The Reckoning
"The Reckoning" is the sixty-first televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the forty-eighth episode of Season 2. It originally aired on May 7, 1996. It was adapted into a Radio Play and performed at the Gathering of the Gargoyles in 2003 as a tribute to Gary Sperling.
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Contents
[hide]Summary
Main Plot
Demona allows herself to be captured and imprisoned in the Labyrinth in a scheme with Thailog to clone Hudson and the Trio, and at the same time tries to convert Angela to her way of thinking. After the Clones are created by Sevarius, Thailog busts Demona and Fang out of the Labyrinth, and the three of them lure the Manhattan Clan and Talon to a fun house on Coney Island, where the gargoyles face off against their clones for the first time. The clan is defeated and imprisoned, but Demona releases them when Thailog threatens to kill Angela. The clan subdues the clones, and Talon beats Fang, while Demona and Thailog seemingly fall to their deaths while fighting on a burning roller coaster.
Subplots
Angela formally introduces herself to Demona while she's imprisoned in the Labyrinth, and they engage in lengthy discussions. While Demona is unsuccessful in turning Angela to her way of thinking, she realizes that she truly cares for her daughter.
Thailog reveals to Demona and the others his secret clone project, Delilah, who he made with the combined DNA of Demona and Elisa. Demona realizes that Thailog's been using her all along.
Talon offers to allow the abandoned clones sanctuary in the Labyrinth. The clones and mutates become the basis for the Labyrinth Clan.
The Story
Previously on Gargoyles
- Recaps: ("Sanctuary", "High Noon")
Act One
"If the boredom doesn't get us, the mosquitos will," Brooklyn grumbles, swatting a mosquito away as he, Goliath, and Angela stand on a rooftop across the street from the Goldencup Bakery Building, unaware that someone is watching them through a pair of binoculars. Angela asks how much longer they'll have to sit there, but Goliath asks her to be patient. There has been string of thefts of high technology, so right now there best move is to stake out research facilities. As if on que, a series of explosions rock Goldencup. Windows are blown out and a large hole is blown in the roof. An exo-frame emerges from the rubble, carrying three crates. As it turns, Brooklyn recognizes its pilot: Demona. "My mother," Angela says much to Goliath's concern. The big gargoyle hypothesizes that Demona is gathering weapons for another offensive. "Then let's offend her first," Brooklyn growls as he bolts for Demona. Goliath tells Angela to take care and not underestimate Demona. Brooklyn collides with Demona, forcing her to drop her loot; but she activates the jets on her exo-frame and takes flight. "This tin can won't save you!" Brooklyn growls as he digs his talons into it's steel hull. She activates its defenses and the skin of he frame generates electricity, causing Brooklyn to cry out in pain and fall towards a nearby rooftop. Angela rushes to the aid of her friend and tends to him, Brooklyn looks into her eyes as she smiles at him. "I should have known, you always travel in groups" Demona says as she watches the exchange and spots Goliath coming at her. "We are a clan, Demona! That's something you've forgot long ago!" Demona fires bolts of energy at Goliath, which he dodges. She activates her jets and shoots into the air before coming down on Goliath's back. Before she can slam Goliath into a rooftop... or the street... Angela intervenes pleading for Demona to stop this fighting. "You again? I saw you in Paris! Who are you?" Demona says taking aim at Angela's face. "I know every remaining gargoyle!" Demona declares. But Goliath slams into Demona's frame, "she is not your concern!" he growls, punching into the frame and hitting a vital component. Electricity generates, shocking both Goliath and Demona before the frame crashes onto a nearby rooftop.
Goliath and Angela prepare for the worst as Demona emerges from the wrecked exo-frame. Injured, she stumbles away from it before it explodes, the force of the blast knocking her down and out. Goliath and Angela land on opposite sides of her as Goliath takes her pulse before confirming to a concerned Angela that Demona is alive. Brooklyn soon arrives but Angela's attention is captured by her unconscious mother. "She looks so peaceful," Angela says. "Yeah, wait 'til she wakes up." Goliath declares that they cannot release her, but Angela asks what options they have. "Long ago, we banished gargoyles who turned against the clan." But Brooklyn points out there's really no place they can banish her to. Angela reminds them that humans lock their criminals away in prison and suggests doing the same. But during the day Demona is human while the rest of them turn to stone, "there is no where we can safely guard her." But Brooklyn knows a place.
Shortly later, Elisa Maza, Hudson, Lexington, and Broadway join them as they convene in the Labyrinth with Talon, Maggie the Cat, and Claw. They quickly lock Demona in a cell and come to an agreement. The mutates will watch the prisoners during the day and the gargoyles will stand watch at night. Elisa asks Goliath if he realizes what he's committing himself to, but he sees no other options and tells the rest of the clan that they will each take turns in a nightly rotation. Elisa swats the back of her neck and Talon apologizes for the mosquitos they have down there "and worse." From inside his adjourning cell, Fang protests "I resemble that remark!" Talon reminds the rest of them that Fang is serving time for trying to force his way into power down there as they attempt to ignore his obnoxious remarks. Angela takes a long look at the still unconscious Demona and volunteers to take the first watch. Goliath doesn't like the idea at all and tries to discourage her. "Am I a member of this clan or not?!" Angela yells. Goliath attempts to talk her out of it until Hudson intervenes and tells Angela to take the first watch "just remember, she may be your mother but she is capable of anything."
Some time later, Angela sits and watches as Demona slowly comes to. Slowly becomes fast as Demona realizes she's in captivity, she spots Angela and leaps towards the bars enraged, demanding to know who she is. Angela tells Demona her name, hesitates for the briefest of moments before adding "your daughter." These words enrage Demona further, "how dare you mock me! I have no daughter." Angela explains that the clan's eggs survived, she and Goliath are her biological parents and even mentions she's told there's a resemblance. Demona briefly softens, amazed at this revelation. Angela gets excited and begins telling Demona about her life, living on Avalon and that Princess Katharine brought all the eggs there after Castle Wyvern was attacked. "Typical humans, they pillage the castle AND steal our children!" Demona growls, her anger returning. Angela tries to convince her that the princess saved them and that she's part of her clan - as is Demona. "Know this, young one. Humans have no place in any gargoyle clan, Goliath has lost sight of this simple truth," Demona reaches through the bars and places a hand on Angela's shoulder. "If you truly are my daughter, we must always be there for one another. That is what it means to belong a clan." The moment us cut off by Fang's snickering turning into laughter. He sits back on his bed telling the two females that they're better than soaps.
Another evening, Fang marks another day in captivity while Lexington watches Demona. But the small gargoyle neglects to notice Demona reaching for her belt buckle and releasing a [[Micro-Electric Mosquito|micro-electric mosquitos]. The mosquito bites him and Lex swats at it and misses. Demona smirks knowingly as the bug flies off.
The Micro-Electric Mosquito emerges from the city's storm drains and flies towards the Nightstone Unlimited Building. It approaches Dr. Sevarius at a work bench, and the geneticist greets it "and who's DNA have you brought me tonight, my little thief?" he asks as he takes a syringe to it and drains of of the blood sample. "You know, when they called bio-engineering a growth industry, they weren't kidding." He releases the blood sample into a vial and places it inside a growth chamber. "Three down and two to go." Thailog is more than pleased as he enters the laboratory, he just loves it when everything goes according to plan and lets out a maniacal laugh.
Act Two
Act Three
Featured Characters and First Appearances
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Quotes
- "I'm afraid we've got mosquitoes down here, and worse."
- "Hey, hey! I resemble that remark!" - Talon and Fang
- "Man, you chicks are better than soaps." - Fang
- "Kinky!" - Fang
- "Yo, Goliath! How many gargoyles does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" - Fang
- "Some of my best friends are half-gargoyle half-human babes with bad attitudes." - Fang
- "He's a fool, but he may be of some use."
- "I can work with that!" - Demona and Fang
- "My clan can beat your clan any day of the week." - Thailog
- "She's the perfect programmed companion. Obedient and lovely. She'll do anything for me." - Thailog
- "You are capable of anything. I hate you." - Angela
- "Goliath, save our daughter!" - Demona
- "It's all over, you...forgery!" - Brooklyn
- "Yeah, but we can't just take them back to the Clock Tower, can we? I mean, they kind of give me the creeps." - Lexington
- "Demona's love for you is the first goodness she has shown in a long, long time. For her, it may have been a new beginning. A new beginning for us all." - Goliath
Continuity
Thailog and Demona appear for the first time since "Sanctuary". They are initially still allies, although their partnership dissolves at the end of the episode. Demona reappears in "Hunter's Moon" Part One, apparently operating their jointly-formed Nightstone Unlimited solo.
The Goldencup Bakery Building suffers its second gargoyle attack in the series when Demona breaks into it at the beginning (the first time being Coldstone's raid on it in "Legion"). This marks its third appearance in the series, since it was also the site of Goliath and Xanatos's opening battle in "Vows".
The Mutates appear for the first time since "Kingdom" (even Fang, who is still in prison following his actions in that episode). The clones are introduced in this episode, and they are taken to the Labyrinth by Talon to join the Labyrinth Clan. The Labyrinth Clan (both gargoyle and Mutate members, excluding Fang) next appear in "Invitation Only".
Although Thailog is not heard from again in the remainder of this season, he did survive the roller coaster fire. He next appears at the end of "Invitation Only" as an unwelcome guest at the Labyrinth, out to reclaim the Clones (though only Brentwood freely leaves with him, in the end).
Fang next appears in the first issue of Gargoyles: Bad Guys, "Strangers", as a member of the Redemption Squad working under Robyn Canmore. The beginning of his second escape from the Labyrinth (this time broken out by Sevarius) is shown at the end of the second issue, "The Lost".
The Robotic mosquitos containing DNA samples from the Manhattan Clan were kept by Demona and would be used again in "Everywhere".
Tidbits
"The Reckoning" was originally intended as being a two-part season finale, but was later on shrunk down to a one-parter after "Hunter's Moon" became the season finale. This is probably the reason for Goliath's "new beginning" line and Demona and Goliath's discussion about clans ending with Demona mirroring Goliath's line from "Reawakening", the first season finale, "You don't know the meaning of the word," and adding in "but I'll teach you." to make it more fitting to the following development.
The names of the male clones, of course, are Los Angeles-based parallels to the New York-based names for the Trio and Hudson, rising from the question that the Gargoyles production team had asked itself out of amusement: "What if the gargoyles had been awakened in Los Angeles rather than New York?" (It obviously helped that Greg Weisman lives in Los Angeles.) No explanation is given in the script, however, for precisely why Demona would choose those names for the Clones; there was never any indication in the series that Los Angeles had any particular meaning for her. Greg Weisman has suggested that she was making fun of the names the Trio chose for themselves. Delilah, of course, was named after the biblical betrayer of Samson; the "bad girl" connotations of that name would clearly have appealed to Thailog.
One of the regulars in the projected Gargoyles 2198 spin-off was a namesake descendant of Delilah's – who would, naturally, be a member of Samson's team.
Fang's line, "I resemble that remark" is a commonly said line by Curly of The Three Stooges. It is also used by the Joker in an episode of the The Batman, "The Rubberface of Comedy", written by Greg Weisman.
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command's "Clone Rangers" featured several references to this episode, including Micro-Electric Mosquitoes and a parody of Coney Island. Written by Greg Weisman, he has commented that the producers and story editor were initially looking for similar story elements that were also in "The Reckoning", so Weisman emphasized a few of them for Gargoyles fans to enjoy. [1]
(In the apocryphal The Goliath Chronicles, Thailog appeared in only one episode, "Genesis Undone", where he succumbs to a virus and is turned – apparently – permanently to stone. The Clones suffered the same fate. Also to note, the episode "Generations" is highly similar to "The Reckoning" in regards to the focus on Demona and Angela.)
Toon Disney/Disney XD Edits
In the episode as originally aired, when Fang watched Demona change into human form he said, "Kinky." In later airings, Toon Disney has censored this line.
They also edited a close-up of Thailog pulling the trigger on his gun as he was about to kill Angela.
DVD Release
See Also
Links
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