Demona and Macbeth died in 1057 AD. Briefly. Via the Weird Sisters’ magic, both will live until one kills the other. Now 900 years later, Macbeth is at the end of his rope. Life damages the living – even the immortal. He wants to rest, and that will require him killing Demona. She, however, has other plans, such as destroying humanity.
Meanwhile, Team Xanatos and the gargoyles are in mortal danger. In order to save themselves and New York City, they’ll have to get Demona to cooperate. Like getting blood from a stone, you say? Not if you turn the stone to flesh first. It will take super-human, gargoyle, and natural effort, though.
Did you miss the first part of the City of Stone Part 4 episode review? Well, that was the link.
Check Mate
Luach and Bodhe – Bodhe, who’s unwitting fault this largely is – roll up. Cue grieving. Luach swears to avenge his father.
Then Bodhe crowns Luach High King of Scotland. They leave too, abandoning Gruoch and her husband’s corpse.
Then who should appear but the Weird Sisters. They’re different forms depending on who looks at them. Or rather, everyone sees them in a form that is most acceptable to that person. Hence, Goliath sees them as children. Demona sees them as gargoyle crones. And Macbeth sees them as old women/witches.
Then Demona stirs. She stands up, very much alive.
Gruoch goes OFF. And well she should! She tells Demona how it is, that it’s D’s fault and that Mac was loyal. She also makes it clear that she doesn’t think highly of gargoyles. She tolerates them, that’s all.
Demona snarls, but since she doesn’t attack Gruoch or put up much of a fight, it’s clear she knows the queen is right. Demona departs in rage.
Now Gruoch is alone with her husband and the Weird Sisters. The Sisters explain that Canmore got it a bit wrong. King and gargoyle are linked, but when one lives, both live, sharing each other’s pain and anguish until one kills the other. It’s a take-off on the “no man born of woman” can kill Macbeth idea in the Shakespeare version. Pretty tricky, Greg and Co!
Macbeth revives. He wants to jump right back in and pretend the death thing didn’t happen. Heck, it’s not like they even bothered to check a pulse, so he could have just been unconscious. There wasn’t any blood around! Haha, Disney… Gruoch knows better, though. Luach must take Macbeth’s place. She doesn’t say it, but she knows Macbeth can’t rule indefinitely without looking like, well, SORCERY! “You are already accused of sorcery,” she says, confirming what Canmore said.
He must go into exile and never see her again, she says. Now, there’s really no good reason she can’t go with him. She says they “can’t both abandon” Luach. Listen, hun, I know you love Luach, but he’s a grown man. He’s fine. Go finish your life with your husband. Let him enjoy your company. He’ll be alone for a long, long time.
The Big Reveal
That brings us back to the Eyrie Building, where Demona and Mac are facing off. She tells him to take off the mask, as she knows it’s him.
Out in the wild, blue yonder, Goliath and Xanatos fly abreast of each other. Unlike in The Edge, though, Xanatos isn’t trying to slash the gargoyle’s face off. They make a nice team.
Goliath admits that Xanatos’s plan might work. That had to make David’s day! Getting affirmation from your opponent is a great feeling. He takes it in stride, though, saying, “I had no doubt about that.” It sounds cocky, but when you look at the plan, it’s actually pretty simple. It’s semi-tricky in execution, but not compared to, I dunno, springing the Pack from prison and getting Fox out on early parole.
Xanatos is more worried about Bronx ripping up the tapestry.
Goliath plays dumb, so David has to explain.
According to Greg: This is a weak ploy to get Goliath and Xanatos back to the castle, and Greg admits it. But the writers didn’t have a quicker way to do it, so they used the tapestry.
I kind of like it, actually. The fact that Xanatos has already moved past lighting the sky on fire to save the city and is now thinking about the mutt eating his house is in character. It’s like when somebody’s unloading drama on you, and you’re sitting there thinking about whether you should eat the leftover tuna salad or get a taco for dinner.
He and that garg beast have some animosity built up between them, since Bronx has pinned Xanatos a number of times, and Xanatos always sets his robots on the garg. I don’t think Xanatos is much of a pet person (I hear ya!).
Goliath has a realization and roars back to the castle. Something’s amiss, and it’s not Bronx tearing up the Eyrie Building’s decor.
Mac wasn’t wearing the Hunter’s mask as a disguise, but as a reminder of her treachery. This goes right over her head.
She mocks him, reminding him that he can’t kill her without dying himself. Er, Demona, take a lesson from Xanatos and don’t underestimate your enemies. Macbeth is old, tired, and isn’t going to take any more of your crap. There’s no reason for him to hang out in this life. It’s been 900 years, and he’s ready for his subzero-cold revenge.
Now Demona realizes it’s serious. This is the one person on the planet who can kill her. And unlike him, she wants to live. She still has to wipe out humanity, after all!
Demona shifts from Murder Mode to Cool and Rational. “I blame you, you blame me.” This is a rather Xanatosian way of dodging the blame. What’s Mac blaming her for? We’re about to find out.
They have a rather amusing battle, with them feeling each other’s attacks. The main outcome is that the giant, amazing chandelier in the center of the great hall gets blasted to the floor. The next blaster shot hits the floor itself. Now we’re reenacting that scene from Duck Tales where the floor collapses, starting at one end of the room and flowing to the other.
Goliath and Xanatos arrive in time to find the great hall falling into the sub levels. Xanatos finds this slightly surprising. While he gapes at his house sliding into a sinkhole, Elisa and Owen slide toward the abyss. Goliath lunges and catches Elisa. Thankfully, she’s firmly holding Owen. It’s almost like they’re one statue.
Your Password Has Been Reset
Once the two are safe, Xanatos checks the computer and realizes she’s A.) locked him out (don’t you need the original password to change a password? Security fail!) and B.) the packs will explode early. Now, I’d think Xanatos could use the Steel Clan robots to announce to the clan that they needed to get out of the sky 10 mins early. Of course, if they do, it’ll delay the sky-burning plan.
Goliath and Xanatos jump after Demona and Macbeth, who have dived into the lower levels. It’s rather interesting that here Xanatos’s feet have rockets, not just his main back jet.
Xanatos is fresh out of patience. “Take them down. We’ll sort it out after.” He blasts them with a laser, but he should have used a higher setting, cuz they get up again.
“You’re not the only one with weapons, laddie,” Macbeth reminds David. Mac throws a grenade. This drops the floor again. Yeesh, take the elevator!
The collapse catches Xanatos unawares. Goliath grabs him mid fall and does the parachute effect with his wings enough for Xanatos to get his boosters under him. Goliath is taking the truce seriously.
Goliath and Xanatos land at the top of the steps that lead down to the pond and bridge. Macbeth and Demona land on the bridge. Demona’s knocked out, but Mac is up and ready to end the 900 years of shared life.
Goliath calls for him to stop, saying death doesn’t solve anything. Actually, G, if she died, it would have solved a LOT.
Before he can jump in further, as I’m sure he’s about to, the Weird Sisters appear. They ask if Mac’s father’s death stopped him from becoming king.
No.
Did Gillecomgain’s death settle the score?
No.
Did Macbeth’s death save his son from Canmore?
No.
Goliath reiterates that life, not death, is the answer. Xanatos, for his part looks on impassively.
Macbeth surrenders. “I’m just…so…tired.” I use this quote in real life quite often. I can only imagine what 900 years would feel like.
The Sisters tell him to sleep.
According to Greg: Demona and Macbeth must by weakened mentally for them to be susceptible to the Sisters’ spells.
As he lies down for a nap, Demona awakens.
Xanatos breaks the mood with, “Normally, I’d be fascinated by all this, but I need that access code to save my city.” It is indeed his city. He probably owns half of it. But it’s nice to see an antagonist show his feelings for his home city. Unlike the cliché villains of other series, he cares deeply for his city. Plus, it would be horrible for business if it went to hell.
The Sisters attempt to make Demona give the access code to the computer.
She refuses.
The Weird Sisters could have let her continue to refuse, but that would have invited Xanatos and Goliath to act. So, they confront her.
Demona will have vengeance for her clan.
But who betrayed her clan?
The Vikings destroyed her clan.
Who betrayed the castle?
The Hunter hunted her clan.
Who created the Hunter?
Canmore destroyed the last of her clan.
Who betrayed Macbeth to Canmore?
Goliath tells her vengeance invites only a further cycle of vengeance and sorrow.
At last she relents. “The access code is…alone.” Ok, is that all caps? First letter capitalized? No numbers or special symbols? That’s not more than six letters, either.
After seeing her history, you understand why that word would be the first to come to mind. It’s also what she would have been if she carried out her plot to kill the clan and the humans. She’s crying as she says it. At last she’s opened herself to the weight of her existence. Forever angry, forever distrusting, forever alone. It’s painfully sad.
Xanatos blasts off back to the great hall, or what’s left of it, and shuts down the countdown. He breathes a sigh of relief and wipes his brow. It’s a rare moment that David sweats! About the only thing that gets to him is when his family is in danger.
Bronx is eyeing him.
Evidently feeling a bit sheepish for getting worked up now that everything’s cool, Xanatos says, “What are you looking at?” It makes me laugh, but it’s totally the perfect thing to say.
Down below, the Weird Sisters take charge of Demona and Macbeth. In child form, they say the two are their children, since the Sisters have written their stories. Um…this is getting weirder by the second. What do they want with these two?
Everyone gathers on the castle lawn to watch the fireworks. The robots detonate and the sky bursts into glorious flames. It’s truly a magnificent spectacle! Even Xanatos is impressed.
They return to the great hall to find Elisa and Owen flesh once more. Owen dodges the stampede of gargoyles who dog pile Elisa in joy.
Xanatos curbs his enthusiasm, saying, “You’ll forgive me if I just…shake your hand?”
“Of course.”
But they’re both thrilled the plan worked.
One wonders how the reunion between Fox and David went down. I bet I can guess!
The clan files out, but Xanatos approaches Goliath before Big and Purple can leave. David says, “I’ve wondered why I let you creatures live. Now I know: you come in handy now and then.” There’s a touch of sarcasm in his voice. But there’s truth to his words. He’s had countless chances to destroy the clan, but that’s not who he is. He’s an antagonist, not a bloodthirsty villain who wants only to see the heroes die a slow death in an acid bath or a shark tank. He enjoys having them around to play with. Even when they interfere with his plans, they at least offer a good challenge.
Goliath has a good comeback, one that he delivers with a sarcastic grin: “As do you – occasionally.” I really like this exchange. It’s like something players on opposite softball teams would say to each other. Goliath doesn’t start yelling about how this is all Xanatos’s fault. No, he answers in kind, and then gets on with his night.
Side note: I notice Elisa still hasn’t taken Xanatos down. She doesn’t pursue this debacle’s source, just as she didn’t really follow up, that I can tell anyway, on Gen U Tech. If anything would be an obsession for her, you’d think it would be taking out the men who turned her bro into an eel cat bat.
Final Thoughts
Thus we finish another Tier and Tent Pole. We’ve learned the background of two powerful antagonists, which means we’ll need to know this information later. What are the Weird Sisters up to with Demona and Macbeth? The Sisters have taken charge of the pair now. I have a bad feeling about this. The fae set this all up for a reason.
How will this temporary truce affect Goliath and Xanatos’s interactions from now on? Will it change anything? Doubtful. It ended the moment the gargoyles stepped off the castle battlements.
How on earth did the rest of the world not know about NYC being turned to stone? GregXB in the comments a few posts back suggested it was the Illuminati at work keeping it hushed up. It’s as good an explanation as I’ve heard, but you’d think a few people would notice. The mass-hypnosis explanation only goes so far. Maybe the Weird Sisters worked around Oberon’s ban on interference somehow?
One last thought: Xanatos helped Demona in an effort to extend his life. Macbeth acted in order to end his and Demona’s. Both motives would have benefited their owners if their plans had succeeded. Neither motive was wrong/bad in itself. Xanatos wants to live longer; he didn’t want to hurt anyone during the attempt. Macbeth wants to rest; taking the genocidal Demona with him would be doing the world a favor.
Hang on, one more thought: Goliath is a great believer in a person’s ability to change for the better. It’s why he helped Xanatos save Fox from the Eye of Odin. But Goliath is neglecting the fact that Demona is over 1000 years old. She thinks on a whole other level than he does. He’s lived, what, 70-80 human years? That’s 35-40 gargoyle years. (I’m too lazy to look this up. He’s not an antag.) She’s got 500-ish garg years! She also has the benefit of seeing the world change through that whole period, rather than waking up 1000 years later. If all she’s been through hasn’t changed her mind, nothing will. That “can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a saying because the older and more set in our ways we are, the less likely it is we’ll change.
Stay tuned Tuesday for the next episode, High Noon, where we meet Macbeth and Demona again, but they’re not quite themselves.
Thoughts? Comment!
Beautiful reviews. Thanks for writing them.
But yeah, at some point Demona and Macbeth will die by each other’s hands. Luna is the Weird Sister of fate, and she knows.
I love this saga. And, I know it sounds weird, but Demona is my favorite character in the realm of fiction. So these were the episodes that I was waiting for.
Thank you! And thank you for the insightful comments. I’ve gained a new appreciation for the eps after reviewing them.
All things must end, I guess?
It’s a fantastic episode set. The writing is superb in how they developed the characters and wove the past and present together.
Demona is one of the few villains who is legitimately frightening. She’s complex, too. There’s just so much to explore in her character! I definitely respect her, even though she’s genocidal and unstable. She’s believable and understandable, even relatable on certain levels.