Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Vows

Welcome back to Gargoyles everybody!

Our episode opens with Goliath and Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes, Take a Shot) already in the throws of combat. Xanatos claims he only called out Goliath so they could talk, but Goliath doesn’t exactly trust Xanatos, and really, can you blame him? In the time they’ve known each other, Xanatos has, stolen Goliath’s castle, manipulated him into taking part in a tech heist, built an army of deadly Laser Robot Gargoyles in his image, put together a team of psychotic mercenaries to hunt him down, tricked him into recovering his stolen property, hired a Gargoyle hunting Scotsman to take his friends captive, framed him for the theft of a priceless jewel, coerced his best friend’s brother to his side only to turn him into an electric tiger monster, turned Goliath's own brother into a twisted undead cyborg with major dissociative identity disorder, broke the group of mercenaries from earlier out of jail, blew up an oil rig and most recently, inadvertently turned his girlfriend into a werewolf and guilt-tripped Goliath into helping him clean up his mess. Xanatos is a lot of things, but trustworthy has never exactly been one of them. So, what does Xanatos want this time? Well, his wedding is coming up and he wants Goliath to be his best man. I’m sorry, what? Even Goliath thinks there’s no way that Xanatos can be serious, but it seems Xanatos is being real with Goliath. That’s the kind of man that Xanatos is, just to show how in control of everything he truly is, the best man at his wedding will be his mortal enemy. That and, I always got the sense that Xanatos likes and respects Goliath, even if they are foes. I mean, few have been able to best him as many times as Goliath, and Xanatos has to find that admirable, even if he may not admit it. Regardless, Goliath wants no part of it, until he hears that Demona will be there.

The following day, a helicopter lands on the Castle containing Fox and a rather crotchety looking old man. This is Petros Xanatos, father to our David Xanatos. It’s clear from moment one that Papa Xanatos doesn’t exactly approve of his son’s extravagant lifestyle, feeling that it would have taught him some humility had David grown up a poor fisherman in Bar Harbor Maine like him. Makes sense that Xanatos is a New Englander like myself. Only a true New Englander can be that smug. Petros does come across as a bit of a jerk, but in his defense, to a normal person, the castle on top of a skyscraper and the Iron Man suit do seem like a bit much. It is also here that we learn how Xanatos made his fortune. At a very young age, David was anonymously sent a coin from the tenth century worth about twenty thousand dollars American. From that, Xanatos formed the foundation of his billion-dollar enterprise. Because of this, old Petros believes that his son hasn’t earned any of the money he’s made, but David says that he’ll soon prove to his father that he’s a self-made man.

Elsewhere, Goliath, in stone sleep, is dreaming of days past. At Castle Wyvern, Demona (Marina Sirtis, Take a Shot) rushes into his arms and they share a loving embrace. The two then attend the wedding of Prince Jackass from Long Way to Morning. While Gargoyle-kind doesn’t really do wedding’s or go in for the traditional family structure, Goliath and Demona are nonetheless fascinated by this human ritual, particularly the exchanging of rings. Demona gets the idea to exchange tokens with Goliath to seal their pledge of love, breaking a talisman she was carrying in half and giving the other half to Goliath. The two have their own symbolic exchange of vows before another embrace. That evening, Goliath is seen walking through the Clocktower to a hidden room where he picks up his half of the talisman from the flashback.

It’s now time for the wedding and Xanatos is sporting a spiffy looking tux. On his lapel is the symbol of the Illuminati, not only confirming that Bluestone was right about their existence, but that Xanatos is a member, though knowing Xanatos, he’s probably playing them just like he plays everyone else. Goliath arrives and Xanatos seems genuinely happy to see him. Following soon after is Demona. Demona says she’s only there because Xanatos insisted and she sees him as a valuable ally and neither knows nor cares why Goliath is in attendance. Goliath tries to remind them of the time they attended the wedding of Prince Jackass, but Demona isn’t interested in reminiscing. The very nervous preacher, who, along with Petros, was briefed on the existence of Gargoyles prior to the ceremony, begins the proceedings. We also learn here that Fox had her name legally changed at one point. That’s not terribly important, but it’s nice to know. As the preacher finishes, Demona storms off and Goliath follows. Xanatos takes Fox by the arm and says “now the fun begins” as they follow the Gargoyles, Petros coming along as well, frustrated by his son’s lack of respect for tradition. Outside, Goliath reminds Demona of the vows they once took showing her his half of the talisman. Demona kept hers too and unites the two halfs. As the talisman is made whole again, Demona starts laughing, calling Goliath a sentimental fool before reciting the incantation “Deslagrate Muri Tempi et Intervalia” which roughly translated from Latin means, “Burn Down the Walls of Space and Time” and the two are engulfed in flames, Xanatos, Fox and Petros also jumping in as all five disappear.

Turns out that talisman was no ordinary trinket. It’s actually an ancient magical device known as The Phoenix Gate and it possesses the power of time travel. The five emerge from the flames in the middle of the woods leading to Petros to ask where they are. Xanatos says that it’s not where they are, it’s when. I’d like to go on record as saying I absolutely despise that stupid trope. I don’t care who says it, they always end up sounding like a douchebag. It’s especially bad here because, in addition to being in a different point in time, they are also indeed in another location. And where are they? Scotland 975 A.D., right outside Castle Wyvern. And suddenly my joke from an earlier article about Xanatos going back in time and arranging the Viking attack doesn’t sound so far-fetched. Demona flies off and Goliath pursues, Demona using the Phoenix Gate to evade him. Meanwhile, some nearby travelers are under attack by Bandits until they’re saved by Xanatos and Fox. The traveler thanks Xanatos for his aid and, spotting his Illuminati pin, agrees to let him accompany him to Castle Wyvern, the man apparently being a member as well.

Goliath meanwhile thinks he’s caught up to Demona but it turns out to be her past self, who glides into the loving arms of HIS past self… well, that’s awkward. What’s even more awkward is when Goliath is caught by past Hudson who at first assumes that our Goliath is a product of dark sorcery. However, Goliath manages to convince his old mentor of what’s really going on and he agrees to distract the two younger Gargoyles so that they won’t create a time paradox. Back with the Xanatos family, we learn that the travelers were escorting Prince Jackass’ bride-to-be to Castle Wyvern. Upon learning that their lives were saved by these mysterious strangers, Prince Jackass rewards Xanatos with several gold coins as well as the promise of fine food, fine lodging and fine clothes. We also learn that the soon-to-be princess has the Phoenix Gate in her possession, a wedding gift to her betrothed.

As you may have guessed, The Phoenix Gate was the reason the princess and her companion were attacked in the first place. And who sent the bandits? Why it’s our old pal the Arch-Mage, voiced once again by the great David Warner. Archie here is furious that his Bandits failed to steal the Gate, as it is one of the three keys to unlocking ultimate magical power. It seems the other two are The Eye of Odin and The Grimorum Arcanorum. Interesting that those are both items we’ve encountered before in the show, and that we saw both of them in the same room where Goliath hid his half of the Gate. The Arch-Mage demands that his apprentice steal the gate from the Princess and bring it to him. The apprentice, revealed to be young Demona, explaining her talent for spellcasting, agrees.

Back with the family Xanatos, we finally learn why Xanatos set all of this up. It seems Xanatos has taken one of the Gold coins given to him by Prince Jackass, sealed it in an envelope and entrusted it to the Illuminati Society with instructions to send it to a young David Xanatos of Bar Harbor Maine in one thousand years. He also gave them a second envelope to be sent years later with a detailed set of instructions on how all of this was set up, proving once and for all that David Xanatos is, indeed, a self-made man. That’s right people, Xanatos made his immense fortune because of a Time Paradox! Xanatos has truly proven himself the ultimate master manipulator. He has manipulated ancient beings of myth, deadly mercenaries and twisted abominations of science all like pieces on a chess board to achieve his goals, and now, he has manipulated time itself! Xanatos has just hit a grand slam! God has retired, All Hail Xanatos! And yet, after all of this, Petros is still unimpressed. Mainly because while he was posturing like some big shot time traveler, he forgot to mention how they’re supposed to get home.

Elsewhere, Demona has stolen the Phoenix Gate, only to run into her older self. Demona wants to talk to herself in private and activates the gate, Goliath spotting them and following through the flames. Demona has brought her younger self twenty years in the future, not long after the massacre of Castle Wyvern. After knocking out Goliath, Demona goes on a tirade about how the humans are to blame for the massacre and how they are the enemy of all Gargoyles. Demona tries to convince herself not to give the gate to the Arch-Mage or share it with Goliath but to use it to destroy the humans and take her rightful place as ruler of all Gargoyles. Young Demona is horrified by what she has become and refuses to become a monster like her future self. The two tussle, but Young Demona is no match for Future Demona’s strength and experience. Goliath intervenes just long enough for Young Demona to get in a good hit, knocking her evil future self unconscious. Young Demona is devastated by the sight of her clan slaughtered and asks Older Goliath what she should do.

“Do Nothing. Do Not Worry. Do Not Wait or Look for this Catastrophe. Live in the moment. Attend the Petty Jealousies and Angers that Prey Upon your Heart. Fortify Yourself with Love and Trust, and you Need Not Fear this Future. But Most of All, Fulfill the Vows of Love you Make, for They can Surely Save you.”

Goliath’s speech is admittedly a little sappy, but it gets the point across and Young Demona swears to live by the words of her older lover. Using the Phoenix gate, the Gargoyles return to twenty years earlier where Xanatos is waiting. Goliath says that he’d gladly leave Xanatos in the past but fears what damage he could do to the time stream. Xanatos smugly responds “But you Won’t, Because you Didn’t. Time Travel’s Funny that way.” As Goliath and the others disappear, leaving Young Demona alone, it seems the Arch-Mage saw the flames and assumes that Demona lost the Phoenix Gate. Archie is ready to blame Demona for its theft, but Hudson swoops in to say that he can’t expose Demona without inadvertently exposing himself, so the angry sorcerer just leaves in a huff. Goliath swoops in and the same scene we saw in Goliath’s flashback from earlier plays out.

As the time travelers return to the present, Demona wakes up in Goliath’s arms. It seems she has clear memories of Goliath’s little inspirational about keeping her vows of love, but it seems to not have altered the course of history and Demona is still her regular angry self. Goliath simply says “More’s the Pity” and Glides off. Our episode ends with Goliath returning to the Clocktower, the others worried and frustrated that he agreed to go in the first place but Goliath says nothing and walks off.

This is an excellent episode. I loved learning how Xanatos made his fortune, and that it was done in a way that only Xanatos could. It was also nice to see David Warner as the Arch-Mage again. I appreciate how a great actor like Warner wasn’t wasted as a one-shot villain in a sub-par episode. And spoilers, this is not the last we’ll seen of ol’ Archie. However, the real meat of this episode was the relationship between Goliath and Demona. While his feelings for Elisa have been firmly established, there was a time where he loved Demona, and, as much as he likely wants to deny it, those feelings are still there somewhere. Seeing Demona again, especially during a wedding like in the flashback, makes him nostalgic and those feelings can’t help but be stirred up once again. Like I said, Golaith’s speech to Young Demona was sappy, but Keith David sells it nicely and you believe that it comes from the heart. Speaking of voice acting, big props to Marina Sirtis for making the Young and Future Demona sound distinct. Speaking of Demona, since the beginning there’s been mystery surrounding her. What really happened to her following the Massacre of Castle Wyvern? How is it possible that she’s been alive for hundreds of Years? What is her connection to the mysterious MacBeth and why does he now hunt her? Well, soon enough, all will be revealed as next time, we kick off the epic four-parter, City of Stone.