In the forty-seventh episode of the second season of Gargoyles, Elisa and the gargoyles take on two foes who are battling it out for control of Manhattan. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Gargoyles.Â
This was a solid episode, but aside from pulling from past storylines, it felt like something that belonged much earlier in the show’s run. It’s kinda hard to do things of this scope after “The Gathering” because THE STAKES ARE SO MUCH BIGGER IN THIS UNIVERSE. Still, it’s a neat episode that brings back Tomas Brod and pits him against Dracon and his men. There are heists! And undercover agents! And a really annoying plot where the gargoyles bicker over which of them “gets” Angela!
Actually, maybe that’s the sole reason this episode didn’t feel spectacular for me. The business between Dracon and Brod is interesting to a point, and usually the secondary plot can pick up the slack. However, I was just so irritated with Broadway, Lexington, and Brooklyn! I understand it’s been a real long time since they were anywhere near another female gargoyles, but it’s not like their behavior here is unrecognizable. Plenty of men behave just like the three of them do once a woman is anywhere near them. Throughout “Turf,” they see Angela as a prize to be won, not a person, not someone worthy of respect, not as someone who gets to choose who she has in her life. And that’s really the most galling aspect of this: each of these gargoyles just assumes that she wants them! No one asks her!
That’s a whole lot of entitlement on display, so I’m glad that the show dispelled this notion. No one is entitled to your attention, and none of these dudes are entitled to Angela’s affection, either. Wrapped up in this storyline, though, is the secondary idea that the gargoyles’ obsession with romancing Angela also made them bad fighters. I got worried that the script might do that thing where it blames a woman’s presence for the poor performance of the men, but thankfully, IT DID NOT. This is not Angela’s fault! The dudes couldn’t control their urges and their attraction, and it made them sloppy, disorganized, and mistrusting. Whose fault is that? THEIRS.
Really, this whole episode is full of men who are just endlessly awful. I was surprised to see Jack Dane again, who must hate Dracon so much that he was willing to team up with Brod. The two of them are full of spite and entitlement themselves, believing Manhattan to be theirs for the taking. This is paired alongside Dracon and his men, who are running a chop shop in the city. I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST HAD A CHOP SHOP EXPLAINED TO ME ON AN ANIMATED KIDS’ SHOW, THAT’S AMAZING. Again: entitlement at work, since these men feel entitled to the property of others. And who hands their ass to them? Elisa. AS ALWAYS, BECAUSE I LOVE HER. She successfully infiltrates Brod’s gang with just an outfit change and a blond wig. ICONIC, Y’ALL. SHE DID THAT. Even after her boss told her to give it all up, she sticks through until the end. So, the moral of the story is: don’t objectify the women around you, and trust that they’re going to get shit done regardless of your doubts or insecurities. I’m guessing that this is the last of Dracon and Brod, though the jail cells in Gargoyles never seem to stay occupied. Ah… it just hit me how close to the end I am. Damn it.
The video for “Turf” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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