Line #25 Recap/GargoylesS2HighNoon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/high_noon.png]]
2	* '''Story Arc''': Demona and Macbeth; the Weird Sisters, Coldstone
3	* '''Characters''': The Manhattan Clan, Demona, Macbeth, The Weird Sisters, Coldstone (Othello, Desdemona, and Iago)
4	* '''Enemy(ies)''' : Demona, Macbeth, Iago
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6	Macbeth and a strangely familiar-looking accomplice steal Coldstone from the Clock Tower; the Manhattan Clan go to Macbeth's mansion to look for him but are themselves captured by Demona and Coldstone (under Iago's control). Demona challenges Elisa to a duel at [[TitleDrop High Noon]], which Elisa is too exhausted to survive on her own.
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8	Meanwhile, the Weird Sisters continue to watch and influence Demona and Macbeth, guiding them towards a great battle ahead...
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10	Demona and the Weird Sisters next appear in "[[Recap/GargoylesS2Avalon Avalon]]". [[spoiler:A facsimile of]] Macbeth next appears in "[[Recap/GargoylesS2ThePrice The Price]]". Coldstone next appears in "[[Recap/GargoylesS2Possession Possession]]".
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12	!!This episode contains the following tropes:
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14	* ArchEnemy: The deep and personal animosity between Demona and Macbeth is highlighted in this episode when the Weird Sisters remark that one can only be forced to act against their nature (i.e. work together instead of against each other) for so long.
15	* ArmorPiercingQuestion:
16	** In the final scene:
17	--->'''Demona:''' Why did we steal these artifacts? How did we know where to find them?\
18	'''Macbeth:''' For that matter... [[WhamLine Why are we working together?!]]
19	** Elisa obliquely talks about how she could just go back to a normal life if she went home and to sleep right now, but Morgan (unaware of what she really means) helps put things in perspective for her.
20	--->'''Morgan:''' Normal life. Would be nice.\
21	'''Elisa:''' For a while, but they need me.\
22	'''Morgan:''' Isn't that why you put on the badge?
23	* BatmanGambit: Stealing Coldstone's body was just smokescreen; obtaining the three magical relics was the real goal. As Macbeth notes in the end, Goliath would never have rested if they alone were stolen, but taking Coldstone distracts him from even realizing the relics were taken.
24	* CallBack: Demona hasn't forgotten that she gained the ability to become human by day. She's not happy, but she found an advantage since.
25	** A subtler one is Macbeth mockingly telling Broadway he can read the many old books in his library, having not forgotten Broadway's (initially) dismissive attitude towards reading in [[Recap/GargoylesS2ALighthouseInTheSeaOfTime "A Lighthouse In The Sea Of Time."]]
26	* CatFight: Between Elisa and Demona near the end of the episode. Coldstone (Iago) and Macbeth lampshade it by saying how "diverting" it is.
27	* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: When Demona and Macbeth snap out of the spell making them work together, Macbeth immediately grabs a chair to bludgeon Demona with before the Weird Sisters freeze them in place.
28	* ContinuityNod:
29	** Hudson's and Broadway's efforts to learn to read, and Broadway's difficulty pronouncing "right," call back to [[Recap/GargoylesS2ALighthouseInTheSeaOfTime "A Lighthouse In The Sea Of Time"]] and [[Recap/GargoylesS2TheSilverFalcon "The Silver Falcon"]] respectively. Elisa's exhaustion is the result of her lack of sleep from [[Recap/GargoylesS2CityOfStone "City of Stone."]]
30	** After Demona turns human in front of Elisa, she strikes the same pose Elisa did in [[Recap/GargoylesS2TheMirror "The Mirror"]] when posing as a guard for Titania's Mirror at the museum. Ironically, the reflection of this pose stayed in the mirror after Elisa moved and Puck's "gift" for Demona was the last thing he did when she summoned him from it and the last thing before she smashed it.
31	* CreatorCameo: When Lexington is typing in passwords in an effort to reactivate Coldstone, among the words that he tries are [[Theatre/{{Othello}} "Othello", "Desdemona", "Iago"]], and "Weisman". The last is in reference to series creator Creator/GregWeisman.
32	* CursedWithAwesome: Demona despises her ability to turn human during the day but, while it makes her a bit weaker, it benefits being able to blend in and move freely without suspicion. As an added bonus, her {{Synchronization}} with Macbeth forces the latter to share her pain during transformation.
33	* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Even in her human form Demona still fights like a gargoyle with the typical lunges and clawing. The problem is without her wings and tail her balance is off allowing Elisa to easily knock her on her ass.
34	* DirtyOldMan: When Coldstone (Iago) remarks that the fight between Elisa and Demona is "diverting," Macbeth replies "You don't know the half of it."
35	* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Demona arranges for the face-off because she's certain Elisa won't show, and she wants to prove that Goliath's faith in humanity is misguided. Elisa is this close to wondering what she can really do against these odds, but she ultimately shows up.
36	* EvilIsPetty: In an unexpectedly harsh move Macbeth insults Broadway for his illiteracy.
37	* {{Foreshadowing}}: While the Weird Sisters have magically paused Demona and Macbeth during an argument, they talk about their plans for the three magical artifacts (listed in the The Reveal entry below) that they succeeded in taking and enigmatically mention their end goal which is revealed in the three part episode "Avalon".
38	* FreezeFrameBonus: While Lexington is working on Coldstone, the word "Othello" scrolls by on his computer screen.
39	* FriendOrIdolDecision: Elisa admits it's so tempting to not accept Demona's challenge because then she could just go back to a normal life, but she knows she can't abandon her friends.
40	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Coldstone (Iago) and Macbeth's opinion of watching Elisa and Demona's [[CatFight tussle]].
41	* GoodFeelsGood: Elisa, Broadway, and Hudson discuss a newspaper article about a pair of adults saving a kid from drowning. It ultimately it spurs Elisa to fight Demona at high noon.
42	* HonorBeforeReason: Macbeth agrees with Elisa that Demona should fight her one-on-one instead of shooting her with a laser cannon, because it is more sporting. He (again) refuses to crush the gargoyles in their sleep.
43	* ImNotAHeroIm: ...just doing her job as a police detective, according to Elisa.
44	* InternalReveal: Elisa discovers that Demona turns human during the day, and presumably tells the Manhattan Clan, as Goliath is aware of this fact in future episodes.
45	* KarmaHoudini: Eliza attempts to arrest Demona now that she's human, and must therefore abide by human law, but is forced to stand down when Demona reveals she captured Goliath and the others.
46	* KickTheDog: When Broadway speaks in awe of how many books Macbeth's library is filled with he mocks the former by stating "he knows how to read them."
47	* MoreThanMindControl: The Weird Sisters cast a spell on Macbeth and Demona to have them team up. Unlike most BrainwashedAndCrazy examples, their personalities remain the same and they frequently butt heads about how to deal with the Gargoyles. The sisters intervene in the end the moment both parties slowly realize they would ''never'' work together.
48	* MythologyGag: The title of this episode is a CallBack; in his intro in [[Recap/GargoylesS1EnterMacbeth "Enter Macbeth"]] Elisa warns of just that: "What if the next freak-job Xanatos hires comes here with a sledge-hammer at High Noon?"
49	* PutOnABus: Coldstone (with Othello in control) leaves for parts unknown, as the others wouldn't be safe due to Iago.
50	* ResignedToTheCall: The portal allows Iago to leave the shared mind space and take control of Coldstone. Othello is content to leave him be and live quietly with Desdemona, even as the clan is captured. When questioned about this, he reasons that he's merely a shadow and thus doesn't have to concern himself with the Gargoyle Way. He is made to see that he can't ignore his nature or let Iago run wild.
51	* TheReveal: The final scene reveals the Weird Sisters are controlling Macbeth and Demona, and orchestrated all of this in order to get the Grimorum Arcanorum, the Eye of Odin, and the Phoenix Gate.
52	* RevengeBeforeReason: Demona cared more about destroying Elisa than fulfilling her and Macbeth's plan.
53	* ShoutOut: The title of this episode and its theme of responsibility in the face of frightening odds comes from the 1952 film, ''Film/HighNoon''.
54	* ShowingOffTheNewBody: After transforming into human in front of Elisa, Demona strikes a model pose while Elisa pulls her gun on her.
55	* TapOnTheHead: Elisa is thrown by Macbeth into a wall and hits her head, leaving her unconscious from the morning until sunset.
56	* UnwittingPawn: Demona and Macbeth continue to be this for the Weird Sisters, following on from "City of Stone"; they briefly consider whether they should have enchanted Coldstone as well, but ultimately decide that it's fine for him not to be involved in their plan.
57	* VillainTeamUp: Demona, Macbeth and Iago (through Coldstone) all work together for this episode. It's near the end that Demona and Macbeth discover something off and question why they teamed up in the first place instead of trying to kill each other. It is then revealed that the Weird Sisters invoked this for their own agenda.
58	* XanatosGambit: Demona believes her trap is fool-proof; either Elisa comes to the park at high noon and faces Macbeth, Coldstone and herself all by her lonesome, thus ensuring her death, or she doesn't come and Goliath knows that she abandoned him.

Context Recap / GargoylesS2HighNoon