Remembered Scenes Throughout Clockwork Angel

By: Sarah Mirzayee (edited by: Krisha)

Cover art by: SwanMountain

The Infernal Devices trilogy has probably been one of my favorite book series of all time and one that has stuck with me since the first time I read it. To honor that, today I will be sharing with you the most remembered scenes in Clockwork Angel.

#1 Blackfriars Bridge

In chapter fourteen of Clockwork Angel, Jem shows Tessa his favorite places in London, one of them being Blackfriars Bridge. If I had to choose a piece of Cassandra Clare’s work and have it replay in my head forever it would be this scene. This scene was the start of a drawn-out tradition that continued past the book's timeline and goes on to show you all the reasons why Jem, Tessa and Will are as close as they are. We get to learn more about Will’s past from Jem’s understanding that helps us understand how essential Jem and Will’s friendship is due to the way Jem talks about Will, he respects Will and to Jem it doesn’t matter what his past was. One of my personal favorite parts of this scene is just how comfortable Jem and Tessa are when they are around each other. It goes to show that they can have a deeper understanding for each other, another reason why Jem, Tessa and Will are such an ideal trio. In addition to all this, another thing that binds this scene together is just all the emotion it carries. Many of us can say that we either felt a great deal of emotion or even cried while reading this scene because of how pure and truly beautiful it is.

#2 The Great Library

I think that I speak for all book lovers out there when I say that this scene is extremely relatable. In this scene Tessa and Will are in the Great Library of the London Institute where Tessa asks Will if the library has any novels. Will talks for a bit about Shadowhunters- their history, tradition and lives- “So you have read it! Tessa couldn’t hide her delight.” (Clare, 94) The conversation shifts and Tessa and Will share a moment talking about their favorite books. In this scene Tessa is a little bit surprised when we get to see a different side of Will, where he seems lighter, less harsh and over all seems like he’s enjoying himself. It’s a part of Will that we don’t get to see much in the first book and makes this scene so much more special. This scene I found to also be something that I related to Tessa's enthusiasm when she talks about books and it is something we can all agree with.

#3 The Trio

“Will and Jem, walking on either side of her. ‘You didn’t really think we weren’t going to come along, did you?’” (Clare, 173). Though this scene is only a couple of lines I clearly remember reading it. In this scene Camille Belcourt - a vampire- comes to the Institute wanting to speak to Tessa. “‘Where Will goes, I go.’” (Clare, 174) Will and Jem follow saying that they weren’t going to let her go alone. This stuck with me probably because you could see that it was the beginning of the trio’s friendship and it was just an over-all funny scene between our three main characters.

#4 The Iconic Duck Scene

“‘Remember when you tried to convince me to feed a poultry pie to the mallards in the park to see if you could breed a race of cannibal ducks?’"

‘They ate it too," Will reminisced. "Bloodthirsty little beasts. Never trust a duck.’” (Clare, 199) This scene is no doubt, the most iconic scene in The Infernal Devices Trilogy. It brings into play the Herondale line of hating ducks and adds some humor into the darker storyline. It is one of the reasons why the Herondales are so loved.

#5 When Will thought Tessa had died

“‘I have lost everything. Lost everything. Everything.’” (Clare 447) In this scene Will thinks that Tessa was killed by Mortmain. He walks into the Sanctuary of the Institute and sees Tessa lying on the floor, knife in hand, blood everywhere and Mortmain is kneeling beside her. You can see that no matter how hard he tries to shadow it, Will still cares for Tessa even if he doesn’t let himself believe it . Another heartfelt moment that will go down in history.

#6 Tessa “kills” herself

When Tessa is face to face with Mortmain - who was the Magister- she decides there is only one way to keep everyone safe - to die, or to at least make people think she died. Tessa thinks of what Will said about Boadicea, a warrior, “She took poison rather than let herself be captured by the Romans. She was braver than any man.” (Clare, 445) Tessa had essentially faked her own death. This tells you a lot about Tessa’s character, she is willing to do anything to protect the people she cares for. This scene personally helped me realize just how much Tessa had grown as a character, in the beginning of the book being brave is something Tessa wouldn’t have described herself as and now she sees herself as this brave woman like Will had said Boadicea was like.

#7 Will and Tessa's First Meeting

This is the first time that Tessa meets Will and it is the first time Will is introduced to the story and to us readers. This scene is a first impression on two of our main characters, it tells us a lot about both Tessa and Will’s characters. From reading this scene we get a sense that Will is the adventurer or funny character, which is primarily true. Furthermore, we are introduced to Tessa’s shape shifting ability and how it works. Thanks to Will’s overall humorous comments, it adds a hint of playfulness to a more dangerous situation, since they are trying to get away from the Dark Sisters alive.

#7 Jem’s Backstory

Jem’s backstory is a part in this book that definitely made my heart melt. In chapter fifteen - after Jem and Tessa get attacked by automatons at Blackfriars Bridge - Jem gets injured and tells Tessa about his “illness” as they call it. This scene was a powerfully emotional scene and it represents that Jem trusts Tessa enough to tell her about his past and his weaknesses. This scene also shows you how different Will acts when it comes to Jem and that Will cares about his parabatai deeply more than anything else.

#8 Magnus’s Favorite Combination

In chapter ten, Tessa shapeshifts into Camille to go into de Quincey’s party - who they think might be the Magister- with Will, where they are accompanied by Maguns Bane a warlock. We all know Magnus to be a freewheeling bisexual warlock - or so as he puts it - but when he says, “ Black hair and blue eyes are my favorite combination.” I know I couldn’t help but to burst out laughing especially knowing that both Will and later on in the future Alec Lightwood, have black hair and blue eyes, makes it all the while more funny when you know the connection. This scene tells you a lot about Magnus as a character, you see that he is very straightforward and that it somehow hints that Magnus knows that him and Camille aren’t going to be “forever” and not only because she doesn’t have black hair and blue eyes.

#9 Church

In the last chapter, Jem and Tessa are talking about Tessa staying at the Institute longer when the cat that Jem saved from Mrs.Black comes and Jem says, “‘Good cat, Church.’” (Clare, 468) This scene is one of my favorites because Church acts differently around Jem and acts coldly around anyone else. Jem’s main character traits are that he is kind and gentle, you see that when Church for some reason only returns that gentleness to Jem. Somehow to me, Church is somewhat like Will, he is only truly himself to Jem and Jem is the only one that sees that side of him. In a sense both Church and Will were somehow “saved” by Jem. In addition to this, there's another connection between The Mortal Instruments where we are introduced to Church as the grumpy old cat living in the New York Institute but here you see him as the cat that is only kind to the Shadowhunter who saved him.

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I would like to thank my friend Shriya for helping me with some of the scenes mentioned in this article.