Today’s Gargoyles retrospective looks at “Avalon,” a three-part episode that aired from November 20 to November 22, 1995. While not literally the halfway point of the second season and the entire show (that’s three episodes later), it’s a major turning point, with Goliath, Elisa and Bronx getting whisked away by the knight Tom – who knew the Gargoyles as a boy – to the mystical Isle of Avalon, which is under assault from the Weird Sisters, Demona, MacBeth, and their master…
1. Tom’s Tale
This trilogy of episodes finally reveals what became of the human inhabitants of Castle Wyvern, following their brief appearance in “City of Stone” where they were seen abandoning the fortress with the Gargoyle eggs (some of which Demona presumably got her hands on). The first part is largely a flashback narrated by Tom, which sees Princess Katharine finding refuge with her uncle, King Kenneth, only to see him deposed by Constantine, who forces her into an engagement, threatening to smash the eggs if she doesn’t comply. Eventually, she hatches (no pun intended) a scheme with the Magus, Tom and a few others to escape with the eggs to Avalon, although the Weird Sisters object to human presence on the Isle: using the Grimorum, the Magus casts them out, but realizes the book must be returned to Scotland, lest it bring more unwanted attention.
Overall, it’s all quite astounding how much time they dwelled on historical Medieval intrigue in a superhero cartoon. All this melodrama does threaten to buckle under all the terrible Scottish accents, but it’s compelling, and reaches a bittersweet crescendo when Tom realizes he’s never going to see his mother again, after she decides to return the Grimorum to our world. Poor kid.
2. New Names
Tom introduces Goliath and Elisa to the eggs, which is what he still calls them despite having hatched years ago. He’s also named the two most prominent young Gargoyles Angela and Gabriel (really inventive there), which leads to a great beat where Goliath expresses surprise they have names, and she responds, “Of course. How else could we tell each other apart?” You have to wonder what Tom would’ve named our familiar old clan in Manhattan if he could.
As Elisa points out, Angela strongly resembles Goliath and Demona, but as the clan leader explains, Gargoyles do not distinguish between their offspring, and those of their siblings, as all of them are equally important. It helps progress the plot, putting off any family drama for now, but it led to a big “well, duh” moment for me regarding this mythology: perhaps Gargoyles did not believe in naming in each other because it reinforced the notion of the nuclear family?
3. Return of the Archmage
So the big bad of the show thus far turns out to be the Archmage, who last we knew, fell to his death in 984 AD (per “Long Way to Morning“). It means the reveal that he was Demona’s mentor in “Vows” feels more natural now, but I’d have liked more foreshadowing really. In any case, David Warner is just too marvelous an actor to waste in a one-off role, and he is absolutely glorious as both the sassy new Archmage (“You beat up a beach! At dawn – you die! Get used to it”) and his whiny younger counterpart. In a dazzling sequence in the second chapter, we see the Archmage use the Phoenix Gate to prevent his demise, and demonstrate to his past self how he’s supposed to get the Weird Sisters to do his bidding, and enslave MacBeth and Demona so they’ll attack Avalon, forcing Tom to bring Goliath.
There’s a jawdropping moment where the Archmage, after donning the Eye of Odin and the Phoenix Gate, discovers he can bring the Grimorum’s magic to Avalon by swallowing it: it’s a freakish moment more reminiscent of a Japanese horror film than anything Disney. Overall, this is a fun piece of exposition that only time-traveling can provide, both revealing and moving forward the plot. It’s so exciting that you almost overlook your initial question, which is, how did the Archmage survive to go back in time in the first place? I guess the Weird Sisters did it again.
Continued below4. The Lone Magus
Elisa decides that if Avalon’s in trouble, it’s time to revive its famous inhabitant, one sleeping King Arthur Pendragon. She’s accompanied by the Magus, the very wizard who cursed Goliath and his friends to sleep for a 1000 years, who despite his advancing age, moves too swiftly for her liking: he apologizes, poignantly explaining he’s fleet-footed as he’s often alone (believe me, it’s true). He continues, revealing how once on the island, he raised the young Gargoyles with Katharine and Tom, but as he often felt useless without the Grimorum, he did not act on his love for the princess, allowing her and Tom to become close and eventually, husband-and-wife. It’s a little weird Katharine and Tom became lovers considering she knew him as a boy (it was weird here and still weird when Star Wars did it), but perhaps it’s a thoughtful subversion of the trend in Medieval times.
Anyway, the Magus is still able to drawn upon Avalon’s magic without the Grimorum, but it’s debilitating, especially at his twilight years. Nevertheless, he puts up a good fight, helping Elisa pass some Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade-style traps to awaken Arthur, and then holding his own against the vengeful Weird Sisters, eventually giving his life to contain them. Proving himself worthy of forgiveness for the cruel, irrational curse he placed on Goliath’s clan brothers, the Magus is ultimately given the highest honor of being laid to rest where Arthur himself slept. Truly, an arc worthy of Gawain or Galahad.
5. Tides of Change
After the Archmage’s spectacular defeat, our heroes set off on the island’s enchanted boats: King Arthur, who’s no mere brute, goes off to discover the strange new world of the ’90s, as does Angela, who joins Goliath, Elisa and Bronx. Gabriel, and Bouddicca – his loyal hound – stays behind, much to Bronx’s disappointment I imagine (poor guy must be lonely). The Weird Sisters agree to lift their control of Demona and MacBeth in exchange for their freedom, and Goliath pushes his unconscious foes out to sea, not caring they’ll try to kill each other once they wake up.
As our heroes set sail, Elisa expresses gratitude she’s returning home, only for Tom to cry out, “Elisa, I thought you understood. Avalon doesn’t take you where you want to go, Avalon SENDS YOU WHERE YOU NEED TO BE!” I’m not sure he mentioned that beforehand, but in any case I doubt she and the others would still be quite prepared for the maddeningly indirect route they’ll be taking home. Likewise, I doubt viewers, who no doubt missed the other members of Goliath’s clan since they departed the Clock Tower at the start of this story, knew how long it would be before they saw them again.
Bonus thoughts:
– Tom’s arrival in Manhattan noticeably has Keith David voicing both a hoodlum attacking the knight, and Officer Morgan.
– Of course Tom modeled his helmet on Goliath.
– King Kenneth’s son Maol Chalvim has a Liverpudlian accent for some reason.
– I love that, despite lacking Merlin and his Knights, King Arthur is a smart and capable enough warrior, able to deduce Demona and MacBeth’s weakness rather quickly.
Next week: we reach the show’s halfway point, and it’ll be well and truly Fall, so we’ll be pausing just as Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx’s World Tour gets underway!
