Demona and Macbeth are back, and they have their sights set on Coldstone. Despite Macbeth’s multiple attempts to kill Demona during the last four episodes, they’re now working together. Something big is afoot. The clan must rescue Coldstone and stop whatever the immortal duo is planning. But are they walking into a trap? They don’t have a choice.
Welcome to the third Tier of the series! Go read the City of Stone 4-parter if you’re confused.
Spoilers are in the 20/20 moments. Info from Ask Greg is in the According to Greg bits.
Season 2, Episode 13: High Noon
Reason(s) for existence: To continue the histories of Demona and Macbeth. To continue Coldstone’s story. To transition into more of the Weird Sisters’ plan. To explore the theme of loyalty. To show Elisa’s competence. To explore what it means to be a hero. To kick off the Third Tier of the series.
Main antagonist(s): Demona, Macbeth, the Weird Sisters, Iago
Time(s): November 1?, 1995
Location(s): New York City, New York; Macbeth’s mansion
Digital Monsters
We’re in Coldstone’s “mind.” Industrial bridges give place to Castle Wyvern. It’s rebuilt from the virus’s damage back in Legion. There’s no sign of the orange, mechanical tentacles.
Othello lands beside Desdemona on one of the parapets. He gives her a handful of heather, but it has no scent. While this world resembles their old life on the surface, it has “no substance.” If this is all virtual reality, can’t they influence it? Also, why does it have no scent? They touch things. Is there no feeling? They see and hear. Can they taste, then? It’s not like they need to eat, but then, that’s not why we eat, is it? Aside from their relationship with each other, their existence is empty. It’s like a purgatory – not extremely unpleasant, but not where you want to stay.
Iago screams down and dive bombs them like an angry robin. He doesn’t touch them, though. Wait, he got sucked into the virus vortex after he merged with Xanatos’s control program. How is he back? Is it because he’s spirit?
They comment that he has no power to come between them anymore. It’s not clear if that’s because their relationship is strong or because he’s been turned into even more of a ghost after the virus vortex. I think it’s the latter. Oh great, now they’re going to make him even angrier. If he can’t even interact with them or the world, he’s essentially a ghost in semi-solitary confinement. Not exactly the best way to eliminate bitterness. I’m also assuming they have some programming remaining that enables them to interact with their surroundings. That’s why they were scared of being sucked into the vortex. If it couldn’t harm them, then they could have just kicked back and gone down with it.
Despite not knowing the specifics yet, it’s still nice to see the Coldstone issue being addressed. Up till now, he’s been holding the mops up in the clock tower’s storage closet.
In the real world, Lex has hooked up a laptop to Coldstone’s motherboard. Don’t start me on how improbable this is. Even finding a connector with the same IEEE standard as Coldstone’s would be extremely challenging. I doubt the designers used a printer cable connector. They didn’t have USBs back then. Then you have to be able to interface with Coldstone’s programming.
Lex says everything’s been wiped, even the virus. Again, how is he accessing this information? Is it Plug and Play? Do the drivers come standard on that laptop?
Lexington goes on to say if only he could develop a “simple operating system” for it. Yeah. A simple OS. That’s an oxymoron. You have no idea how much hardware is in there. You don’t know anything about the specs. What, you just gonna knock together some C++ and get him up and running like you did with the Pack’s helicopter and the motorcycle? He can’t even get past the password phase, despite trying things like “Othello”, “Desdemona”, “Iago”, and yes even “Weisman.” I
Elisa has brought more books on computer viruses. Books. On viruses. Ha! Do those even still exist? Technology changes so rapidly that antivirus programs have to be updated almost daily!
Goliath confirms that while the programming is gone, the souls will still be there because it’s SORCERY. I…don’t know how he knows this. He’s just assuming.
Don’t Trust a Ginger
The gargs go to sleep for the day, and Elisa goes out to the street. Her shift is over and she’s beat. She meets Morgan, who tells her to get some rest. Ah, but there’s a female ginger rookie leading a big guy into the station. Elisa doesn’t recognize her. Morgan writes her off as a newbie, since she’s cuffed the bruiser in the front.
Elisa can’t let things be, so she goes in to tell the rookie how she’s screwing up. Except…the rookie and her suspect are gone. Where? To the clock tower. And they’ve ditched the handcuffs.
Like a rookie herself, Elisa bounds upstairs, weapon leading. Of course ginger and big guy flank, disarm, and throw her. She hits the wall and really should have broken her skull or spine, but instead is just knocked unconscious.
Meanwhile, Macbeth and the ginger take off in his hover craft. Red snarls that they should kill the gargoyles now. Oh look, it’s Demona in her human form- Wait a min, they’re working together? Just last ep, which was a day ago, he was determined to kill her – and by extension himself. They’ve been at odds for 900 years! And what happened to the Weird Sisters? Did they wipe these enemies’ memories? And why do they need to team up? They are formidable – and in Demona’s case downright deadly – antagonists when acting alone. With them paired, it’s gonna be an exponential increase in their threat.
Macbeth stops her, saying there’s no honor in killing them in their sleep. Now, Mac is a lot like Xanatos in that he’s not really the gargs’ enemy. They cross paths now and then, and he uses them on and off, but he doesn’t have a grudge against them. He respects them.
That’s an interesting point, there: they destroyed his home (well, he helped after he started the little…scuffle), yet he’s not out for their blood. He lets bygones be bygones, just like Xanatos. Yet unlike David, Mac doesn’t have a blanket policy against grudges and vengeance. Demona’s earned Macbeth’s rage. I wonder if Xanatos would make a similar exception if someone caused him to lose his status, wealth, and beloved wife? In essence, if they doomed him to a living death in exile.
It’s a New Night
Elisa’s out for the whole day, then pops up like it’s been nothing but a refreshing nap. Um, if you’ve been out that long from a head injury, you best get your butt to the ER for a head CT.
She finds Coldstone is missing. What do they want with a magically revived corpse machine? He’s so screwed he’s not even a vegetable. He’s…cold stone turned to cold flesh.
At Macbeth’s mansion, which he rebuilt back in Lighthouse in the Sea of Time, he and Demona are waiting on the sun – impatiently. She wants to wait till she turns into her gargoyle form, since Coldstone won’t know her as a human.
The sun rises, racking Demona and by proxy Macbeth with pain. This comes as surprise to Mac. “Is it supposed to hurt that much?” He thought it was a gift from Puck.
“Puck’s gifts come with a price.” Um, then it’s not a gift, is it.
20/20 moment: All gifts have a price. They’re paid by the giver. If not, then it’s a wage. Even then, it still costs the giver. Turning Demona human during the day will mean she has more power. It’s allowed her to pull off the Hunter’s Moon plot more easily, which endangered Puck and his BFFs, House Xanatos.
Puck’s gift to David Xanatos cost Puck his powers (except when training or protecting Alex) and his place in Avalon. But Puck paid the cost for his loyalty to his friend. Not all of Puck’s gifts cost the receiver, despite him being a fey.
Side note: Macbeth calls Puck a Changeling. That’s actually a creature fairies leave in place of a mortal child when they kidnap a kid. Oops.
What’s interesting, among other things, is that proximity seems to determine the level of pain they feel from each other. Macbeth apparently didn’t feel the pain before now, despite the fact that Demona has turned into a human every morning for months. They don’t live thousands of miles apart, either. They maybe live…10 to 20 miles? This is a relief for both parties, otherwise if one lost their mind (even more than being a genocidal, obsessed maniac), they could inflict pain on themselves to hurt the other party.
According to Greg: People often ask Greg what would happen if one of the pair was beheaded. Would it grow back, since they can only die of one kills the other? He says that it’s a mute point, since it’s never happened. Basically, the Weird Sisters’ explanation of the two sharing each other’s pain and anguish until one kills the other can be seen not only as the spell’s conditions, but also as a prophecy, just like their “once and future king” one.
Here’s Greg’s ramble on High Noon, btw.
And here’s Greg’s memo on High Noon.
With Demona in her garg form, they load the new OS into Coldstone. Where’d they get it? Did Demona have a copy from Xanatos? She also casts a spell. No surprise, it’s from the Grimorum pages she tore out waaaay back in Temptation. Amazing how she tore out the exact spells she’d need, despite only grabbing a small handful of pages.
A portal opens in Coldstone Land, and Iago jumps through. Desdemona and Othello say good riddance to him.
Unfortunately for them, this portal will put Iago in control of Coldstone.
So…for some reason, Demona and Macbeth have teamed up to put Coldstone back in play. What do they need him for? He’s more of a liability than a help. The clan has already taken him down multiple times, so it’s not like he’s a superweapon. I mean, they threw hubcaps at him and it bothered him.
Demona asks Coldstone how he feels.
“Vengeful.” He’s honest at least.
Check for Traps
At the clock tower, Goliath is wondering how Demona and Macbeth “escaped” the Weird Sisters. Escaped? Goliath sees the sisters as guardians of some sort, which it seems at this point that they are. But…why haven’t they ever stepped in before? It’s not like this is the first time Demona and Macbeth have gotten out of line. And if they sisters are only worried about stopping the pair, then they should have let Mac kill Demona, thus ending both lives. No, the Sisters have something else in mind. They were excited during City of Stone, remember? They’re fey, not guardians. They’re up to something.
While Elisa goes back to work, the clan goes to Macbeth’s mansion. It’s easy getting in. It’s not just because Lex has superspy skills, either. It’s a trap, but what choice do they have?
Goliath and Lex use the camera control room to check things out. The find Coldstone chained in the basement.
Bronx and Brooklyn are a team. Dog-goyle scratches at a door. It’s a closet. They leave, but…
Demona emerges from a hidden panel in the back of the closet to face off against Brooklyn and Bronx.
Halftime!
What a first half! They’ve set up high-stakes questions that I need to have answered. I’m still baffled by why Demona and Mac are working together. It’s gotta be the Sisters, but why?
I still say it needs Xanatos and/or Owen, but Macbeth is a good substitute. He seems more easy-going and less driven in this ep than previous ones. His line are lighter, and there’s more humor. I’m not sure if I like him this way. I think I kinda do.
It would be nice if they wrapped up the Coldstone situation in this ep, but I doubt they will.
20/20 moment: It’s irony that the one who wraps it up more than anyone else is ¼ fey and being guided by Puck.
There’s a lot to come in the next half, so don’t miss it this Friday! We’ll discover what Demona and Macbeth are really after and what’s become of the Weird Sisters.