bluewyvern writes...

Hi, Greg,

I just bought the Season 1 DVD and watched Awakening for the first time in years. Delightful as ever, but I found myself very confused by Demona's behavior.

I understand her anger at Goliath for what she saw as his short-sightedness, thwarting her plans to get the clan away from the castle and exposing them to the massacre, and her fury that he refused to support her. The confrontation at bazooka-point made sense. She failed to sway him, and at that point he became her enemy. But why was she scheming against the clan from the start? They had only just awakened, she hadn't really clashed with Goliath yet and she should have seen herself as still belonging to them -- why lie to and deceive them? Why the sinister "I'm up to something evil" look when she first saw Goliath? Shouldn't her reaction have been pure joy at being reunited with gargoyles after being alone for so long? Sure, the centuries made her bitter, but apart from revenge against humans all she ever wanted was the company of fellow gargoyles again, and they hadn't yet shown that they were against her.

It doesn't make sense to me that she would be cooperating with a human and deceiving the other gargoyles, who should have been more precious to her than anything. I can see her being wary about revealing all her history right away, thus the lie about her awakening. But what could her motivation possibly have been for colluding with Xanatos to bring the Steel Clan online? A replacement for gargoyles, to benefit humans and make gargoyles truly disposable? How does this possibly suit her ends? I was truly shocked when she proposed siccing the robots on the gargoyles. Even if she suspected that Goliath wouldn't join her and she was angry with him for his naivete, what beef could she have with the others? She wants to destroy humanity and preserve the gargoyle race at all costs. What on earth was she thinking, standing back with Xanatos and Owen and watching as the clan fought for their lives?

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I thought I had Demona pretty well sussed, but I can't make any sense of this.

Rebel writes...

Okey dokey! In my previous post, I had far too many topics in one question, so I am hoping that I have made this particular question inclusive enough to make the cut.

Anyway, hi Greg! I have some questions about hair in Gargoyles (insignificant topic, I know). Why do the artists keep making Angela's hair brown? In the show it looks black. Brooklyn has white hair in youth, whereas in "City of Stone", Demona's red hair turned white with age...so...was Hudson's hair always white or did it change with age? If it changed, what color was it; I would like to know this for possible fan art. Will any of Demona's descendants inherit her spiky red hair? I love the color and the spiky-ness of it and I'm really hoping a major future character gets it (note I am not asking you to specify WHO gets it, just whether *someone* will). And finally, will Brooklyn's children have black hair? It seems like most of the Asian gargoyles have black hair but I'm really hoping Brooklyn's children don't, as it seems kinda over-done in the Gargoyles universe.

Chris writes...

Would Demona keep on trying to kill Goliath and the others, if doing so would ruin her relationship with Angela?

Would she be willing to sacrifice her relationship with Angela if it meant accomplishing her goals?

Chris writes...

What would Demona think of Alan Weisman's novel "The World Without Us"?

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?

Walter writes...

Would Demona kill Angela if it meant the achievement of her goal, or would that be too much even for her?

Polgara writes...

I´ve notice Hudson has never called Demona by name when he is speaking directly to her, why is that?

Derek writes...

Why didn't Thailog just make a clone of Demona? He's not attracted to Elisa, you made it clear Goliath and Elisa was more spiritual. Was he just looking to piss Demona off?

Derek writes...

Why didn't Demona mate with any other Gargoyles over the past 1000 years? She certainly encountered some, if she really thought her race was going extinct wouldn't she be trying to increase the population?

Derek writes...

Will we ever see the biological parents of Demona, Goliath, Lexington or Brooklyn in the comics in Flashbacks?

Derek writes...

If Demona had of actually been put under the Magus's spell like the others and they somehow managed to be revived, How exactly do you think she would have reacted? would the clan have accepted her or would they have exiled her? Could she have been saved by Goliath, Do you think she would start her war on humanity in the modern nights too?

Derek writes...

Does Demona have any interest in any of the Clones? They could have been a new clan for her even Delilah after Thailog was presumed dead why did she abandon them so quickly?

Reckoning writes...

I just saw the reckoning episode again, and a few questions come out.
Fang said to Demona that he "always respect her as a fellow inmate" Is that true? What were his true feelings for her. I imagine they had some fights...having in count the personallities of the two of them...
Did Demona know the mutates before she saw them in the laberynt?
What did she think about them? Would they talk when they were guarding her? Did she speak with anyone besides Angela?
Did she gain weight after so many days of not doing any exercise?? >:I
I have to stop drinking. Thks for your attention Greg :)

Todd Jensen writes...

It's been said that some of the worst hatemongers are often closely connected to the very groups that they hate (as in, some of the most virulent Jew-haters had Jewish parents or grandparents). Did you and the other members of the production team have this in mind when you came up with the idea of Demona regularly turning into a human after "The Mirror", as the "Gargoyles" equivalent of this concept?

Trickster Puck writes...

What's the deal with Demona's tiara?
She has managed to hang on to it for a thousand years.
Is it magic?

David writes...

You've said before that Macbeth has had other loves between Gruoch and Domique Destine, but let me ask, is Gruoch still his true love? What I mean is has he ever loved another woman as much as her? Has he ever loved someone more? Does he still miss her and think of her on a regular basis? It seemed to me given his actions in City of Stone that he may have been so in love with her that he would, after a thousand years, stil carry a torch for her.

Also, I know you will probably not answer if Macbeth has had any other children, but if he capable of doing so? What about Demona?

Thank you for taking the time ti answer my questions, and for never giving up on Gargoyles. The new comic is fantastic, and I hope it goes on for many years to come.

Nameless writes...

Ufff, i have just finished reading Demona files to see if my questions were answered before...they werent :P I notice that there are more questions about her than any of the other characters! I wonder how she would react at knowing just how many human fans she has. Life is so ironic sometimes, isnt it? Anyway, here are a few questions :)
Demona hasnt shown any kind of pain at the word "inmortal" but she seems not to happy either. Is she happy (Or at least satisfied) of been inmortal?
Is she afraid of death, or its like "i will fight it off if i have too, but i really dont care if it gets me"??
Is She aware of just how pretty she is? :P

Victor writes...

1) Does Demona blame the Captain for the Wyvern Massacre, or just Goliath for not taking the other gargoyles out like their plan was?

2) What would have happened if Demona had never overheard Macbeth and Bodhe's conversation about betraying the gargoyles to the English, or if she did overhear but Macbeth had defended the gargoyles to Bodhe?

Otis writes...

Is Demona a sociopath or psychopath?

Phillip writes...

If Demona were to achieve her goal of Gargoyle supremacy and/or extinguishing the human race, would she be able to coexist peacefully with the rest of her species or would she find another vendetta to exact her hatred on?

Chris writes...

What would happen if Demona met Magneto?

They have similiar goals (an oppressed minority fighting back against the oppressive human majority), but would she consider him an enemy since mutants are related to humans?

Anonymous writes...

Humans are slowly destroying the planet. No other species has caused as much damage to the to the planet as humans have.

Humans have caused the extinction of several species, and many more are endangered due to their actions.

Therefore, from a nonhuman perspective, wouldn't Demona wiping out humanity be a positive thing? Earth would be a lot healthier, and the rest of the surviving species would be a lot safer from extinction.

K9: The First writes...

By the time of Gargoyles 2198, what will Demona and Macbeth's relationship be? By that I mean: Will they still hate eachothers guts, or will their relationship be more aimiable in nature?

Polgara writes...

Is Demona drunk every time she goes out and tryes to kill the Clan?? She keeps teling them how the defeat her!! First in temptation, telling Brooklyn that Goliath would obey however holds the spell, and then, in Hunters Moon.
Is Demona actually and in some way, as inocent to think that with a few friendly words exchanged she can trust any of the gargoyles the secrets to success? Is she just desperate to share her victory that forgets to keep at least some things to herself? Or she is just raving?
Has she ever got drunk, by the way? >:>
Mmm, oookaaayy, thats it Thks again Greg, for the show and taking the time to answer our questios. GARGOYLES ROCK ON!!

Gerin writes...

I have two questions about statements that Goliath makes in "Awakening":

1) In Part I, Goliath states that Demona-to-be is his best warrior. Is his assessment correct, or is he trying to flatter her, or is his judgment clouded by the relationship?

2) In the final showdown in Part V, Goliath tells Demona: "There is good and evil in all of us, human and gargoyle alike. You should know that more than anyone."
That sounds as if Goliath had a specific incident in mind that should have taught Demona this, but I've never been able to figure out what Goliath is refering to. Is it a story that's never been told? Is it a story that popped up during the series and I just didn't catch it (and if yes, which one)? Or does he refer to nothing specific?

Meg writes...

I know you've said that Demona cast a spell on the Manhattan Clan right before they woke up in the 20th century that allowed them to understand modern English. My question is, how does Angela understand modern English? I would assume that she grew up speaking Old English, as she was raised by Tom/the Magus/Katharine.

Luke writes...

Let me start with I love the newest comic! I'm very excited to see what happens from here on out!

I was noticing something that you had posted on the wall. You said that Demona was Hudson's daughter, I might have miss read that but considering I did not. Wouldn't that make Broadway his sister, then considering that making Angela his niece?

I was also thinking would Sevarius know about the connection between Hudson, Demona, and Broadway?

Tha Ghost writes...

continuity questions:

im foggy on the episode titles because ive just watched both DVD releases but ive noticed in some episodes when the Gargoyles turn to stone any object they are holding turns to stone as well eg. Demonas gun, Hudsons sword however when Hudson turns to stone holding Merlins scrolls they remain unchanged is this a simple continuity error or was there a greater plan?

also Sevarius says that the way the Gargoyles have enough energy to fly is by storing solar energy in their stone form however Demona can fly after Puck changes her so she can be human by day, continuity error or greater design?

Demon@ writes...

Hello Greg,
What im going to asked you is not comic related. Im from argentina and i cant find any website or something that could bring an issue here. But well i was complaining about the same thing a year ago abouth the dvd and i finally manage to get it :D Origynal and all!! :D.
But well, on with my questions:
I was reading the archives and i read something like "Thailog was the most evil of the three.." comparing him with Demona and Macbeth. That got me thinking...
How is that someone can be more evil than a creature who is planing to destroy the human race (wich has some sense. Humans themselves have destroy entire species of animals considering them as dangerous, but thats not the point on these post). If we consider Evil as the capacity of someone to do, willingly and consciously, damage to others, Thailog should hardly be consider more evil than Demona, since both of them are as equal to destroy another sentient been.
But if we consider Evil someone who actually enjoys causing damage and suffering to others, that may change things a bit and thats what brought those questions up.
1- Does Demona enjoy killing humans?
2- Does she see the killing only as something that has to be done?
3- Is it something born only from rage and grief, or does she has a sadic pleasure on killing those who made her life miserable?
4- Can we consider Demona as someoe cruel and that finds actual pleasure on the suffering of others?
5- What would Thailog do that Demona wouldnt even think of? Something that would make him more evil than she is.
Well thanks again for any respons you give me. And i WONT loose my hopes of getting the comic :D (someway somehow).

BatFu writes...

Do you think that Demona is justified in pursuing her agenda against humanity?

Elana writes...

Dear Greg,

Here is a question I've been meaning to ask you for a long time.

Demona and Macbeth's link implies that they will basically live eternally until one kills the other. However, I wonder - does that not mean that they can still be maimed, crippled, or permanently physically disabled? Mentally damaged? They seem to have survived things that should have been fatal, and because of the enchantment it is acceptable that they survive. But why not even sustain serious injury? On top of surviving, will their bodies always be restored to a state of full health?

Additionally, gotta say that I'm loving the comic book! I'm not going to say a lot about it here, because I'm sending a letter through the snail mail, but just gotta let you know that it's good to be back in the Gargoyles' universe!

Shadow Wing writes...

Enough about WW2 - What was Demona doing in the 1960's/70's?

Wesley Nichols writes...

We seen that Demona has a great deal of affection for her child, Angela. Since Samson is a descendant of hers, won't that affect how she feels about him? Or will his similarities affect her normal affection for her kin?

skeeJay writes...

THE GREEN-EYED GARGOYLE
Demona has an interesting moment at the end of "The Mirror" when she marvels at the warmth of the sun. If you don't mind me reading into it a little, it's a loaded statement. It implies a jealousy of humans that I have a hard time equating with what I consider her standard jealousies, e.g. "they outnumber us," "they force us out of our homes," "history has given them more lucky breaks," etc. She's usually able to exhibit these other jealousies while retaining her sense of moral and physical superiority ("the gift of being a gargoyle," as she calls it in front of Puck).

But this new jealousy shows a desire of something that is *inherently* human. The capacity to see or feel the sun is something that is (or should be, sans sorcery) completely incompatible with being a gargoyle. It would be like a human lamenting the fact that he wasn't born with wings; it's kind of a futile gesture (which is why I also find Hudson's wistful comment at the end of the episode so odd). It implies for the first time that not only has Demona desired what the humans have accomplished or acquired, but that she may, on a very subconscious level, have wished that she had been born human....been born onto the winning team, the side with the upper hand, the strategically superior side. If this desire did exist before this moment at the window, it's certainly not something she would ever admit to, even to herself.

DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
This kind of racial jealousy notwithstanding, I suppose there's another interpretation of her "reverence" of the sun. Knowing that no other gargoyle had ever experienced what she was now experiencing, I'm sure Demona felt a new kind of superiority over all of her own kind now, as well. To know the sun as she now did, unlike every other gargoyle since the beginning of time, must have been very empowering--adding a physical element to the moral superiority she already feels over Goliath and his clan (who are, as far as she knows, the rest of her entire race at this point). I'm sure that the 15 seconds before she looked in the mirror were a very religious experience for her.

And this new kind of Messiah-esque superiority gives new meaning to the password she chooses in "City of Stone." It certainly *is* usually lonely at the top.

Now I wish that some of this stuff had occurred to me before the Demona "alone" contest way back when.

Anyway, these are just my musings. Any thoughts? Which side, if either, do you fall on?

Doorhenge writes...

I just thought of this. Red eyes. Vader had 'em. Could have been explained as a property of his particular Sith power, but was there a connection?

Doorhenge writes...

Do you think Demona influenced Darth Vader?

What I mean is, do you think when he saw City of Stone it influenced him to make the prequels?

Demona: If you are not my ally then you are my enemy!
Darth Vader: If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!

That line is way to similar to me. Sounds like a homage he thought people would pick up on.

If you don't like the prequels, sorry if I depressed you.

Are you gonna retaliate and make a ... Spawn Star or something?

Anonymous writes...

Was Demona truly the best candidate for the job of Goliath's second-in-command pre-Wyvern Massacre?

Makhasu writes...

Is Macbeth still wealthy by 2198?

Is Demona still wealthy by 2198?

Makhasu writes...

In Sanctuary, Demona says to Goliath that "New York is your protectorate, Paris belongs to me!" Why was she so possessive towards Paris? Does it hold any special meaning for her?

Makhasu writes...

What did Demona think of Prince Malcolm? He didn't seem to hate gargoyles, but he instilled a fear of Gargoyles in his daughter, Katherine, that adversely affected Demona's clan.

Makhasu writes...

Now that Demona turns to human during the day, does she get her period every month? If so, how does she feel about it? >=)

Makhasu writes...

Who does Demona hate most: Goliath, Macbeth, or Elisa?

Makhasu writes...

In COS part four, Luna tells Macbeth "And thus you both shall live, eternally linked, sharing each others pain and anguish. With no release until one destroys the other. Only then shall both finally perish, together. What she making a prophesy of what would occur, or was she just stating the rules of their link?

Makhasu writes...

You said on the COS dvd commentary, when Demona swings Macbeth around, "I think she's just a little bit in love with him there." While I don't think it was an strong romantic love, I do think she was much more affectionate towards him than she would have been to someone else. We never see her that friendly towards anyone else she's not romantically involved with, not even her own clan members. My question is, was she aware of it? Was he? Was Gruoch? >=)

Makhasu writes...

Was Macbeth genuinely in love (not just smitten) with Dominique? I only ask this because he had known her for such a short time, and even then knew very little about her.

Makhasu writes...

Was Demona close to any of her rookery siblings?

Was Demona close to any of her clan members at Moray?

Makhasu writes...

What does Demona think of the way Katherine, Tom, and the Magus raised her clan's children?

Makhasu writes...

How was Demona able to get Macbeth to marry her in such a short time? He only knew 'Dominique' for less than a month, according to the dates you've given.

Makhasu writes...

You said that, besides pain, pleasure also passes between Macbeth and Demona. Why would the Weird Sisters toss that in? Doesn't it creep Mac and D out a bit?

For that matter, when did they first find out about that? It must've been a pretty shocking experience.

Makhasu writes...

What was Demona's relationship with the people of Moray castle like? At Macbeth's coronation, those that were present cheered her on. How did they treat her over the next 17 years, and how did she react?

Makhasu writes...

You answered, when asked if Macbeth and Demona share emotional pain, "Metaphorically." I didn't quite understand that. Could you explain in greater detail?

Makhasu writes...

Did Macbeth really die when Canmore stabbed him? The Weird Sisters said to Demona that "though the pain is great, child, you are unharmed." Were she and Macbeth alive, but in pain, when Canmore declared himself victorious?

Makhasu writes...

Can Demona or Macbeth sustain permanent damage? Like scars, lost limbs, etc... They're in impeccable shape for people who've been, as you said in one answer, "stabbed, shot, etc."

Makhasu writes...

Does Demona still think that Macbeth was planning to betray her in 1057?

Makhasu writes...

What was Macbeth and Demona's relationship like when he was king? How well did they get along?

Makhasu writes...

What do Macbeth and Demona think of that golden age during his reign as king?

Makhasu writes...

Does Demona know that Macbeth is no longer actively hunting her?

Makhasu writes...

How did Canmore find out about Macbeth and Demona's link? How did those rumors get started?

Makhasu writes...

Did Demona's low opinion of humans change at all during Macbeth's golden age of rule? She and her clan's treatment was very different from what it had been before, and his reign is the only time we ever see Demona truly happy and content.

Makhasu writes...

Did Macbeth have any advisors other than Demona? If so, how well did they get along with Demona?

Makhasu writes...

The Scottish people seemed pretty hateful/fearful towards gargoyles before Macbeth's reign. How was he able to change opinions and get people to accept Demona and her clan?

Makhasu writes...

Who came up with the idea for the Paris scheme against Macbeth? Thailog or Demona?

Makhasu writes...

What did Demona plan on doing with Goliath and his clan if her plan in Hunter's Moon had succeeded?

Makhasu writes...

Demona seemed pretty pleased with Goliath's vengeful attitude towards the Hunters in HM, part two. She even comments "perhaps you and I are not so different after all." This was quite a change from her usual homicidal rage towards him. Why did she behave so differently towards him?

Makhasu writes...

What does Demona think of Delilah?

Patrick G writes...

"The Reckoning" is one of my favorite episodes, especially because of all the great stuff involving Demona and her very complex character. I especially love the scene where she frees the clan, imploring Goliath to "save their daughter!" There's one thing that has been confusing me that I was hoping you could clear up. When Demona is trying to stop Thailog from shooting Angela, he said that she knew she was her daughter before they staged her capture, and Angela is outraged because Demona knew the whole time. However, I missed how this could have happened. I have a much easier time believing that Demona was genuinely confused in Paris, and the next time she saw her was in "The Reckoning." It seems to me to be more logical that given the order of events, Demona did indeed find out about Angela being her daughter when she told her in the jail, as opposed to finding out beforehand. How did Demona know before they staged her capture?

Twiggess writes...

Hey Greg!
I was skimming the archives the other day when i read something about how Thailog got his name when you were rewinding "Awakening", or something like that. Anyway, that got me playing with the other characters names 2, and I realized when you say Demona's name backwards it almost sounds like "a nomad." Did u know this? I thought it was kind of an interesting coinscidence, since she is, so I thought u outa know. Thank you for your time, and thanks for making the best animated series, like, ever.
Oh, and while we're on the subject of names, is there any reason Demona's name is pronounced De-MO-na as apposed to just Demon-a? I hope that made sence cuz it's kinda hard to ask a question on pronuciation in an email. I just ask cuz it took me awhile that her name was just supposed to be 'demon' with an a after i first started watching the show. Ok! Thanks again! U rock!

Jurgan writes...

I've never asked a question here before, probably because I didn't have the patience to wait, but I just wrote this analysis of Demona and Macbeth's link for the GFW website, and I wanted to see what you thought of it. Am I on the right track?

Curses and Prophecies, Fate and Freewill

(Warning: This essay contains minor spoilers for Harry Potter books five and six. It's mostly about Gargoyles, so if you don't read HP you'll still understand this, but if you plan to read them soon, you may wish to stop reading now.)

Like most people reading this, Gargoyles had a major impact on my life. For me, the best it ever got was City of Stone. In fact, I would say that CoS was one of the highlights of my childhood. I still distinctly remember, when I was twelve years old, reaching the end of Part Three, seeing Demona advancing on stone Elisa with a mace, and then the words "To be Concluded." "You're telling me I have to wait a whole day to see what happens? I'm supposed to go to school? Screw that, I want to know how Elisa survives!" I've thought long and hard about CoS, and the key to it is the relationship between Demona and Macbeth. In fact, I think the Weird Sisters' spellcasting is, from a classical sense, the climax of the entire story. On the surface, the spell seems simple enough: Demona and Macbeth are linked so they feel each others' pain, and they will live forever. If someone were to kill one of them, (s)he would die and then quickly come back to life. If one of them were to kill the other, though, then they would both die. As I say, it seems simple. After reading Greg Weisman's numerous responses on the subject, I began to think about whether there was more to it than meets the eye, and it slowly dawned on me that it was much more subtle, deep, and brilliant than I'd ever considered.

For years, Greg has received questions like "What would happen if Macbeth got his head cut off? Would it reattach itself? Would it grow back immediately?" He has always answered something like, "Well, that hasn't happened, has it?" At first glance, that seems like just a weak cop out, with Greg trying to avoid a question he has no good answer to. In fact, he seemed to get pretty flustered at the way people kept projecting Highlander concepts onto Macbeth, which was probably inevitable given that they're both immortal Scottish nobles. Unlike Highlander, though, there are no explicitly stated rules as to how immortality works; all we have to go on are the Weird Sisters' words, and they clearly are not the most trustworthy or forthcoming of people. Remember that Luna is supposedly a representative of fate, and then think about the fact that the spell doesn't really talk about "what if this or that happened," but rather "what will happen." The final words of Luna to Macbeth in the past were that "you both shall live, eternally linked, sharing each other's pain and anguish, with no release until one destroys the other. Only then shall both finally perish together." From that, it's clear that the Sisters are not interested in playing hypotheticals about all the different ways things could happen: they simply pronounced what will happen. Rather than the spell being simply a safeguard against their dying, it could instead be thought of as a prophecy declaring quite simply what will happen to them in the future.

It turns out that at no point in the entire series do we see anything happen to either Demona or Macbeth that would be sure to kill them. In fact, there are only two times it really seems likely that one of them could die. The first is when Macbeth was stabbed in the back by Canmore- painful, to be sure, but not necessarily lethal. Certainly there are those who have survived a poorly aimed stab. The second is when Elisa shot Demona with Macbeth's electric gun. That one seems even less likely, as about three gargoyles get shot with one of those things in any given Macbeth episode. One might make a case that the roller coaster collapse in The Reckoning was potentially lethal, but that falls under the old comicbook rule of "if you don't see the body, the guy's not dead," and the fact that we know Thailog survived as well makes it clear that magic was not necessary to live through that incident. So, we have established that we have never seen anything unquestionably fatal befall Demona or Macbeth. Furthermore, Greg has told us that no such thing has ever happened. Knowing that, it follows that it is meaningless to ask what if such a thing were to happen- it hasn't! Such speculation is what is known logically as a vacuous proof: If A occurs, then B occurs, given that A is an impossible event. Consider the statement "All pink elephants can fly," or, more precisely, "If A is a pink elephant, then A can fly." This statement is absolutely true, since every pink elephant in the world can fly- there are none, so anything you can say about them is true. A simpler way of thinking about it, though less rigorous, is that the statement "all pink elephants can fly" could never be disproved, since to do so one would have to find a pink elephant that could not fly, which can never be done. It is equally true that every pink elephant cannot fly. What this means, then, is there's no point asking "what if Demona or Macbeth were beheaded" if it cannot happen- it's true that if Macbeth were beheaded, he'd die, and it's true that if he were beheaded, he would be revived, and it's true that if he were beheaded, they'd both die, etc. All of those statements are true, because they are all based on an impossible hypothetical.

So let us then accept that neither of them has ever been beheaded. That still doesn't prove that neither of them could ever be beheaded, in which case it would still be relevant to ask what would happen. To answer that, it's worth thinking of the Weird Sisters' pronouncement as a prophecy rather than a spell. Suppose we think of the Macbeth/Demona connection in these terms: The spell allows them long life and they share each others' pain. Since they share pain, if one of them were killed, then the other would die too. Then we see that what Luna meant by saying that they would live on until one destroys the other is not that they are somehow magically protected from injury, but simply that she was predicting what would happen, as an avatar of fate. Such a prophecy brings Harry Potter to mind. When Harry was an infant, a prophecy was made which roughly stated that either he would kill Voldemort or Voldemort would kill him. That prophecy was overheard and found its way back to Voldemort, who immediately acted on it by attempting to kill Harry and fulfill it in a way favorable to him. In so doing, he nearly destroyed himself and gave Harry powers that would enable him to finish Voldemort once and for all. Moreover, he gave Harry a desire to end Voldemort. Harry lost his parents and knew first hand the sort of pain Voldemort inflicted on others, and so he would not rest until Voldemort was finished. On the other hand, Voldemort believed in the prophecy, and thus saw Harry as the greatest danger to him, so he would not rest until Harry was dead. So the result was that the two enemies were both determined to kill each other. As such, it was inevitable that one of them would eventually succeed, and the prophecy would be proven true. However, it was not true because of some incomprehensible hand of fate hovering over them, but rather it was based on simple extrapolations from the subjects' characters, and the fact that they knew about the prophecy (fittingly enough, Rowling has acknowledged Shakespeare's Macbeth as an inspiration for the prophecy).

The same can apply to Demona and Macbeth. At the time of the spell's casting, they were already great warriors, and with unlimited time to practice, they would become even greater. So it is highly unlikely that anyone else would kill them. Yet based on the events of their falling out, an intense hatred blossomed between them, one that would keep them hunting each other and make it inevitable that one would eventually kill the other. And since Macbeth heard the Weird Sisters' pronouncement, he believed that he could not die without killing Demona. It never would have even occurred to him to jump off a tall building and see what happened, because he believed that it would fail. Thus, the prophecy has the added bonus of controlling any possible suicidal tendencies Demona or Macbeth might develop by telling them it's impossible to kill themselves, since while Luna's side of their personality may simply be prophesying, Selene's needs them to survive for their future plans. Plus, even if Macbeth thought it would work, he probably would still feel the need to settle the score with Demona first. With all of that in mind, it is not hard for the avatar of fate to predict that one of them will end up killing the other, and the fact that she makes the prediction helps it to occur.

The question then is this: Is there a difference between saying something cannot happen and saying it will not happen? Suppose a man plans to stay home one day. Can we then say that it is impossible that he will get in his car and drive to another state that day? Let's say it's early in the morning, so he's got plenty of time. He's got a full tank of gas. He's not in Alaska or Hawaii, so there are connecting states he could go to. However, he has no desire at all to do so. Without that desire, it simply will not happen. We can then say that it is impossible. Now the obvious objection is that one never knows for sure what might happen, and if an emergency came up, he might have to leave the state that very day. For that reason, we distinguish between what can happen and what will happen- something can happen if it would happen provided the will to do it existed. If we knew for sure that the man would choose not to leave that day, it would then be fair to say that it was impossible for him to leave. Likewise, if we know with certainty that Demona and Macbeth will not die until one destroys the other, then we can say that it is impossible for anything else to happen.

This theory may seems very complicated at first, but if you take the time to think about it, it makes more sense than most other explanations out there. Rather than rely on vague magic powers and convoluted rules of "what if Demona were smashed in the day?" this theory eliminates all of the guesswork and gives an answer without the ambiguity; one that ultimately is simple and inevitable, yet firmly in the hands of the players. By thinking of Weird Sisters' spell as a prophecy, we can help resolve the fate vs. free will argument. Luna is an embodiment of fate, and so she is able to make predictions in the future, yet they are based simply on reading the characters of the subjects. While the prophecy that Demona and Macbeth will eventually die when one kills the other is a pronouncement of fate, it is only made true because of Demona's lack of trust and irresponsibility and Macbeth's lust for vengeance. The same could be said of the prophecy that Macbeth, Lulach, and Canmore would all become king- it wasn't hard to see that Duncan's paranoia would lead to him moving against Macbeth, a confrontation which would ultimately lead to Macbeth's ascension.

Jen writes...

In the episode Vows, why does Demona bother trying to change what her younger self did to prevent the massacre? You cannot change history, so I don't understand her motivation. You could say she didn't know that rule but I would expect that a soceress that has lived for over a thousand years would know that.

Also she would have remembered everything that happened to her when she was younger (though maybe her memory would be rusty after a 1000 years but she does tell Goliath that she remembers her speech) so what would be the logic and motivation for her to go into the past if she knows she failed and act exactly how she remembered and FAIL like she remembered. Did she only go because she had to go because she remembered it happening? The whole time being fixed says she had to go to remember failing, but that still doesn't explain her motivation for doing something she knew wouldn't work out. Or perhaps her motivation was to see herself as innocent again? To remember why she did what she did at the last wedding she attended with Goliath? Agh...this turns into a big wouldn't one cancel out the other and get all confusing thing...

Also considering that Demona is a thousand years old, what did she do for all that time? The some of it is shown in the episodes, but nothing really after the whole hunter thing and macbeth, and that was a long time ago. Wouldn't a thousand years be enough time for her to travel around the world and find other clans so she would not have ended up so alone?

Also really old characters always bother me. I know you cannot assume that wisdom comes with great age, but I wonder how someone could live that long and not really mature at all? I guess that adds to the insanity, that everything else changes and you don't so that would add to her whole "alone" complex and anger.

Heh sorry for the long question/ramble...

Raye writes...

Hi, my question concerns Demona and Gruoch, two of my favourite characters (One of my favourite moments in "Gargoyles" is when Demona goes completely against her prejudices and saves Macbeth and Gruoch when they're slipping from the parapet, and Gruoch's nervous little "thank you" to her afterwards). But anyway:

1. During the "Golden Age" of Macbeth's rule, how well did Gruoch and Demona get on? Or to make the question a bit more generalised, what was their relationship?

Obviously they wouldn't have been best friends, but I also can assume that as such close companions to Macbeth they would have spent a reasonable amount of time in each other's company.

2a. Would they have considered each other as a "friend"?

2b. Or was there a little bit of resentment/jealously/competition going on in terms of their separate relationships with Macbeth?

2c. Or did they just stay out of each other's way?

Thank you very much in advance for any reply you give me, I think the time and effort you put into communicating with fans is amazing! My fingers are crossed that the second half of season two will make it to DVD.

If they try to kill ya u gotta kill them first writes...

Hi, Greg. I know you open these for the gathering thing but i got these questions and comments...ya know, it is a nice oportunity. I would love LOVE going to the Gathering but as i am on the other point of the continent (:P) like, i cannot go... Gargoyles is geting very popular here, in Argentina, but i would want to know if the dvd or the comics are going to be able here? :) so the south people can enjoy gargolyes more?:) Jo, anyway, great show, great story, great characters, great drawings and...great me! hahaha.
Fine, now comments and questinos, if u wanna escape, these is the rigth moment:
Demona is one of the best characters i have ever seen before, and i love the contrast that she has with Magnetto, althougt she is, well, crazy.
I get what feelings the poor Goliath still had for Demona, and what feelings Demona had for Goliath, but the others members of the clan once had a close relaitionship with her as well, like "sister-brothers" "daugther-father". So ( i know about Brooklyn, very expresive the guy) what did feel Broadway and Lexingston about that? I mean, if my sister would get mad and because, let´s say, a dog kill someone she loves, now she would be trying to destroy all the dogs of the world:S i would be really...sad?.
It´s the same with Hudson, he ´d seen Demona since her most tender infance, looking her grown up from that little hatchling to that powerfull and nobel warrior she once was. Actually, he was her father. So same question, what did cross his mind every time he see her then in the new millenium? It must be very frustrating.And as we are with him, if Demona was part of the clan no more, they would still be like a daugther and a father, by teorical terms?
And Elisa, she is such a nice person! But althougth all the times Demona has tried to hurt her, Elisa seems to get more anger whenever Xanatos or Tony Dracon tryes something than when Demona does. Why is that she react so "professional" when is Demona who "pops-up" ?
Tempation: Jo, great episode however not the best.
Nice detail: i LOVE that posture of Demona after Brooklyn tryed to take the book away from her for the first time: leaning against the wall, huging the arcanorum as it would be Goliath him-self (XD)looking lunatically from the shadows. It was then when i thougth: something happened to these girl!.
To think: Gargoyles can really keep a groudge for a long time, and not just Demona but then Lexingston and now Brook, c´mon people, let it go!.
I think Demona wasn´t really lieng to Brooklyn...yes she screw it up, but i think she really has a point. Always she has that nasty point of view that makes you think " fuck, she is no so wrong".
Long way to morning: It´s great if you want to see scared things but, i really didn´t like the Demona of the past in these one, she acts very similar to the present, not exactly but...she was nasty.
Reawaking: I love these one, how the clan learns that the people is important and no the place where the people is, how they got more "civilizated". very nice lesson.
The mirror: It´s the first time someone subdue demona in how much time? These episode, i think, it´s the only one ( after high noon) in wich Demona appears that i laugh. Awesome, but why did Demona hesitate when Puck asked her what did she want? It´s not the destruction of human race always on her mind?
City of stone: And everything got sense!! I cried at the end :( poor demon. And that make me ask was the humans hate what drive her on the way she was or it was the lonlyness what twist her brain?
High noon: hahahahahahahahahahahaha...GREAT END!! "Why are we working together!?""grrrr"
Avalon: Macbeth and Demona working together...Woaho.
Well that´s all for now. I really REALLY hope you understan all that crap, i did my best to write in pure english(:P)and if you did not... i am really sorry. A last think!! In ascending list: Whoose of these characters she hates most?: Macbeth, the hunters, Goliath, the rest of the clan, Elisa, the rest of human race, Puck, Thailog. Thanks for your time, bye :)

Anonymous writes...

What are those gold arm braces that are on Demonas arms?

Zel writes...

Maybe you've answered this before, but I can't find the answer in the archives. Why did both Goliath AND Demona abandon the Wyvern eggs? Wouldn't the leader of the clan consider that the living eggs are of high priority? At least try to find a foster clan? Leaving them with humans seems too risky no matter how much the individual humans are trusted. The greater masses of humans aren't nearly so trustworthy. Then there's Demona. She watched them pull the eggs out of Castle Wyvern on a waggon. She knew her own egg was in there, she was ok with humans raising her hatchling? I realize that Goliath and Demona were each in a bad head space durring these events, but we're talking about babies here! People don't treat that stuff lightly.

Doop writes...

Hi. First of all, I want to say that I really enjoyed the Gargoyles series and Demona was, imo, the best character in the show, and one of the best in television. She was a very interesting and complex character.

1) Were you ever planning on having Demona redeem herself, or at least becoming an anti-hero type character?
2) What would it take for her and Macbeth to forgive eachother? Could they ever?
3) In "City of Stone", did the people she smash stay dead? No one noticed anything odd when they woke up (ala 'Where's so-and-so?" or "What are these piles of of stones?") and the couple she smashed appeared in later episodes.
4) Would Marina Syrtis be willing to play her again if/when Gargoyles was renewed?
5) What did Demona think of stuff like the Holocaust or slavery? I know it probably confirmed her beliefs on the evil of humanity, but did she feel sorry for the victims involved?
6) If mutants existed in the Gargoyles universe (ala like the X-Men) would she consider them human or another type of species?
7) When Demona said her virus would 'wipe out all intelligent life', does that mean the other animals would be left unscathed?
8) Why would Xanatos work with Demona if he knew she was anti-human?
9) Why did Macbeth consider betraying her? He wouldnt have considered betraying his son or wife. What would he have said if Demona confronted him about it?
10) Was she entirely at fault for creating the hunter, or did scratching his face merely unleash the evil from within?
11) If she still loved Goliath, why did she always push him away when he tried reaching her (i.e 'Vows')?
12) Did you ever plan on giving her a 'happy ending?'

Thanks.

Anonymous writes...

What did Demona Do during world war two?

Insane gargoyle writes...

HELLO HUNNY XD XD XD puajajajajajajaaaaaaaaaaaa. I am Astrid
Yeahhh i am in mood today. I am happy so i will write to you before i fell suicide again and i think that anything have sense. I am from argentina so please please forgive me if you do not understand something or a fuck of this. :)
I have read many times that you said "gargoyles are natural protectores". Now, if Demona HATES humans, tried to killed them and even hurt other gargoyles when they live together is she insane????.
My sister (:P googoogoo) is studing pshicology and she told me that the people is insane when: hurt others ( demona does it all the time), distroy things (item)and hurt himself (generations, the reckoning,vows (""))and deny the truth (mmm...about what she did, that Thailog had betrayed her). I think she is REALLY mad. And even if she knows what is wrong, i think that for her destroy humanity is a GOOD think, because "humans are evils, humans are danger, etc....
Generation is a prove of that: she saids to Angela: "to saved you from your father". For her it was a good think. A way to saved her daugther.
Even the clan think she is mad, Goliath and Brooklyn tell it many times.
If Goliath think it, he does not think taht she needs help???.
Why he just looked her? Looked an inmortal have no much sense, have it??.

Let go to Elisa. Everyone ask what Demona feels about Elisa? But what about her? What she feels about Demona?. Does she hate her? Or what??
Demona enjoy her loneliness??
does demona feared humans??si les tiene miedo, por si sabes español :(:(:(
Angela think her mother is evil? Or she is just twisted??
well, thank a lot and i am very very sorry if i wrote to to wrong and you get crazy reading these...

SDOHT writes...

Rambling on Demona

Hello,
I just finish watching awakening part one to five, from the DVD, witch I love by the way, and it reminded me of the first time I saw Demona. She is my all-time favourite TV Character. I actually feel sorry for her. The talk between her and Goliath at the end when she revels for the first time that she made a plan with the Captain of the guards moved me. I love the way she is written. She sounds alone and I feel and hear her pain.

See I'm a 22 year old gay guy, so when I first saw this I was 12. I didn't really know that I was gay but I knew their was something different about me. Seeing that scene helped me in a weird way. Hearing Demona's pain and loneliness about what the humans "did" to her kind sort of mad me feel like I wasn't alone. Demona's way of blaming others for her mistakes is something that most people do in one way or an other. I can truly say that I felt like she did allot of the time( I didn't want to kill all straight guys) but I felt like they didn't except me and that I couldn't trust anyone. Demona's actions were also mostly responsible for her pain, as the sisters pointed out in COS part 4, just like my fear of being different mad me feel alone.

Later in life I realized that people fear what they don't understand. The whole show is about creatures being different and misunderstood by "normal" people. It help me better understand the other's way of looking at things, that to them I was like a monster( not really a monster but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.) As the show when on, it helped me realize that different wasn't always a bad thing. The Goliath and Elisa relationship gave me hope that maybe someone could love me for who I was and except my differences.

I understand Demona's pain, Marina Sirtis is so amazing in this role. Demona is written so fantastic and realistically that its like she was a voice for me( in a good way, again not the killing part) like she mirrored what I felt. Now I'm fully comfortable with my self and in a way I have Gargoyles to thanks for that. I herd in the commentaries that ( I'm typing from memory, so please forgive me if I'm misquoting you) you indented the show, among other thing, to have or be a voice for the little people. I just wanted to say that at least for me it help me a lot when I was younger. I felt like the were other people in the world that were different. Thank you for that.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. I been wanting to thank you for a long time. I truly hope that Disney bring this show back, because people like me need more shows like this, with real characters that are normal.