Todd Jensen writes...

We were having a discussion about Gillecomgain in the comment room this week, and I thought that I'd ask you for your opinion on it. In your thoughts, was Demona's attack upon Gillecomgain the cause of his becoming the Hunter, or more of a catalyst? I felt that much of Gillecomgain's "career choice" came from his own internal issues (he seemed to have a strong yearning for power, and also had a very unsympathetic father), but others feel that it was more thanks to Demona than to any "inner darkness". What's your thoughts on him?

Aaron writes...

Awakenings 5. I always found Demona's name revalation to be quite dramatic. She comes through the smoke, with the bazooka, eyes flashing. I know I was paying attention. And Xanatos is the man. Even hanging some obscene height off the ground, with nothing but a muscle twitch between him and very messy death, and a PO'd Goliath in his face, he never loses his cool.

Blaise writes...

Just got back from reading your rambles on "Awakening Part 5".

Xanatos does indeed kick ass, as far as villains go. Whether he was "stupid" or not in letting Goliath and Demona "play out their little drama" may end up being something of a debate, but personally, he does strike me as the type who would be endlessly fascinated in watching this sort of thing.
I never really gave much thought to the ambiguity of Hudson's advice to Goliath before. I did notice that he seemed more...reasonable? Elisa's plea seemed more to be based on emotion (gut instinct, whatever) while Hudson's was definitely more the "thinking man's" response. I kind of like that.
Yeah, Elisa's way of showing three in her fingers always throws me for a loop. I always thought it was just some idiosyncratic quality.
Also, I always wondered (at least, I did after reading the Season 1 Writer's Bible) why we didn't hear or see much of Scarab Corporation except for the insignia. I'm glad to have some idea now. Xanatos is indeed a complex man, playing both the "mastermind-behind-the-scenes" and the "glorious-conquistador" if you will. He doesn't stay at either extreme, and will play whatever part he feels will be the most advantageous (sp?). For some things, that is apparently indeed handling things himself. And one thing that I will ALWAYS admire about him (both as a character and as a villain) is the fact that when Goliath was holding him by his shirtfront off the side of the Eyrie Building (however that's spelled), Xanatos did not fall into the cowardly pleadings quite a few "regular" villains seem to do. Instead, he just shows calm defiance. Gotta love that!
Demona and Goliath's conversation: Yeah, I enjoy a lot of the irony in that scene, too. Especially Goliath's remark about Xanatos and the undeniable revelation of Mr. X's true colors afterwards.
As for the revelation of Demona's name--hey, I thought it worked for me! Kind of gave a chill actually. That and even in this early mention of it I liked the sound and thought it fit her well.

Can't wait for the next one!

Robin Wynn writes...

Hey Greg,
I thought I'd just add my two cents on something I saw a couple of ppl ask.
The question was concerning the scene in Highnoon (i think that's the right ep.) when Demona and Elisa are fighting, and Macbeth is just sitting there not feeling anything. Your reply was that you lost track of the whole pain thing, (i think there was another explanation that you gave, but I cant' remember it right now) Well, I had always been under the impression, that in that scene, when Coldstone says "Well, this is diverting" (or something like that) And Macbeth replies, "You don't know the half of it" I always figured that that was what he was refering to. That he could feel the pain, and so it was even more 'diverting' that it seemed. But maybe he didn't react to it because he had seen teh pain coming, and so braced himself for the impact. And, maybe he was getting a tad bit of pleasure at watching Demona get her but whipped by Elisa. ;)

Anyway, that's my two cents worth..

Jeff Lenihan writes...

Mr. Weisman,

After rewatching Awakening parts IV and V, I wanted to ask you the following:

In your opinion, does Demona really have any feelings for Goliath when they are reunited in 20th century New York?

I ask this for two reasons. First, in your comments on part IV you stated that she "must have been thrilled..." to be reunited with him, but that really doesn't show on her face. Instead, her initial reaction is a cold, calculating smirk, as if she sees Goliath not as the male she loves but rather as a means to her ends.
Secondly, in part V, after everything is out in the open and she is trying to get Goliath to join her, she only uses his love for her to try to draw him over (i.e., YOU loved Me once, YOU trusted ME once...). She never makes any claim to having feelings for him.

Todd Jensen writes...

A Macbeth question that I've been wondering for some time. In the Shakespeare play, he can only be killed by one who is not "of woman born". It occurred to me some time ago that this also holds true for the Gargoyles Macbeth, for the only one who can kill him is Demona, and she was hatched from a gargoyle egg, which counts just as well as a loophole as being from one's "mother's womb untimely ripped". Have you ever noticed this before?

Abigail Thorne writes...

Well, here I am again with my secondn question. I haven't checked in in a while, but I figured I'd ask this while it was on my mind.

How would you describe Demona's feelings for Goliath right now? She goes to these extreme measures to kill him, but it seems to me that she does this because she's angry that he chose Elisa over her. That would in turn explain her grudge against Elisa. If Demona still loved Goliath (in whatever way that it could be possible for her to love), she could be doing all these things as revenge for him turning her down in Awakenings Part 5. So is that it--does she still love him?

Vashkoda writes...

Hi Greg! You may have already answered this in some shape or form, but in case this hasn't been asked: We know that Goliath started having feelings for Elisa possibly as early as "Awakenings", and that he first began to realize how beautiful she was in "The Mirror". But when (if ever) did Demona begin to suspect that Goliath and Elisa loved each other? Or did she never consider the possiblility because the idea of a gargoyle loving a human was ludicrous?

Bengali writes...

1.How did you plan for Macbeth and Demona to finally die?.

Todd Jensen writes...

I liked your rambling on "Awakening Part One", and look forward to the rambles on the other episodes following.

Both I and a number of other Gargoyles fans had indeed picked up on Princess Katharine's hypocrisy that you mentioned, disapproving of "beasts" (i.e. gargoyles) in the great hall, but permitting the dogs to roam about in there during the feast. I was amused to learn about how you'd planned to make that bit more pointed with the dog making off with somebody's food.

The bit where Lexington and Brooklyn were talking to Tom about not having names, and calling each other "Friend" instead, was a part that I liked as well. It was at that point that I definitely decided that I liked gargoyles.

I don't remember for certain what I thought about whether Demona was alive or dead. I suspect, however, that I may have believed her to ultimately turn up again, simply because it struck me as improbable that a character with such a big role in Episode One would be killed at the end of it and never heard from again.

I very much enjoyed the medieval scenes, which reminded me a bit of David Macaulay's animated specials for PBS about building in the ancient and medieval world (particularly the first one, "Castle"). Not to mention (as I said before) that I was delighted with the Vikings looking much more historically accurate, with not a single horned helmet in sight, being already familiar with the way that they actually did dress (I know that I should be thanking the animators on this, actually, but there isn't an "Ask Frank Paur" page up anywhere as far as I know, so this'll have to do :)

Before the episode first premiered, I'd been aware of "Gargoyles" soon to be coming out, but wasn't certain as to whether I'd like it that much or not, fearing that it would just be another mainstream super-hero series. But when it quickly began the "Scotland - 994 A.D." sequence, I decided that I was definitely going to like it. (And indeed, felt slightly disappointed when I reflected that the bulk of the series wouldn't be set in medieval Scotland, considering how much I was enjoying that part of the story - I'm something of a Middle Ages buff - and began to fantasize about "Wouldn't it be great if they did a prequel series set in 10th century Scotland before the massacre?" - which, of course, I now know that you did indeed plan on doing later on.

At any rate, thanks for the ramble again.