Shadowhunters bosses break down that Jace-Clary revelation, Malec's big moment, and more

Spoiler alert: This post contains spoilers from the March 6 winter finale of Shadowhunters.

The Shadowhunters winter finale packed a punch (or five). Not only did Valentine tell Jace that he isn’t Clary’s sibling, but Simon can now walk in the sunlight. Then there’s the fact that Magnus and Alec said “I love you,” and someone unknown made off with the Soul Sword.

EW spoke with showrunners Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer about the action-packed hour and what comes next.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did now feel like the time for Jace to find out the truth about his non-family?
TODD SLAVKIN: We thought it was terrific for Clary and Simon — their relationship is coming together and it’s so exciting — to be upended by this revelation. And then we loved the fact that the Soul Sword, which forces one to tell the truth, that that’s how that comes out, that Valentine is forced to admit that Jace isn’t his biological son through the fight of the Soul Sword. And so it all came together in what writers call lovely kismet. Moving forward in 2B, that triangle between Clary, Simon, and Jace only gets more complicated; it only gets juicier because Jace knows the truth. How he is going to deal with that is a great thing to see unfold.

And I’m sure Simon being able to walk in the sunlight only further complicates things.
Slavkin: Yeah, it’s terrific. It seems like the greatest thing in the world but on Shadowhunters, if something’s too great, there’s always going to be a downside. Darren and I love lightness and darkness and playing with that dynamic throughout the show. It’s a great thing — he can go out, he can go to a park, but on the other hand, it complicates his life in pretty cool ways that we’ll explore in 2B. It is Jace’s pure angelic blood that does that to Simon and that’s part of the books. If the Downworld knew that Jace had that ability to make them all Daylighters, that would really put Jace in a tough spot. We deal with that moving forward in 2B and it’s a secret that Simon holds dear to his heart.

You all have been building the Malec relationship all season. Why did you feel now was the time for the big profession of love?
DARREN SWIMMER: What better moment than the season finale to have that conversation between them? We felt it was right not only in the timeframe of the relationship but considering what they’ve gone though. God forbid that they would’ve lost each other and not had been able to say what their true feelings were.

Slavkin: When your boyfriend is in danger, and you find out that they’re alive, it creates a clarity in the way you feel about that person. It doesn’t have to be boyfriend, it can be anyone that you have feelings for, and suddenly, in even the split second that you imagine that they’re gone and that you’ve lost them, when you get them back, it all comes clear.

Valentine is captured, but will he still play a big role in 2B?
Slavkin: He plays a huge role in 2B. You will see him throughout. You can’t keep a good man down, or better, you can’t keep a bad man down. What we thought was so interesting by incarcerating him is you see a whole different side of him. He’s always had the upper hand in the series and we felt it was very interesting to explore the other side where he’s a captive and how he deals with that, how he manipulates those around him in an effort to accomplish the goal that he set out in the beginning of the series.

And I can only assume the Soul Sword will be back.
Slavkin: It’s a huge factor. It’s the Mortal Instruments: The Mortal Cup, the Soul Sword, and the Mortal Mirror play a huge role in 2B. The Sword is a big part of that literal triangle.

2B will also feature Sebastian. How will he shake things up?
Slavkin: The entrance of Sebastian in the show in 2B is awesome. It complicates everybody’s relationship on the show and Will Tudor is an incredible actor and he brings a level on the show that we haven’t seen before. He’s the big bad villain of the books, really. So that’s a huge part of 2B moving forward. We’re just seeing the first few director cuts now and we’re really really happy with what we’re seeing.

Shadowhunters returns to Freeform on Monday, June 5.