In the seventeenth episode of the second season of Gargoyles, I was truly not prepared for how disturbing this show would be. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Gargoyles.Â
Trigger Warning: For body horror.
There’s just so much growth tucked into this episode, even if its the kind of growth that made things way more difficult for the gargoyles. The Pack are fascinating villains in general, especially since they started off as a way for the show to comment on idolatry and disappointment. Since their introduction, however, the Pack have been a thorn in the gargoyles’ side. What’s significant about this episode, however, is that they become much, much worse, all with the help of Xanatos.
It’s hard to talk about that without acknowledging the unnerving framing device in “Upgrade,” which pits the gargoyles and Elisa against the Pack due to Xanatos and Fox. This is such a perfect pair to “Double Jeopardy” because it’s yet another demonstration that Xanatos is only comfortable when he is in control. Unfortunately, he has found someone who is just as obsessed with power as he is, and the two of them secretly manipulate everyone for their own amusement. That’s not surprising, of course, because we’ve seen him do this time and time again. It’s this specific context, however, that makes it so disturbing. The gargoyles and The Pack are pawns to these two. They are means to an end, and here, that end is simply entertainment. They just wanted to see if they could beat the other person through this grand manipulation.
Xanatos offered the Pack upgrades, free of charge. Fox gave the gargoyles tips to find the rest of their clan after they got kidnapped. And the two gods in this machine scheme and plot and plan and no one is the wiser. Which doesn’t negate the choices that the other characters make, I should note! The Pack had to choose to accept those upgrades, though Dingo only takes on armor and eschews the intense body and genetic modifications that the rest of the team accepts. After all the times that they’d been beaten by the gargoyles, however, this was the sort of improvement they needed. And Xanatos knew that! He knew he was appealing to that part of them, the part that wanted to finish off the gargoyles once and for all.
This episode has one of the most intense and upsetting fight sequences in the show thus far, y’all. I am STILL reeling from how violent and how weird it was. Again, the writers don’t fuck around; they commit to the modifications and upgrades that these characters accept, and I WAS NOT READY. Wolf was genetically modified into a humanoid wolf. Jackyl was made into a cybernetic warrior. And Hyena is turned into an unseen extra in The Thing, and I will personally hold this show responsible for the UNHOLY IMAGERY of what she did with her fingers and appendages.
Yet within this nightmare, there’s a really touching plot: Goliath choosing his second-in-command. It’s something Hudson had done long ago, passing the torch to Goliath, and now, given just how close Goliath comes to death on a regular basis, is something Goliath must seriously consider. It inspires an adorable competitive spirit in Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway, who all vie for the role over the course of a month, but it was Brooklyn’s sense of balance and tactical cunning that earns him the role here. It works not only as growth for these characters, but it’s a nice contrast to the way Xanatos “earns” the role of leader from the Pack, which was through manipulation. XANATOS SUCKS, PASS IT ON.
The video for “Upgrade” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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