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Todd Jensen writes...

A few "Pendragon" questions for you.

1. In your opinion, what is Arthur's response to discovering that he and Camelot have been remembered all these centuries after his departure to Avalon? The thing that prompted this question was a reflection on my part that, according to the traditional plot-line of the legend, his achievements must have seemed pretty bleak to Arthur at the time of his "death"; the Round Table's been split in half, nearly all the knights are dead, his own son rose up against him, Guinevere was separated from him and besieged in the Tower of London, Lancelot away in France, Gawain dead and buried; it must all have seemed for nothing. (I admit that this description is somewhat influenced by that bit at the end of "The Once and Future King" where Arthur's brooding in his tent on the eve of the final battle - which is, IMHO, one of the best parts of White's book). What do you suppose the impact on him must have been to discover that he and his ideals haven't been forgotten, that he's practically become a household name as a symbol of medieval chivalry, as has Camelot?

2. In your opinion, what are Arthur's current (as in, at the time of the episode "Pendragon") feelings on the Lancelot/Guinevere business? Has he been able to get over it, more or less?

3. In the episode "Pendragon", Arthur notes (somewhat puzzledly) that his reclaiming of Excalibur is taking place in New York rather than in Britain. While the obvious reason for this is the necessity of the plot (in order to get Hudson and the trio involved), was there any deeper significance here, as in, suggesting what Arthur's ultimate long-term destiny might be in the modern world? (Come to think of it, in that same episode, the Lady of the Lake says "The world doth a leader need" - "The world" as opposed to merely "Britain" - is that also significant?)

Greg responds...

1. Have you ever read White's "The Book of Merlin". It's wonderful and heartbreaking. And the sequence where the hedgehog takes Arthur out to show him his sleeping country always makes me cry. I like to think that -- even in the Gargoyles Universe -- as Arthur approached his first "death", he had had the benefit of a hedgehog (or some hedgehog equivalent) to let him know that it wasn't all for nought. As for all the attention that came in the intervening years, I think he'd be surprised, flattered, embarrassed, outraged, etc. depending on the individual retellings. As of the "Pendragon" episode, he wasn't even aware of any of it.

2. I don't think his opinion ever really changed. It hurt. But these were the two human beings he loved most in the world. If he could have protected them, he would have.

3. Yes. Significant. Arthur was meant to play a part on a larger stage.

Response recorded on July 26, 2000