#tfg liveblogs

[thoughtfulfangirling]

One thing I love about this interaction is that we have Tom trying to make friends with these two younger gargoyles. The youth of these people are so ready and willing to make good with each other.

But here we have this protective mother running to her son, immediately assuming he's in danger. Brooklyn tries to reassure her that there was no design on harming the boy; her fears were unnecessary, and he approaches in as non-threatening a manner as he can manage. But the woman throws and strikes him with that wooden stick she's holding.

Brooklyn is young, and he is hurt. He looks so wounded in that moment, but he doesn't yet look angry. His emotion has settled yet, and an adult of the gargoyles groups swoops down and puts herself between the humans and her clan. She is angry.

We already know that Brooklyn is of the point where he's ready to feel like an adult in the clan, and this is how the second in command acts. She responds with anger. So he does too. Lexington, not to be left out, joins in.

They believe them monsters? Fine, they'll be monsters. I think it's so interesting that Demona asserts that no, the humans are monsters. She actually believes this. I think it says something about Brooklyn and Lexington that they decide to 'go along' with the monster thing. They don't believe any of them are monsters; they're just hurt and angry.

[the-queercat]

Fist bumps are dated lmao

[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]

This is so interesting to me!

So first of all, Goliath and his clan, he knows, haven't actually invited Elisa into the castle, and she hasn't explained her presence (why Elisa? It's really not that hard!). So, she still isn't welcome here even if she is here now. And you know what, I think that's really very valid.

So when she asks, Goliath reminds her why. She still hasn't explained herself. I don't think she realizes yet that he and the others see the castle as theirs and not Xanatos's. She's still thinking of it in terms of belonging to Xanatos though, so she might not quite yet see how her presence here is an affront to the gargoyles and not Xanatos.

And when she replies, Elisa is in fact talking about something very specific. She's answering his question in the most non-answering sort of way, but what she means is that she doesn't believe Owen and Xanatos. She doesn't believe they didn't post a bigger threat to the city she's 'sworn to protect' than they're letting on.

I really don't know if I buy that Elisa has any sort of trust issue on the level with Goliath. I think this is a moment to try and further forge a connection. Xanatos was all warmth and readiness to act like he trusted the gargoyles, so there's something easier for Goliath to believe in Elisa claiming distrust even if I don't think she means it in the way he is taking it.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

THE HAIR FLIP!

The girl is already flirting even if she doesn't mean to HA!

Her response is interesting though. She definitely has no idea about the whole 'dormant during the day' thing, but I wouldn't be surprised if some part of her really wanted to make it more real by seeing him during the day, because vampires forced into coffins during the day is fiction! But some part of her still couldn't actually place him outside of the dark of night.

And okay fine big boy, you want to keep your mysterious monster air by keeping encounters at night, fine, she'll do it their way, she seems to say as she flips her hair back and breaks the tension of the moment when Goliath jerked forward to protest meeting in the afternoon, because the force of it did make her start.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I know this is a lot of screenshots, but since I'm not going to be moving on to Episode 2 today, I have the space to make room for us to see this transformation for Goliath. It's such a telling moment for him. The pain and rage sorts of sinks into him. He lands so quietly, so calmly almost. His mind isn't seeming to process and take it in until he's reaching down to touch the stones at his feet. It sort of comes crashing up upon him like a large, incoming wave, until is smashes against the shore. We get this anguished, 'Angel of the Night' in this almost breaking voice, until he comes out in a full bodied roar as it fully hits him. His lover is dead, his people are dead, the castle has been emptied and abandoned, his whole world has just come down around him, and it all happened while he was away on a goose chase.

And that is of course where the first episodes leaves off. What a dramatic way to close off the first episode. It's certainly a catching cliffhanger!

And like I said above, I'm not going to continue on to episode 2 today. I have stuff I have to get done today, and DST certainly makes that harder XD Maybe I'll be able to start episode 2 sometime later this week though!

[thoughtfulfangirling]

So of course the main takeaway here is that he and Demona are indeed romantic. In case there was any ambiguity from before.

But what's more I think is the way he finalizes thing. This is a very clear moment where he is The Leader. It's not a democratic situation. They are coming up with plans between only two gargoyles, and Goliath makes the call, and once he does, it's not much up for discussion. Demona manages a concession from him, but she doesn't realize that the concession is someone Goliath doesn't even intend to be hugely involved in fighting. He will want Hudson more for tracking iirc.

It's an important thing to establish. Goliath may be good at putting vanity behind him, at playing along for the sake of the good of his clan, but it comes with the cost of him feeling perfectly comfortable making the calls on his own. Not that there isn't weight to that and it's own burden, but it also means having his way.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

And then we meet Demona.

"Face me, human, if you dare!"

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Okay so here we have huge chunks of rocks falling from a skyscraper and this detective has just stood in the splash zone. While that's like, really really dumb, I think it hints at a very important quality of Elisa's.

She wants in on things. She wants in on all the secrets, all the activity. She needs to be a part of things. No matter how crazy things get, she wants to be a part of things. She wants to stand apart.

"Get back!" She tells the others who almost got crushed with her, but she remains, kneeling in danger behind a large chunk of rock as if that would protect her (it wouldn't).

Some of this instinct I think is yes, to protect and solve problems. But I absolutely do think we see time and time again how it is also selfish. She likes to be on her own, doing heroic things, involved in momentous occasions.

So when she sees scratch marks? In STONE? Consider her curiosity piqued. If something exists in this world that can do that, then by god she's going to learn what it is, not run away for fear of what that could mean about her world.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I appreciate that Brooklyn doesn't go looking for his answers right away. He wants to go home first. It takes a certain level of courage to do this I think. He knows they're not safe, not entirely, from Demona where she may be able to find them alone.

But returning with Goliath like this to the castle means putting on full display what he has wrought. And without the assurance that he was able to make it right before admitting to what has happened.

Once again, over his pride or revenge, Brooklyn's priority is doing what is best for Goliath, for the clan. It's a trait that he's going to need for his future. And it speaks well of him. Especially after the massive fuck up he's just been a part of.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Brooklyn really means it here when he said they meant no harm. When they scared the people off, they literally stood in place and made zombie-like motions, and Bronx growled menacingly. They did not approach or try to attack.

But Goliath knows that doesn't matter. To the humans, the threat was real. That's who they perceived it and that's how they will react.

Demona looks to Goliath when Brooklyn says this, hoping he will change his mind about the punishment I think, but she doesn't say anything to him until the punished have entered the rookery.

And he says to her what I've been saying. He simply can't have the fighting. It puts too much at risk, can cause too much harm, even if the intent wasn't there. But I appreciate his last statement. I only wish I knew what making it up to them would have looked like. XD

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Broadway glides down on the refugees, and while the camp doesn't look cozy, it is certainly being cared for in some ways. I didn't get a close up of Broadway grabbing that hunk of meat, but those table were much more thoroughly outfitted in those shots with plenty of very nice looking food.

But I'm looking beside the point. The show is going to make a lot of jokes re Broadway and food and fatness, and I'm not a fan, so work with me while I try to make things out of these moments that aren't 'haha fat.'

Since first meeting Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway, this is the first time we're seeing one of them again. Broadway clearly broke off from the thick of the fighting as soon as he could. He isn't interested in fighting. There are so many others doing that job right now, and look, there are people over here enjoying some fires and good food just sitting outside. So he goes to enjoy himself. Not only does it seem he wasn't expected to fight in the first place, but he doesn't really want to, so why not. I believe this is meant as a commentary on his youth and not a dig at him.

Because also, he doesn't sit idly by when the danger comes literally underfoot. And a boy previously scared, probably having never seen gargoyles before or, like Hakon stating, never believing them to be real, gets frightened. But that gargoyle just protected him, so cool. That gargoyle can be cool with him. And honestly how far will that interaction go for making these newcomers feel at ease with the newcomers of the castle than if a glowing eyed gargoyle had dropped down from nowhere to maul that man??

[thoughtfulfangirling]

We see Hakon storm the castle. A small amount of credit, they go straight for the Gargoyles. It could be a way of Hakon to placate his men for attacking so close to sundown. 'Don't worry, we'll get there before the sun sets and take care of those statues. Then you can focus on the real fight.' But whatever his reason, he gives us this great sequence.

And finally we meet Goliath. And I love Goliath. It's hard to convey in screencaps. The blaze of his eyes is just him shedding his stone skin. He is not angry. His toes flex on his stone perch, but they do not crumble the stone, which he is perfectly capable. It is not with great anger or malic that he reaches out and grabs Hakon. He's just... very matter of fact.

"You are trespassing."

With the implication that he may plummet to his death for the infraction, as with no effort at all, Goliath holds him over a grand drop.

It's truly a great opening for Goliath. He is so sure of himself, of the world around him, of his abilities. He wakes up to an intruder and he sets to work. Embarks on his duty. What happens in this flashback shakes his foundation in way that I think we see resonate through the rest of the series, but right here, right now, the world is his. Not as in he owns it. For Goliath, this isn't coming from a selfish place. More than anything, I think it actually comes from a naïve place. He is strong. He cares for his people. His castle is good and he protects it. And the world will work in his way as long as does his duty.

Because it should have been frightening to wake up to an armed enemy at his feet. He should have been angry that he and his came so near to being destroyed themselves. Another five minutes, and they would have been rubble.

But that's not his world. No things went exactly as they should because he does exactly as he should for the world and for his own. It's as if it never occurs to him that he may have awoken too late.

Now let's see if the very next scene will show that I am talking out my ass XD

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Here we have a skyscraper in the middle of New York sporting a fireworks* display that isn't authorized by the city and debris falling very dangerously down to the ground. So of course who shows up?? A lone detective in her hot red car!

Ah Elisa Maza. She is one of my absolute favorite characters. I'm so glad to be returning to her. Of course back when I was a kiddo, I didn't know anything about the politics of detective work and whatnot, and I don't think this show really tries to engage with it beyond 'plausible reason for this human to be involved in the goings on of the show and how to rope our protagonists into super hero adjacent work.

For this reason, I'm probably not going to try and engage too much with that aspect. Going to largely be working work with the in-universe intents for the show so I can make any progress at all haha

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Awakening Part I

I don't know how long I'll have tonight, but I unexpectedly don't have my usual Wednesday night plans, so lets start a little dive in!

The show starts with 5 parter, which I now look back and wonder why they would do that. It's not like I don't like the history of the Gargoyles. It's not even that I don't want them to explain this history. I'm just now of the mind that infodumping so much in the episodes meant to hook us to the rest of the series was less of a good move. Maybe it was perfect for the 90s. Maybe it's better to catch the interest of kids (I have doubts about this. This requires such an attention span! But maybe we had better attention spans back then...)

Now I wish we could have gotten to come to care for these characters where they are right now and then learned how they got to be here. I think a very abbreviated version here would have been great and to then pepper these flashbacks throughout the season. We definitely do need the story.

Honestly, it's hard to want to start this show because of this info dumping. I love so much about this show, but I get tired preparing for the slog of the infodump of these first five episodes. May mean for a slow start for me, BUT LETS GO

[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.