After the all-out brawl that “The Gathering” brought to us, Gargoyles slows things down and comically livens things up with “Vendettas,” a mythology-relevant but mostly insignificant episode, and “Turf,” a follow-up to “Protection” and “Golem” with a little bit of good ‘ole fashion lust-based teenage competition. Gargoyles doesn’t really do humor all that well, mainly because the overall narrative is so intensely serious, and the strict, solid animation prevents the show from being too wacky, but that doesn’t prevent Gargoyles from having a little fun at its own expense, particularly as a thematic frame story around two relatively simple plots.
Gargoyles 2×46 – Vendettas
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I’m not a super fan over self-aware episodes of cartoons. I don’t mind when the show has a bit of fun at its own expense and the various stories and characters it developed, but putting out an episode that’s just the writers and animators having a circle-jerk of in-jokes tends to put me right off, which makes me the only person who was not a fan of The Last Airbender “The Ember Island Players.” Interesting enough, both that show and Gargoyles created semi-goofy episodes towards the “end” of their runs (“Players” was the fifth to last episode of The Last Airbender, “Vendettas” the seventh to last, if canon dictates the third season obsolete). That all being said, “Vendettas” works better as a episode because it of its focus on an intense, brutal fight between Goliath/Hudson and Wolf/Hakon, with the goofy motorcycle guy whom Lexington scared off way back in “Awakening” being mostly on the margins. Oh, and his name is Vinnie.
Gargoyles does crazy so, so well, with Matt Bluestone and Xanatos’ dad being at the top of the list. Now we have Vinnie, a guy who has so little luck in his life since the gargoyles arrived that his vendetta against the beasts would seem understandable if he didn’t come off so unhinged. I mean the guy purchases what appears to be a massive bazooka, names it Mr. Carter, and rants to it like a it’s a bored bartender as he lugs it around New York. Jeff Bennett brings such a goofy, hilarious take on Vinnie’s psychosis; such a silly approach to the script definitely required an actor who’s familiar with more sillier roles. This allows Vinnie’s plight to come off as comical, but at the same time, feel so real to him that when the episode reaches its climax, audiences are at the edge of their seats wondering what he’d do – then sighs a cathartic relief that he both achieves his “vengeance” and lets the gargoyles off the hook.
Like most Gargoyles episodes, “Vendettas” is dual-themed, both with Vinnie’s ineptitude and Wolf’s/Hakon’s rage. The most aggressive member of the Pack, Wolf, returns to New York after being in Wyvern, Scotland, for some time, and he comes with a talking, magical axe. There’s an undercurrent of goofiness to the whole thing, with Wolf and the axe laughing evilly together, before it gets deadly serious when Wolf finally comes into contact with Goliath and Hudson. What follows is basically a fifteen minute beatdown, and Koko handles the animation slightly better than in “The Gathering,” mainly because there are fewer forced perspectives here. It’s a little wonky here and there, but definitely workable for the most part.
It also helps that the staging of the battle is a bit clearer then the one in “The Gathering” as well. Even as Wolf gets the drop on Goliath, he and Hudson quickly turn the tables. Then Hakon, the spirit in the talking axe, possesses Wolf and levels up considerably, given the power of flight, super-strength, and transparency. He also gains the ability of mind-manipulation, and this is the only part of the episode that Koko (or the storyboarders) screw up on. At first, it looks like Wolf/Hakon is controlling Hudson, gesturing like a puppeteer to move Hudson around and attack Goliath; only with few re-watches did I realize that Hudson “sees” Goliath as Wolf/Hakon, and is mistakenly attacking him. Really, though, it’s a little bit of both, kind of like a RAGE status effect in a RPG. Koko tries to symbolize this by matching Goliath’s gestures with the fake-vision version Wolf’s/Hakon’s gestures, but they don’t match up, particularly with the off-kilter editing. Add to it that it’s unclear where the actual Wolf/Hakon disappeared to, and it makes for a confusing sequence.
It’s not an episode killer, for sure. The intense battle is also intercut with Vinnie’s efforts to blast the main gargoyle, which is also intercut with Vinnie’s flashbacks to all the times he “got” into it with the winged beasts – first in the motorcycle incident in “Awakening,” part three, then in the destruction of the airship in “Awakening,” part four, then finally in “The Cage” as the security guard who “let” Goliath kidnap Sevarius (let’s be fair – Vinnie never stood a chance). The guy keeps trying to get in one good shot but is always hilariously thwarted by the random elements that the Goliath/Hudson vs. Wolf/Hakon brawl produces. The best is when he’s washed away by a crashing water tower. Oh, poor Vinnie.
Goliath and Hudson get no sympathy from the self-assured rage of Wolf and Hakon, though. It’s revealed that Wolf is a descendent of Hakon (which is a bit too coincidental, even for a show built on coincidences), which allows them to work in spiritual tandem, but also keeps them at odds with each other; they each desire to kill Goliath on their own terms. This arrogant thinking leads to their downfall: together as one unit, Wolf/Hakon was wildly powerful, but separate, Goliath and Hudson are able to take on the two respectively, crushing Wolf under a pile of cars and crushing the axe in a trash compactor. Gargoyles is a show about finding your purpose, but also how misguided one’s purpose can be, particularly concerning revenge; it’s that blind rage that Goliath learned about many episodes ago, and it’s that blind rage that does in both Wolf and Hakon.
Not Vinnie, though, as he gets the last laugh. Finally having the gargoyles in his sights, Vinnie fires Mr. Carter – and out blasts a pie, which smashes into Goliath’s face. Satisfied, Vinnie whistles the show’s theme as he walks off. It’s an amusing moment, and the show acknowledges it as much, complete with the IRIS OUT on Hudson’s face. It’s great and a wee bit sad, considering that Goliath and Hudson have no idea who Vinnie is.
Gargoyles 2×47 – Turf
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I mistakenly thought we’d seen the last of Dracon back in “Protection,” but he pops up again here in “Turf,” which pits his crew against the rising Tomas Brod, who’s trying to make a name for his gang in New York. Brod, the gangster who assisted Halcyon back in “Golem,” is muscling in on Dracon chop shop territory, which is starting to escalate. Elisa Maza is back in undercover mode, this time as a blond henchman in Brod’s gang. She tries to organize a police sting to catch Brod in the act of attacking Dracon’s operation, but she gets knocked unconscious and everyone manages to escape, which leaves the police spinning their own wheels.
“Turf’s” dual-theme is in the form of Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway’s squabble over who gets to hang out with Angela during all this. Now, in 2014, we as a society have become a lot more vocal (and rightfully so) about shutting such behavior down, hard. Back in the 90’s, though, there was still a more looser, “boys will be boys” attitude, so while the episode portrays the young clan’s actions as juvenile, the crassness is explained away as a “they’re just horny since they haven’t had any tail for a thousand years.” I’m glad that the episode for demanded the “teens” to treat Angela with respect and not as “turf” to be control and won over by one of the three, I just wish the episode came down a lot harder on them and the behavior.
There isn’t much to the episode in terms of mythology or backstory; like “Protection,” it’s more or less a one-off that just happens to involve two characters from the show’s past. Still, it’s a good, tense one; as mentioned before, I tend to be more of a fan of Gargoyles’ one-offs than it’s myth-heavy episodes. I like that we see Matt and the chief of police Maria Chavez in the throes of the case. Even with Matt caught up in the crazy Illuminati stuff, and the chief only appearing here and there (although every appearance has been awesome), watching them get their hands dirty with on-the-beat action is great, great stuff. It’s these kinds of details that keeps Gargoyles grounded, even when things get too sci-fi or fantastical.
The thrust of the episode is about escalation. First Brod hits Dracon’s chop shop, then Dracon’s men burn down Brod’s restaurant/front, then Brod tries to hi-jack a Dracon shipment, but it’s revealed to be a Dracon trap, then, screw-it, Brod goes off to break into prison and kill Dracon himself. Sunwoo has a slightly better handle on visuals than Koko, which makes the action scenes clear and concise; still, there are some awkward moments, particularly the pushes-and-shoves of Broadway, Lexington, and Brooklyn. There’s some repeating frames and it kinda blobs together, but all the exasperated expressions from Angela are fantastic. The show made it point to note how perspective Angela is, and I like that she’s not portrayed as clueless as to the boys’ behavior. She’s a lot more focused on the mission then they are, which is probably why she didn’t blow up at them earlier.
Elisa and Angela even have a small discussion about this, and I kind of wish this was longer and a tad bit more productive. In fact, Elisa is the one who suggests that the competition between the boys is simply them blowing off steam, and that it’s up to Angela to put her foot (claws?) down. Elisa, being a female cop, should be a tad more assertive, I think, and a lot more supportive of Angela’s concerns, especially after everything they’ve been through, but this is a modern way of thinking. In keeping with the times, the episode address the matter well enough, and Angela’s final diatribe towards the boys is a great moment, and the line “Stop calling me, Angie!” is just fantastic. Once that gets through their thick, horny skulls, Broadway, Lexington, and Brooklyn finally are able to come together and take down Brod’s airship, as well as save Elisa right before she gets decked by Brod himself.
Even though it’s wildly unlikely, the episode ends with the police putting Brod and Dracon together in a cell, basically so they can kill each other. It’s a bit of “comeuppance” amusement, a final “boys will be boys” beatdown that makes a great foil to the renewed bro-ship between Lexington, Broadway, and Brooklyn. They apologize for their actions, and Angela not only forgives them but mentions that she likes all of them, which, well, is a story for tumblr to finish. She also mentions that Avalon has a number of female gargoyles waiting and willing, to which Brooklyn asks, “So, when do we get our World Tour?” Now I know where the fan-name of the World Tour arc comes from.
“Vendettas” B+/”Turf” B+
