Line #23 Recap/GargoylesS2TheGathering


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_gathering.png]]
2	* '''Story Arc''': Avalon Mystic Tour Conclusion
3	* '''Characters''': Goliath, Elisa, Angela, Bronx, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, Hudson, David Xanatos, Fox, Alex Xanatos, Owen, Halcyon Renard, Anastasia Renard, Preston, Pietro Xanatos, Oberon, Titania, Weird Sisters, Puck
4	* '''Enemy(ies)''': Oberon, Titania
5
6	Back in Manhattan, the rest of the Clan continue to worry about the disappearance of their friends. At the Eeryie Building, the parents of Xanatos and Fox come together to celebrate the birth of Alexander Xanatos. On Avalon, Oberon has arranged the Gathering, welcoming back all his children, until he notices Puck is unaccounted for. He traces his location to Manhattan and heads there. Back at the clock tower, the Manhattan Clan were elated to see Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx back again, then get pleasantly surprised to meet the newest addition to the clan, Angela. While Xanatos, Fox, and Anastasia spend time with baby Alex, Oberon enters as he sensed Titania. To the Xanatos couple's shock, Anastasia reveals herself to be Titania, Queen of Avalon, who then suggests Alex be taken to Avalon to preserve his magical heritage. The Xanatos naturally object to this and attempt to repel them but failed. The Clan, once finding out about Oberon's intention, decide to help Xanatos, but against a mystical force of nature, it won't be easy.
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8	Puck makes his next appearance in "[[Recap/GargoylesS2Possession Possession]]".
9	----
10	!!This episode contains the following tropes:
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12	* ArcVillain: Lord Oberon
13	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: Oberon becomes as tall as Xanatos' building to attack it.
14	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Oberon decides he wants to take Alexander from Xanatos and Fox because he and Titania feels that his potential for magic will be squandered on Earth. He also makes it abundantly clear that once his mind is made up on a decision [[ImplacableMan it will not be changed]]. After a drawn out fight, Goliath is finally able to end the conflict not by appealing to his better nature, but by convincing Oberon that Alexander can learn magic on Earth and that Puck can be his teacher.
15	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu:
16	** "I am vulnerable to iron. You have hurt me. Hurting me was a mistake!"
17	** Ultimately, despite spending the majority of the second part fighting off Oberon, they are only able to delay the inevitable. It takes a moment of desperation from Fox, in which she was finally able to use magic, that Goliath managed to broker an agreement with Oberon that it was possible for Alexander to learn magic on Earth. Since teaching Alexander magic was the original reasoning for Oberon wanting to take the baby to Avalon in the first place, he relents.
18	* TheCameo: Several of Oberon’s children appear in the beginning, most of them without even a line of dialogue and simply appearing in the background, such as Coyote, Anansi and Anubis.
19	* CharacterDevelopment: The pre-Avalon World Tour Goliath wouldn't have lifted a talon to protect Xanatos and his family from Oberon. Having become a father and gotten to know Angela during the World Tour, however, Goliath now knows the pain of being forcibly separated from your own child. No matter what enmity he has with Xanatos, Goliath would now ''never'' wish such a fate on his worst enemy. Hudson even lampshades how much of an influence Angela's had on her father since "Avalon".
20	* ColdIron: Oberon's bane. It pops up a few times as weapons against him.
21	** Owen created several Steel Clan robots with iron casings to shield them from Oberon's magic and be able to wound him.
22	** Angela and Brooklyn use iron shards to break the hair tentacles Oberon is using to bind Goliath.
23	** Petros Xanatos fires an iron harpoon into Oberon's gut, severely wounding and pissing him off.
24	* ContinuityNod:
25	** Oberon observes that Odin has regained his lost eye since he saw him last.
26	** Goliath tells the others about the various clans they encountered during the World Tour. Hudson also mentions meeting Griff.
27	** Flying automatons are once again tricked into flying into each other when pursuing two gargoyles. Brooklyn lampshades this fact.
28	* DarkestHour: No matter what the Clan, the Xanatos, and their allies throw at him, they couldn't stop Oberon from advancing.
29	* EnemyMine:
30	** Goliath aides Xanatos in protecting his son despite their antagonistic histories and many times stopping the other's actions.
31	** Similarly, Halcyon Renard comes in Air Fortress 2 to help protect Alexander despite his years of fighting Xanatos and Fox having tried to sabotage his business and airship.
32	* ForcedSleep: Oberon puts all of Manhattan to sleep until the end of the battle. Goliath's clan is immune thanks to his earlier declaration of protection on Avalon, and Xanatos and his family are seemingly shielded by the force field surrounding the Eyrie Building.
33	* FriendOrIdolDecision: Puck reveals he couldn't resist offering Xanatos a choice: a lifetime of service from Owen or a free wish from Puck. Xanatos chose Owen, and Puck was so impressed that he fully honored the agreement.
34	* {{Gonk}}: After Petros strikes him in the chest with a ColdIron harpoon Oberon transforms into a shriveled up, elderly goblin like creature.
35	* HellYesMoment: The Manhattan Clan reuniting prompts a celebration in the Trio and Hudson.
36	* IOweYouMyLife: David Xanatos freely admits he owes Goliath and his clan a heavy debt and one he may never fully repay for their actions protecting his son. Goliath at first questions how he could trust Xanatos's word after all the other betrayals and deceits, but then notes that perhaps being a father will change Xanatos and help him become a man of honor.
37	* IdenticalStranger: Lampshaded when Petros sees Owen and Vogel together and asks if they're related. The trope is then turned on its ear when we learn that Puck based Owen on Vogel.
38	* InferredHolocaust: Logically, putting everyone in the city to sleep would cause several fatalities from crashing vehicles, machines left running too long, etc. Although it's not shown, WordOfGod is that this ''did'' happen, and [[ItsAllAboutMe only in Oberon's mind]] could this be considered "all just a midsummer night's dream".
39	* InternalReveal: The returning Avalon World Tourists tell the rest of the Manhattan Clan where they've been all this time, and reveal that there are other surviving gargoyle clans in London, Ishimura and the Amazon, much to their delight.
40	* ItsPersonal:
41	** Oberon is initially amused by the resistance Xanatos puts in his way, but it quickly annoys him.
42	--->'''Oberon:''' I am through playing games, mortal! I WILL NOT BE DENIED!
43	** On a similar note, Oberon seems to take Puck's refusal to return to Avalon rather personal, since he is his servant, and ventures out himself to collect the wayward fae.
44	--->'''Oberon:''' He forgets that he is mine to command.
45	* LetsGetDangerous: At the start of the battle, Oberon is too outraged at the mortals' impudence to fight efficiently. As soon as he calms down, he delivers a one-spell take-down to the bulk of his opponents and then effortlessly bypasses the force field.
46	* MamaBear: Fox shows her fine colors when it comes to her baby. She is able to reach deep in herself and draw out a significant blast of magical energy that injures Oberon despite her never using magic or being trained in it.
47	* MyMasterRightOrWrong:
48	** Titania attempts to invoke this from Goliath and the Manhattan clan when it becomes apparent that Xanatos is planning to fight to keep his son. Goliath is troubled by the fact that this is happening, so Titania makes his options clear that as a servant of Oberon his only options are to assist Oberon or not meddle at all. Goliath and the others [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight opts to help Xanatos]].
49	** Puck may be a servant of Oberon, but he chooses to serve and help Xanatos. He is punished after the battle via banishment.
50	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Puck is allowed to stay and help with training Alexander, but Oberon banishes him from Avalon ''forever'' for turning against him. Puck begs for him to reconsider but soon agrees to the punishment.
51	* OutOfCharacterMoment: Owen visibly goes OhCrap when he hears that Anastasia has remarried her first husband. Why would this bother him so much when nothing has shaken him in the past? [[{{Foreshadowing}} Perhaps he knows who this first husband is.]]
52	* OutOfFocus: Elisa doesn't participate at all in the encounter with Oberon, falling victim to his sleep spell safely in her apartment.
53	* PapaWolf:
54	** David Xanatos fights a PhysicalGod whose on a power level beyond anything he ever faced before to protect his son.
55	** Petros Xanatos aides his son in protecting Alexander and does the most harm to Oberson with the iron harpoon.
56	** Halcyon Renard comes in on his airship to help fight Oberon.
57	* PlayingAgainstType: In-universe, this is why Puck decided to take on the role of "the straight man" Owen.
58	* TheReveal:
59	** Various characters encountered during the World Tour arc reappear. Some were already known to be Oberon's Children, but a few are confirmed to be so here, including Odin.
60	** Owen is revealed to be Puck in disguise, siding with Xanatos some time ago following a FriendOrIdolDecision.
61	* ScientificallyUnderstandableSorcery: Discussed briefly by Owen when giving Xanatos the protection information. He notes that despite Oberon's awesome strength, energy is still energy regardless of its origin. Xanatos recognizes this importance by seeking to win the fight by attrition and wearing down Oberon.
62	* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Goliath reminds Oberon that the latter had agreed never to harm his clan as they try to stop him taking the child. Oberon retorts that he can interpret his own decrees any way he wants and continues fighting them.
63	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Owen abruptly departs towards the end of Part 1, but he comes back for the climax in Part 2.
64	* ShoutOut: Oberon comments just before his departure that the humans of Manhattan will awaken from their enchanted slumber and the events from the previous night will seem to them like "naught but Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream", a reference to the play that he, Titania, and Puck were drawn from.
65	* SoProudOfYou: Petros expresses pride in David (Xanatos) for the first time because his son is standing up for his own son and doing so against a PhysicalGod.
66	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: After all that's passed between Xanatos and the Manhattan Clan, Goliath is justifiably skeptical about the billionaire's pledge to repay the debt he owes the Gargoyles for their actions. However, having seen firsthand how much Xanatos loves his son (and given Angela has taught him the transformative power of a child's love), Goliath ''is'' willing to consider that Xanatos may indeed be telling the truth.
67	* StraightMan: Puck remarks he enjoyed being Owen since it was the first time he ever played the serious role to someone else's mischief.
68	* UndyingLoyalty: Puck is loyal to Oberon, but out of formality. Xanatos earned his loyalty, which is why he comes back.
69	* WhamLine: "Here's... Puck!"
70	* WhamShot: Anastasia revealing herself to be Titania, Owen revealing himself to be Puck, and Fox using magic against Oberon.
71	* WillfullyWeak: Oberon had previously decreed at Avalon that he wouldn't use his full power on Goliath's clan (as part of their peace treaty, of sorts) so he works indirectly here.
72	* XanatosGambit: Titania implies this whole affair was her running one on everyone involved. If Oberon took Alexander, he would be cared for, protected, and educated in the magical arts. If Fox and the others succeeded in beating Oberon, then Alexander would be protected, cared for, and still trained in magical arts. And Oberon would learn his own lesson in humility in the process...
73	* YouAreNotAlone: After Goliath talks about the multiple clans out there in the world:
74	-->'''Hudson:''' We're not the last. We're not alone.

Context Recap / GargoylesS2TheGathering