Mark of the Panther (episode)
"Mark of the Panther" is the forty-seventh televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the thirty-fourth episode of Season 2. It originally aired on February 8, 1996.
| Crew | With the Voice Talent Of |
|---|---|
|
Contents
Summary
Main Plot
The travellers meet up with Diane Maza in Nigeria when the werepanther Tea attacks with poachers to get revenge on Fara Maku, who had bestowed the Mark of the Panther onto her. Goliath, Angela, Elisa, Bronx, and Diane track the two transformed humans to Kara Digi and find out that Anansi had marked Fara Maku so that the man could keep Tea at his side. Anansi expresses his desire to enslave the whole group, but Angela thinks of a way to defeat him. Fara realizes that he was selfish, while Tea realizes she was wrong in poaching panthers, so the two of them begin using their curse to protect the jungle.
Subplots
Diane tells the tale of the Panther Queen, an old African legend, to a group of children.
Goliath finally acknowledges Angela as his daughter thanks to advice from Diane, and Elisa finally opens up to her mother.
The Story
Previously on Gargoyles
- Recaps: ("Revelations", "Sanctuary")
Act One
In the rainforests of Nigeria, near a large waterfall, a panther walks along the riverbank. Unknown to it, it is being stalked by dangerous predators, three armed humans. The panther soon realizes it is being hunted and growls in defiance at its hunters. But two of the poachers raise their guns and fire.
The Skiff comes flying down the rapid waters, bumping into rocks as it twists and turns. "Where are we?" Goliath growls. "In big trouble!" Elisa answers as she spots the oncoming waterfall. Barely seconds later, the Skiff goes over the falls and its occupants are ejected from the vessel. Angela grabs onto Bronx and slows their descent with her wings. Goliath rescues Elisa before hitting bottom but Bronx and Angela collide with them. However, by this point, they're close enough to the foot of the falls to hit the water safely. The Skiff floats to the surface and the travelers break the surface as well, gasping for breath. "Now where are we?" Angela ask as they emerge from the river, stepping onto the bank.
"I've never seen trees like those before," Goliath says marveling at the flora and fauna. Elisa, however, believes she recognizes their surroundings and guesses that it could be Africa. "My mom's ancestry is Nigerian and we went there once." Angela takes this moment to relitigate an old argument: "Well you're lucky, my father never wants talk about himself or my mother." But Goliath, exasperated by this topic snaps back "you have many mothers and fathers, you're the child of the entire Wyvern Clan!" Angela fires back reminding him that he's her biological father. Before the argument can continue, Angela gasps at a sight that horrifies her... the panther that had been hunted and killed "Why would any hunter take an animal's skin and leave the meat behind?" Goliath asks with disgust. "Poachers don't care about the meat," Elisa explains, "they get rich selling the skin, teeth, and claws." "Maybe that's why Avalon sent us," Angela guesses, "to stop this disgraceful thing." The travelers then proceed deeper into the forest.
In a nearby village, a group of children sit around a campfire as a visiting storyteller, Diane Maza, enthralls them with her tale. The tale of the Panther Queen: The most beautiful creature in the jungle, but also very vain and careless. The Panther Queen mocked both the Hippo and the Crocodile, but one day she made the mistake of mocking Anansi the Spider. Anansi wove a magic spell into his web that transformed the Panther Queen into a human female. The Panther Queen begged Anansi to change her back, but he refused and laughed at her when she threatened to kill him. But he agreed to change her back if she would build him a great city shaped like a giant web. Knowing she would need help, the Panther Queen married the Oba of the Houka Tribe and had many strong sons and clever daughters, but the queen never forgot her true form and longed to become a panther In time they built the city of Kara Digi, which pleased Anansi. When the queen came to him, he wove a spell transforming her back to her original form. But Anansi had tricked the queen for now she was lonely and missed her human children. She showed Anansi her broken heart and asked him to turn her children into panthers. He agreed but with a price, only one of her children if she hunted for him. The Panther Queen hunted and brought him food, which pleased the spider. The Panther Queen went on to make her mark on her oldest son, who was the wisest and bravest of the tribe. However, Anansi didn't want to let his favorite subject leave and told the prince of his bargain with the queen, but the prince didn't want to become a panther and asked if there was any way to escape his fate - and Anansi told him to kill the Panther Queen. The angry prince hunted the queen but when he found her, he remembered the voice and hands of his mother and realize she had chosen him out of love, and since he loved her too he couldn't harm her. So Anansi was forced to change the prince into a panther. Anansi was so furious that he banished all the humans from Kara Digi - but that was foolish for now he had no one to tend to his knees and he then he went hungry. The children laugh with delight as Diane concludes her tale.
Even the travelers have listened and Angela asks if the storyteller is the queen of this tribe or their magus. Elisa corrects Angela and, with a feeling of guilt, tells the young gargoyle that the storyteller is her mother. They watch as the village elders lead the children away as Diane Maza approaches Fara Maku and a caged panther. Fara tells Diane that after the feast, they'll release the ceremonial panther in honor of the Panther Queen. Diane asks how she did, telling him that she'd studied the story for months. Fara assures her that its one of the best tellings he's ever heard. "Especially for someone born and raised in New York City", Elisa says as she emerges and runs into the arms of her mother who is shocked to see her and relieved she's all right. The joy and relief turns into parental anger when Diane demands to know why she disappeared, they've all been out of their minds with worry. Elisa say nothing but "I'm sorry." "Would you like to explain what you are doing in Africa?" but Elisa offers the weak excuse that she's working a case - which Diane knows better than to believe. As she watches, Angela wonders why Elisa doesn't just tell her mother the truth. "Elisa doesn't like to share her secrets," Goliath says before agreeing that she shouldn't keep this from her mother. Seeing an opening, Angela resumes the argument: "you're right, parents and children should always be able to discuss anything."
The poachers then emerge from the rainforest and point their guns at all assembled. Fara Maku recognizes their leader. "[[Tea Gora|Tea! What are you doing with these men?" "Only what must be done, Fara Maku." she responds. One of the poachers approaches the cage of the ceremonial panther but Diane places herself between him and the animal. Bronx growls and Angela wants to step in, but Goliath doesn't want anybody shot and advises to give Elisa a chance. Tea warns Diane to step away from the cage before somebody gets hurt. But Fara demands to know if this is what she learned in the big city. But Tea snarls at him to stay back, "you have no idea what happened to me in Abuja." She stalks towards the cage: "that panther is going to die and, if necessary, so will every panther in the jungle."
Fara Maku begins to writhe in pain but nobody notices as one of the poachers suggests getting rid of them all "we don't want any witnesses" and hearing this threat, the gargoyles begin to emerge. But Fara Maku begins to growl and roar as he falls to the ground, transforming into a panther... he approaches Tea and roars.
Act Two
Act Three
Featured Characters
| Gargoyles | Humans | Oberon's Children | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| Places | Magic | Miscellaneous |
|---|---|---|
|
Quotes
- "Most legends contain a seed of truth" - Goliath
- "I don't need looking after!"
- "Of course not." - Diane and Goliath
- "Spiders! Why did it have to be spiders?" - Diane
- "All children demand special treatment at times. It's natural. And Angela is the only hatchling with you." - Diane
- "Dream on Spider-Man!" - Elisa
- "Your quick thinking helped us defeat Anansi. I am proud of you, my daughter." - Goliath
- "If love is about growing closer, then it's also about letting go." - Diane
Continuity
While Anansi appears to have been slain by Goliath, he is seen among the Children of Oberon returning to Avalon in "The Gathering" Part One, indicating that he survived. Indeed, there is a hint of his survival at the end, when, after Anansi's disappearance, we see a small spider scurrying along its way; according to Greg Weisman, the spider was Anansi, who had hurriedly shrunk himself to escape the gargoyles.
This episode is the second time that a human has transformed into a panther. In "Metamorphosis", Derek Maza transforms into Talon, and in this episode Fara Maku and Tea Gora are werepanthers of a more magical origin. Derek Maza's sister (Elisa) and mother (Diane Maza) appear in this episode.
Diane Maza is introduced to the gargoyles for the first time. After a conversation with her, Goliath is convinced to accept Angela as his daughter, following the revelation that they were biologically related in "Monsters".
Tidbits
In very early outlines, Fara Maku and Tea Gora were to be were-jaguars instead of were-panthers; fortunately, this was changed ("fortunately", in the sense that it saved the production team from the embarrassment of placing jaguars in Africa rather than South America).
Though Disney's YouTube playlist for Season 2 included this episode, for reasons unspecified, it was set to private.
DVD Release
Links
| << Previous Episode: "Walkabout" | Next Episode: "Pendragon" >> |
