In the thirty-seventh episode of the second season of Gargoyles, I’M YELLING, THIS EPISODE IS SO GREAT. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Gargoyles.Â
I literally wrote in the last review that this show is just making everything real because it can and then THE VERY NEXT EPISODE INTRODUCES THE NEW OLYMPIANS. Where is that spin-off? Why don’t I have this show??? A mystical island is shielded from humanity to protect Greek gods and their descendants after humanity rejected them. EXCEPT THEY’RE NOW FORCED TO DEAL WITH REVEALING THEMSELVES TO PEOPLE, and I can’t. I CANNOT. It’s such an incredible idea, and “The New Olympians” takes this premise and knocks it out of the park.
There’s an obvious metaphor here, of course, one about prejudice and treating the whole negatively due to a part. It’s not a bad message, per se, but I’d like to offer up an interpretation of the story that is one major reason why I enjoyed “The New Olympians” as much as I did. At the start of the episode, the writers shock us by having these Greek gods attack Elisa and then hold themselves back once Goliath, Angela, and Bronx make an appearance. After the “Previously On…” segment, it was jarring to see humans on the receiving end of this treatment. Now, if you’ve followed me for a while now, you’ll know that I’m not really a fan of these kind of thought experiments where an oppression dynamic is reversed in order to show the prevailing party how bad the oppressed have it. This is, generally speaking, the easiest way to wield your good intent in a manner to offend other people! (Free advice, y’all.) “The New Olympians” does this, but it’s within a fictional setting. Unfortunately, there are no sentient Greek gods or gargoyles on Earth. IT IS VERY SAD. So, from that standpoint, this reversal of fortunes avoids one of the main roadblocks you’d usually have. It’s not based on an actual oppression, even if there are elements of it we may recognize in other systems.
But there’s a much more important aspect to the worldbuilding here. Right from the start, we recognize that these gods have every fucking reason to be wary around humans. Perhaps they overreact, and perhaps you could argue that they had remained so separate from humanity that they couldn’t see any growth. Regardless, though, I saw this episode as a demonstration of a community that had been historically treated terribly by another group reacting in various ways to a member of that group showing up. We’ve got a spectrum of reactions, from Boreas’s more reasoned (yet still paranoid) response, to Tauras’s doing what he thinks is necessary to protect New Olympia, to… well, outright hatred and violence. BECAUSE WOW, THE NEW OLYMPIANS ARE READY TO FIGHT ON SIGHT OF ELISA. And it sucks since we know that she’s a wonderful person, that she’s loving and caring and empathetic and willing to help others. But how can these gods know that? What are they supposed to do after being forced to create a literal magical haven for themselves after humans nearly wiped them out? And you know, as much as Demona might be misguided at times, there’s still something to this view of humanity. We’ve seen the worst of humans on Gargoyles plenty of times, so even if some people are getting better, could the Olympians really just trust one on sight?
Trust has to be earned, however, and that’s what Elisa eventually does. She earns it, even while she’s being treated abysmally. Should the Olympians have been more receptive towards Elisa? Look, forcing her to LIVE IN NEW OLYMPIA FOREVER is absolutely a shitty, prejudicial decision, and none of them should be surprised that she wanted to escape or that her friends would help her. I understood that they needed to protect their home, but that shouldn’t give them free license to do to Elisa whatever they wanted. And yet! ELISA STILL HELPS TO SAVE THEIR CITY. She still is heroic, even after all of this. WHERE IS HER MEDAL AND HER OSCAR OR WHATEVER.
Ultimately, it’s complicated, and we get a glimpse of a possible future for these characters at the end of “The New Olympians.” Boreas and Tauras discuss revealing themselves to the world, and that is why I want a series. My god, it could be so good! Plus, you’ve already got your built-in antagonist: Proteus, the shape-shifting, Loki-esque character who betrays everyone every chance he gets. There’s so much potential in that, too! UGH, I JUST WANT MORE.
The video for “The New Olympians” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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