Gargoyles: Avalon Part 3 – Episode Review


Three hours remain before the sun rises and the day of vengeance begins for the Archmage. Goliath, Angela, and Gabriel set off to face the Archmage, while Elisa and Magus venture into the Hollow Hill in search of the Sleeping King. The protagonists are up against some stiff competition from the villains. But will a new player in the game turn the tide? Hint: his best friend was Merlin. This is no time for our villains to get complacent, even if it seems they’ve won the day.

You’re gonna wanna read from the beginning if you missed any: Avalon episode review.

Spoilers are in the 20/20 moments. Info from Ask Greg is in the According to Greg bits. 


Season 2, Episode 23: Avalon part 3


Reason(s) for existence: To move on to Tier Four of the series. To throw the characters together so we can wrap up this triptych. To show the fatal flaw of seeking revenge. To get Goliath the Eye and Gate. To eliminate the Grimorum. To move Macbeth and Demona’s story along. To learn more about Avalon. To start King Arthur’s story. To finish Magus’s story for the time being. To start the World Tour.


Main antagonist(s): The Archmage, Weird Sisters, Macbeth, Demona


Time(s):  ?


Location(s): Avalon


Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - title
Let’s just say that it’s always a full moon on Avalon.

Goliath, Angela, and Gabriel set off to get the Eye of Odin and Phoenix Gate from the Archmage. No problem! It’s not like he has the Grimorum Arcanorum in his MIND so he can use it with a thought. Oh, wait, yes he does. This is why I always hated fighting magic users in D&D. (That’s also why I had Long Shot and sat in town a mile away and sniped with my high-powered bow.)


According to Greg: Gabe’s parents are Desdemona and Othello.


Goliath will be a distraction, while the kids get the artifacts. “No heroics,” Goliath orders. Yeah, leave that to you.

Meanwhile, Magus and Elisa are going to wake the sleeping king, who will sleep “until his country needs him.” Magus steps in, taking Tom’s place on the mission.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - elisa and magus plan
Newcomers, barging in with their fancy king-waking ways!

Warning: since the party split up, we’re going to be jumping around a lot.

Not surprisingly, Demona and Macbeth corner Angela and Gabe.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - mabeth and demona controlled
Say WHAT again, I dare ya.
Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - goliath saves gargoyles
Good catch!

Goliath rescues them by appealing to the antagonists’ better natures: pointing out that they’re part of “our” clan to Demona, and reminding Macbeth of his honor. This actually wakes them up, banishing the white glaze from their eyes. The cataracts is a nice way of showing when they’re under the Archmage’s control. What’s that? Yes, we find out in a moment that they follow his orders.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - macbeth wakes up
Here he looks a lot like the Macbeth of the 11th century.

It’s so strange to see these epic antagonists under the control of another villain. On their own, they’re extremely dangerous because not only are they excellent fighters, they’re also cunning. But teamed up and magically dominated, they sink to the level of henchmen whose purpose is to shoot things

The Archmage appears and reinstates control over Mac and D. Ah, but he’s not going to kill Goliath yet! Nope. Wait for it, wait for it! He has “plans” for him. Look, if you want to win, those plans need to include offing G right here, right now. But the writers have done a good job showing us the Archmage’s character and his flaws. Vengeance is his fatal flaw, if you couldn’t tell.

Side note: See, this is why Owen would make such an effective villain if he ever went rogue: he would have killed all 36 gargoyles before sunset the second he reached the island. Then he’d kill off the three puny humans that remained. Match, set, game. There wouldn’t have been any of this “get Goliath so I can have revenge” nonsense.

However, the Archmage does try to have Angela and Gabe killed. Boudicca and Bronx jump in and save them.

Magus and Elisa are booking it to the Hollow Hill. Magus mentions he’s used to being on his own. Wait, what about Katherine? Turns out she’s a cougar. That’s right, she and Tom hooked up after he came of age. Wow, talk about a slap in the face. Magus gives up his magic, which was a significant part of who he was, and spends his whole life here with her. What does she do? She goes with the kid. That’s so wrong.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - innocent katherine and magus
It started so well.
Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - grown tom and katherine
Tom, you jerk. Then again, Magus is just twiddling his thumbs, so… But isn’t this like dating your sister? I guess he’s desperate.

But Magus didn’t just stick around for her. He felt he owed it to Goliath to raise the gargoyles. Talk about honor! He gave up his life to make up for the rash action he took while he was mad with grief – grief for Katherine. Then again, staying in the “real world” wouldn’t have been a walk in the park, what with Constantine hunting them.

Elisa asks why he didn’t fight for Katherine. It goes back to him not having magic. I wonder if he even wanted her as a wife? He said they lived as “innocently as children” until Tom grew up. So Magus had at least 10 years to collect his courage and make his move. Did he just keep putting it off? Or did he think it would remain like this – with everyone as friends – forever? Perhaps it goes back to his self-imposed punishment for what he did to Goliath and the clan. Maybe he didn’t think he deserved her.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - sad magus
Magus is sad again. Go get your woman!

When you think about Katherine during that time, you have to imagine what she was thinking. She probably got tired of waiting for Magus to do something and assumed he wasn’t interested. So I don’t fault her after all. She only had two choices, and one of them couldn’t pull the trigger.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - katherine and tome with baby angela and boudicca
PUPPY! We need more garg beast puppies in our lives.

Going back to Magus’s guilt over changing the clan to stone for, well, forever, in Magus’s mind at least. Most people of the era would have shrugged it off. They would have rationalized that bad things happen, or the gargoyles are just beasts, or that they should have done more to protect the castle. Actually, the reason doesn’t really matter. People of any era will do everything they can to rationalize away their guilt. Don’t get me wrong, guilt in and of itself is detrimental. However, what it’s supposed to do is make you change your ways and learn from your sins. Most people don’t take advantage of it like that, though. They either dodge it or wallow in it.

Anyway, they make it to the Hollow Hill.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - hollow hill
That’s Arthur waaay back there on the white tower thing. Nice, huh?
Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - arthur asleep
He’s gonna have a heck of a back ache after this.

They are instantly set upon by suits of armor. Elisa shoots at them, which does nothing, amazingly!

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - magus stops armor
Are those iron? How does Avalon’s fey magic work against iron? Is it because a human is using it rather than a fey? Hmm.

Magus, however, channels Avalon’s magic to put them to sleep. He speaks in a rhyme, not a Latin incantation. The magic is blue-white, like lightning. He explains that there’s so much magic on Avalon that he doesn’t need a conduit like the Grimorum to channel it. It’s still tiring, though. You’d think he would have been using and practicing this magic for the last few decades!

Why didn’t you do this sooner!

Elisa jumps over the grotto that surrounds the sleeping king’s marble bier. She says, “Arthur Pendragon, King of all Britain, you are needed.” (That Arthur, yes.)

That’s all it takes. He’s up.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - king arthur asleep
Wish I woke up that easily

Hmm, so Arthur is on Avalon. Makes you wonder about Merlin, doesn’t it.

Elisa, Magus, and Arthur rendezvous with the rest of the party in the castle. Arthur is going to be their trump card against Demona and Macbeth. After all, Goliath’s never actually beaten them, he’s just fought them to a draw or foiled their plans. He admits this readily. Uh, well, that’s because you’re against killing. If you let your enemies go, they usually come back. They’re like homing pigeons. Arthur, however, is the world’s best warrior, according to Elisa. Maybe it’s just me, but I never heard King Arthur’s fighting prowess labeled as the world’s best. He’s a good warrior, sure, but his knights, sword, table, and kingdom are more notable. And does this “best warrior” title mean he can fight in every type of combat – ranged, melee, mounted, etc? I assume so.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - king arthur awake
Arthur looks heroic but he really has no idea what’s going on. No, seriously, that’s kind of his next line.

But let’s not forget something: Demona and Macbeth have lasers and electro weapons. Oops.

Meanwhile, the Archmage sends the Weird Sisters to kill the sleeping king. They don’t realize he’s not sleeping anymore. Does the scrying pool not work on the Hill?

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - archmage magic
Looking cool is totally a proper use for magic.

Back at the castle, Arthur is a bit lacking in confidence. He’s without his knights, sword, and wizard. But he’ll try.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - katherine boudicca and bronx
Mother bear isn’t taking this crap anymore.

Good, because Macbeth and Demona are in the orchard. And they’re not here to pick apples.

The protags get their strategy and split up again.

Tom, Gabe, and Elisa tackle Demona.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - tom tackles demona
Literally.

Atthur goes down to face Macbeth in the orchard. Mac is in possession of enough faculties to recognize who Arthur is and then get excited about facing “the best.”

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - arthur grabs macbeth
Worst bearhug ever. Just put your arms up, Macbeth.

Unfortunately, it’s not a fair fight for Macbeth, because Elisa, Tom, and Gabe are beating up on Demona nearby. You know what that means! Shared pain. That’s the problem of using two warriors who feel each other’s pain. This makes him look like a rookie after the initial electro weapon shot. This is a real shame, because after practicing combat for 1000 years, a person is going to be VERY good and VERY dangerous.

Disney Gargoyles - Avalon part 3 - arthur hammerlocks macbeth
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do when they come for you!

Halftime!

We get a few revelations in this ep! First, we see that yes indeed, Tom and Kat are and item. I doubted this at first, but now…we have proof she’s a cougar and Tom’s a playa. But being the only three people on a magical island, and considering that Magus never made his move, we give them slack. You know, after the gargs grew up, I’d have wanted to go back to the real world. Surely Constantine is gone by then. (I can’t remember if they knew about the time difference on Avalon. Surely Magus knew.) Oh well, familiarity is comfortable, even if it is boring.

KING ARTHUR! It takes made writing skillz to bring the legendary king into a story yet preserve the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. There’s also a choice in what kind of person to make Arthur. How does he act? How does he speak? Is he the same after waking up 1000+ years later? I’m excited to see what happens with Arthur.

Tune in Friday for the conclusion of the Avalon triptych. We’ll finally get to see how the villains and antagonists fall. What will become of Demona and Macbeth? What about the Weird Sisters? Everyone’s fate is bound up with the Archmage.

Thoughts? Comment!


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1 comment

  1. “I can’t remember if they knew about the time difference on Avalon. Surely Magus knew.”

    Tom told the protagonists about it in the first Avalon episode, so they knew. If i remember correctly, he also said he looked every hundred years, if the Gargs had woken up already.

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