The New Olympians

"The New Olympians" is the fiftieth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the thirty-seventh episode of Season 2. It originally aired on February 14, 1996.

Crew	With the Voice Talent Of
Supervising Producers: Frank Paur, Greg Weisman Written by: Adam Gilad Story Edited by: Gary Sperling Produced & Directed by: Bob Kline Voice Director: Jamie Thomason Music by: Carl Johnson Title Theme by Carl Johnson Music Editing: Marc Perlman Animation by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc. Storyboard by: Brad Rader Backgrounds by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc. Additional Production Facilities: N/A	Brigitte Bako: Angela Keith David: Goliath Michael Dorn: Taurus Dorian Harewood: Boreas, Talos Charity James: Ekidna Roddy McDowall: Proteus Rob Paulsen: Helios Salli Richardson: Elisa Maza Frank Welker: Bronx, Kiron

Summary

Main Plot

The travellers find themselves on the hidden island of New Olympus, and are greeted by a hostile police force who imprison Elisa for being human. She is set free, but not allowed to leave the island, and then imprisoned again for unintentionally causing a riot amongst the prejudiced New Olympians. She's jailed next to the evil shape-shifter Proteus, who tricks Goliath into setting him free, and then leaves with Elisa while posing as Goliath. Elisa sees through his disguise and risks her freedom to stop Proteus from destroying the island, and she is set free.

Subplots

Some New Olympians realize that not all humans are evil, and that they would eventually have to make themselves known to the world.

The Story

Previously on Gargoyles

• Recaps: ("Awakening: Part One", "Awakening: Part Three")

Act One

Within the midst of a vast sea, Skiff and its passengers find themselves in the middle of nowhere, much to Elisa's bewilderment. As Angela ponders if Avalon's magic could have made a mistake, Goliath notices an unnatural shimmering ahead of them. Bronx regards the shimmering with suspicion and Angela braces for the worst as the Skiff is about to collide with it. However they merely pass through, the shimmering causing neither injury nor contact of any kind. As they emerge, the shimmering has vanished and before them, a vast city in the middle of a massive island is revealed. The travelers are not in the middle of nowhere.

Goliath steers the Skiff towards land and pulls the the vessel up onto a small beach and wonders why this place is kept hidden. Their silence is interrupted by three air chariots circling overhead. As they begin a vertical descent towards the beach, Elisa urges her companions to get out of sight as there is no telling how the island's inhabitants will react to gargoyles. "Hi there," Elisa says in greeting, but as she begins trying to explain herself, one of the drivers of the chariots, a centaur, is shocked at the sight of her. Another man, with burning flames for hair identifies Elisa as a human. Their leader, a minotaur, growls that he knew this day was coming. Elisa tries to tell them she means no harm, but the minotaur fires a pair of bolas from his air chariot which bind her. Goliath cries out as he, Angela, and Bronx rush to Elisa's air. "Taurus," the flame-haired man cries, "it's an ambush!" before throwing a ball of flame at the gargoyles. But Taurus orders Helios to stand down as Goliath demands to know the meaning of this attack. Taurus tells the gargoyle leader that they have no dispute with him. Elisa is surprised that they know about gargoyles, but Taurus replies that they know about humans as well - and he is clearly not too fond of them. Taurus activates a tracter-beam which pulls Elisa towards the hull of his chariot by the bolas. Taurus informs Goliath that Elisa will be taken to the Senate-House and invites him to follow, telling him that Boreas will decide "the human's fate." Elisa protests that she hasn't done anything, but all Taurus will tell her is that she is a human and she is trespassing on New Olympus. "I don't make the laws, I just enforce them." The three air chariots veer left and fly back into the city. With a calm fury, Goliath follows "let us meet this Boreas."

Shortly afterwards, inside the Senate-House, Goliath, Angela, and Bronx stand in the center of the room, on top of an illuminated dais, surrounded by hundreds of spectators standing and shouting from the gallery. But all Angela is concerned with is what has been done to Elisa. Soon, a gigantic, winged man carrying a scepter steps into the main chamber and introduces himself as Boreas, leader of the New Olympians and addresses the gargoyles as a noble race. Goliath accepts the compliment and asks about his friend - a human. A pair of double doors opposite Boreas open and Taurus steps out before grimly removing his helmet. The centaur, Kiron, and Helios escort Elisa inside - the human woman manacled and restrained in a hovering platform. Goliath introduces Elisa to Boreas by name and assures him that she's not guilty of any crime. "All humans are guilty!" a serpentine New Olympian, Ekidna, protests. "Thousands of years ago, Olympians walked among humans. But because of the way we looked we were shunned... hunted!" Boreas takes a more diplomatic tack and explains that their ancestors fled the human world and created the kingdom of New Olympus to be safe. Goliath vouches for Elisa, pleading that there is nothing to fear from Elisa - but the spectators go crazy. Goliath leaps from the dais towards Boreas to tell him that Elisa is trustworthy, she's kept the gargoyles secret in the human world and she will keep the New Olympians' secret, but Ekidna will hear none of it. Elisa tries to tell them that it's not fair to hold all humans responsible for something that happened centuries ago and asks for a chance. Boreas believes her sincerity but cannot afford to take any chances with his people's safety. A large, golden robot emerges from the shadows and makes its own case, that they may need human allies as human technology is progressing so quickly, the island's cloaking device won't be affective much longer. Boreas considers this before asking for Taurus's counsel. Taurus bitterly tells of his ancestor, the Minotaur, who was locked in a Labyrinth by humans, starved, and then killed by a human "hero" - he firmly believes humans are dangerous. The spectators continue to howl hatred from the gallery as Boreas raises a hand for silence, but the crowd continues before Boreas pounds his scepter into the floor, silencing all. Boreas has reached a decision: while he doesn't believe "the human" has come to harm them, he cannot allow her to return to the outside world as the temptation to reveal their secret would be too great. He allows the gargoyles to leave but Elisa will remain as their "guest" - permanently. Elisa gasps in horror before protesting. Boreas addresses her by name and hopes that over time she'll come to feel at home here. Elisa is freed from her restraints and Taurus orders her to follow the rules and she won't have any problems. But Ekidna, Helios, and Kiron don't appear satisfied with the decision

As the travelers wander the streets of the city, a furious Angela demands to know why they are putting up with this. Goliath doesn't like it, either, but they cannot wage war against an entire city. He believes that Boreas seems reasonable and should soon realize Elisa poses no threat. Elisa, however, does concede that New Olympus is pretty amazing and is open to looking around while they have the chance. But nearby, Helios begins mock coughing. "What a stench," he sneers, "it must be coming from the human." Goliath places a supportive hand on Elisa's arm, intent to just ignore him. But they are stopped by a mob under Ekidna's leadership. "Boreas may believe your claims of innocence, but we do not!" The mob surrounds them, shouting "human lover!" as Kiron violently shoves Goliath to the ground. Goliath quickly retaliates and pounces on the centaur as Bronx attacks Helios, who wards the gargoyle beast off with his flames. As Ekidna readies to strike at Elisa, Angela slams her to the ground from the side. Another New Olympian approaches Elisa and barely misses striking her. "ENOUGH!" Taurus shouts as he breaks up the commotion and arrests Elisa. "You are under arrest. Again." Goliath protests that Elisa did not start this as the minotaur leads Elisa to his air chariot. "I don't care who started it, I know who caused it." When Elisa calls him on this injustice, Taurus merely retorts with "my job is keeping the peace and that's exactly what I intend to do."

Taurus soon leads a restrained Elisa into a cellblock of a large jail. They pass by a large cell who's door is actually an energy barrier. An older minotaur stands inside and pleads that Taurus "have mercy on your poor father" as they walk past. Elisa is surprised, "you put your own father in jail?". Seething with rage, Taurus tells her that is not his father. The old minotaur smiles and his body begins to stretch and with metamorphic abilities, transform into a tall, lean man with a large head and white hair. "He's right of course," the shapeshifter says, "something happened to his father - oh yes, I remember" and with barely contained glee reveals "I murdered him." Elisa stares back at the shapeshifter with even more horror than she showed at her sentencing earlier and asks who is that. "Proteus," Taurus replies with considerable bitterness, "he is not like other New Olympians - he is evil." The minotaur reveals that in Proteus's last attempt to escape the island, he murdered the prior security chief, his father. As Taurus leads Elisa into her cell, Elisa expresses empathy and reveals that her own father and her are also both police officers, that she doesn't know what she'd do if anything happened to him. She tells Taurus that they might have more in connon than they realize. Taurus tells her to make herself comfortable, she may be there for a while. He closes her cell and storms off past Proteus, refusing to give the shapeshifter the satisfaction of even one moment of attention.

Elisa hears screaming and approaches the barred window where Ekidna's angry mob stands outside screaming for her death. Helios throws a ball of flame at her window and she ducks for cover. She runs for her cell door and calls for Taurus, but the minotaur exits the cellblock. But Proteus is amused by the whole affair, "they really don't like you here, do they?"

Act Two

Taurus approaches Ekidna's mob and orders them to disperse or he'll personally lock them up and throw away the key. He then warns Helios to keep a check on the pyrotechnics or he's out of a job. Ekidna warns Taurus that this isn't over but the minotaur tells her to take it up with Boreas.

Inside the cellblock, Proteus begins probing for information by attempting to make conversation. He asks Elisa what she and her gargoyle friends were doing in the middle of the ocean. Elisa, with no interest in conversing with the murderer, says it's none of his business. But the shapeshifter keeps probing "how did you plan on getting back?" But all Elisa says is that they have ways of getting from one place to another. Proteus is intrigued by what little she gave him. Elisa, meanwhile, unzips her jacket and makes herself comfortable on the cot.

As Boreas leisurely strolls through the park, he is approached by Goliath, Angela, and Bronx. Goliath has come to file an official protest for his treatment of Elisa. Boreas heard about the riot and with the security of his people at stake, he agrees with Taurus's decision to "quarantine" Elisa. Angela protests angrily that Elisa didn't start he fight. Goliath advises Boreas to imprison all of them if he intends to imprison Elisa. But Boreas asks Goliath to understand that this is a necessary precaution for Elisa's safety as well. As Angela is prepared to continue the argument, Goliath grabs her arm while assuring the leader of the New Olympians that they understand and thanks Boreas for his time. Goliath leads Angela off before telling her it is not safe for Elisa here. He orders Angela and Bronx to return to the Skiff as they must leave before another day passes. Angela asks about Elisa but Goliath tells her to be ready to go the instant they arrive before he runs off and takes to the air, soaring back into the city.

Goliath enters the jail and comes across Kiron, who is on guard duty, and attacks the centaur from behind, knocking him out and take his keys. The gargoyle enters the darkened cellblock where he hears Elisa's voice telling him "it's about time". He turns towards the large cell, but unbeknownst to him, it's not Elisa he's speaking to - it's Proteus. Proteus/Elisa warns Goliath to stop as the cell is protected by a forcefield. Peoteus/Elisa points at a control panel on the far wall. Goliath heads towards it, past the cell of sleeping Elisa. Proteus/Elisa guides Goliath through the switches he must flip and tells him to use the key, deactivating the forcefield. Goliath returns to the cell where he comes face-to-face with, not Elisa, but a gigantic cyclops. Horrified, Goliath demands to know what he's done with Elisa. Proteus, in cyclops form, knocks Goliath into the wall, before exiting the cell towards the control panel, locking Goliath in before taking on the form of Goliath himself. The real Goliath screams in rage, Elisa hears it and wakes up. Running towards her door, she sees Goliath in his cell as he tries to warn her that "this shapeshifter has locked me in here!" But Proteus, in Goliath's form, simply asks "who is that guy?" The real Goliath roars and injures himself against the forcefield. Elisa advises Proteus/Goliath to "ignore him, he's a criminal, he deserves to be here." "But you don't," Proteus/Goliath says as he breaks the cell door down and then tears the bars off of the window. "Coming?" he asks, as Elisa mounts up on his back. Proteus/Goliath spreads his wings and takes to the air.

Helios, on board an air chariot, approaches Taurus who is flying his. He informs Taurus that "the human has escaped" and Kiron says he was "ambushed by the big gargoyle" and they escaped together. "Not from my jail, they haven't," Taurus says grimly. With the island on alert and sunrise imminent, Proteus/Goliath tells Elisa to hurry, confident that they are already being searched for.

Angela and Bronx continue to wait by the Skiff, concerned with the fast approaching daylight, when a spotlight shines on them from Kiron's air chariot. The centaur demands to know where the human is. "Isn't she still unjustly imprisoned?!" Angela responds before leaping onto a tree branch. Kiron fires a pair of bolas at her which she dodges. The bolas turn around in midair and rocket back towards her, and again she avoids them. Bronx growls from the trees and leaps onto Kiron, knocking him off the chariot to the beach below. But it is too late, the sun rises and the gargoyles turn to stone. The bolas restrain Angela's statue and Kiron gently nudges Bronx off of him. "I don't think they'll be going anywhere," he says.

And back, inside Proteus's cell, an enraged Goliath has also turned to stone.

Act Three

Proteus/Goliath and Elisa run through the early dawn streets and take cover in an alley as Taurus flies by while searching for them. Having stopped to catch her breath and with the very immediate danger having passed, Elisa realizes that this Goliath isn't the real deal. "It's daylight," she says raising an eyebrow and smiling with knowing suspicion, "and you're no stone." Proteus/Goliath quickly comes up with the excuse "the island's cloaking device must alter the sun's rays." He tells Elisa to "go on to the boat" while he creates a diversion to cover their escape. Elisa, her suspicion growing into concern asks what he has in mind. Proteus/Goliath points out the tallest tower in the city, the Columnadium which contains the island's power source. He plans to overload it so the "fireworks will keep the locals busy." Elisa is surprised that he plans to blow it up, but her faux-friend says they deserve it for how they treated her. Elisa, barely covering her disgust just says she'll go get everything ready and tells him to be careful. Proteus tells her not to worry, he'll be traveling incognito, as he takes on Taurus's appearance and voice once she's out of sight.

As Helios flies by on his air chariot, Elisa pulls him off of it, causing the chariot to crash relatively gently onto the street. "Listen, Proteus has escaped and he's masquerading as my friend, Goliath." Helios snidely asks if she had to attack him to tell him that. Elisa asks if he would have listened, but he kicks her off and says no before attacking her with a ball of flame. But Elisa avoids it and kicks him in the chest, knocking him head first into a street lamp. With Helios dispatched, Elisa boards the air chariot ad after a moment, it revs up and she flies it into the air.

Talos stands guard before the controls of the power source at the apex of the Columnadium as "Taurus" enters via an elevator. He asks the robot if there's any sign of the human, but Talos has seen none. "Taurus" approaches the controls and begins pressing buttons. Talos warns "Taurus that if he continues to overload the system, he'll trigger an explosion "big enough to destroy he entire island." Proteus, sarcastically asks why he would want to go and do a thing like that. Talos can't speculate as to "Taurus's" motives, but insists he stop as he raises a weapon from the back of his hand. "Taurus" smiles and steps away as Talos thanks him for his cooperation and begins to repair the damage. But Proteus once again assumes the form of a gigantic cyclops and punches a hole through the robot's torso. "You know, on second thought, maybe we will just let it blow up."

As Taurus continues his search for the fugitives, Elisa taunts him from her commandeered air chariot. "Yoo-hoo, bet you can't catch me!" Taurus immediately begins his pursuit as thy fly up above the clouds. Channeling the Macbeth Robot before her, she calls back "you'll have to do better than that!" as she approaches the apex of the Columnadium in time to spot Proteus throwing Talos's carcass to the ground. She looks back, pleased that Taurus is still in pursuit.

Proteus transforms into his true form (if one can call it that) and resumes overloading the power source. When he hears the approaching air chariot, he once again takes on Goliath's form and angrily berates her for leading Taurus right to him. Elisa tells him that was the idea before address him as "Proteus". Elisa is again restrained by a pair of bolas as Taurus approaches to take her back into custody, telling "Goliath" not to interfere. "Goliath" gleefully assures Taurus that "she's all yours." But Elisa has them where she wants them. "He's no gargoyle, Taurus. If he was Goliath he would be a stone statue and he wouldn't be trying to blow up your island!" Taurus begins to ask who it is but quickly realizes it's Proteus. The shapeshifter again resumes the form of a gigantic cyclops "well Taurus, shall we dance?" He grabs the minotaur and throws him against a column. The clock is ticking as the tower begins to shake with the power beginning to overload. Proteus approaches Taurus with murderous intent, briefly taking the form of the minotaur's father "like father, like son" as he prepares to deliver the killing blow. Taurus climbs onto the giant's back and punches the cyclops in his single eye. "This is for my father!" knocking him unconscious.

With Proteus dealt with, Taurus rushes to the controls and returns the power to it's normal levels. Taurus throws a restraining orb at the shapeshifter, "that should hold you until you are back in your cell - permanently." Taurus then approaches Elisa with confusion as he releases her from the bolas. "You did not have to come back here, you could have escaped." But Elisa would not have abandoned her friends and "besides, what kind of cop would I be if I let a slime like Proteus get away?" Taurus smiles with approval "you are definitely not like the humans of legend." Elisa chooses to take that as a compliment as the two police find common ground.

Later, the Skiff departs and Elisa waves back at Boreas and Taurus in a gesture of friendship. "You know, they're not so bad once you get to know them." Taurus waves back and reminds Boreas that Elisa is the first human to visit New Olympus in two-thousand years but she probably won't be the last. The reminder becomes a warning as the security officer tells they won't be able to hide forever. Boreas agrees, "the time may soon come when the world will have to face the New Olympians."

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles	Humans	New Olympians	Others
Angela Goliath Bronx	Elisa Maza Theseus (Mentioned Only) Peter Maza (Mentioned Only)	Helios (First Appearance) Kiron (First Appearance) Taurus (First Appearance) Boreas (First Appearance) Ekidna (First Appearance) Minotaur (Taurus's Father) (Illusion) Proteus (First Appearance)	Talos (First Appearance) Minotaur (Mentioned Only)

Places	Objects	Miscellaneous
New Olympus Senate-House New Olympian Jail New Olympian Park Columnadium	New Olympian Restraining Orb	New Olympian Chariots

Quotes

• "My ancestor, the minotaur, was locked in a labyrinth by humans, starved, then killed by a human hero." - Taurus

• "Something happened to his father. Oh yes, I remember. I murdered him." - Proteus

• "Hmm, the plot thickens." - Proteus

• "You are definitely not like the humans of legend."

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment." - Taurus and Elisa

• "You know, they're not so bad...once you get to know them." - Elisa

• "The time may soon come when the world will have to face the New Olympians." - Boreas

Tidbits

Like the episode "Pendragon", "The New Olympians" was designed as a back-door pilot for a Gargoyles spin-off series, also called The New Olympians. In the series, a young man named Terry Chung would be shipwrecked on New Olympus while sailing around the world by himself, and his arrival would serve as the catalyst for the New Olympians deciding to announce themselves to the world. The series would have focused on the impact of the New Olympians' revealing themselves, and would have included further schemes from Proteus, Xanatos entering into trading relations with New Olympus for his own benefit, an attempt by a New Olympian named Jove and his followers to make the humans worship the New Olympians as gods as they had done in ancient times, and a Romeo and Juliet-type relationship between Terry and the female New Olympian Sphinx.

The individual New Olympians in this episode are all based on figures in Greek mythology, and even named after them. See the background page for each character to learn more: Boreas, Ekidna, Helios, Kiron, Proteus, Talos, and Taurus.

The New Olympians recognize Goliath, Angela, and Bronx as gargoyles at once and are well-disposed towards them. According to Greg Weisman, there is an actual gargoyle clan on New Olympus, the New Olympian Clan (but one which apparently didn't bother showing up to greet the visitors).

Taurus and Proteus appeared in "Seeing Isn't Believing", an episode of the non-canonical The Goliath Chronicles.

The Aladdin episode "The Animal Kingdom" had a similar premise to "The New Olympians" only with the titular character being held captive in the village of sentient animals. Michael Dorn, voice of Taurus, provided the voice of the character Brisbane.

Toon Disney/Disney XD Edits

When Elisa has her tussle with Helios, there is a cut when he throws her down on the sidewalk.

DVD Release

• Gargoyles: Season Two, Volume Two

Links

• Greg's Ramble
• Extensive Synopsis and Review

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