Avalon Part Three

"Avalon" Part Three is the thirty-sixth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the twenty-third episode of Season 2.

• Director: Dennis Woodyard
• Writer: Lydia Marano
• Story Editor: Brynne Chandler Reaves

Tidbits

Boudicca, the Avalon Clan's gargoyle beast, is first named in the dialogue here. She receives her name from Boudicca (more properly "Boudica" - also popularly known as "Boadicea"), a queen of the Iceni (a British tribe in what is now Norfolk) who rebelled against the Roman occupation of Britain in A.D. 60, after the Romans had confiscated her lands and, when she protested, flogged her and raped her daughters. Although she won a few initial victories against them (and sacked the towns of London, St. Albans, and Colchester in the process), she was finally defeated and promptly poisoned herself. Presumably all that Princess Katharine, the Magus, and Tom knew of her was that she was a brave warrior-queen; the historical Boudicca's career almost evokes that of Demona in the sense of fighting back against an oppressor with deeds just as bloodthirsty and brutal as the original wrongs.

Originally, Greg Weisman considered having the Magus survive the battle and leave with King Arthur afterwards. He changed his mind when he realized that one of Arthur's activities after leaving Avalon was to find Merlin, and did not want to wind up having Arthur with two wizards in his following; after rejecting this original fate for the Magus, he quickly developed the idea of having him die in the battle as a sign of the cost of war.

The flashback scenes accompanying the Magus's story to Elisa of how Katharine and Tom fell in love have gained much controversy among "Gargoyles" fans, for they have been claimed to show Katharine and Tom playing with "toddler" versions of Gabriel, Angela, and Boudicca in the daytime - obviously impossible! In fact, a closer look at this scene shows that it is taking place at night; however, it is immediately preceded by a daytime scene of Katharine and Tom together as the Magus looks sadly on. Perhaps fan memories unwittingly combined the two scenes.

Incidentally, in the first of these flashbacks (set when Tom is still a small boy), Tom is shown wearing his old peasant boy garments from "Awakening", even though, during the journey to Avalon, he was wearing his Guardian uniform instead. (Maybe he took along a change of clothes?)

The battle between Macbeth and King Arthur takes place in an apple orchard - an appropriate piece of topography for Avalon, since its name means "island of apples".

Links

• Greg's Ramble

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