Simon and Jace Downworlder Shadowhunter relationships an over view.

This post will be mostly focused on the first and second seasons of Simon as he is dragged into the shadow world, unwillingly he is turned into a vampire without his consent, and has to learn to adapt,  we see that he is horrified at what happens to him yet we see Jace beside Clary to support her as he has tolerated Simon from the start, he does become quite an asset in the Shadow World, yet we see him struggle with the fact that he has been turned into a monster, from a mundane that is trying to drag clary out of this world. 

At this stage we see clary still seeking answers to why her mother didn't want her to be part of the Shadow world, we do very quickly find out why and we get a look into the mindsets of the Shadow hunters to the "Mundane," world.  We see in this clip that Jace is very confident in his abilities and isn't impressed with Simon at all, he thinks that Clary would be better off without him yet in the first couple of days we see that Simon sees how they all treat Alec and it's not great, as Simon says they treat him like a lap dog.  In admitting that he cares for Alec we see that this would mean that they do have a bond beyond what is a normal sibling relationship. I have discussed it in some posts ( but when I am settled in my new place will do the research around where this bond comes from and the ideas behind it comes from). As when Clary comes into the Shadow world Simon does too as well, as they say, they are a package deal, as Simon is trying to protect her, and get her out before it is too late.  Simon can also see the reality of  Jace's relationship with Alec and how it starts to get strained, he is telling the truth in this clip below that it's not only Jace but it is all of the lightwoods that treat Alec poorly.  

(1) Shadowhunters 1x06 Of Men & Angels Sneak Peek #2 // Jace and Simon [SUB ITA] - YouTube

 He is now stuck in the Shadow world and it is challenging for him because he is now a vampire, so he has to adapt, we do see Raphaelle, Luke, and Magnus try to guide Simon yet Simon is in a denial stage of accepting what he is, as he does need to grief his old life and accept his new one, as it will look very different to the one that he had.  He was a normal young adult that has had his world turned upside down. 

Shadowhunters | Season 1, Episode 8: Simon Runs Away | Freeform - YouTube

Yet he is now stuck in the world and it is challenging for him because he is now a vampire, so he has to adapt, we do see Raphaelle, Luke, and Magnus try to guide Simon yet Simon is in a denial stage of accepting what he is, as he does need to grief his old life and accept his new one, as it will look very different to the one that he had.  He was a normal young adult going to college playing music and now he can't go back to that life though we do see him try to. 

This again is quite traumatic for him and we see that the Shadow world is quite trauma-inducing, and responses to trauma can vary you can get stuck in a very unproductive loop or you can learn from it and move past it.   This is post-traumatic growth, where you grow from your challenges and move past them, and are not stuck in the past but you can move forward, and find meaning in this season in your life.  We see most of what was termed "team, good," move into this growth and freedom, however, we do see that the villains are very emotionally stuck in their behavior so are still causing drama in the shadow world. 

 Shadowhunters | Season 2, Episode 10: Simon Drinks Clary’s Blood | Freeform - YouTube

This clip is taken from those of demon blood, and it shows a massive progression from Jace resenting Simon to respecting his struggle, as he was living at the Jade wolf at the time and tolerated it but was not really accepted.  As he didn't fit in with the clan at the Hotel de mort, due to not wanting to accept he was a vampire,  however, Jace being willing to let Simon feed on him is a massive development, as it means that Jace has learned to trust him, however at this point in time I believe that Jace was questioning his existence, however, this has a happy ending for Simon that we find out that Jace has pure angel blood and this turns Simon into a day lighter so a vampire that can walk in the sun, however, it being the down world becomes challenging, because it makes him a target.  As he has everything that a vampire wants.

Shadowhunters | Season 2, Episode 12: Simon Questions Clary About Jace | Freeform - YouTube  We see that they have accepted their circumstance and the fact that Clary and Jace aren't brother and sister is a massive plot twist yet we do see that the relationships between Jace and Simon of what becomes mutual respect, to friendship, become that Jace is willing to save Simon from himself, he is also able to respect Clary's decision to be with Simon.  

Background reading for this post

Post-traumatic growth - Wikipedia

Five stages of grief - Wikipedia 

Feeling Emotionally Stuck & Hopeless | Dr. Eva A. Malanowski (drevamalanowski.com)