[7.8/10] Another strong installment in this arc, in both the past and the present. In the past, I like the shock of our heroes discovering Demona’s handiwork. There’s something about their initial confusion -- Why would Elisa send a statue of herself? -- that’s almost quaint. It’s neat to see them puzzling through the situation, rather than understanding it instantly.
I especially like how the show processes it through Jeffrey Robbins, Hudson’s friend who lost his sight. It’s a little convenient that for Demona’s spell to work, you have to both see and hear her, but it makes for a good out when humans need to survive it, and Robbins fits the bill.
It also creates stakes when Xanatos knows enough not to watch or hear the broadcast. I like that there’s multiple centers of power here: Demona (obviously), MacBeth as the Hunter (I think), Xanatos, and The Gargoyles, each who have issues with one another, but who have a common interest in seeing the spell broken and Demona subdued.
It’s also a little chilling when Demona starts smashing up the stone humans. You can understand her motivation here, a misguided sense of vengeance on the humans who did the same thing to her in 994 Scotland. But it’s still disturbing to realize those are lives lost, human beings maimed, even if there’s not the same visceral shock of seeing blood spilled in the process. Her chase with the Hunter is no great shakes, but serves the plot well enough.
The story in the past works well too. I like getting more of the palace intrigue, with Duncan enlisting the original Hunter (maybe?), Gillecomgain to do his dirty work against MacBeth, and then setting the two rivals against one another when things don’t go his way. On top of that, you have the Weird Sisters getting involved to interject Demona into the fight. The way DUncan manipulates MacBeth on the one hand by pointing to The Hunter as his father’s killer (and the man who stole his love’s hand in marriage), while the Weird Sisters manipulate Demona on the other makes for some good twisty plotting.
The fights are good too. MacBeth’s righteous fury against The Hunter translates to some exciting action. I especially appreciate him turning the tables and rescuing Demona, repaying his debt to her and helping to slay his rival in the process. There’s a lot of moving pieces to the Scottish flashbacks, but they work in terms of character motivation and narrative cohesion (so far at least), so it works.
There’s some nice character work with MacBeth initially playing the “cruel to be kind” game with Gruoch, only to marry her when all is said and done. And Gillecomgain reminding Demona that she scarred him and asking her if she remembers him, only to get a flat “No” puts things in perspective in a “For me, it was Tuesday” sort of way.
Overall, this is another winning installment in what’s been the best stretch of Gargoyles since the series premiere. I hope the show can keep this up!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-07-10T03:35:08Z
[7.8/10] Another strong installment in this arc, in both the past and the present. In the past, I like the shock of our heroes discovering Demona’s handiwork. There’s something about their initial confusion -- Why would Elisa send a statue of herself? -- that’s almost quaint. It’s neat to see them puzzling through the situation, rather than understanding it instantly.
I especially like how the show processes it through Jeffrey Robbins, Hudson’s friend who lost his sight. It’s a little convenient that for Demona’s spell to work, you have to both see and hear her, but it makes for a good out when humans need to survive it, and Robbins fits the bill.
It also creates stakes when Xanatos knows enough not to watch or hear the broadcast. I like that there’s multiple centers of power here: Demona (obviously), MacBeth as the Hunter (I think), Xanatos, and The Gargoyles, each who have issues with one another, but who have a common interest in seeing the spell broken and Demona subdued.
It’s also a little chilling when Demona starts smashing up the stone humans. You can understand her motivation here, a misguided sense of vengeance on the humans who did the same thing to her in 994 Scotland. But it’s still disturbing to realize those are lives lost, human beings maimed, even if there’s not the same visceral shock of seeing blood spilled in the process. Her chase with the Hunter is no great shakes, but serves the plot well enough.
The story in the past works well too. I like getting more of the palace intrigue, with Duncan enlisting the original Hunter (maybe?), Gillecomgain to do his dirty work against MacBeth, and then setting the two rivals against one another when things don’t go his way. On top of that, you have the Weird Sisters getting involved to interject Demona into the fight. The way DUncan manipulates MacBeth on the one hand by pointing to The Hunter as his father’s killer (and the man who stole his love’s hand in marriage), while the Weird Sisters manipulate Demona on the other makes for some good twisty plotting.
The fights are good too. MacBeth’s righteous fury against The Hunter translates to some exciting action. I especially appreciate him turning the tables and rescuing Demona, repaying his debt to her and helping to slay his rival in the process. There’s a lot of moving pieces to the Scottish flashbacks, but they work in terms of character motivation and narrative cohesion (so far at least), so it works.
There’s some nice character work with MacBeth initially playing the “cruel to be kind” game with Gruoch, only to marry her when all is said and done. And Gillecomgain reminding Demona that she scarred him and asking her if she remembers him, only to get a flat “No” puts things in perspective in a “For me, it was Tuesday” sort of way.
Overall, this is another winning installment in what’s been the best stretch of Gargoyles since the series premiere. I hope the show can keep this up!