Freeform's popular fantasy show 'Shadowhunters' is back with the second half of its third and final season, and the premiere episode was a wonderful response to the very frustrating and emotional cliffhanger the season 3A finale ended with. For starters, Clary Fray (Katherine McNamara) is definitely not dead, but her friends struggle to find her whereabouts and whether or not she is alive, among other developments.

One of the biggest takeaways from the multiple teasers and the compact trailer released ahead of the premiere was the prospect of Maia Roberts (Alisha Wainwright) coming back into her ex-flame, Simon Lewis' (Alberto Rosende), life. At the same time, there were some major hints something romantic is finally brewing between Simon and Izzy Lightwood (Emeraude Toubia).

Naturally, there was a lot of buzz among fans about possible bad blood between Simon's ex, and his future romantic interest. As it turns out, however, none of that is going to culminate into anything real. If the premiere episode is an example of how Izzy and Maia's dynamics are going to be for the rest of the season, the two are definitely not going to explore a rivalry over Simon's affection.

Maia's return to the rest of the gang following Clary's disappearance, was to help them fight the threats posed by the return of this season's prime antagonist, Jonathan Morgenstein (Luke Baines.) We get to see alpha werewolf Luke Garroway's (Isiah Mustafa) active interest in elevating Maia to the ranks of pack leader, and that will mean more responsibility when it comes to fighting evil and slaying demons.

So, even as Maia tried to rope Simon out of his guilt-driven solitude over Clary's death, we did not see her relationship with Izzy tainted, despite the latter teaming up with Simon to destroy the Mark of Cain, which seems to have 'killed' Clary. Speaking of which, as thrilled as we are to discovering Clary is actually alive, it is, however, she who is also responsible for bringing Jonathan back from the dead.

The two are half-siblings and even though we are supposed to root for the good and pray for Jonathan's insidious intent to be destroyed, there's no denying that in this final season of the show, there's a possibility we might actually start feeling for the poor guy. Even though he is the evil one here, there's no overlooking the genuine care and affection he shows towards Clary. It can almost be labeled protective, the way he tries to take Clary under his wing, and welcome her to join the dark side, and in true Machiavellian style, we - as viewers - end up feeling bad for the bad guy.

The other big takeaway from the premiere episode was, of course, the new dynamics of Malec, which we have addressed before, and so have fans, by going berserk over it on social media. As Magnus Bane (Harry Shum Jr.) struggles to cope with the loss of his magic, we see him turn into more of a homely boyfriend to Alec Lightwood (Matthew Daddario.)

Magnus is still every bit the sassy, flamboyant fighter, but he is also indulging in romantic breakfasts in bed, and allowing Alec to amp up their physical training sessions. Quite an out of the box Malec, if you will, as compared to the previous seasons. As they embark on their more cutesy romance with steamy work out sessions, it's hard to conclude whether this will be their demeanor in general throughout the season, but we aren't complaining. We are just happy to see Malec back in action!

'Shadowhunters' returns with episode 12 of season 3B Monday, March 4, at 8/9c, only on Freeform.