Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Golem

Welcome back to Gargoyles everyone and welcome back to the World Tour Arc.

We open in Prague where a high-speed chase is already in progress. The pursued man, a crime boss and arms dealer named Tomas Brod, who as it happens is voiced by the always awesome Clancy Brown, manages to give the police the slip by abandoning his car, leaping off a bridge and landing in a passing motorboat. However, what’s really interesting is who’s driving the boat, our favorite professional Owen Burnett lookalike (or is it the other way around), Preston Vogel. And of course, if Vogel is here, that means his boss, Halcyon Renard can’t be too far behind. And indeed, there Renard sits in the back of the boat, having apparently forgiven Vogel after his botched hostile takeover attempt. At the same time, the Avalon Skiff emerges from the mist and passes the boat, Goliath and Renard spotting one another. Goliath thinks that Renard might be able to help our heroes get home and goes looking for him, complete with a beautifully animated sequence of Goliath flying over the city.

While Goliath searches for Renard, Elisa explores the city and bumps into a man named Max who informs her where she is. However, Max is for more than just a random off the streets as we learn as he enters the house of a suspicious old man. As it turns out, Max is a direct descendant of Rabbi Loew, the man who was said to have given life to the legendary Golem of Prague, protector of the Jewish community, something we see elaborated upon in a pretty cool flashback. Because of his lineage, it is believed that Max will be able to awaken the Golem and protect the city from Brod and his thugs. Max is lead upstairs and sees the Golem itself, covered in cobwebs from remaining immobile for centuries. However, before Max can read the incantation to give the Golem life, Brod and his men arrive with intent to steal the Golem.

Elsewhere, Goliath returns to the others, having met with Renard in a scene too brief for its own paragraph and finding the old man to be oddly dismissive of him. However, in the distance, he spots the same hovercraft he spotted outside Renard’s place hovering over a tall building in the distance. Sensing something is up, Goliath and the others glide out to intervene. Brod and his men start making off with the Golem as the Gargoyles attack, Goliath and Angela fighting from the air and Elisa and Bronx defending Max and the old man. While the Gargoyles get their hits in, Brod manages to shoot Goliath out of the air and escape with the Golem. Once everyone recovers, Max, who seems to be taking the purple winged monsters very much in stride as is to be expected when not five minutes ago he was trying to bring to life a four-hundred-year-old Stone Statue to take down a shady arms dealer (see Elisa, this is how not to be a skeptic), brings Goliath and the others up to speed about the Golem. I appreciate the fact that Goliath seems to see the Golem as a kindred spirit since it’s purpose, much like his own, is to act as a protector. Max blames himself for the Golem getting taken, to which Goliath reacts angrily. This is not Max’s fault. Brod is to blame for this crime, and if Goliath’s suspicions are correct, which we know they are, Brod is working for Renard. Goliath glides off to confront the man he thought was his friend.

At Renard’s base, Renard seems to have some sort of ritual set up involving the Golem. Goliath bursts in wondering what happened to the man of great integrity he once knew. It would seem Renard’s degenerative illness has progressed to the point where his death is inevitable, and he just wants to be able to live and walk again. Renard recently discovered an incantation to transfer his soul into the Golem. Likely having too much pride to ask Fox and Xanatos to build him a cool cyborg body (even though they’d probably do it) Renard sees the Golem as his last chance. Goliath understands Renard’s desperation, but feels it is wrong to deprive the people of Prague of their protector at a time when it is needed. Renard doesn’t listen and proceeds with the ritual. The ritual is a success and Renard stands up as the Golem. Goliath tries to talk some sense into Renard, but the immense power of his new body seems to have gone to Renard’s head since after incapacitating Goliath, he goes on a rampage, destroying parts of the city simply because he can.

Back with Max and the others, after an adorable moment where the old man is petting Bronx, Renard smashes through the wall, believing that Max may have access to a spell that could banish him from his new body. Angela and Bronx attack, but Renard tosses them around, only hesitating after Elisa accuses him of enjoying this. Goliath arrives, and after a brief struggle, Renard, the Gargoyle finally gets through to Renard, forcing the old man to realize that, in his desperation, he betrayed everything he once stood for. Renard returns to his body, thus returning control of the Golem to Max. With the Help of the Gargoyles, Max and The Golem manage to run Brod out of town. Renard offers to take Goliath home, but Goliath has come to realize that Avalon is taking him to all these places for a reason and he must see that through to the end. The final shot of our episode show Max and the Golem standing on a rooftop, much in the same manner as the Gargoyles, symbolizing that the city is under their protection.

You know, I was totally prepared to hate this episode, but honestly, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I initially expected. It was cool to see Renard again, and while it can initially seem like his desire to merge with the Golem is a bit out of character, in my opinion, it humanizes him. This wasn’t some evil scheme or bid for power, it was simply a man who allowed himself to become momentarily corrupt in his desperation. Only through Goliath’s intervention does he see the error of his ways. The theme of this episode seems to be one of destiny, be it Max’s destiny to guide the Golem, Renard’s destiny of eventually dying so, but doing so with his morals and integrity intact, and Goliath’s destiny to see this World Tour through. Not the greatest episode, and while this wasn’t as great a use of a great character like Renard as Outfoxed, I still enjoyed it for what it was. Next time, the world tour takes us to Paris where not only do we learn what became of MacBeth and Demona, but another great villain makes their long-awaited return. The World tour continues in Sanctuary.