Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Hunter's Moon" yesterday (Sunday) on DVD - all three parts.

I've mentioned before spotting a lot of mentions of hunting, usually applied to humans going after gargoyles with hostile intent, and it struck me that this made it appropriate that the Hunters would be the gargoyles' adversaries in the finale. (Well, the Disney Afternoon finale/Season Two finale.)

And it struck me that the Hunters were the most dangerous opponents that the gargoyles faced in modern times, judging by results. They blew up the clock tower, destroying the gargoyles' home, and then exposed them to the public. The former was partly undone by the gargoyles getting their old home (the castle) back by the end of the episode, but not the latter - now the gargoyles are facing an alarmed public (even though they're safe at the end - for the moment). None of the gargoyles' other adversaries in modern times have been able to inflict that much damage on them. To top it, you'd have to go back to 994 and the Wyvern Massacre.

A few things that struck me this time around:

Goliath and Elisa are actually openly speaking to each other and even sharing a brief embrace on board the passenger train, just after foiling the robbery; fortunately, the passengers apparently didn't notice that.

Hudson greets the returning gargoyles as "lads" - then quickly adding in "And lassie, of course", for Angela. It reminded me of his use of just "lads" for the younger gargoyles in "Possession" that I mentioned in my post on it - apparently he's getting more adjusted now to Angela's presence in the clan.

The trio's clash with Demona in Part One seems the last "trio action" in the series; they're increasingly split up (or else acting with the rest of the clan present) after this.

Lexington and Brooklyn's shared uneasy glances when they return to the clock tower with Goliath near the end of Part Two seemed all the stronger when I realized "the audience knows that Robyn and Jon survived Goliath's fight with them, but Lex and Brooklyn don't - from their perspective, Goliath had apparently killed those two."

Jon Canmore's cry about the gargoyles when he's facing Jason at the end, "They killed dad!", struck me as a sign of how (even before shooting Jason) he was losing it; it was Demona who killed Charles Canmore, none of the Manhattan clan were even present at the event, and Jon was there so he knows it.

Broadway shows how much his attitude towards reading has changed since the start of "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" when he's talking to Angela about how great the castle library is (and we'll see them there together in "The Journey").

This story really does seem like a good conclusion for the series in so many ways - the gargoyles are back in the castle again, their war with Xanatos is (seemingly) over, they'd defeated Demona's big scheme to wipe out humanity, Elisa finally admitted her feelings for Goliath and even kissed him. Except there's a big loose end with the gargoyles' existence being made public, and most of the New Yorkers aren't too happy about it. (Brooklyn's "And so it begins" remark does also support the feeling that the story could continue past this spot.) But it certainly makes a good season finale.

Oh, and I counted the number of "claw-mark transitions" in the entire two seasons during this review - 28 in all.

Jan Rott writes...

What motivated Duncan to take on the role of the hunter?

Ice writes...

Why didn't Stuart Canmore chase after Demona after she escaped the net in the flashback at the start of Hunter's Moon Part 2? She was just a couple feet away when she got out of the water.

Otho Fernandes Damasceno writes...

Did the Hunters ever interacted with any of the Children of Oberon? If so, what's their opnion about them?

Matthew writes...

This is a Gargoyles a question.

Where did the Canmores get their resources for their weapons and technology? Obviously, they amassed wealth over the centuries, but how did they do it? What businesses? The original Hunter was an Assassin for Duncan. Did any of the other Hunters do assassin/mercenary work since it involves the same skill set as hunting gargoyles"

Greg Bishansky writes...

1. Does John Castaway know his Aunt Fiona is an Illuminatus?

2. On your timeline you wrote that the Illuminati approached the Canmores seeking an alliance and Jason turned them down:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=598

Was this Fiona?

Greg Bishansky writes...

This is something I've wondered for a while. We know the Hunters came to Manhattan to investigate all the gargoyle sightings. But what exactly led Robyn Canmore to Dominique Destine? Why did it occur to her that this French immigrant CEO was worth investigating? I understand that she's never been seen at night, but how did that get her on Robyn's radar?

I get why Jon decided to impersonate a reporter for his investigation, and the Hunter's Moon deleted scene explained why Jason decided to go "undercover" in the 23rd precinct. But when I zoom back and pretend I don't know who Dominique Destine really is, I wonder what led Robyn there.

Anonymous writes...

One time you said that the Renaissance Hunter's name was Blank Canmore. Was what a joke? If so, can you give us his name?

Jason writes...

So I'm watching "City of Stone" again, one of my favorite storylines, and I'm wondering, how on earth could a young MacBeth not realize Gillecomgain was the Hunter who killed his father?

I mean, clearly they know each other, and the Hunter is wearing a mask that has markings the exact same shape of Gillecomgain's giant scars. Doesn't seem like the best disguise.

Greg Bishansky writes...

At what point in history did the Canmore clan start letting women take part in the Hunt? Was Fiona the first?

Anonymous writes...

Why did you give Jason darker skin than Robyn and Jon? Was it so the viewers wouldn't mix him and Jon up?

Jess writes...

Hey Greg! I know you've been mostly dealing with Spidey queries lately, but hopefully you won't mind "kickin' it old school" so-to-speak and answering a Gargoyles question.

I'd been taking a Shakespeare course this semester at school, and I chose to write a paper on Shakespeare's Macbeth's influence on yours. (I got an A by the way). Anywhoozle, obviously this meant re-watching some Of the Mac-centric episodes, including of course the wonderful "City of Stone", which as it alway does, reminded me of how much I love Macbeth's complex backstory and that of the legacy of The Hunter.

Now I did search the archives before asking this, so I know the Canmores in "Hunters Moon" were not aware of Macbeth, but I couldn't find if you had said whether or not HE was aware of THEM.

Was he as of "Hunter's Moon?" And if not, is he aware of them as of "The Rock" in the comics?

Thanks.

Meg writes...

Review of BG#2:

Solid, solid issue. Overall, I can see why you said this LS is a slow boil; it's not all the way there yet, but it's definitely heating up, and in a good way. Somehow a lot more seems to HAPPEN this issue that is relevant and on-target to the series (then again, it might just be that I like Yama more than Dingo and Matrix), and it really leaves me wanting more.

In terms of the art, I'm really digging the decision to do BAD GUYS in black and white. I'm sure it was mostly a financial decision, but I think the atmosphere it brings is more appropriate to the subject matter than the atmosphere a colored comic would evoke. And Charlebois definitely seems to have found her groove here; she seems slightly more comfortable this issue, and it gives us some truly spectacular art from start to finish. The shading is also phenomenal, especially in the scene where Hunter and co. capture Yama.

Things I really liked:
-Fang's face in the first panel of page 3. It's easy to forget that he used to be a normal guy and is not, in fact, accustomed to putting his life in danger at regular intervals and fighting crazy huge robots. He looks scared, which I think gives a little insight into the character. Then him running away gives even more, but, you know. It's the little things.
-The whole Yama/Sora scene. That tugs at the heartstrings. And it's so telling when Sora says "Ask me to go with you" and Yama says "Bushido demands that I do not." He WANTS to ask her so badly; he doesn't say so, but the evasiveness of his answer gives him away. And yet he loves her too much to do that to her. And she loves him enough to know that she has to let him go it alone, or that'll be something else that'll eat at his heart. Poor them. (Also, major props to Charlebois' art in that panel--Yama's face is just tortured.) How long had they been mates when Yama was banished?
-I also love the characterization of Kai here. Stern, not really angry, just disappointed. Perfectly right.
-It'll be interesting to see how Matrix develops; he seems uberpowerful, so it'll be fun to see him in situations that test him, or where he can't just power through.
-What did Yama do between his banishment and his recruitment? Boy loves his toys, that's for sure.
-Hunter's too funny. "Want something done right..." I'm thinking she doesn't so much think highly of Dingo's skills. I do wonder how much of her "Gargoyle knowledge" is educated guesswork, although she sure seems to have a lot of knowledge of bushido. Also, I love that even when Yama has his sword on her throat she's got a gun aimed between his eyes. Now THAT is a kickass, take-no-prisoners, strong woman.
-I love Yama's snark re: the accent. But I also read him as very hopeless, not caring all that much what happens to him. And it just gets worse. He looks so crestfallen when he realizes he's being coerced; I feel for the dude. His big chance at redemption, to get back with his clan...and joining this group won't really redeem him. And yet he still has to do it. And he's too unforgiving of himself to consider forced work in exchange for protecting his clanmates penance. Dude's got STANDARDS.
-Hunter's a smart leader. I think she feels more of a kinship to Yama than Dingo, which accounts for part of it, but she handles them very differently and it's very appropriate for each character. (She handled Dingo and Matrix differently and well, too, come to think of it.) I'm starting to wonder about the dynamic of her and her siblings, who was ACTUALLY the leader and got stuff done.

Really, really looking forward to #3....

Matt writes...

Do you have a name for Gillecomgain's father? There has been a request to make a page for him on the GargWiki and it'd be easier with a name.
Thanks!

Todd Jensen writes...

In "Hunter's Moon Part Two", when the Canmores are debating whether or not to attack the clock tower, Robyn Canmore explains that they can't simply go in and smash the gargoyles in their stone sleep during the daytime, because they might have learned from Demona how to become human during the day. The Hunters then talk uneasily about how the gargoyles could turn into humans and there'd be no way of telling what they really are then.

I realized this evening, when I remembered that scene, how this echoes the nature of the Hunters themselves. Because they wear those hooded masks to conceal their true identities, it's similarly almost impossible to tell that they're Hunters in their everyday lives; even Elisa never realizes that her new partner is one of the Hunters until she unhoods him at the start of Part Three. Since you've mentioned before about how one of the keys to making a great antagonist is to give him or her qualities that echo the nature of the protagonist - was the Hunters' discussion about how the gargoyles, if they could take on human form, could blend in with the human population without being recognized, intended as a means of reflecting their own double identities?

Theodore writes...

Would you say that it was Demona's fault for creating the Hunter, since it was she who mutilated the young boy's face? I've heard that the boy had an inner darkness inside him, but didn't Demona bring it to the surface by attacking him that day?