offers him the spare room at his place. Jace, who happened to be following Simon after he lost track of Clary trying to give back her phone, runs into Simon after two guys tried to kill him. Jace follows Simon back to the new apartment where Simon makes him eat some soup. When Kyle comes back home, Jace asks Simon why he didn’t mention that his new roommate was a werewolf. Later at a gig, Maia informs Simon that Kyle is actually Jordan Kyle, the ex-boyfriend who turned her into a werewolf.

Church of Talto

This location appears in both the show and the book, but the how a character gets there in each are for very different reasons. For starters, Church of Talto is where Lilith is with her followers as she’s trying to resurrect Jonathan Morgenstern (she considers him a son since he has her blood).

In the show, Lilith is using mundanes to corrupt the ley lines using The Owl (possessed Jace) to find her 33 disciples that kill an individual they love then uses their blood as nourishment for Jonathan. Luke and Simon end up going to the church and are attacked by three of the disciples. Simon with the Mark of Cain turns them into salt.

In the book, the Church of Talto is a location Clary got using a rune on a deceased baby who had black eyes and claws for hands. Jocelyn claims the dead baby looks eerily similar to Jonathan did when he was born. Clary goes to investigate and is attacked by a demon after seeing a women injected with blood. Isabelle comes to the Church of Talto at Clary’s request for assistance since she doesn’t want to be benched by the Clave or upset her mother while she’s out ring shopping with Luke. Also Jace is not the Owl (a greater demon or demon) of Lilith in the book nor leads to 33 mundanes becoming possessed.

Jonathan Reborn

Other than all of the characters being the same, there’s little to no similarity between the book and the show on how Jonathan Morgenstern comes back to life.

In the show, Clary is almost executed but Jace comes to steal flesh of Valentine as well as collects Clary for her heart when he’s completely possessed by Lilith. He brings them to her apartment and Clary has a rune drawn on her that makes her life-force connected to Jonathan. Simon comes up to help Clary and attacks the coffin Jonathan is stored in. Lilith goes to attack him causing the Mark of Cain to go off. Lilith explodes just as Jonathan comes back to life which sends the apartment away. Simon was knocked out of the building, and Jace now free of Lilith’s possession thanks to Magnus Bane rushes in to see the apartment is gone along with Clary and a now alive Jonathan. Simon presumes he killed Clary in the explosion.

In the book, Jace is taken over by Lilith in his dreams and uses a rune to knock out Clary so he can take her to Lilith’s apartment where Jonathan is. Lilith also turns Maureen into a vampire and uses her to bring Simon to the apartment. She wants Simon to feed on Jonathan/Sebastian then give Jonathan his blood in return. Lilith also uses the rune on Jace to connect him with Jonathan. One reborn into the Light, must allow for one to be reborn into the Dark to maintain balance occurring to Lilith. Clary is merely there as a bargaining chip to get Simon to do as Lilith wants. Clary cuts the rune on Jace which temporarily frees him from Lilith’s control. Simon however ended up drinking Jonathan’s blood but didn’t give him his blood in return. As Lilith goes to torture Clary in front of Jace, Simon steps in the way so the Mark of Cain kills her. Clary and Jace talk briefly before everyone but Jace goes downstairs to wait for the Clave. While waiting alone the rune heals and he is under Jonathan’s control. He gives Jonathan his blood thus completing the ritual that brings Jonathan back to life. The two vanish before the Clave comes upstairs.

Minor Details/Differences

BOOK

Simon is dating both Isabelle and Maia at the same time. Both break up with him when they find out about the other.
Clary lives with Luke and Jocelyn, but trains full time at the Institute.
One representative from each Downworlder clan has a seat in the Clave council.
Simon is in a band with his friends who know he’s a vampire.
Magnus and Alec have really just started getting serious.
Maryse is the head of the New York Institute.
Jocelyn and Luke are engaged, set to be married in a matter of a week at the start of the book.
Simon’s first human he feeds on is Maureen, he drinks her blood suddenly overcome with a thirst for blood during the band’s performance. Maureen is killed by Lilith and turned into a vampire because of her. Not because of Simon.
Alec is off on a romantic getaway with Magnus after Valentine is killed, and doesn’t question Clary or Jace about what happened at Lake Lyn.
Jace cuts Clary’s arm when they are being intimate just as he does in his dreams. He can’t really control himself but it’s not an accident either. After he admits to her about the dreams he has been having.
Jace does go to the Silent Brothers but is not treated as he has fallen under the control of Lilith and leaves the City of Bones.
The Silent Brothers are the ones who find out about Clary making a wish to bring Jace back. Nothing is done about it at least in this book.
Jace and Jonathan disappear after Jonathan is resurrected. Apartment is left as it was.

TV SHOW

Simon is dating just Maia. They break up mutually after Maia took some time for herself after learning Jordan Kyle was back in town.
Clary lives at the Institute, she is a full Shadowhunter (i.e. no longer in training)
Alec has cabinet meetings with Downworlders (Meliorn, Magnus, Raphael and Luke).
Simon is a solo band.
Magnus and Alec have already been serious, broken up and gotten back together.
Alec is the head of the New York Institute.
Jocelyn is dead. Luke starts flirting with a now single Maryse, who divorced Robert Lightwood after he cheats on her.
Maureen was an ex-bandmate but not his first human he drank on. That designation goes to Heidi who also drank his blood before she is killed by another vampire.
Alec is highly suspicious of what happened at Lake Lyn between Jace, Clary, and Valentine due to the Parabatai rune vanishing.
Jace never hurts the real Clary on purpose, he accidentally cuts Clary during training. Later after being possessed he drops her off a building.
Jace never goes to the Silent Brothers for help as Lilith gave him an anti-love potion which allows the demon inside him to fully take over.
The Clave interrogates Clary after Jace kills Imogen Herondale on what Jace was doing, Clary under the influence of the Soul-Sword admits she brought Jace back to life using the Wish and he is possessed by Lilith. She is sentenced to death for this.
Clary and Jonathan disappear along with the apartment in a way that makes it look like they were killed in the explosion.

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