Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Avalon Part 1

Welcome back to Gargoyles everyone, and welcome to the first installment of the Avalon three-parter.

We open with the Gargoyles waking up from their stone sleep to a beautiful Manhattan evening. While the others go out to patrol the city, Goliath has opted to take the night off and stay home with Bronx so he can finish his book. I like this. Just because the big guy is the leader, it doesn’t mean he’s not entitled to some rest and relaxation every now and then. Elsewhere, a man in full medieval armor pulls up to the docks in central park in a rather odd-looking skiff. It’s worth noting that the man’s armor closely resembles Goliath, meaning two things. One, this man obviously has some sort of connection with the Gargoyles and two, somewhere, Xanatos is watching this from the hidden cameras he probably has placed all over the city and is smiling in silent confidence in the knowledge that his Goliath armor is cooler, which it is. Anywho, as the man walks through the city, he gets accosted by three street thugs. Seriously, what is it with street thugs in this show? This guy is in a full suit of armor and carrying a sword longer than your arm and you think it’s a good idea to pick a fight with this person? These guys are almost as bad as those thugs from Awakening who tried to pick a fight with Goliath. Hey, wait a minute, these guys are the thugs from Awakening who tried to pick a fight with Goliath! Have they learned nothing!? Apparently not as the armored man makes pretty quick work of these losers before the police arrive to intervene. Officer Morgan demands the man drop his sword and at first he’s apprehensive, but upon learning that Morgan is a police officer or a “Guardian, like myself” he submits to the law of the land and surrenders his weapon willingly.

At the precinct, Elisa hears about the armored man from Morgan. At first she thinks he’s a crazy person, but when she hears that he said something about looking for Gargoyles and that he mentioned Goliath by name, it gets her attention. Goliath doesn’t seem to know of any guardian but he agrees that it’s important that they find out who this guy is and what he knows. Elisa lets the armored man go free by telling her Captain that she knows his family, the man saying that if she knows Goliath, one could almost say that she does. They meet up in central park, Goliath having brought Bronx along since the poor little doggy has been feeling a bit cooped up lately. Anywho, the man is overjoyed to see Goliath and seems to act like he knows him but Goliath still has no idea who he is. However, the fact that he knows of Princess Katherine, the Magus and the Gargoyle Eggs combined with the fact that Bronx seems to like him seems to indicate that this is someone to be trusted. Goliath finally asked who this man is. I honestly don’t remember if I mentioned this character by name all the way back in awakening, but, as the armored man reveals, this is Tom, the little boy who befriended the Gargoyles at Castle Wyvern. Goliath and Elisa understandably have questions, like, a lot of questions, but Tom says that there’s no time, the eggs are in danger and they have to move. Tom rushes back to the skiff and entreats the others to climb aboard. Tom also mentions our old pal the Arch-Mage is mixed up in all this as well. In the words of Hermes Conrad: “That Just Raises Further Questions.” Goliath says that if the man is who he says he is, then he is a friend to Goliath’s clan and can be trusted and so Goliath, Elisa and Bronx climb into the boat as Tom recites an incantation to take them to their destination.

Now that they finally have a moment to breath, Elisa asks Tom just what the hell is going on, prompting a flashback to 994 A.D. shortly after the massacre of Castle Wyvern. Princess Katherine, The Magus, Young Tom and his mother Mary have gathered up the Gargoyle eggs left in the rookery and leave the Castle, hoping to find refuge with Katherine’s Uncle Kenneth, King of all Scotland. Before they leave, Tom swears he’ll protect the eggs, leading Katherine to grant him the title of Guardian in a sort of pseudo knighting ceremony. The journey proves long and difficult, but eventually they reach King Kenneth’s castle where they are welcomed with open arms. That evening, a feast is held in honor of Katherine’s safe arrival. It’s here where we are introduced to Finella, a noblewoman who has caught the eye of King Kenneth. Finella feels that the King is a good and decent man, but she only has eyes for Lord Constantine, a dude who, quite frankly, comes across like Duncan from City of Stone and Gaston from Beauty and the Beast did the Dragon Ball Z Fusion Dance. Put simply, he’s a creep.

Later on, we see just how much a creep Constantine is as he clumsily hits on Katherine as she tends to the Gargoyle eggs. Finella is pissed to see this, but Constantine smooths things over by saying that it’s finally time they told the king that they are in love and wish to be married. The King may love Finella, but he is a good man, and would not wish her to be unhappy. They agree to invite the King to the old drying house to break the news. Young Tom overhears this and, sensing that Constantine is up to no good, follows along that evening. In the drying house, the King arrives, but before anyone can say anything, Constantine stabs Kenneth in the back and proclaims himself the new king. In the days that followed, Constantine began a coup, overthrowing any resistance to his new regime, including Princess Katherine, whom he intends to take as his new queen, much to the dismay of Finella. Katherine wants no part of marrying Constantine, but he threatens to have the Gargoyle Eggs destroyed if she refuses so the Princess seems to have no choice.

Well, obviously the Princess isn’t about to marry a self-satisfied murderer, least of all one who thinks an over the shoulder side ponytail is a good look, so something has to be done. Using a spell from the Grimorum, The Magus manages to disguise the Gargoyle Eggs as old kitchenware which Tom takes to the boats. So, they have a plan to escape with the eggs, but Constantine will still hunt Katherine to the ends of the Earth if she leaves. The Magus however, has a plan to take her beyond them. With the assistance of Finella, our heroes drug Constantine and escape on the boats, heading to Oberon’s mystic island of Avalon, a land beyond the boundaries of space and time. With the right spell Avalon can be reached from any body of water, explaining how Tom plans to reach is from the lake in central park. The Magus and the others pierce the veil to the realm of the Children of Oberon where who should be waiting for them but our old friends the Weird Sisters. It seems the Sisters are the guardians of Avalon and Avalon has a strict rule about allowing in any magic save for its own, meaning that the Magus will have to either turn back, or give up the Grimorum. The Sisters try to zap our heroes with a magic spell, but the Magus uses his own magic to deflect it back on the triplets, turning them into owls. However, there’s still the issue of the Grimorum. Even with the sisters out of the way, the rule of Avalon still stands and the Magus cannot bring the book onto the island. Magus is reluctant to give it up as it’s the source of all his magic and, more importantly, it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. Mary and Finella agree to take the book and protect it, meaning that they cannot go with the others to Avalon. As Tom has a tearful farewell with his mother, we return to present day.

Back on the Skiff, Goliath thanks Tom for all he’s done. Elisa still doesn’t understand how Tom can still be alive. Tom explains that time passes differently on Avalon. What was one thousand years in the real world was more like forty for Tom and the others. Goliath asks how the Arch-Mage can still be alive, especially since the last time we saw him, chronologically speaking, he was falling to his death in a cave somewhere. Tom doesn’t know, but however old Archie managed to survive, he’s currently laying siege to Avalon and must be stopped. Our heroes finally arrive on the shores of Avalon and our episode ends with the revelation that the “Eggs” have long since hatched and are now fully-grown Gargoyles.

As I’ve done with previous multi-parters, I’ll be saving and kind of analysis until we get to the end. Join me next weekend for the rest of Avalon where more of our questions are answered.