In the Gargoyles-verse, the dead don’t always stay dead. If anyone proves this, it’s Coldstone. Through Demona’s sorcery and David Xanatos’s science, the gargoyle who died in the destruction of the Wyvern Clan walked the earth again. But the very sorceress who gave him life shot him in the chest with a laser, sending him into the icy river. Now, seven months later, he’s having his second Reawakening. Things are more complicated than ever, though. Not one but three gargoyles’ body parts make up his mortal coil; their three spirits struggle for control over his body. And what part does Xanatos play in all this?
Last week’s ep is just as horror-movie trippy. Go read Metamorphosis.
I like the end of this ep. A LOT. Other parts not so much.
Spoilers are in the 20/20 moments. Info from Ask Greg is in the According to Greg bits.
Season 2, Episode 3: Legion
Reason(s) for existence: To revisit Coldstone. To explore the theme of loyalty. To introduce the use of VR in the garg-verse.
Main antagonist(s): Iago (in Coldstone), David Xanatos
Time(s): September 20th-21st, 1995
Location(s): New York City, New York
We Are Many
Previously: Coldstone awakens, causes trouble, and is shot by Demona with a laser. He crashes into the frozen river.
The episode title is Legion, coming from the Biblical account in Mark 5:9, where multiple demons possessed a man. When Jesus asked the demons’ name, they replied, “Legion, for we are many.” He then cast them out of the man and let them have their desire to enter a herd of pigs, an unclean animal. The pigs then ran over the cliff and drowned in the water below, thus demonstrating Christ’s power over the spiritual and material realms.
Under the Washington Bridge, Coldstone’s flesh, bone, and stainless-steel frame lies on the river bottom, sand half covering him. His skin is fine despite being under water that long. His red, camera eye opens. A mechanical voice, Coldstone’s, announces that the operating system is online and repairs are initiated. Why now?
We get an inside look at the twisted realm of his mind: Hovering in an orange and purple vortex, Coldstone and an orange female garg kiss after she calls him “my love.” In a flash, Goliath and the female embrace on a floating rock. The sky is full of orange clouds. Orange is apparently a popular color here in dream land.
Coldstone watches from behind a pillar, enraged. Another gargoyle, who looks like he’s from a Panic! At the Disco music video whispers in his ear about Goliath betraying him. It’s the same line Demona fed Coldstone at the get-go. Coldstone tackles Goliath, sending him over the edge of the rock. Orange female tries to stop them, reassuring Coldstone of her love, but he knocks her back. She tumbles into the abyss.
According to Greg: This is a backstory, of sorts. There was apparently a love…pentagon going on with the four gargs here and Demona as the 5th.
I feel it doesn’t come across as backstory. It just looks like a dream, or an illusion by the sinister-looking gargoyle.
Green cyber-themed doors close along a corridor of circuits. The Coldstone computer voice announces that repairs are complete, and its initiating new program parameters. He blasts out of the water and toward the city.
We’re off to a great start! I’ve been wondering about Coldstone. Xanatos never bothered to pull him out of the water, but it seems he didn’t need to – assuming this is something he built into the creature.
Shake and Bake
At the Golden Cup Bakery, we find the only bread is in the employee break room. A scientist – he’s got a white coat, so he’s gotta be one – is testing a laser weapon. Another white-jacket guy crushes a brick thanks to his exo-armor glove. I dunno why they’re bothering with this stuff. Laser weapons are plentiful, at least with Xanatos and Demona. Xanatos also has exo-armor. It’s capable of crushing steel, not just bricks.
Coldstone makes a grand, explosive entrance. The guards are no match, despite their automatic rifles. Their bullets don’t even damage his flesh!
Send In the Drones
At the clock tower, Elisa announces to the gargs, Lex in particular, that Matt is going to test out RECAP (Reconnaissance Emergency Cyber Automated Probe), a mini RC tank used to recon and deal with high-risk situations. It’s a land drone like the Stargate SG-1 “mount.” It’s VR as well. Why would you need this? Use the camera feed from the bot. Just because it hooks up to goggles doesn’t mean it’s VR.
At the disaster site, Matt sets up RECAP. He says he spent 6 months reading the user manuals. What, did he have to know how to assemble and disassemble it blindfolded and how to rebuild it with a paperclip, gum, and a car battery?
The little drone rolls out. Wait, there’s the Scarab Corp logo on its turret! Well, well. Another Xanatos Enterprises project! Props for diversification.
Coldstone blasts through vault doors to reach a server bank. He taps in easily enough, but then a power surge hits him. Too late, though; he has the files he wanted.
Guards again try to stop him. He lobs the massive server/computer thing at them.
On his way out, he runs into RECAP. Matt remotely launches tear gas. No good. Then he fires the taser probes. It annoys Big and Ugly, but not enough to keep Coldstone from blowing a hole through the wall, lobbing the flaming wreck that is RECAP out, and escaping.
Aren’t the cops by this time wondering where all these robot gargoyles are coming from? Isn’t there a task force yet?
Soul Shuffle
Goliath and Lex watch the mess. They meet their brother when he’s out of sight of the cops. At first, he attacks, but Goliath and Lex subdue him. He chills out when he recognizes them.
“I am lost,” Coldstone admits.
Despite him being their enemy for most of the time the gargoyles knew him in this new state, Goliath invites him to their home. A clan isn’t a clan without trust, Goliath says. It’s the idea Broadway mentioned in Her Brother’s Keeper.
Thought: does Coldstone have a tracking chip in him? I’d be shocked if he didn’t. Does Xanatos know Coldstone is up and about? Surely he does. It’ll be on the news anyway, or at least get around to Xanatos’s contacts on the police force. I find it difficult to believe he doesn’t have a lot of eyes and ears in critical positions around the city.
The clan is happy to see Coldstone back. All except Bronx, that is. He hates robots, as the Xanatos cyborg found out. They’re an accepting bunch! He greets Hudson as Mentor.
Then…he has an amnesia attack! Now he doesn’t know where he is, what’s going on. He clings to Goliath like you’d expect a female to do. Then he switches personalities again. DID? Possessed? Both. And with a history like Coldstone’s, it’s understandable.
Beyond the three souls… What toll does being locked in a dream world with two other gargoyles, one of whom is trying to set you against your girlfriend; waking up 1000 years after dying; and finding yourself stuck together with metal and other gargs’ body parts take? It’s enough to drive a person insane.
Coldstone blasts off. Goliath and Hudson take off after. Goliath is probably worried about the city as much as he is about Coldstone.
The consensus among the clan is that Coldstone’s not right in the head. Well duh.
Lex has a bright idea: Use the VR headset/goggles from RECAP. I don’t even know where to start here. Why would this work? Does Coldstone have the same IEEE connector as the VR goggles? Why would they be compatible? Aaaaahg.
Voices in My head
Near the Statue of Liberty, Coldstone and Goliath have a throw-down. He blasts Goliath full in the chest with the laser.
At the Golden Cup, Matt comments that the monster is just like the one in Times Square last winter. “The city’s crawling with them.”
Lex fills Elisa in on the “monster’s” identity. Turns out, per Elisa, Coldstone got a free gift when he downloaded the files: A virus that wipes out all unfamiliar programs. That’s the power surge we saw when he was at the server. That’s not good. No wonder he’s behaving more erratically. The virus was there to protect government defense specs of top-secret weapons.
Coldstone’s personalities are shifting more rapidly. The virus must be making them unstable. They become too much to bear. He pleads for help from Goliath. Possibly one of the most heart-wrenching things I’ve seen in the series so far.
If I were Coldstone, I wouldn’t want help, I’d want to go back to being dead! Judging by the reactions of the various personalities, they were confused when they found they weren’t at the castle. Does this mean they don’t remember the after life? Or did the after life include a castle?
Halftime!
Why did Coldstone wake up now? Why did his programming parameters change? And what’s on the files he stole?
Getting a look inside Coldstone’s head will be interesting. I love shows that use VR. With all the advances in visual displays and interfaces, this futuristic stuff is now present stuff. I don’t understand how the VR is supposed to connect to Coldstone or why it’s compatible with him, though. Yeah, Xanatos Enterprises made them both, but that doesn’t mean anything.
If he’s got a virus, just load up Norton or AVG! It’s easier than what I’m sure is going to happen next: a Tron-esque adventure.
This is the set-up for the real action in the second half, so there’s not a whole lot going on, other than Coldstone freaking out and alternately attacking and hugging the clan.
There isn’t any antagonist other than Coldstone, so far. He’s not really even an antagonist. He’s just a mentally deranged gargoyle who by rights should be enjoying his afterlife, or whatever passes for it with gargoyles. You can’t even get mad at him for it. He’s like a puppy who eats your shoe cuz he’s teething; he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he’s too pitiful to scream at.
Come back Friday for the second half! You’ll see why I love the ending.
What did you think of the ep so far? Comment!