Happy post-Valentine’s Day week! Today’s episode continues what Eye of the Beholder started. David Xanatos and Fox are getting married. That’s right, the lives of two significant antagonists are changing irrevocably. That’s groundbreaking stuff. Who does antagonist-extraordinaire Xanatos choose as his best man? Goliath. Fox’s maid of honor is Demona. No, they haven’t lost their minds. This is all a plot to obtain the Phoenix Gate and time travel to 975 in Scotland. Xanatos’s past, present, and future depend on it.

The Eye of the Beholder may determine value and beauty, but the Eye of Odin determines how it’s going to magically give you “power and insight.” In Fox’s case, it turned her into a ravenous, self-loathing beast who on multiple occasions almost kills her fiancé, David Xanatos. Welcome to the conclusion of the Eye of the Beholder episode review, where antagonists’ lives change and protagonists actually wise up.

Happy Valentines, and an early Happy Halloween! Welcome to one of my all-time favorite episodes, Eye of the Beholder. In this episode, David Xanatos proposes to Fox, who agrees. They seal the deal with the Eye of Odin. It’s no coincidence that right after, werefox sightings appear ar0und the city. Elisa meets the creature face to hairy face. But it’s up to Xanatos and Owen to save Fox before the eye destroys her. She’s not too hot on the idea, though. Or rather, Were!Fox isn’t.

Matt Bluestone’s life hangs in the balance, and only Elisa and Broadway can help. Dracon is a ruthless gangster and won’t hesitate to kill the detective if it helps find the Dracon family jewels. But old Mace Malone isn’t giving up the location so easily. His notes offer only mockery and riddles. Is Elisa and Broadway’s new partnership strong enough to save Matt? Will Dracon ever get the jewels?

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!

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the trickiest of them all? Puck! Demona is about to get more than she bargained for. You’d think after 1000+ years of life she’d know better than to trust a fae. The rest of Manhattan is in for a surprise too. It’s up to Elisa and the clan, in whatever form they find themselves, to stop Demona’s genocide attempts and free Puck so he can go back to doing whatever tricksy things fae do.

Demona’s sick and tired of her plans being thwarted by meddling gargoyles. She’s decided to bring in the big guns. Namely, one of the most powerful of Oberon’s Children: The Puck. That’s right, the one from Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare. He’s no fairy, though; he’s a dark elf. As if being made of pure magic isn’t enough, he’s also a trickster’s trickster. Don’t turn your back. Watch your wording. And be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.

Macbeth is hot on the trail of the second set of Merlin’s scrolls. They’re supposed to contain magic spells. Do they? Well, they’re magical, all right. Broadway and Hudson are learning the importance of the written word. This ep is all about literacy. It’s not exactly what Macbeth had in mind, though.

It’s the archeological find of the decade! The Scrolls of Merlin are being brought from their home across the sea to NYC. Elisa and Matt are in charge of security for some reason, meaning the gargoyles won’t be far away. Things go swimmingly until two mercs in Harrier jets attack. There are many, many people who want the scrolls, but who’s gutsy/desperate enough to steal them like this? And what do they want with them? Rumor is, the books hold powerful spells.

Hudson plays an integral part in the effort to reclaim the scrolls. He makes two unlikely friend along the way. We also learn the importance of literacy – in case there was any doubt about its value.

This isn’t one of my favorite episodes, but **SPOILER** Macbeth and Owen are in it, so it’s got that going for it.

We’re about to face the Legion in Coldstone’s mind. One look in his skull leaves no question why he’s not the most stable reanimated gargoyle in the world. To make things infinitely worse, the virus that infected Coldstone when he downloaded the Department of Defense weapons specs is growing. It’s destroying the program that creates his world and keeps him functional. Goliath uses virtual reality to enter Coldstone’s mind, but will the clan leader fall victim to the virus too? What will become of Coldstone? And how will Xanatos benefit from all this?