Avalon Part One
"Avalon" Part One is the thirty-fourth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the twenty-first episode of Season 2. It originally aired on November 20, 1995.
- Supervising Producers: Frank Paur, Greg Weisman
- Written by: Lydia Marano
- Story Edited by: Brynne Chandler Reaves
- Produced & Directed by: Dennis Woodyard
- Animation by: Koko Entertainment Co., LTD
- Backgrounds by: Koko Entertainment Co., LTD
- Additional Production Facilities: Dong Yang Animation Co., LTD
Contents
Summary
The Story
Previously on Gargoyles
Act One
The Manhattan Clan awake to a glorious night. While Hudson and the Trio go out on patrol, Goliath opts to stay – wanting to finish a book he's been reading. Bronx whines to come along, but Hudson orders the beast to remain at the Clock Tower.
Meanwhile a shadowy silhouette comes out of the mist, docking at the lake in Central Park. The stranger steps off his skiff and leaves the park. The stranger's armored helmet bears a striking resemblance to Goliath. Pedestrians gawk at the armored man, including Margot and Brendan. He passes by the Street Thugs, who begin to harass him. He makes short work of the three, commenting (with a Scottish accent) how the leader of the gang is all noise, "like this city". As he leaves the three, one of them comes up from behind, trying to throw a trash can at him. The armored man deflects the can with his sword, which crashes into the glass storefront of a nearby furniture shop. The armored man nearly walks into traffic, much to the delight of the street thugs. The hoodlums scatter at the sound of a police whistle, but are quickly cornered by multiple squad cars. Officer Morgan asks the man in armor to put down his sword, but the stranger finds no sense in the request, finding the city filled with "fools and lawless ruffians". But Morgan points to his shield, explaining that he's "the law", dedicated to protect and serve the city. The stranger kneels and hands his sword to Morgan, recognizing him as a fellow guardian. Morgan takes the sword, but quickly finds it heavier than anticipated. The Street Thugs and the police taking them away laugh at the scene.
Later at the 23rd Precinct, Morgan's partner is still teasing him about the recent altercation. This catches Elisa Maza's attention and she asks what's so funny. Morgan begins to talk about the strange man he just brought in, describing his armor as "King Arthur stuff". He tells Elisa the stranger was looking for gargoyles, which Elisa quickly laughs off. But Morgan also points out that what stood out was that the armored man was good-natured and he even had a name for one of the gargoyles: Goliath.
At the Clock Tower, Elisa quickly shares word of this to Goliath, who knows of no "Guardian". The two are determined to learn what else this stranger knows, but conclude that it's unsafe to bring him to the Clock Tower. It's quickly decided that Goliath and Bronx will meet Elisa and the stranger at Belvedere Castle.
An hour later, Elisa explains to Guardian that she took a big chance telling Morgan she knew his family. Guardian assures her that if she knows Goliath, then, in a way, she does. The two turn to the sound of Bronx's barks, and Guardian removes his armored visor to warmly greet Goliath and Bronx. He explains that the last time he saw Goliath was "the worst night of my life", but Goliath can't figure out who he is, saying he doesn't know him. But Guardian knows him, and further attests to knowing Princess Katharine, the Magus, and the gargoyle eggs. With this news, Goliath demands to know who the man is, and Guardian removes his helmet and proclaims that he's Tom, who was just a young boy on the night of Wyvern Massacre in 994. Before he can explain more, he urgently tells Goliath that the eggs are in danger.
Act Two
Goliath is stunned at the news, and asks Tom if he means the gargoyle eggs. Guardian replies that he does, but says that they must hurry before sunrise, before running off. They chase him to the park's lake, and Elisa wonders where the skiff came from. She asks Goliath who this Tom is, and Goliath explains that Tom was a friend to the clan "when friends were all too few". While Goliath wonders aloud if Guardian is, in fact, Tom from the 10th Century, Elisa points out that Bronx trusts him. Guardian interjects, telling them to come, or the Archmage will destroy the eggs. This surprises Goliath, but it's the final push he needs to accompany Tom. Elisa is confused on where they can even go on the skiff – the other side of the lake? Nevertheless, she joins the others on the vessel. Guardian pushes off from the dock and begins to recite Latin:
As the mists begin to overwhelm the lake, Guardian begins to tell his long and strange story . . .
In the aftermath of the fall of Castle Wyvern, Princess Katherine and the Magus place the last of the gargoyle eggs on two horse-drawn wagons. Before departing, the Magus makes sure he has the Grimorum Arcanorum with him. While Tom tends to the horses, his mother Mary asks how many eggs there were; Tom replies that there were thirty-six eggs. Mary wonders how many of them will survive the journey to Kenneth II's kingdom in Edinburgh, but Katharine is determined that all of them will. Tom vows to fight off any that threaten the eggs, and Katharine beckons Tom over. She tells him to kneel, and pulling out a dagger asks him: "Do you solemnly swear on your life and your honor to protect these gargoyle eggs and the beings within them as long as you live?" Tom does, and she tells him to rise, proclaiming him Guardian of the Eggs. Mary is amused by the gesture, but as Tom takes his seat on the first wagon, he treats the title seriously, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings. The humans and eggs depart Wyvern Hill.
The journey isn't smooth and the elements are often overwhelming. At one point, the first horse-drawn wagon gets caught in a stream in the rain, and both the Magus and Tom successfully push to get it moving again. When they finally approach Castle Edinburgh nearly a year later, Tom notices armed soldiers in the woods outside the castle walls. [1][2]
At a royal feast, King Kenneth II toasts Princess Katharine on her brave journey, hoping she finds contentment within the castle walls. The crowds cheer as she thanks her uncle for the kind words. King Kenneth II quietly whispers a toast to Lady Finella, hoping she find contentment as well, finding her to be quite restless as of late. Finella waves off his concerns, saying that's never the case when she's with him. Kenneth II's son, Maol Chalvim grimaces at the end of the table as Mary delivers a roast to the King.
Lord Constantine delivers a second toast to Princess Katharine, and she thanks him as well. Finella scowls at Constantine's gesture and Maol Chalvim continues to frown.
After the feast, Princess Katharine is in her chambers with the Magus, Mary, and Tom. Katharine and Mary chat how clear it is that the King is smitten with Finella, and Mary points out that Finella's heart, however, "yearns elsewhere" with Constantine, whom Mary describes as only in love with power. Mary is confident that Constantine only courts Finella to get near the throne. Katharine finds the talk terrible, but Mary tells the Princess to mark her words: Finella is playing with fire and Constantine will break her heart.
Later, Kenneth II and Maol Chalvim leave the stables where Katharine is tending to the gargoyle eggs. As they walk the castle grounds, Maol Chalvim comments to his father that his cousin is strange to journey all the way from Wyvern with gargoyles eggs and then "fuss over them like human babes". Kenneth II agrees, but points out that Katharine is nevertheless brave and loyal: qualities that are not so easy to find. As they pass Lord Constantine (who bows as they pass), Maol Chalvim then muses aloud that loyalty is even rarer than the King realizes – that the King is too soft-hearted for this court. Kenneth dismisses Maol Chalvim's concerns, reminding him that Constantine has been good despite lacking the Prince's privileges. After they pass by, Constantine walks to the stables. Finella watches from behind the stable door. While the Magus writes in the Grimorum, Constantine invites the Princess to tour the gardens, but Katharine turns him down, telling Constantine that she must ensure all the eggs are thriving. Constantine is disgruntled at the rejection and storms off, only to be confronted by a jealous Finella. Constantine ushers her to a nearby drying-house, assuring Finella he has no feelings for the Princess and that it's time to tell the King of their courtship. Finella is relieved, explaining that while the "sweet and kind" Kenneth has proposed to her, she does not love him. She's sure the King will allow the two to marry instead, if only to see Finella happy. Finella is eager to ask for the King's blessing at dinner, but Constantine reasons with her that it would be kinder to ask the King in private, given Kenneth's feelings for her. Constantine suggests they bring the King to the drying-house, "away from the prying ears and eyes of the servants". The two kiss and, as Finella leaves, Constantine grins. As he walks away from the drying=house, he fails to notice Tom listening around the corner. A storm approaches.
Later that evening, Finella and Constantine wait inside the drying-house and (unbeknownst to them both) Tom climbs up the thatched roof, peering through a smoke hole. Finella expresses her intention to break the news gently to the King, fearing that Constantine would be "too blunt". The door opens, Constantine sneaks behind the door, and a hooded Kenneth enters the drying-house. He asks Finella the reason for his meeting her there, only to be interrupted by Constantine ambushing from behind, demanding the King's throne. He pulls out a dagger and the two struggle as Finella looks on in horror. Both she and Tom witness the King's assassination. Taking Kenneth's crown as his own, Constantine declares: "The King is dead. Long live the King."
Act Three
That night, as the storm rages on, King Constantine and his men waste little time establishing his authority, imprisoning anyone that didn't swear loyalty to him. He also decides to imprison Princess Katharine, with Mary at her side. Mary is distraught, worried where her son is in the midst of the coup. Suddenly the doors to Katharine's chambers burst open, and the Magus – carrying an unconscious Tom – and Maol Chalvim enter. The Magus explains that he found Tom curled up with the gargoyle eggs, which remain safe, but worries about the horrors the young boy may have seen. Knowing that anyone who challenges Constantine risks imprisonment (or worse), Maol Chalvim urges Katharine and the others to flee Castle Edinburgh. Katharine refuses to go, telling her cousin that she needs time to move the Eggs. Maol Chalvim finds her reasoning irrational, and tells Katharine he can't wait for her – not when Constantine is in pursuit. Katharine is resolved; she cannot go and won't ask her cousin to stay. She also tells the Magus that he doesn't have to stay – he can take Mary and Tom and escape. The Magus's response is just as definitive: "Never."
At Constantine's coronation, Princess Katharine is forced to swear her loyalty to the new King. He ambushes the Princess with a pronouncement of their wedding at Michaelmas the next day, much to the shock of Katharine, the outrage of the Magus, and the distress of Lady Finella. Princess Katharine refuses to "submit to this outrage" but the newly crowned King counters: "You have thirty-six very good reasons to obey me." Even with that astute assertion, Katharine storms off to the few allies she has left. Tom asks her if she actually intends to marry the usurper, and Katharine dismisses the thought, but expresses their need to have enough time to get the Eggs to safety. The Magus closes the Grimorum, telling the others that he has an idea.
Late that night, a servant discards shattered pottery into a wagon. The Magus approaches the wagon and beckons to the others. Katharine and Mary open the stable doors and Tom rides out in the horse-drawn wagon carrying the thirty-six eggs. He stops by the Magus who begins to read from the Grimorum:
- Per iussum meum
- Adsumate similitudo ut optare!
The Eggs are suddenly camouflaged to look like broken pottery. Tom rides off with the enchanted Eggs to the boathouse, explaining the guards will think it's just garbage to be thrown into the sea. With guards concerningly close enough to see the commotion nearby, the Magus then camouflages the broken pottery to look like a wagonful of gargoyle eggs, which the Magus, Mary, and Katharine then carry into the stable. As the three finish removing the disguised pottery from the wagon, King Constantine enters the stable, suspicious and jeering at the Princess for taking the "bairns for a walk." Katharine feints her actions as innocent; she claims that gargoyle eggs must be turned or they'll crack too soon. Constantine takes his scepter and breaks open a crate of feed, which spills onto the pile of Egg-looking pottery. Princess Katharine hands over the "egg" she was carrying to Mary and hurries out of the stable. Constantine grins at the Magus and Mary and follows Katharine.
In her chambers, Princess Katharine looks at the wedding dress given to her with the Magus. Tom enters and reports that all The Eggs have been successfully loaded onto boats. The Magus then breaks the news that while the Eggs are now safe, Katharine won't be able to escape; Constantine himself checks on her every hour on the hour. At this, Katharine hurls the dress into the fireplace, telling the Magus to take the Eggs and go on without her. Should she manage to escape, Constantine will pursue her to the ends of the Earth. "Then I will take you beyond them," promises the Magus.
Mary then knocks the door of her chambers and quietly ushers in Lady Finella. By this point, Tom has told the others that Finella had no prior knowledge of Kenneth II's assassination, and Katharine acknowledges Finella for helping her. Finella, however, admits her motivations are more to hurt Constantine. She tells the others that she plans to meet Constantine once more in the drying-house to beg for his favor and affections. The Magus then hands her a small shining stone telling her – when she and Constantine toast with the cider she brought – to have the stone already in her mouth so the sleeping potion won't affect her. Sure enough, only the King drops unconscious when the two drink, buying them all a few hours' time to escape.
Now joined with Finella, Princess Katharine is in the third skiff, preceded by Mary and Tom in the second with half the Eggs, led by the Magus and the rest of the Eggs in the front skiff. They push off from the boathouse into the open sea. Tom asks his mother where they are going, but it is the Magus who answers: Avalon, far from the reaches of Constantine. Mary asks if the Magus knows the way, and he explains that with the right spell, Avalon can be reached with any body of water. He recites the Latin spell that the adult Guardian would say a millennium later. The mists overwhelm and then disperse, revealing the Weird Sisters on a barge. The Magus orders the Sisters to let them pass, but they chide him instead, explaining that Oberon has named the three guardians of Avalon, and further, that no magics may enter, "save Avalon's own". Tom grows annoyed, trying to explain to the Sisters that if they go back, the Princess and the Eggs could die. The Weird Sisters become impatient, saying that the mortals "screech like barn owls" and prepare to turn them all into owls. Princess Katharine begs for the Magus to do something and he is quick to react: as their energies converge on the Magus, he successfully manages to not only block their magic, but bounce it back onto the Weird Sisters, turning them into barn owls. Even as owls they attack, but the Magus swats them off with his oar. They fly off, screeching.
Princess Katharine and Finella's skiff floats up to the Magus's, and Katharine celebrates his victory, but the Magus is dejected, declaring that he can't go with them to Avalon. He can't bring the Grimorum Arcanorum with him and he can't abandon it; it's the source of his power. Katharine reminds him that, even without the Grimorum, he is still her friend, but the Magus is adamant; the book is essentially a map to Avalon, and he won't risk Constantine or his sorcerers getting their hands on it. But then Finella offers to take the Grimorum and safe-guard it from Constantine and his men. Mary offers to stay with Finella, and Tom is suddenly torn; despite being Guardian of the Eggs, he wants to stay with her. Mary points out that Tom isn't safe in Scotland nor anywhere, not when he's witnessed Constantine's crimes. His only chance is Avalon, and Mary and Finella's determination to keep the Grimorum out of the despot's hands. Mary hugs and kisses her son one last time, and Mary and Finella return to Scotland.
As the two parties separate, Tom can't see his mother through the mists of Avalon . . . and of time.
Guardian's story concluded, Goliath tells him that his debt to Tom is more than he can repay. Wiping away tears, Elisa is still confused; how is Tom still alive? Guardian explains that time passes differently on Avalon: "For every hour spent there, one day goes by in the real world." In addition, Guardian also explains how, in the time since they first left Scotland, he returned every hundred years to see if Goliath and the others had awakened. Goliath informs Guardian of his own confusion regarding the Archmage; the sorcerer died before Tom was born. That might be the case, Guardian concedes, but he still lays siege to Avalon. He once again hopes they return before sunrise.
Goliath vows to help however they can and Bronx begins to bark at the sight of the shoreline. The skiff lands on the beach and Elisa comments how much Bronx likes it on Avalon. Guardian points out that the gargoyle beast has found "The Eggs". Goliath grows anxious and is stunned to see not eggs, but fully grown gargoyles on the cliffside.
To Be Continued . . .
Featured Characters and First Appearances
| Gargoyles | Humans | Oberon's Children |
|---|---|---|
|
Continuity
Hudson and the Trio make their next appearance in "Kingdom" trying to find out where Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx are.
Many familiar "bit characters" make appearances in the episode (and have all the more reason to show up now, just before the series would take its long holiday from New York). Brendan and Margot are among the passers-by staring in astonishment at Tom in his armor, his confronters are the three Street Thugs from "Awakening: Part Three", and the policeman who arrests him is Officer Morgan.
Constantine mentions the Stone of Destiny in his coronation oath, but this time (unlike at Macbeth's coronation in "City of Stone" Part Three) the Stone does not appear.
Mary and Finella will next appear in "The Gate", "Tyrants", and "Phoenix", where we also see the end of Constantine's reign. Constantine and Maol Chalvim both return in those stories as well.
The Magus mentions Constantine having sorcerers in his employ; we will meet one of these, Brother Valmont, in "The Gate".
Tidbits
Originally, the production team had considered having "The Eggs" secretly raised in Brigadoon, to better reflect the gargoyles' Scottish "nationality". After their research had discovered, however, that Brigadoon was purely a creation of the Lerner and Loewe musical (and therefore not in the public domain), the refuge for "The Eggs" became the isle of Avalon instead – which change led to the introduction of Arthur Pendragon in Parts Two and Three.
(Later on, when Greg Weisman wrote a Gargoyles parody for Captain Atom, he briefly mentioned Brigadoon in it, bestowing upon it the role that Avalon had in the animated series.)
Maol Chalvim's more familiar anglicized name in the history books is Malcolm II (King of Scotland from 1005 to 1034). His name was changed in the script for the same reason as Canmore's in "City of Stone" Part Two, to distinguish him from Prince Malcolm.
King Kenneth III was to debut in the episode, but was removed from the story. [3] He would appear in "The Gate".
DVD Release
See Also
- Greg's Ramble
- Extensive Synopsis and Review
- Voices from the Eyrie Deep Dive
- [ Voices from the Eyrie Deep Dive]
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