Hunter's Moon Part One

"Hunter's Moon" Part One is the sixty-third televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the fiftieth episode of Season 2.

• Story Editor: Michael Reaves
• Writer: Michael Reaves
• Director: Dennis Woodyard

Tidbits

Like "City of Stone", "Hunter's Moon" was originally intended as a direct-to-video release rather than part of the televised series.

Unlike the titles of the other episodes (which were colored blue), the titles of all three episodes of "Hunter's Moon" were colored red and yellow.

To mark its nature as a "season finale" (and, to a certain extent, a "series finale"), "Hunter's Moon" contains a number of deliberate echoes of Season One, particularly "Awakening", as part of the concept that one of the best ways to end a story is to bring in the motifs from the beginning. Among these echoes are:

• The gargoyles rescuing Brendan and Margot from the three street thugs ("Awakening Part Three").

• The fight with the three street thugs parallels the initial battle with the Vikings ("Awakening Part One"), a quick and successful fight that the gargoyles are proud of. Brooklyn's minor injury that will be healed by his stone sleep during the day similarly serves as a counterpart to Goliath's own minor injury in his first encounter with Hakon.

• The end of Part One, with Angela's life hanging in the balance and Goliath's grief and anger over it, echoes the carnage of the Wyvern Massacre, in particular, Demona's apparent death in it and Goliath's bellow of sorrow and rage after mourning what he believes to be her fragments.

• The trio's inadvertent destruction of the warehouse during their fight with Demona serves as a counterpart to Lexington's equally inadvertent demolition of Vinnie's motorcycle ("Awakening Part Three"). Brooklyn's question about who's going to tell Goliath about this similarly echoes his remark after watching the motorcycle go up in flames about how they'd probably better not let Goliath know about the incident.

• Xanatos mentions the Daily Tattler in his conversation with Jon Canmore ("The Thrill of the Hunt").

• When Jason Canmore talks to Elisa about the various urban legends revolving around New York, he mentions "alligators in the sewers" as an example ("The Thrill of the Hunt").

• Angela reminds Hudson that he'd told her not to believe everything that she'd seen on television ("The Thrill of the Hunt").

• The warehouse robbery that Elisa and Jason foil takes place in the same docks are as Tony Dracon's theft of Xanatos's particle beam accelerators at the beginning of "Deadly Force".

• Elisa's initial protest at being teamed up with Jason echoes her original protest at being partnered with Matt Bluestone in "The Edge" (though she accepts Jason as a partner much more quickly).

• Elisa and Jason's pursuit of Demona's thugs through Central Park may have been intended as an echo of Elisa being pursued by Xanatos's commandos through Central Park in "Awakening Part Four".

This is another good episode for cameos by the incidental characters. The three street thugs that were introduced in "Awakening Part Three" and reappeared in "Avalon Part One" now return again here, to be foiled by the gargoyles and Elisa. The panicked subway passengers include Brendan and Margot, Billy and Susan's mother from "The Thrill of the Hunt", Art and Lois from "Protection", and the construction worker from "Vendettas". Officer Morgan is one of the policemen who arrest the street thugs. Elisa and Jason pass the Jogger during their car chase.

When Demona is conducting her job interview with Robyn Canmore, she notes that Robyn has "references from Florence, Edinburgh, the Sorbonne". What makes this remark of interest is that the opening flashback in Part One takes place in Scotland (though not in Edinburgh), the opening flashback in Part Two takes place in Florence, and the opening flashback in Part Three takes place in Paris (where the Sorbonne is located).

Xanatos makes a Mister Rogers' Neighborhood reference when he says to Alex, "Can you say 'harassment'? [Alex gurgles here.] I knew you could."

The name "WVRN" for the television station that Jon Canmore works for in his "Jon Carter" identity becomes of note when one recalls where else in the series one has come across a name with those four consonants in it.

Brooklyn quotes an actual "advertising slogan" for Gargoyles when he proudly describes himself and his fellow gargoyles as "stopping evil stone cold".

Elisa uses her blonde wig from "Turf" for a disguise again.

Links

• Background Memo #1
• Background Memo #2
• Greg's Ramble
• Extensive Synopsis and Review

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