Gangsters, stolen jewels, and a kidnapped detective. This is Gargoyles’s nod to film noir, starring Broadway and Elisa. Dracon is out of prison and back in business. He’s looking for the family jewels – the literal ones. To make things more interesting, Matt Bluestone ends up in the gang’s hands. He knows too much. His friend from the FBI knows even more, though. I’m talking Illuminati-level knowledge. That’s right, there’s even a secret society in this ep!
Miss last weeks ep? Check out The Mirror episode review.
Spoilers are in the 20/20 moments. Info from Ask Greg is in the According to Greg bits.
Season 2, Episode 6: The Silver Falcon
Reason(s) for existence: To drive home the theme of partnership. To allow Broadway and Elisa a team-building adventure. To introduce Mace Malone. To introduce the Illuminati and Martin Hacker. To flesh out Matt Bluestone’s character.
Main antagonist(s): Dracon and Co, Mace Malone
Time(s): October 19th-28th, 1995
Location(s): New York City, New York
Check for Traps
Previously: It’s Deadly Force, with Dracon and Co. There’s also Matt rambling about the Illuminati. Well, now we know what this ep’s about.
20/20 moment / According to Greg: This ep was supposed to start with Preston Vogel’s murder. Say what? That’s not getting past S&P! Also, we need Renard’s right hand man and Owen’s base model later, during Outfoxed. I like him, so thank goodness they didn’t off him!
You can read the full episode memo from Greg at Station 8.
Matt is unlocking an abandoned building in a seedy part of town. Yep, great idea, buddy. Dracon and Co are waiting. Unsurprisingly, they kidnap him. Wow, Dracon’s moving up in the crime scale! It was just weapon theft in the last ep, but now he’s straight-up kidnapping a cop. That’s a felony on a felony!
Maltese What?
We cut to Broadway watching an old detective movie. It might be the Maltese Falcon, but I haven’t seen it, so I don’t know. Big B knows it well enough to quote the lines. In this case, the lines are about protecting your partner.
Behind him, Elisa is talking to Captain Chavez. Matt Bluestone hasn’t been heard from for 48 hours. Elisa’s not worried, but the cap’n is. So Elisa unlocks her gun from the safe (nice continuity after Broadway shot her with it in Deadly Force!) and tries to leave. Broadway wants to tag along and play detective. Denied.
At Matt’s apartment, a guy in black is ransacking the place. Broadway arrives to save the day – tossing the dude out the door just as Elisa opens it. She ducks.
The thief recovers quickly and takes the elevator. Why not the stairs? Because we wouldn’t have the excitement of watching Big B tear open the elevator doors and drag the car back up. Elisa is not pleased.
In Matt’s apartment, she finds a page from his calendar in the thief’s jacket. Matt is meeting a guy named Hacker that night at Cleopatra’s Needle. It’s the same obelisk Demona climbed in The Mirror. Broadway takes a page out of Lex’s book and decides to check the computer. Bad idea! The tower explodes.
They all survive, but… Now Elisa’s even less thrilled, because the perp gets away while she helps Broadway. Broadway is still convinced she needs a partner. She calls him an amateur. He replies that Matt was no amateur, but he still disappeared.
Needle in a…
Elisa goes alone to the Needle. She meets Martin Hacker, Matt’s old partner at the FBI. Hacker said Matt fell out of favor at the Bureau because he was obsessed with the Illuminati Society, an organization so powerful that supposedly it runs the world. That’s what happens when you piss off the Smoking Man.
20/20 moment: I like Hacker. He’s this laid-back, unassuming guy who’s actually big league with the Illuminati. He’s seriously the most interesting character in this episode. I want some fan fics with him and Matt as FBI agents, where Hacker is undermining poor Matt.
Matt dragged Hacker out tonight to verify that a letter was authentic. The letter’s from somebody called Mace Malone to somebody called DD. Mace disappeared in the 1930s, but the uncut gems he stole/acquired were never found. He had ties to the Illuminati somehow. The Silver Falcon is also mentioned.
According to Greg: It’s not mentioned in the ep, but on September 14th 1995 David Xanatos is officially inducted into the Illuminati Society. Congrats! It’s kind of a big deal.
He’s not a high-ranking member. Yet. That tells you something about the society: the richest man in the world doesn’t cow them.
Hacker volunteers to help, but Elisa is a lone wolf this round.
After Hacker leaves, Dracon’s boys show up. They’re late for the meeting with Hacker. But now that they see Elisa, they want revenge for last time. Too bad. Broadway is game for a repeat of their last encounter. They flee in a black sedan.
Elisa goes to the office that used to belong to Mace. She finds GF Benton, CPA, in 45D. Conveniently, he’s a raging Mace Malone fan. That’s why he rented the office. Plus, it looks out on the Chrysler Building, which is just snazzy.
Elisa sees a picture of DD and Mace on the table. Benton says it was taken at their old night club, the Silver Falcon. He speaks admiringly of DD.
As Elisa rushes out, she yells for Benton to call Chavez to send backup to the Silver Falcon. Why oh why wouldn’t she just radio them herself? Why rely on a senile old man? We may never know.
Halftime!
Sorry, no Lady Gaga here, just my musings.
Oh yeesh, this episode. It doesn’t do much for the existing antagonists except tell us some Dracon’s family history. It’s a straight plot-driven ep that rolls like a film noir movie. It’s got some nice twists, but otherwise it doesn’t do much for me.
We do get to meet Hacker and get a whiff of the Illuminati, so it’s got that going for it.
The first half is a set-up for the roller coaster of the second half. So buckle up for the continuation on Friday!
What did you think of the ep? Comment!
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