Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Outfoxed

Welcome everyone, to another exciting episode of Gargoyles!

We open today’s episode with a news report about Cyberbiotics. If that name sounds familiar, you may recall that Xanatos moved an entire castle stone by stone to the top of a skyscraper thus fulfilling a thousand-year-old prophecy and awakening a clan of winged monsters just so he could rob them. You may also recall that in the process, the airship that Cyberbiotics was using as a mobile laboratory went down in flames thanks to Demona and Goliath. Well, it seems that since, a new airship has been built and is soon to take its maiden voyage. While Halcyon Renard, the reclusive CEO of Cyberbiotics, was not available for comment, Renard’s right-hand man, Preston Vogel has agreed to be interviewed in his stead. You may notice right away that Vogel bares a striking resemblance to our good buddy Owen. Lazy character design, or perhaps something more. Vogel says that this time around he and Renard are taking no chances. It seems Renard blames the success of the sabotage of the first airship on human error. To eliminate that problem, the ship will now be crewed entirely by robots, the only two humans aboard this voyage will be Mr. Renard and himself. We also learn that building this airship has all but depleted Renard’s personal fortune, meaning that if this project fails, then both he and Cyberbiotics will be completely ruined. Watching the news report is Fox, who seems particularly excited by that last part.

As the airship takes off Goliath and Elisa are seen looking on. It seems Goliath feels guilty over being tricked into crashing the first airship, so he’s decided to keep an eye on this one in case Xanatos tries something. However, when Vogel and see a huge winged purple monster in their rearview mirror, one that looks a lot like the thing that trashed the last airship, somehow, they don’t seem to think that he’s there to help. In response, Renard sends out a fleet of security robots. Goliath humorously attempts diplomacy, but there’s no reasoning with machines. Goliath takes out many of the robots, but there are simply too many for him to handle alone and he finds himself overwhelmed and captured.

Goliath wakes up in a holding cell aboard the airship. He tries to break free but, surprise surprise, the bars are electrified. We finally get a good look at Renard as he arrives with Vogel and well, frankly, he looks a bit like a cross between Professor Xavier and Mr. Burns from that one episode where he became a germaphobe. Weird character design or... no it's just weird character design. Renard assumes that Goliath is a product of Gen-U-Tech sent by Xanatos to sabotage the airship, but Goliath insists he serves no one. Renard is skeptical, especially since he has footage of Goliath robbing the last airship. Goliath insists that it wasn’t his fault since Xanatos tricked him, but this only sets Renard off. It seems that Renard is really big on personal integrity and responsibility. In Renard’s eyes, the fact that Goliath was duped in no way absolves him of any responsibility for trashing the first airship. We also get a sense that this lack of personal integrity has caused Renard to become disillusioned with the human race in general. Goliath has had enough of being held captive and breaks out of his cell, only for Renard to calmly zap him by pressing a button on his wheelchair. Renard leaves after intstructing Vogel to place Goliath in a stronger cell. When the coast is clear, Vogel receives a call from Fox. It seems Fox has paid off Vogel to sabotage the airship, and now that they have Goliath in custody, they have the perfect candidate to take the blame.

We get a brief scene of Fox and Xanatos (Jonathan Frakes, Take a Shot) sparring in the private dojo we saw back in The Edge. Xanatos notes that Fox seems a bit distracted and wonders if she’s having second thoughts about screwing over Renard. If Fox’s plan succeeds Renard will be completely ruined, and he’s not exactly a young man anymore. I actually like this, as it further demonstrates that while Xanatos may have looser morals than most, he still has standards. Stealing from the guy to accomplish his own goals is one thing, but leaving an old man completely destitute, even the mighty Xanatos may hesitate before carrying out that plan. In any case Fox doesn’t seem too worried however and believes that Cyberbiotics will be hers come morning. The sparring session is interrupted by a phone call from Fox’s doctor saying something about test results.

Back on the airship, Goliath, now in a stronger holding cell, continues to profess his innocence, but Renard doesn’t care. He knows all about Xanatos and what he’s capable of. It’s worth noting that Renard mentions off hand that Owen was once a Cyberbiotics employee before going to work for Xanatos. I wonder if he and Vogel ever exchanged fashion tips. Anywho, Renard has no doubt that Xanatos was behind the attack on the first airship and has no doubt Goliath was tricked, but that doesn’t change the fact that Goliath’s actions caused the destruction of the airship and he must take responsibility. Meanwhile, Vogel implants a chip in one of the robots causing it to infect the others. Back down in the holding cell, Goliath asks Renard what he plans to do with him and Renard isn’t sure. His first choice would be to turn Goliath over to the authorities, but Goliath knows that if Renard does that, he’ll spend the rest of his life as some kind of laboratory specimen. Finally, Goliath swallows his pride and takes full responsibility for the destruction of the first airship. Renard commends Goliath for admitting to it and Goliath says that it was not easy. Renard responds by saying that Integrity is never easy, it’s a daily struggle and can sometimes prove costly. It’s apparently cost Renard a great deal, alluding to someone he obviously cares very deeply for named Janine. Goliath sympathizes, as his choice to uphold his own personal code of honor and responsibility once cost him someone he loved as well. Hearing this, Renard starts to think that perhaps Goliath and he aren’t as different as he thought. Goliath says that he owes Renard a great dept for having wronged him in the past, and a greater dept for reminding him of his own personal responsibilities. The Gargoyle vows to do anything he can to make things right.

However, the meaningful exchange between Goliath and Renard is interrupted by the robots acting strangely. Renard contacts Vogel who says that the robots have all gone haywire and have taken over the ship, sending it on a collision course with Cyberbiotics Tower. The only way to prevent massive casualties is to activate the emergency self-destruct on the airship. Vogel also blames Goliath for all of this, saying that he must have allowed himself to be captured so he could sabotage the robots. Renard isn’t stupid and realizes that Goliath sabotaging the ship doesn’t really make any sense. Goliath pleads with Renard to release him, even showing that he could have broken his restraints at any time but chose not to as a show of good faith. Renard isn’t sure about this, but it’s not like he has much of a choice so he opens the holding cell. Goliath tears the robots apart, ironic given that Renard was so pissed at him for breaking his property. I will say, I love this old trick that kids shows would pull back in the day. You can be as violent and brutal as you want as long as your hero is only fighting robots. Renard sends Goliath to the ship’s AI core where he’ll be able to shut down all the robots simultaneously while Renard himself will try to make his way to the command deck to manually alter course. Over the intercom, Vogel insists that Renard join him in the escape pod, but Renard says he'll go down with the ship, one way or the other. Meanwhile, Goliath manages to shut down the AI core by throwing one of the robots into it. Nice! Renard arrives at the command deck only to remember that manual override requires two pilots. Fortunately, it seems Renard’s speech about going down with the ship has caused Vogel to have a change of heart. And so Vogel arrives to help his employer pilot the ship to safety.

Once the ship is safe, Vogel, thanks to some intimidation on Goliath’s part, makes a full confession. I swear I thought Vogel was going to piss his pants while Goliath was all up in his grill like that. That’s what you get Vogel, Owen would never have pulled a stunt like this. Renard sees Vogel’s betrayal as a sign that humanity is truly devoid of integrity but Goliath disagrees. The real folly here was placing all of one’s trust in mindless machines. Machines no nothing of honor, integrity or responsibility, they only know what they are programmed to know. Only a living being has the ability to change, make new choices, learn from past mistakes and atone when they have wronged another. While Vogel may have betrayed Renard, in the end, he chose to do the honorable thing. Renard says that Goliath has given him a great deal to think about, but one thing he’s very sure about is that Goliath’s dept to him is now square and they part ways as friends.

However, as Goliath glides away, someone with a hang-glider and a ninja costume makes their way onto the ship. It’s soon revealed that this is Fox, or as Renard knows her, Janine, his daughter. Admittedly, the fact that “Renard” is the French word for "Fox" is a bit of a dead giveaway. It seems Renard knows that Fox was behind the sabotage but what he doesn’t understand is why. Renard built the company fully intending for his daughter to inherit it one day, and even with his disapproval of his daughter’s taste in men, he still probably would’ve just given it to her if she’d just asked, but Fox thinks that just asking for it wouldn’t have been any fun. Besides, that’s not really what Fox is here for. It’s here where Fox drops a massive bombshell. Remember those test results from earlier in the episode? Well congratulations Renard, you’re going to be a grandfather! That’s right, Fox is pregnant!

This episode was actually pretty awesome, and a lot of that is due to Renard. He’s strict and perhaps sometimes even cold-hearted, but he believes in integrity and responsibility above all else and is disgusted when others do not meet his high standards. I do like the dialogue between him and Goliath and how Goliath slowly earns his respect. Keith David brought his A-Game to this one and turns in a stellar performance. I also like how Goliath trashing the airship wasn’t just something that was never brought up again and it makes sense that Goliath would feel a sense of responsibility to the new one since he was the one who caused its predecessors destruction. The twist at the end where we learn that Fox is Renard’s daughter is executed very well and I actually rather enjoyed the way they interacted with one another. They obviously love one another, but they are such different people that they have a hard time understanding one another. It actually reminds me a lot of the relationship I have with my own parents. Anywho, next time, Xanatos kidnaps one of the Gargoyles to use a guinea pig for a process that could help him achieve his true ambition, immortality in The Price.