Our retrospective of Disney’s Gargoyles reaches the show’s halfway point this week with a look at “Shadows of the Past” (airdate: November 23, 1995), “Heritage” (November 27, 1995), and “Monsters” (November 28, 1995). These episodes mark the beginning of Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx’s Avalon World Tour, with the island’s enchanted boats sending them the long way round home via places that need their help.
1. Because “Ghosts of the Past” Would’ve Been Too Obvious
First up in “Shadows of the Past,” the quartet arrive in Scotland, finding themselves in caves haunted by the voices of (you guessed it) Goliath’s past. Eventually it turns it’s not Goliath suffering from PTSD, but the actual ghosts of the Viking leader Hakon and Castle Wyvern’s treacherous Captain of the Guard, who fell into the Archmage’s cave, which has left them trapped in limbo.
It’s a dark, low-key post-script to the three-part “Avalon” (small wonder it aired the day after), and as a result the animation is gorgeously atmospheric, with attention lavished on lots of lightning and rain, and waves and wind. It does get a little tedious, especially with Goliath constantly remembering finding who sold out Castle Wyvern (play “You are the betrayer?!” one more time, I dare you), but it’s a satisfying resolution to those last two humans’ stories from “Awakening.”
2. Holy Unintentionally Insulting Content Weisman
I promise more in-depth thoughts than “good episode, bad episode” in a moment, but goodness is “Heritage” problematic. In it, the World Tourists arrive at a Haida village in Canada, and get drawn into a conflict between the tribe and er, their god Raven. Yeah, that doesn’t sound right. I imagine that Dr. Adrienne Keene would absolutely roast this episode if she ever reviewed it. Like Harry Potter‘s take on indigenous peoples, this is a well-meaning attempt at inclusion that winds up backfiring. They even made the old wise First Nations grandmother who helps the Gargoyles a Child of Oberon: oh so, the good indigenous deity isn’t even indigenous? The writers thought it would be good to do a storyline as a metaphor for indigenous land rights, the deprived nature of their communities and the prospect of relocation, but that doesn’t work if the Haida trickster god is the bad guy here.
Also, the theme of “there are more things in heaven and earth…” (Elisa’s quotation, not mine) does not work outside the context of a fantasy universe. It’s a little skeevy to expect Nick/Natsilane, the village elder’s grandson, to cast away his Harvard-educated skepticism or his desire to leave the village because of monsters that don’t exist in the real world. What’s more, when he embraces his destiny and fights Raven, he does it in Plains Indian clothing, instead of Pacific Northwest garb.
Lastly, I was really alarmed by the design of the Thunderbird the grandmother turns into. It resembles a flesh-and-blood version of a totem pole, a gross cross between a giant eagle and Krang from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” which again smacks of a terrible misreading of First Nations cultures.
3. Elisa Phone Home
Back to Scotland then, with the Tourists finding themselves in none other than Loch Ness in “Monsters.” Elisa finally decides to call home, presumably having chosen not to at the Haida village because she was hoping they would be third time lucky. Unfortunately, her call to Bluestone is rendered useless as the stupid cop has forgotten to replace the tape in his recording machine. (This wouldn’t happen if the show was made today.) It’s a testament to Elisa’s loyalty to Goliath that she doesn’t just book a flight and leave the nearest airport, although I imagine Goliath would’ve persuaded her to, as vulnerable as they are during the day: she’d definitely have worked out a scheme to reunite the clan, I’m sure Avalon would’ve understood…
4. An American View of Scotland
Where was I? Our heroes discover Xanatos’s mad scientist Sevarius has set up base and captured Nessie herself, and intends to use her as bait for the other monsters in Loch Ness. First thing, this episode’s take on Loch Ness is enormous. Just look at the size of Nessie’s head here next to Angela:
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Now for comparison, think about the Brachiosaurus in Jurassic Park and the size of its head compared to Dr. Grant. The plesiosaurs in this episode must be some of the biggest animals in the world of Gargoyles, and while Loch Ness is the second biggest lake in Scotland, it’s already nowhere big enough to sustain an actual plesiosaur. It’s just hilarious to think about how this episode, with all its big setpieces involving giant monsters and Sevarius’s huge submarines, takes place in what is a fairly small lake.
5. We Are Family
I should comment before I go that Brigitte Bako was perfect as Angela, projecting youth and naivety while still coming across as strong and smart. The character first gets the spotlight in “Monsters” when Sevarius captures her, and using her DNA, confirms for us that she’s Goliath’s offspring. Although her father explains during “Avalon” that Gargoyles don’t care who’s their children, Angela was raised by Tom and Katharine like their own, so it understandably still comes as a shock when she learns her biological father’s identity. We’re thankfully spared any further drama about it, with Goliath demonstrating actions speak louder than words like a boss, firing himself out of a commandeered submarine to rescue her from Sevarius’s U-boat.
The episode closes with Goliath, Angela, Elisa and Bronx gazing at the moonlight reflected on Loch Ness’s surface. It’s a fascinating encapsulation of the show’s sudden shift at its halfway point: it began with Goliath believing he’d lost everyone, and as we leave him now, he has effectively returned home (twice) having gained a daughter, a lover, and a faithful hound.
Bonus thoughts:
– Poor Elisa, having to sit, wait and fast after daybreak in “Shadows of the Past.”
– It’s remarkable how long Angela can last being dragged underwater.
– Despite the dialogue foreshadowing otherwise, I really can’t see Sevarius making his way out of a sunken submarine.
– Elisa is oddly skeptical about Nessie, but I imagine an American who’s never been to Scotland back in the ’90s would think the lake authorities would build animatronics of the beastie.
– There a sudden increase in the level of scratching violence with these episodes and the “Avalon” trilogy: someone at Disney must’ve finally relented in allowing the Gargoyles to use their claws in combat.
So at the show’s halfway point, and regular TV shows starting again, I must put our weekly revisits on pause until next year’s Summer TV Binge. So until our next Gathering, stay strong, my fellow defenders of the night, and keep praying to whatever gods you worship that Disney revives the saga in some format soon.
