Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: City of Stone Part 2

Welcome back to City of Stone. Last Time, Demona appeared on television to cast a spell that would turn all who saw and heard it to stone. This was especially bad for Xanatos as one of the people who saw the broadcast was Fox who is not only his beloved wife and one true weakness, but also happened to be flying his helicopter at the time. Also, we got a flashback to Demona’s life after the massacre of Castle Wyvern and how she chose to save the life of a young MacBeth instead of destroy her foe, the mysterious Gargoyle Hunter. Said Hunter also killed MacBeth’s father on order of MacBeth’s Douchebag cousin, Prince Duncan. As a reward, he’s been made lord of MacBeth’s Castle. Oh, and there are also these creepy shapeshifting triplets who are manipulating events behind the scenes. Everybody got that? Cool! Let’s go!

So, where did we leave off? Oh yeah, Xanatos’s helicopter was crashing to the ground. Thinking quickly, Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes, Take a Shot) manages to take control of the helicopter and brings it to a sage landing in the middle of the street. Seeing the city is full of statues, Xanatos decides he needs to have a chat with Demona, a chat that involves a high-tech laser rifle. Not sure how I feel about Xanatos just leaving his defenseless wife in the helicopter, but knowing Xanatos, that thing is probably bullet proof, laser proof, magic proof and of course, will electrocute anyone who tries to get in. I’m starting to believe that’s a standard feature of air travel in this world.

Anywho, we join the Gargoyles in the clocktower who are understandably confused by the statue of Elisa left for them. Keep in mind, the Gargoyles don’t know about Demona’s broadcast yet, so they have no reason to think that this is the real Elisa. Brooklyn deduces that this statue must be a gift from Elisa but Goliath can’t help but note that something feels off, especially since the real Elisa is nowhere to be found. Goliath says that they need to make sure nothing happens to the statue until they figure out what’s going. Goliath orders Broadway and Bronx to guard the Clocktower while everyone else goes out to patrol the city. While gliding over the city, the Gargoyles can’t help but notice that things seem abnormally quiet. Our heroes check in on Hudson’s friend Robbins from A Lighthouse in a Sea of Time. Remember, Demona’s spell only worked on those who both saw and heard the broadcast. Since Robbins is blind, the spell didn't actually affect him. Robbins is happy to see Hudson and his friends, but he too has noticed that the city seems strangely quiet. Robbins mentions something about an odd Broadcast that’s still playing. The Gargoyles see this, immediately realize what’s going on and glide off in search of Demona.

We then join Demona (Marina Sirtis, Take a Shot) in… what is frankly one of the most gruesome scenes in the entire show. Sure there’s no blood or gore or anything, but the implications are still deeply unsettling, especially given the show’s target demographic. Demona, armed with a mace and a laser rifle, is smashing the human statues to bits, laughing and cracking jokes all the while. Essentially, Demona is committing mass murder right before our very eyes. I will hand it to the creators, this took real hutzpah to take one of the primary villains of the show and push her this far off the deep end. Not only is she murdering humans left and right, she’s enjoying it. This scene perfectly illustrates how far gone Demona truly is at this point. We’ve seen hints here and there of how straying from the Gargoyle way of life in her pursuit of vengeance has corrupted her over the centuries, but here we see the extent of it. So long has that hatred been allowed to fester within her that she’s completely blind to the fact that she’s reenacting the very event that spawned it. Note her weapon of choice, a mace, the very weapon Hakon used to slaughter her people. Demona had used one in the flashback to murder the guards last episode, showing that this corruption was strong even back then. Now, she slaughters innocent bystanders, simply because they share a species with those who murdered her clan. One thousand years of hatred and a lust for vengeance that can never be satisfied has turned Demona into a monster. Anywho, Demona says she needs to head for Pack Media Studios to make sure Xanatos doesn’t pull the plug on her broadcast. Elsewhere, MacBeth, still wearing the mask of the Hunter, has traced the source of the Broadcast to Pack Media Studios and is heading there as well.

We now jump to another flashback. It seems twelve years have passed since last time as Demona once again battles the Hunter. While the two prove equally matched, the sun is about to come up, meaning that Demona needs to retreat. At Castle Moray, MacBeth, now a man, is furious that Bodhe, by order of Prince Duncan, has decreed that his daughter and MacBeth's lover, Gruoch is to marry Lord Gillecomgain. I don’t agree with it necessarily, but I honestly can’t blame Bodhe for this decision. He’s well aware of MacBeth and Gruoch’s love for one another, but he also knows that to defy an order from Duncan would be an act of treason and if she and MacBeth were to run away, there would be nowhere for them to hide. It may be the coward’s way out, but the man is only thinking of his daughter’s safety, if not necessarily her happiness. MacBeth doesn’t like it, but he sees reason in what Bodhe says, and, with a very heavy heart, tells his beloved that marrying Gillecomgain is the right thing to do. Before we know it, Gruoch and Gillecomgain are married in what is probably the most unenthusiastic wedding ceremony I’ve ever seen.

Later that night, Duncan meets with Gillecomgain in secret. It seems Duncan once again has need of the Hunter, this time to kill MacBeth. However, it turns out the power he’s been granted has made Gillecomgain a little big for his britches as the scar-faced man refuses. The way Gillecomgain figures, he’s in a unique position to expose Duncan for the role he played in the murder of Lord Findlaech and knows that Duncan won’t put his position of power at risk, so he’s free to do as he pleases. Well, Duncan isn’t going to take this act of defiance lying down so later that night, he summons MacBeth to inform him that Gillecomgain is the man who killed his father. He likely hopes to pit them against one another, believing that they’ll kill each other and solve both of his problems. And, if one lives, he can probably hang the other with probably cause. Problem solved!

At Demona’s cave, the Weird Sisters once again visit in their Gargoyle form. They’ve actually been popping up here and there all over this story and will continue to do so throughout the remaining episodes of this four-parter. If I pointed it out every time they showed up, things would get distracting so I’m limiting it to times where they directly interact with our main characters. Also, since we’re on the subject, I have been stupidly forgetting to give a shout out to the great and prolific voice actress, Kath Soucie, who voices all three Weird Sisters. It was damn near impossible to grow up in the 90’s without hearing Soucie’s voice, and it’s still pretty hard today. To list all of her roles would take far too long but the one she’s perhaps best known for is that of both Phil and Lil from Rugrats. She’s also voiced a few characters in episodes we’ve previously covered such as Princess Catherine from Awakening and Maggie from Metamorphosis. Anywho, the triplets inform Demona that the Hunter has once again resurfaced at Castle Moray and that this is yet another opportunity for Demona to ally herself with MacBeth. Demona once again refuses, saying that she’ll never ally with a human again, the tone in her voice carrying a great deal of regret given what happened the last time she trusted a human. The Weird Sisters persist in their argument that allying with MacBeth is the best course of action, and while Demona still isn’t interested, she is nonetheless not willing to waste an opportunity to strike down her long-time foe.

At Castle Moray, MacBeth confronts Gillecomgain on the battlements and the two begin to sword fight. Gillecomgain is tough, as you’d expect from a guy who’s been fighting Gargoyles most of his adult life, and manages to outfight MacBeth for most of the duel, but MacBeth gets in a lucky shot and manages to disarm his father’s killer. That’s when Gillecomgain fights dirty, grabbing Gruoch and using her as a human shield. However, it’s at this point where Demona swoops in. Seeing an adversary he deems worthy of his skills, Gillecomgain forgets all about MacBeth and engages Demona. I especially like this one bit where Gillecomgain points to his scars and goes on about how Demona was the one who gave them to him only to become enraged when Demona doesn't even remember him. It reminded me a lot of the famous "It Was Tuesday" scene from the Jean Claude Van Damme Street Fighter Movie, good stuff! The two brawl to the edge of the battlements where they both fall over the edge. The Hunter falls to his death, but MacBeth, remembering how she saved his own life years ago, saves Demona. Demona declares that she and MacBeth are now even as she glides off. Sometime later, MacBeth and Gruoch are married and MacBeth’s stewardship over his family’s castle has been restored. However, all is not well as Duncan watches the ceremony from the shadows, donning the mask of the Hunter himself.

As we finally rejoin our heroes in the present, Goliath is horrified by Demona’s actions, seeing this as no different than the massacre at Castle Wyvern. Goliath has previously struggled with the question of how to deal with Demona. They can’t very well lock her up in prison and the possibility of killing her has been met with “I will not discuss the alternative.” But now, seeing what she’s done, it’s clear to Goliath that Demona is beyond hope of redemption or remorse and her evil must somehow be brought to a permanent end. The Weird Sisters appear once again in the form of creepy talking statues and warn Goliath that while Demona must be stopped, Goliath must be careful not to become what he fights against as vengeance begets nothing but a vicious cycle of further vengeance.

At Pack Media Studios, Demona has arrived and is about to smash the stone statue of Owen, but Xanatos is waiting for her and is ready to blast Demona into oblivion with a laser rifle. Demona charges at him and while Xanatos holds his own, he’s still no match for a seasoned Gargoyle warrior without his battle suit. One moment during the fight I really like is when the statue of Owen is knocked over and Xanatos drops everything to make sure his assistant and friend isn’t smashed, even though it leaves him vulnerable to Demona’s attack. I do appreciate any signs we see that while Xanatos may deny it, he does care about the people in his life more than he lets on. Anywho, the fight is interrupted by the arrival of MacBeth in the guise of the Hunter. Demona, recognizing the mask, is enraged at the very sight of it and attacks. MacBeth blasts Demona, but strangely, he seems to feel the pain as well. This somehow clues Demona in to who it is behind the mask and she retreats, Macbeth pursuing her through the city via a grappling rope he attached to her foot. MacBeth is relentless, but Demona finally manages to shake him when she knocks him into the side of a building, though Macbeth makes it clear that Demona won’t lose him so easily as he calls for his jet.

Back at the studio, Xanatos has killed the power, ending Demona’s broadcast, but it seems to have done nothing to break the spell. The Gargoyles arrive and Goliath is enraged to learn that Xanatos played a part in this madness. The big guy is about ready to tear Xanatos’s throat out over all the innocent lives Demona has taken but Xanatos approaches things more rationally. Sure Goliath can kill him, but that won’t solve the problem. Demona’s curse is bigger than anything Xanatos or the Gargoyles have faced and to bring it to an end, they’re going to need to work together. Xanatos proposes a truce and Goliath reluctantly agrees as the two foes shake hands, ending Part Two.

This part certainly raises the stakes and does a great job of showing how far gone Demona truly is. Next time, we get more of her history with MacBeth and the Gargoyles reluctantly align with Xanatos to bring an end to this nightmare as we continue City of Stone.