In the twenty-fourth episode of the second season of Gargoyles, Goliath is tested by his own guilt. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Gargoyles.Â
Yo, this is one heavy episode, y’all, and it’s only in hindsight that I’m appreciating just how challenging it is to watch. Most people wouldn’t touch a story about a hero questioning whether or not the decision they made long ago was the right thing to do, but HERE WE ARE. “Shadows of the Past” devotes an entire episode to such a struggle, and even if there’s an external force at work here, it doesn’t dilute Goliath’s internal conflict. Had Goliath made the right decision? Should he have saved Princess Katherine, or had he put all his rookery siblings at risk?
Angela quickly pointed out that this logic didn’t really work; if Goliath hadn’t done that, then Katherine never would have been around to protect the gargoyle eggs. But the events of that night weigh heavily on him because of the two spirits who toy with Goliath, who have focused their rage and hatred on him for A THOUSAND YEARS. And in terms of spirit lore, that’s a pretty surefire way for a spirit to gain the power to affect someone else with hallucinations. Add to that the magic of the Archmage’s cavern, and it’s a nightmare of possibilities.
Of course, Goliath doesn’t know that Hakon and the Captain of the Guard, who died when they fell into the cavern long ago, have been trapped by magic and haunt the place. When he arrived, it was their only chance at release, though at his expense. So, the magic of Avalon must have wanted Goliath to resolve this part of himself before he moved on, which fascinates me. Will the other characters be tasked with resolving problems elsewhere in the world? How would that work for Angela, who has lived her entire life on one island? Perhaps the Avalon magic just knows what each person is good at and assigns tasks based on that???
Okay, I’m getting way ahead of myself. In this specific instance, Goliath is sent back to the cavern near Castle Wyvern so that he can close a chapter of his past. I understood why he wasn’t as defensive about all of this, though; he truly gelt guilty about the decision he made that fateful night. It’s why Angela’s defense didn’t register in any significant way. Maybe things turned out well, but many of his rookery siblings still perished regardless. For a good portion of this episode, I actually believed that Goliath’s conscience was what tormented him so fiercely. What if the magic merely exacerbated it and manifested it with hallucinations?
That would have been a neat story, but I’m actually much more pleased with the completion of the story for Hakon and the Captain of the Guard. The Captain’s betrayal of Goliath and the gargoyles was one of the most cutting moments in the early part of the show. It seemed so counter to who he was as a person, and this episode confirms that he ALWAYS KNEW HIS BETRAYAL WAS AN AWFUL THING. It’s because of it that he decides not to repeat history and his own mistakes, and he turns on Hakon just before the two of them kill Goliath and steal his life force. It’s a very abrupt character change, so it doesn’t have the same power as the Magus’s redemption arc. Yet I’d argue that it still fits within Gargoyles‘s greater themes of good and evil, of how complicated humans are within the context of moral struggles. The Captain’s change of heart is a sign that goodness is a choice, and in the end, he chose to let go of all the hatred that had most likely kept him trapped in that cavern.
Visually, this is a dark and disturbing episode, but it was also a necessary character moment for Goliath. I’m glad that the show isn’t also pitting Elisa and Angela against one another in any way and instead letting them exist as their own characters who still support Goliath. BRAVO.
The video for “Shadows of the Past” can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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