In the fourth episode of the first season of Gargoyles, Goliath is reunited with a friend while the gargoyles discover their new lives. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Gargoyles.
Oh, there’s so much going on here. Let’s discuss!
Names!
THEY HAVE NAMES NOW AND THEY ARE SO ADORABLE AND PERFECT. I love the idea that they named themselves, first of all, and that they chose names based on New York City and the surrounding boroughs. I hadn’t commented on Hudson’s name in the previous episode, but now’s as good a time as any. Their names are remarkably fitting. Hudson suggests age and power; Broadway is a name of spectacle; I love that Brooklyn and Bronx are included as a sort of rivalry; LEXINGTON IS A GREAT NAME FOR A GARGOYLE. Also, for purely selfish reasons: now these reviews will be easier to write because I know how to refer to everyone. AWESOME.
Exploration
It may not be the main theme of this episode and arc, but you can see how exploration – of their new world and their place in it – plays a huge role in the gargoyles’ lives in modern times. Eliza accompanied Goliath on a tour of NYC; Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway are off on their own, discovering food and taxis; Hudson learns of the endless entertainment provided by American television. There’s a joy and humor communicated through much of this, and I appreciate it, since it offsets the more heavy stuff that’s happening around this. I could see this unfolding throughout the first season, where the gargoyles discover something new about the modern world in each episode.
But this discovery does have a darker edge, one we see during the scenes set in Central Park. At this point, we still don’t know who hired those soldiers to steal from Xanatos and to track down Goliath and kidnap him. But this is part of their world now! They’ve been “awakened” for about 48 hours, and they’re already being hunted down. It’s just the beginning, I assume, especially given what else we learn.
Allegiances
I don’t know her name, but the female gargoyle is PLOTTING SOMETHING. We already know she was in on some sort of deception with Xanatos. For how long, though? Why did Xanatos keep her separate from the others? How could he have possibly known she would help him? I think she was “awakened” earlier than the other gargoyles or she never was caught in the same spell as they were. It makes no sense! Instead, she appears to be the key to Xanatos’s intentions, and it’s why I didn’t trust her. It felt too convenient that she was reunited with her friends, and then the first thing she suggests that they do is… work for Xanatos. Okay. Okay. I don’t buy it.
She’s getting something out of this, but what? Why would she set up her friends to work for Xanatos when she pretty much despises humans? Right??? She was very vocal in the first episode about not trusting humans, and yet here we are. That also doesn’t make sense to me!
Yet she played right into Goliath’s sense of duty. He feels obligated to help Xanatos out after the man set them free. But this still feels like a trap of some sort. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is, what’s on those disks, and who the hell is hunting down Goliath. At least they have a friend who seems genuine: Eliza Maza. How is she going to react to all of this? Surely it won’t be long before she finds out that Xanatos is having them COMMIT CRIME.
Again: this show is great fun, I’M ALREADY GLAD I’M WATCHING IT.
The video for “Awakening, Part IV” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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