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Recap / Gargoyles S 2 City Of Stone

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  • Story Arc: Demona and Macbeth; the Weird Sisters
  • Characters: The Manhattan Clan, David Xanatos, Owen Burnett, Demona, Macbeth, The Weird Sisters, The Hunters
  • Enemy(ies) : Xanatos, Demona, Macbeth

Demona exploits Xanatos' fear of death to cast a spell on nearly everybody in Manhattan, turning them to stone by night; a mysterious Hunter wearing a red-and-black striped mask hunts for Demona, while the Manhattan Clan try to figure out what's going on and then make an uneasy truce with Xanatos to stop Demona (and ultimately also to stop the Hunter who ruthlessly pursues her).

Interwoven with this story is the rise and fall of Macbeth of Scotland, from his adolescence in 1020 to his death in 1057 at the hands of the Hunter, Malcolm Canmore, and into the present day, as three mysterious women keep careful watch over him and the female gargoyle whom he had named Demona...

Demona, Macbeth, and the Weird Sisters return in "High Noon". Xanatos and Fox make their next appearance in "Outfoxed". The Hunters make their next appearance in "Hunter's Moon".


This episode contains the following tropes:

  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: The Weird Sisters always appear to Demona as fellow gargoyles. To the Manhattan Clan, they appear as children. To Macbeth and his fellow Scotsmen, they appear as old hags, much like in the original play by Shakespeare.
  • Anti-Climactic Unmasking: In 1057, Macbeth is confronted by the latest Hunter. It's Malcolm Canmore, and he takes off his mask before their duel, but Macbeth doesn't recognize the face since it's been a number of years since they last saw each other.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: The Weird Sisters hit Macbeth and then Demona with these in order to get them to stand down; Macbeth is forced to realize that killing never solved his problems, and Demona is responsible for her own pain.
  • The Atoner: The Weird Sisters clearly intended for the bond between Macbeth and Demona to lead to a lasting peace between humans and gargoyles. However, Demona broke Macbeth's trust due to her fears of him betraying her clan, leading to the fall of Macbeth as king and Demona being the last (or she thinks) living gargoyle. The sisters reveal at the end of the episode that, from that point on, they will be responsible for Macbeth and Demona.
  • Call-Back: Demona briefly references the last time she thought she killed Elisa before attempting to do so again.
  • Curiosity Is a Crapshoot: Fox watched Demona's broadcast even after Xanatos told her not to. When he calls her out on it, she admits that she was curious. She gets turned to stone at night for her trouble.
  • Cycle of Revenge: The persistent theme, as Demona wants revenge against all humanity for the death of her clan, while Macbeth loathes her for her betrayal. When Goliath vows to stop Demona for what she's done to the city, the Weird Sisters advise him to abide by his code or else the cycle will continue.
  • Disability Immunity: Hudson explains that magic can only affect someone who sees and hears it. A blind man like Jeffery Robbins is immune from Demona's spell.
  • Driven to Suicide: Macbeth doesn't want to kill Demona in order to exact revenge, but for his own sake.
    Macbeth: I'm just so tired.
  • Enemy Mine: Goliath makes it clear that he wants to make Xanatos pay for the lives lost so far from Demona's spell. Xanatos invokes this so they can team up to find Demona and break the spell.
    Xanatos: Do you want vengeance or a solution?
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Malcolm Canmore is quite content to avenge his father by killing Macbeth (even doing so In the Back), but he won't even consider harming Gruoch, as she's an unarmed woman who did nothing to wrong him.
  • Exact Words: Much like how he brought the gargoyles back to life in the pilot, Xanatos uses this trope to break the stone sleep spell on the city.
  • Extreme Doormat: Demona's Second (unnamed gargoyle with a chest plate voiced by John Rhys-Davies) is a stalwart warrior and levelheaded guy but is ultimately a total pushover around Demona.
  • Fantastic Racism: Even after the destruction of the Wyvern Clan, Demona continued to be faced with this from humans. While she'll never admit it, most of the fear and hatred she received came from her and her new clan raiding human farms for food.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • When Demona petrifies and binds Owen, she makes reference to him being "the tricky one". Word of God confirms that she knows he's Puck, as indicated by her comment in "The Mirror" that Puck "served the human".
    • The audience gets a big hint that something is up with Owen when he instantly recognizes that the spell she's actually casting is not the one she told Xanatos about.
    • During the first flashback, Demona spies Princess Katharine and company loading up the rookery eggs for transport, which will be followed up on in another episode's flashback.
  • He Who Fights Monsters: Both Macbeth and especially Demona had good intentions in the beginning, but they became hardened by their experiences. In the modern-day, Macbeth had even taken to wearing a mask styled after that of his old enemies, the Hunters. The Weird Sisters also warn Goliath to beware of this trope.
    "Take care not to become that which you fight against."
  • Ignored Epiphany: In the first flashback, Demona almost recognizes that she caused the clan's destruction and Goliath being left stone at night.
    Demona: What have I—what have they done to you?!
  • I "Uh" You, Too: After Elisa is restored, the Manhattan Clan happily hugs her.
    Xanatos: [to Owen] I hope you don't mind if I just shake your hand.
  • Immortality Seeker: The cause of the modern-day plotline is Xanatos's attempt to extend his life by centuries by stealing a minute from everyone who watched Demona's broadcast. Demona lied.
  • In the Back: When Macbeth is condemning Demona for her betrayal, Malcolm Canmore takes the opportunity to stab him in the back.
  • Irony: Duncan had Macbeth's father killed because he feared that with his support, Macbeth might become a rival for the crown, when just moments before the Hunter attacked, Macbeth's father mentioned having Undying Loyalty to Duncan.
  • Last of His Kind: Bodhe, the father of Gruoch and also the father-in-law of Macbeth, believes this of Demona's band of followers after the English have destroyed the last of the gargoyles in their land. Later episodes show that Bodhe was incorrect, but it nonetheless serves as some foreshadowing to there being gargoyles living outside of Scotland.
  • Little "No": Macbeth's responses to the Weird Sisters' questions, particularly when asked if his supposed death saved his beloved son from Canmore.
  • The Nameless: None of the gargoyles comprising Demona's scraped together clan are named onscreen, and most likely hadn't any per their cultural norm. The scripts however designated certain individuals via nicknames, just like the Cold Trio. The little green, frog like one for instance is labeled Kermit.
  • Never My Fault: Demona remains constantly insistent that her pain was everyone's fault but hers. While under the haze of the Weird Sisters, she briefly acknowledges her own failings, but she goes back to denial when she snaps out of it.
  • Offstage Villainy: Bodhe mentions that untold parties in England "rid their land of gargoyles years ago." However, it's unclear if they were actually slaughtered or actually banished from the country.
  • Only Sane Man: Demona's Second cements himself as this within her small, struggling clan, arguing aloud they should stop hiding in the dark and stealing food, put it all to bed by making peace with Scotland's human population. Unfortunately he's easily browbeaten back into line by Demona.
  • Origins Episode: Here we learn the backstory of Demona and Macbeth; their partnership, their falling out, how Demona earned the name "Demona" etc.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: A comment from one of the Weird Sisters reveals that, when Macbeth's son tried to avenge his father, Canmore killed him. While this was bound to happen due to Macbeth's immortality, his reaction shows that it clearly grieved him.
  • Properly Paranoid: Xanatos wanted to believe Demona would make good on her claims, but he knew not to watch her broadcast.
  • Red Herring: Demona claimed to Xanatos that her broadcast would simply steal minutes from people's lives to prolong her own. This was a deliberate mislead on how she's lived for so long.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Malcolm Canmore has no qualms about Demona dying along with Macbeth or about eliminating her clan. He's certain she would've turned on him like she had done to Macbeth. When Demona later revives, Gruoch denounces her for her treachery and says it got her exactly what she deserves.
  • Romancing the Widow: Macbeth to Gruoch after Gillecomgain's death. Downplayed in that Macbeth and Gruoch had been lovers before her marriage to Gillecomgain.
  • Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Arguably the show's definitive example, as it details the backstory of Macbeth.
  • Synchronization: It is revealed that Demona and Macbeth were linked by a magic spell, which causes them to feel each other's pain when near each other. If one is fatally injured, the other dies as well, but the terms of the spell mean they will simply revive. Only one killing the other will make the deaths permanent, something that Macbeth deeply wants after all these years.
  • Tragic Villain: This episode fully establishes Demona and Macbeth as this:
    • Macbeth was a normal man who, due the events that he didn't cause or want any part in, lost his kingdom, his family, and any hope he had of a normal life. While he's done several villainous things over the course of the series, it's hard not to feel bad for him after this.
    • While Demona betrayed her clan and inadvertantly caused their deaths, her horror and grief over what she'd done is shown, and clearly stayed with her for years (to the point that, when she thought Macbeth would betray her, she repeated her actions by betraying Macbeth to Canmore... with the same results as before). She's lost her entire species (as far as she knows) and has spent centuries with no one on her side. And, while she'll never admit it, it's entirely her fault.
  • We Will Meet Again: The Weird Sisters depart with Demona and Macbeth.
    Goliath: Who are you? What are you?
    Weird Sisters: That is a story for another day.
  • Wham Episode: The truth behind Demona and Macbeth's long lives and connection to each other is revealed. Xanatos and Demona's partnership is permanently dissolved.
  • Wham Line:
    Demona: The access code is... "alone".
  • Who Wants to Live Forever?: Macbeth can't stand being immortal and would welcome death. Demona doesn't seem particularly bothered by her own immortality, but she acknowledges the loneliness she feels deep down.
  • Whole Episode Flashback: Each part has extensive flashbacks set over many years — beginning the night before the fall of Castle Wyvern and ending with Macbeth saying goodbye to his wife.
  • You Fool!: Goliath's reaction when he learns of the deal Xanatos made with Demona.

 
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Demona & MacBeth

Taken to literal extremes. Both Demona & MacBeth are linked by magic doomed to live on forever, until one kills the other, at which point both of them will die.

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