Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Sanctuary

Welcome back to Gargoyles everybody!

Our episode opens in Paris. You can tell it’s Paris because we are shown the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral, because that’s all Paris is, right? Speaking of Notre Dame, some tourists see what looks like a Gargoyle flying towards the Cathedral and are scared off by a loud roar. The following day, we see MacBeth strolling down the Champs Elysees with what is clearly Demona in her human form (Marina Sirtis, Take a Shot), though you can’t blame MacBeth for not recognizing her. Not only is she affecting a thick French accent and going by the name Dominique Destine, Macbeth was also under the whammy of the Weird Sisters during the events of High Noon and likely doesn’t remember that Demona even has a human form. As far as MacBeth is concerned “Dominique” is just a lovely young woman whom he’s known a short time but feels as though he’s known a lot longer. You almost feel bad for the guy. He actually believes he’s found love after all this time, when in reality, it’s actually his mortal enemy in disguise. Elsewhere, Elisa arrives rowing the Skiff on her own, the others still being Stone. Y’know, three stone statues have to be pretty heavy. Elisa must be insanely strong. Elisa, thinking it’s a good idea to leave her three helpless friends alone in the skiff in the middle of the Seine, decides to go sight-seeing, but ends up spotting MacBeth and Demona.

That night, Elisa returns to tell the others what she saw. Elisa also grabbed a newspaper that shows a picture of a Gargoyle flying towards Notre Dame, and it’s not hard for our heroes to put two and two together. Upon arriving at the Cathedral, Angela refers to Goliath as Father, much to his annoyance. See, Goliath expects Angela to accept the Clan as her parents, since that’s the Gargoyle way. This is actually the start of a recurring argument throughout the arc that we’ll be discussing further as it develops. However, it does prompt Goliath to tell Angela to stay back as Goliath goes to confront Demona, since her dwelling on her parentage concerns him and learning that her mother is a genocidal maniac could likely mess her up. When Goliath reaches the bell tower, Demona is obviously not pleased to see him and attacks on sight, saying she’s come to far to let Goliath spoil her plans now. Angela sees the two Gargoyles fighting in the distance and heads off to help. Goliath and Bronx manage to get a few good hits in on Demona, nearly knocking her off the building when she’s caught by the real star of this episode. That’s right everybody, Thailog is back, glorious evil laugh and all, and with the added bonus of some spiffy new armor. To make matters even worse, turns out Thailog and Demona are now a romantic item. I especially love how Thailog rubs it in Goliath’s face by calling Demona his “Angel of the Night.” Turns out Thailog had already been living in Notre Dame for some time when Avalon sent Demona to Paris, and when they met is was “love” at first flight. Unbeknownst to any of them is that Angela is eavesdropping on the conversation and realizes that Demona was once Goliath’s mate, and as a result realizes the implications of that as it pertains to her. Anywho, Goliath is disgusted by Demona and Thailog getting all lovey-dovey with each other, feeling that Demona no longer knows the meaning of the word love. Demona and Thailog laugh at Goliath for a while until our hero leaves in frustration since the sun will soon rise.

After Goliath leaves, Demona and Thailog go over their master plan. Using the combined treasures that Demona has horded over the centuries plus the twenty million Thailog stole from Xanatos, they’ve started their own company, Nightstone Unlimited. Catchy Name. Demona plans to woo MacBeth in the guise of Dominique Destine in order to marry him and acquire his vast fortune as well. Back on the Skiff, our heroes are trying to figure out what Demona is up to and where MacBeth fits in with all this. However, Angela is distraught by the revelation that Goliath and Demona were once in love. Angela asks about it. Goliath doesn’t want to talk about it and dodges the question, but Angela persists. The only thing saving them is the return of something we haven’t seen in a while, characters turning to stone in mid-argument. Welcome back old friend, we missed you.

At dusk that evening, MacBeth and “Dominque” are married. After MacBeth dismisses the servants, he tries to tell his new bride the truth about his past, only for Demona to reveal herself before he can finish. I have to say, I love the look of genuine horror on MacBeth’s face here. He really thought he found love, only for that person to turn out to be his mortal enemy all along. That's the sort of thing that could be anyone's worst nightmare. Demona incapacitates MacBeth as Thailog arrives and MacBeth is locked in his own dungeon/wine cellar. Demona plans to keep MacBeth locked up for all eternity so she and Thailog can enjoy his fortune. However, Thailog hands MacBeth a gun while Demona isn’t looking. MacBeth uses the gun to blast his way out of confinement, declaring that one way or another, it ends tonight.

As Demona and MacBeth start fighting, Thailog escapes to the roof as Goliath and the others arrive. In what is easily the most uncomfortable scene in the show so far, Thailog makes the sexy eyes at Angela. Dude, evil is one thing, but that’s just plain wrong. She’s like, your half-sister, kind of, and also sort of your daughter, genetically speaking. I don't know, whatever it is, it’s gross! You’re gross Thailog! It’s here where we learn Thailog’s real plan. Seems Thailog wants MacBeth and Demona to kill each other. If MacBeth dies, Demona inherits his fortune, but if Demona dies too, then everything goes to Demona’s silent business partner, Thailog. By his estimation, the full combined wealth he'll get out of this should put Thailog on equal footing with Xanatos and soon enough he'll have his own castle on top of a skyscraper guarded by an army of robots and cat-creatures. I have to hand it to the big clone, he played everyone like a fiddle. I guess Thailog really is a chip off the old Xanatos block. Not bad Thailog. I’d like to think Xanatos would be proud, and also somewhat worried. The Gargolyes fight Thailog while Elisa tries to talk some sense into Demona and MacBeth. Our heroes are tough, but Thailog’s high tech laser cannon tips the scales as the clone manages to wipe the floor with the others until some quick thinking from Goliath puts his doppelganger out of commission with a water tower. Meanwhile, Elisa tries to get MacBeth and Demona to stop fighting and has about as much success as someone trying to stop a stampede of rogue elephants with a stop sign. Over the course of the fight, MacBeth finally gives up and demands that Demona put them both out of their misery, but before Demona can fire the killshot, Elisa blasts Demona with one of MacBeth’s guns, killing her, though not permanently.

In the aftermath, MacBeth laments the fact that he was taken in by Demona’s deception as well as the fact that all that lies ahead of him now is a sad, endless existence that he’s doomed to face alone. Not exactly a cheerful thought. Goliath tells MacBeth that while Demona may have deceived him, she also showed him that he is still capable of love after all these centuries and searching for that love can make life worth living. The two even share a laugh when Goliath tells MacBeth to make sure he gets a good look at his next lover at night. Demona awakens and sees Angela, wondering who she is. However, before either can process this, Thailog arrives and leaves with Demona. Our episode ends with Angela finally asking point blank if Demona is her mother. Elisa confirms it while Goliath remains silent.

This was a great episode. Not only do we finally follow up on Demona and MacBeth but we also get the return of one of the best villains in the show, Thailog. I love how, much like in Double Jeopardy, Thailog proves himself every bit the master manipulator that Xanatos is, playing everyone involved like pawns on a chessboard. Pairing Demona and Thailog was a stroke of absolute genius. It’s like an upgrade of the alliance between Demona and Xanatos. In Thailog, Demona sees a version of Goliath that’s more willing to see her way of thinking, whereas Thailog likely only sees a pawn he can manipulate and discard when he deems it necessary. It’s good stuff. There’s also some nice character development in this one, with Angela expressing interest in her parentage and Goliath not willing to go into it as well as a few nods to the growing love between Goliath and Elisa. All in all, it’s a great episode. Next time, the World Tour takes us to London where we meet a New Clan of Gargoyles who seem to think they have a history with Golaith in M.I.A.