Recap / Gargoyles S 2 Shadows Of The Past

• Story Arc: Hakon's vengeance
• Characters: Goliath, Elisa, Angela, Bronx, Hakon, The Captain, facsimiles of Demona and the massacred Wyvern Clan
• Enemy(ies) : Hakon, The Captain

Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx land on the coast of Scotland, beneath the cliffs on which Castle Wyvern had once been built. Goliath suffers from hallucinations that lead him inland, into the cave where he had once fought the Archmage; his companions follow him warily. At the bottom of the cavern, a magical construct enables Hakon and the Captain to transfer Goliath's life energy to themselves, restoring themselves to life. Weakened by hallucinations of his slaughtered clan and Demona, and further weakened by the megalith construct, Goliath can only tell the Captain that life is meaningless without honor. Realizing that he is betraying Goliath all over again, and deliberately this time, the Captain turns on Hakon, pushing them both into the megalith, destroying it and seemingly killing both of them again. The Captain's ghost passes on, free from the hatred and guilt that had kept him trapped in the mortal world, while Hakon remains behind, trapped in the cave, for eternity.

Demona reappears in Sanctuary; Hakon reappears in Vendettas.

This Episode contains the following Tropes

• Alas, Poor Villain: The Captain's Heroic Sacrifice near the end evokes sympathy from Goliath, despite having resented him for his betrayal a millennium prior.
  Elisa: Who were they?
  Goliath: One enemy...and one friend.
• Armor-Piercing Question: What spurs the Captain's Heel Realization.
  Goliath: What good is life without honor?
• The Atoner: The Captain of the Guard, seeking redemption for his botched scheme that instead cost most of the Wyvern Clan's lives a millennium earlier, sacrifices himself so that Hakon can't be resurrected to commit further mindless violence in the present.
  The Captain: No... I can't let this happen again!
• Barred From The After Life: The Captain of the Guard and Hakon were unable to pass on after they fell from the cliff. They don't know if it was the magic of the place they landed on or the strength of their hate that trapped them, but trapped they were. It's implied at the end, however, it was the latter, because the Captain is finally able to pass on after letting go of his hate and making amends, while Hakon is left alone with nothing but his hatred.
• Being Evil Sucks: The Captain of the Guard chooses honor over life and is thus able to rest in peace. Hakon chooses life over honor and is trapped in a stone slab for eternity.
• Dramatic Irony: The crux that leads to Goliath Spotting the Thread with Hakon and the Captain's Gaslighting. For the final touch, they intended to have Goliath be struck down by a facsimile of Goliath's old mate, Demona. However, due to being stuck in a cave for 1,000 years, they had no way of knowing that Demona wasn't among the gargoyles massacred by Hakon. Goliath knew though, and it made him realize that everything he's been seeing wasn't real.
• Evil Plan: The evil duo plot to steal Goliath's life force in order to revive themselves, as well as indulge in their revenge.
• Heel Realization: The Captain of the Guard realizes that he's betraying Goliath all over again, and this time deliberately, and so he turns on Hakon.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The Captain of the Guard attacks Hakon on a collapsing megalith to save his former friend from having his life force drained, finally atoning himself for his mistakes in the past.
• Mind Screw: Hakon and the Captain of the Guard make Goliath think he's losing his mind through intense flashbacks and visual hallucinations, including them in place of Eliza and Angela.
• Never My Fault: Hakon, mostly, and the Captain blamed Goliath for their deaths. As Goliath pointed out, however, their demises were not his doing, as the two had caused themselves to go over the cliff, not to mention it was the Captain's betrayal that lead them to it.
  Goliath: My clan was betrayed by you.
  The Captain: I never wanted that!
  • The Captain's Heel Realization allows him to express how he really felt about his actions, refusing to let it happen all over again.
  Hakon: We've hated Goliath for a thousand years!
  The Captain: Nay! I hated myself for betraying him, [...] and now I've been given a chance to atone!
• No One Could Survive That!: Subverted in this episode. When the reincarnated ghosts of Hakon and the Captain are trapped in a collapsing magical structure, Elisa says "No one could survive that," and in fact, they didn't. (They became ghosts again, and the Captain "passed on.")
• Our Zombies Are Different: For the final torment to finish off Goliath, the Captain and Hakon animate stone into the form of gargoyles, as if the bodies of those slain as Wyvern had raised from the dead improperly, creating essentially Zombie Gargoyles. Goliath, in a weakened state and unable to tell what is real, gets smacked around by them, but once he recovers his senses and realizes he's being duped, smashes one and the rest crumble into rubble.
• Shout-Out: Elisa compares the tumultuous storm that she and the rest of their party went though to being like a Disneyland ride ("Now that was an E-ticket ride."). Also counts as Product Placement given that Disney also owns both Disneyland and the Gargoyles series.
• Spotting the Thread: The ghosts of Hakon and the Captain torment Goliath with an illusion of his fallen clan members reviving as vengeful statue versions of themselves (in essence, Gargoyle Zombies) demanding retribution for getting them killed that fateful night. Goliath can't bring himself to fight back due to the guilt he held for failing to save them. However, he knows something is up when a statue of Demona appears, claiming she will make him pay for letting her die as well. Goliath knows for a fact that Demona is still alive (and immortal, no less), making him realize the rest are fake.
  Goliath: This isn't real! NONE OF YOU ARE REAL! (smashes statue fakes)
• The Power of Hate: What keeps Hakon and the Captain around the material plane despite being dead, at least in part (the magic inherent in the location may be part of it). Hakon claims as much as they hated each other, they hated Goliath a thousand times worse. In truth, while Hakon hated Goliath, the Captain was filled with self-loathing for betraying Goliath (in his own words, he hated himself). Upon atoning for his actions and freeing himself of his guilt, the Captain is freed to move on to the afterlife. While Hakon, unwilling and unable to accept blame for what he's done, is consigned to remain trapped forever... at least until "Vendettas".