#GS1S2

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I love how Xanatos, who will be our main villain, was first shown in full daylight, looking expectantly up at a castle it sounds like he's been trying to locate for some time.

It's his assistant Owen who we watch emerge from shadow, cool and collected and worried about costs.

Given we don't know the roles of all the players yet, this could be a nice little misdirect. Xanatos is full of life and eager and bulldozing on with a passion that doesn't consider 'astronomical costs.' Those are usually traits reserved for protagonists I feel like. So maybe the villain will be the man close to the wealthy guy. Perhaps there's internal strife and betrayal. Own is far more suspicious than Xanatos just yet.

We move on to more explicitly stated risk. Not only is this venture incredibly costly and we don't yet even know why Xanatos is undertaking it, but he just ran alone into a castle known locally to be haunted, which we didn't know before, though certainly we could see that there could be risk of going into ruins that may be structurally unsound before.

I also really love that after Owen mentions the cost, Xanatos's response utterly ignores it, and he's looking at Goliath as he first speaks over Owen's concerns. Just, 'hire the crews!'

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Xanatos's infamous line!

I come back to the knowledge that we learn that he gains his riches later in life and not born in it. I think it's easy enough for the wealthy to believe their money can get them what they want. I think it's easy to just have a fundamental belief that money just makes things happen for those people.

But I think Xanatos is speaking from experience here. He will walk barefoot into hell if it gets him where he is. In some ways, a lot of what he does in the show is his way of walking barefoot into hell given the risks he takes. He is spending 'astronomical' wealth not only in having this castle relocated to New York, but he clearly fully expects to be overpaying every single individual he hires in the process.

And to what end?

I think at this point too, knowing he has the wealth to do this, it's super fair to ask 'to what end?' Even once we understand early in the series it was to prove to himself that the paranormal exists and learning the reaches to which it exists. Because we do learn he already knows magic exists. But does this magic exist? And if these magics exist, what other magics exist?

His end is to obtain eternal life. Or at least that's the closest we come to seeing him having any sort of 'end goal.' He's testing all the magics he can and discover what he can to learn which magics reach that goal.

So he puts a castle on top of his tower where he lives to see if monsters of old will truly awaken. They will be in his home. He is there when Goliath awakens. He will be standing before him as the first human Goliath sees after everything we've just endured.

Xanatos would walk barefoot into hell, and he believes others are like him. And is he wrong? There's a lot of people shortly after depicted working on this castle. They've taken the payment to face their fears and worries for the right price.

And that's just who David Xanatos is. I love him.

And it brings me back, after all we just saw in the last episode and a half, to the complicated nature of humans. Robert was good to the gargoyles until he wasn't. Princess Katharine was bad to the gargoyles until she wasn't. Xanatos may end up becoming the gargoyles' villain, but without him, would they ever have awoken?

Nothing, so far, is black and white here.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Goliath immediately rushes down to his people. At first he's so disbelieving, which I think speaks to the fact that he didn't think there was any waking up for them. Even if the spell could be broken—which seemed impossible—what were the chances they wouldn't be shattered like the others before that could possibly happen?

But then he is just thrilled and in the moment. He reaches out to those closest to him.

I love the delight on Lexigton and Brooklyn's faces. The funny thing to me is that only Goliath really knows what happened to them. They didn't know what the spell The Magus was using on them would do, so they're... I think... mostly thrilled because Goliath's thrilled. They don't understand why they shouldn't be seeing whatever it was they last were seeing. Why they wouldn't be at the bandit camp yet. Goliath literally transported them to the castle, and he wakes in the castle. He knows he just woke from stone. Kind of all a moot point, because it's enough they understand that something bad happened to them, and now they are whole and reunited.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Forgive me as I continue to over-cap for this great animation. It really is wonderfully cinematically done within its framework. The camera pans around, taking us through to witness each one of them awaken for the first time in a thousand years. And it looks cool af.

I love how they all seems to stretch. It's not just a morning stretch. It's the first stretch in a long long time. It looks so satisfying XD

And Xanatos is rewarded with not just one or two of all the gargoyles he transported across the ocean proving to be real life creatures from lore, but all of them awaken! It's perhaps more than he actually asked for. And knowing Demona, she probably wasn't clear on any details. So he is absolutely pleasantly surprised. His venture, his risk, paid off and rewarded him.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Love this.

LOVE IT.

He is so alarmed when they fall over the side of the cliff, and he makes a split decision. Honestly, I like to believe he chose to save Katharine as a matter of reflex. Saving someone is who he is. Doing the honorable thing is what he's practiced. And in our moments of greatest distress, we will always fall back on what we've practiced over what we wish we could do.

Lucky for Goliath, I think he acted in the manner most likely to allow him to live with himself.

He's literally despairing as he realizes that the stupidity of senselessness of the death of the two men he wanted to kill with intention, in revenge, for satisfaction.

And he truly truly wanted that. And I will never be over that.

Goliath has a lot of pride, and that pride is in his goodness, leadership, and honor. Killing two men who stand no chance against him, when they are not even in a position to fight back, is not any of those things. But he wanted it. And I don't think he ever truly regrets that desire. It was one way in which he was going to allow himself to slip, and he didn't even get to have that.

I think he could have lived with himself easily if he'd killed the two in cold blood.

But I don't think he could have lived with himself if that came at the cost of a life he could have saved. A life he felt he should save.

And like, the cold and calm fury of all of this. He doesn't just fling Katharine back onto the cliff and safety. No, he picks her up, sets her down, frees her of the ties, and only then kneels before the cliff to see that his opportunity at revenge is gone. And after those quiet moments, he breaks. His surface goes calm but the rage only seethes until he chooses to let it out and it's just... it's so good.

I love Goliath.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

We pan around, following Xanatos in his helicopter, as it goes through New York and up Xanatos's skyscraper and to the newly positioned castle atop it. It's quite the endeavor. Nicely visually striking. I also enjoy how close Xanatos is calling it. He wants to be there that first night as the sun goes down, and though it is very close to just that time as he rises up in his helicopter, he's not worried. He is the kind of man who times things just right. He will be there on time. He will be there to see whatever there is to see. And the scene lays some nice tension.

Man, I would love to see this show re-animated. Everything exactly the same, keep all the voice acting (okay we can redub some of the extras so we don't hear the same voices constantly as this show is very guilty of) but with all the animation able to be updated. It would look so gooood! There are some really great shots here, just a bit stiff and without the great resolutions of today.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Here is where I think we have to keep in mind the ordeal Goliath has been through, because there he makes one hell of a choice here in my opinion.

We don't know how long it is between this moment and when the spell was cast from the show in this moment, but I'm pretty sure we learn this happened in one night.

So Goliath really doesn't take much time to consider this. But he has to major choices to consider:

He can be turned to stone as he chooses to and be with the last of his people through the rest of time, and if, by some unlikely chance they ever awaken again, he will be with them, and they will have their leader. In some defense of him, three of the five are kiddos. Going against him: they have Hudson who was clan leader before Goliath. They would not be without an authority leader.

The other choice is to stay by himself and wait for the eggs to hatch and raise the new generation of gargoyles himself instead of leaving it to humans. With the rest of the clan dead or in stone, they will have no adult gargoyles to help them navigate the world unless he chooses to do that.

But he chooses the first option, and personally, I think it's one of the more selfish things he does in the series. Perhaps the most. He is hurting and tried and despairing, and he just wants to rest and be among his people.

So he is cast in stone. He leaves the fate of his young, not yet hatched, in the hands of humans who only a day before sneered at gargoyles and barely made an effort to protect them. What if more people had been posted beside the gargoyles?

We wouldn't have the show at all without Goliath. It just wouldn't work. So Goliath had to make that choice. But that's the out of universe explanation. The in-universe is simply that Goliath is flawed, and sometimes when he faces an impossible decision, he makes the wrong choice.

And I say it's wrong because I, personally, in my own mind, believe that he doesn't think they'll ever wake again. The castle rising? Above the clouds? Inane.

But I love him for that. Our protagonist shouldn't be perfect, especially as we open on a show. And while I don't think there's ever a version of him who wouldn't have made the choice he makes here, I still just love that about him.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I find this interesting. It's easy enough to blame all of this on what happened with Robert. Certainly that has played a very large role in Goliath's willingness to trust.

And yet he put great trust in Princess Katharine and The Magus when he left the eggs in their care. He is not unable to trust.

I keep harping on this, and I'm sure it's annoying as fuck, but established communities, even with people who don't play nice, simply have more weight than ties that spawn from single great acts of kindness.

Princess Katharine was openly disgusted by the gargoyles, but her people and Goliath's still lived side by side for who knows how long. When the trust was placed with her, bad things did not happen. Her honesty in her feelings let him know where he stood with her, but she and her people by and large kept the gargoyles safe. It wasn't until Robert decided she was an enemy that bad things happened.

Robert believed he was doing a valiant thing by trying to return the castle to the sole care of the gargoyles. He made a grand gesture in what he may have believed had nothing to do with his own interests. And look where it got him.

Goliath knows these things need to be mutually beneficial. That it's best when those who unite can do so on similar footings. Not when one side is beholden to another. Xanatos is suspect because not only has he not proved himself, but he acts as though he knows what's best for Goliath's people without first really coming to understand them and their needs.

I may absolutely be underplaying too much how Goliath is reacting to Robert's betrayal. But I think maybe Goliath is too. I don't think he's inherently a distrustful person. He does, afterall, manage to come around to Elisa pretty quickly in the coming episodes, and I'm interested in paying attention to how that happens, because absolutely a crisis about trust going on for Goliath. Nor has it reached its limits of being tested.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Princess Katharine has no idea where she's going apparently and manages to direct herself right toward the edge of the cliff. Handy for Goliath as he swoops down and the three of them have nowhere to go besides through him.

I love how close in the camera is on Goliath's face. We are to stare directly in the mouth of his pain and rage as he discovers who betrays him. Of all the humans, Robert was the one he could trust fully. This is not a good relationship building situation between gargoyles and humans. It's not enough that he left his people during the day they get attacked and killed, it's not enough that they were killed, that their castle is in shambles, the one whose feet the blame can be laid is the one human who saw him for who he was. And he betrayed him. He caused the deaths of his people. He stands now, allied beside the man Goliath woke the other day to prepared to destroy him in his sleep.

Yeah I'd be pissed too.

And I love that he stands before the three of them, menacing and angry, and tells them they will die. For Goliath this really is about revenge. He wants to see Robert die probably most of all, though certainly he's not letting Hakon go free.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

In other words, the gargoyles have to go through you if they want to get to me.

What a shift in Princess Katharine. I don't know if I really think she believes the gargoyles are there on her behalf. I can't tell how much of it is 'the world should work to uphold my rule' or if, given how sassy she was previously, she's playing it up to get back at Hakon. Does she know he killed the gargoyles? Given how freely he talks, then probably yes. And one thing she does believe about the gargoyles is that they are beasts, and does it fit a monster narrative to get revenge? Sure.

But it is still a funny little moment, this turn around in how she talks about the gargoyles. Desperate people though will absolutely believe desperate things and put faith in whatever there is to put faith in.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Obviously, that's all for today. I'm going to have some busy weekend coming up, so I'm not sure in the coming weeks when I'll be able to get through episode 3. I'll probably be able to start it this week, but it may take a whole other week to get completed. And that's if I don't get overwhelmed by the plans I've got going over the next two weeks.

But please know I am excited to continue because I am so ready for more time with my main gal!!!

[thoughtfulfangirling]

ELISA!!

I'm so excited for episode 3 because we will finally get some solid Elisa Maza time. She was my absolute favorite growing up, and I don't expect that to change. But I am excited to know her on a better level now that I feel like I can get a lot more out of characterizations than I used to.

She's so determined to be in the know. Hehe. I love her so much for that.

Next time!!

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Xanatos, I really think, is letting the fact that he broke the spell do a lot of work here. He keeps talking about relationships and rebuilding trust, but it's done in a way that assumes that this trust and relationship is going to happen organically.

In other words, it's sort of like he has already done all he has to do. That's not how actual trust works though. It's work. Trust happens more in the smaller moments than in the grand gestures. Grand gestures can be nice and easily can make us want to trust that person. It's nice to be on the receiving end of nice things and our desire for that to continue can convince us of a great many things.

But it's not trust.

Even a shared goal does not prove trust. Xanatos is hoping their emotions of being grateful will translate into them feeling trust. He is hoping that fighting side by side with a people who fight will translate into trust.

And honestly on humans at the very least, they are very convincing tactics. We like big showy gestures that we can easily file away and pull back up for reference later.

Is it a sign of gargoyles being different? Or evidence that Goliath understands trust and community better than Xanatos may think.

Sorry to go all philosophical here, but I just finished the book Bowling Alone, which was written in 2000 and speaks to a three decade decline in social capital, in our tendencies to build close knit communities that benefit more than just our close friends, but extended friends and family.

Goliath comes from a time when social bonds were life and death, where community relied on the 'thick trust' of going through hardships as a community and not just from the good deeds one friend does for another. I think he does have an understanding of trust that Xanatos has been divorced from. He understands that community is proven over time and cannot be rushed.

I'm in a loop. It's interesting okay! XD

And it's also important to know where Goliath is in his own head. He may know all these things, but it doesn't mean he's ready to start the process of building those communities again. Not after all that just happened. He means to protect himself and what is left of his people, and so he builds some walls. He would feel this way no matter who he first encountered I think, but I think there's something about Xanatos that makes him all the fiercer about it.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Between all the fighting, we see this one enemy sneak off into the castle, break into a room, and take off with a briefcase. The helicopter is summoned back, and our villains file in and make an escape.

In the meantime, we saw Goliath get tossed over the side of the castle and fall and only able to save himself by slowing his descent by putting his talons into the side of the tower. A reminder that Gargoyles don't simply fly. Lexington nearly gets taken down. More grenades are thrown. Etc etc. Everyone may be safe, but it's not a great start to their new life in the future.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Oh and look where we are. We have come full circle. We opened with the crowd at the entrance of Xanatos's tower, explosions, and the arrival of Det Elisa Maza, and that's where we are now. A good moment to place us back where we began and show how we got there.

Also hello there my dearest Elisa. I missed you. XD

Also lawl that the biggest damage done to the castle now has been Xanatos himself. Not that he much cares. It certainly would have been convenient in the long run though if he hadn't attracted Elisa's attention.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I spoke too soon. They did make room for talking about these laser guns. I love how Hudson catches on to that they are no bow and arrow, but he doesn't have the context yet for what it is. But also why not? Science that isn't understood may as well be sorcery. The relevant point is that this isn't the fighting they are used to. Just like fighting a scorer means adapting strategies, they are in a situation where they must learn to adapt to these new weapons, and that's what matters.

It's Goliath's response that I find particularly interesting. It's very him. Not too remarkable. But it's important to keep in mind how driven he is right now to hold on to what is familiar. It's certainly not all they have left; they have each other. But in this moment, when the castle is being threatened, that's how it feels. Of all the people he needs to say this to, it's not Hudson. But he needs to say it all the same. They have barely awoken. They have had no time to breathe.

The gargoyles have had a very bad time of it.