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Temptation
Synopsis | Review by Juan F. Lara | Review by Todd Jensen
Overview
- Brooklyn takes the motorcycle Lex has just constructed out for a joyride. He meets, and is then attacked by, a motorcycle gang.
- Demona rescues him, then tells him he owes her a little of his time. She shows him the evils of humanity: theft, abuse, murder. He agrees that Goliath must be made to see this.
- Brooklyn steals the Grimorum, and lures Goliath to the Cloisters, where Demona is waiting.
- Demona casts a spell on Goliath to make him obey whatever she says. Brooklyn attacks her, and is attacked by the Goliath-drone. Brooklyn grabs the page with the spell and orders Goliath to attack Demona.
- Demona rips pages from the Grimorum, and tosses it to allow herself time to escape. Dejected, Brooklyn takes Goliath home.
- Elisa takes the spell and orders Goliath to behave the rest of his life as if he was not under a spell.
Synopsis
Act I
In a small garage, Lexington, Brooklyn, and Broadway are putting the finishing touches on a motorcycle that they have been working on for several months. When it is finished, Brooklyn dons a helmet, folds hid wings around himself, puts on a leather jacket and sunglasses, and rides off. Broadway wonders when he and Lex will get a turn. The scene pulls back and we see another gargoyle watching in the shadows.
Brooklyn rides the motorcycle through the streets of Manhattan, followed closely by the unknown gargoyle. Brooklyn passes a cop, obviously speeding, and the cop gives chase. To escape, Brooklyn's wings rip through his jacket, carrying him over a wall, and leaving the police speechless. Over the wall, Brooklyn breathes a sigh of relief and spots a biker gang. He rides with them, and they stop, admiring his motorcyle. He removes his helmet and the bikers see what he really is. They attack Brooklyn and he fights back, but he is outnumbered. The gang's leader draws a gun and takes aim at Brooklyn, but is knocked over as the gargoyle that has been following Brooklyn flies out of the shadows. However, the bullet hit the motorcycle and it goes up in flames. Brooklyn is extremely angry, but the other gargoyle grabs him and they flee up a nearby building.
On top of the building, Brooklyn sees that his unknown benefactor was Demona. She wasn't killed after all (cf. Awakening, Part V).Demona says she wants to talk with Brooklyn, but he doesn't trust her and turns to leave. Demona asks him to wait and apologizes for shooting at him. She says that she was crazy with rage after centuries of dealing with humans. So she lied about also being under the Magus' stone spell (cf. Awakening, Part IV). Brooklyn is confused, and she says she will explain. Brooklyn listens to her.
Lex and Broadway fly back to the castle where Goliath, Hudson, and Bronx are watching television. When Goliath asks where Brooklyn is, Broadway responds, "Out joyriding." Goliath looks puzzled and returns to his book.
Demona tells Brooklyn that she only wants to help. She offers to show him "what mankind is really like."
Act II
Brooklyn follows Demona. They happen upon a mugging, and the thief gets away with a lady's purse. Brooklyn starts to go after the thief, but is stopped by Demona. She says that with the human justice system he would be back on the streets in a day. They fly to a nearby window and see a couple fighting about their son. "They cannot even share their homes without fighting," Demona says. They fly off and alight on a rooftop overlooking a murder scene. "They hold each other lives without worth," Demona observes. She says that she wants to make Goliath see the truth. Brooklyn protests, saying that not all humans are bad, and cites Elisa Maza as an exception. Demona rebutts with the incident with the Pack (cf. Thrill of the Hunt). Brooklyn is surprised that she knows of that. Demona challenges Brooklyn to show himself. He does not and she says that he is wise. "They would shoot you down like a dog," she says. To make Goliath see the truth, there is a spell in the Grimorum Arcanorum (the Magus' spellbook). Brooklyn agrees to bring the book to Demona.
It is nearly dawn as Brooklyn returns to the castle. Goliath asks him how his joyride was, and he answers, "Illuminating." Elisa walks in and informs Goliath that Xanatos' sentence is nearly up, and that the gargoyles need to find another place to live. She says that she has just the place. Goliath doesn't want to leave. He reasons that they beat Xanatos and the castle is theirs. Brooklyn argues, agreeing with Elisa. The sun rises and the gargoyles turn to stone in mid-argument. Elisa leaves and the day passes. When the sun sets, the gargoyles awake and fly into the castle to get breakfast. Brooklyn sneaks off and steals the Grimorum Arcanorum.
He flies to the Cloisters with the spellbook, where Demona is waiting. He gives her the book, and she asks him to bring Goliath. He agrees and flies back to the castle.
At the castle, Brooklyn finds Goliath and tells him of the Cloisters. He says it reminds him of their home in 10th Century Scotland. Goliath follows to see this place for himself.
At the Cloisters, Goliath is pleased with what he sees, and says that they should have brought the others. Demona steps out of the shadows and says that it was good he didn't, since she wants him here alone.
Act III
Goliath expresses his surprise at Demona being alive. She replies,"I always survive." Brooklyn asks Goliath to listen to her. Demona casts the spell, but it is not a spell of truth, it enslaves Goliath's mind to her command. Demona says that "humans are our enemies." Goliath repeats and obeys. Brooklyn says that Demona is insane and tries to get the book back. He curses himself for trusting her. Demona orders Goliath to restrain Brooklyn. Knowing that he is no match for Goliath, Brooklyn runs and hides. Demona says that Goliath will obey whomever is holding the spell. Brooklyn emerges and tries to reason with Goliath, but Demona attempts to cast the spell on him as well. Brooklyn knocks the book out of Demona's hands with his tail and catches it. Demona is too fast for him, however, and takes the book back. Demona then orders Goliath to destroy Brooklyn, but Brooklyn has ripped the spell from the book and now has the power over Goliath. Brooklyn orders Goliath to take her. They fight and crash through a stained glass window. Demona flies off with Goliath in hot pursuit. Demona rips a few pages out of the Grimorum, and Golaith knocks her to the ground. They continue their fight on the ground, using trees and rocks as weapons. Demona admits defeat and flies off, but not before dropping the book into a nearby river. Brooklyn dives after it and catches it just above the surface of the water. Then he and Goliath return to the castle.
Back at the castle, Brooklyn says that he can't reverse the spell. The counterspell is missing. He blames himself for all that has happened. Elisa suggests that they should use the spell against itself. She takes the spell and orders Goliath to act for the rest of his life just as he would if he were not under the spell. Goliath awakes and praises her cleverness. Brooklyn says to Elisa that Demona was wrong and that "any species with you as a member can't be all bad." Brooklyn apologizes to Goliath, saying that Demona sounded truthful. Goliath says that Demona's truth is only a half-truth. The sun begins to rise, and Goliath says that he could use some rest. Elisa takes the Grimorum. Lex asks Brooklyn about the motorcycle. Brooklyn reluctantly replies, "It blew up." The sun rises and Lexington freezes with an expression of shock on his face. Elisa turns to walk back into the castle and return the Grimorum Arcanorum to its rightful place.
Review
by Juan F. Lara
Not as good as "Thrill of the Hunt", but still pretty good.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn got a much-needed focus. He was the most ignored member of the main cast in the mini-series. But here he gets lots of character development. He's the one that particularly wants to fit into the human world, IMHO, often aping humans. Also, when provoked, he gets particularly angry. His scene when facing off the bikers reminded me of how he wanted to fight the humans in "Awakenings, Part I" when one attacked him.
More wing acrobatics: Here Brooklyn was able to wrap himself with his wings to put on the jacket. Then later on he bursts the wings through his jacket. Considering their previous position, his wings must be VERY agile to pull this off. Still, we got a great scene of him taking to the air, cycle and all. :-)
My favorite scenes were in Act II, when Brooklyn was struggling with Demona's rantings and his own feelings about humanity. Jeff Bennett did a great job with the subtle acting needed here.
Demona
Oooh, we got some more hints of her past. Now she's asserting that she's been conscious for hundreds of years, which I suspected. But then again, how can we trust anything that she says. :-) We also got a reference to last week's "The Thrill of the Hunt".
As Demona went on and on with her ranting about humans, I was reminded of the animals in "Aladdin"'s "The Animal Kingdom". But those animals, and others like them, were supposed to be good guys who were simply misguided about their opinions of humanity, whereas Demona is unambiguously a villain and her bad feelings are part of what makes her a villain. So this show has a refresingly different tone to Demona.
Scenes
The animation looked a lot better here than in "Thrill...", IMHO. There weren't the problems with character artwork that I saw in "Thrill..." The animation for the action sequences was as good as ever. And I liked the portrayal of facial expressions, particularly Demona's in Act II.
We got a first glimpse of the Gargoyles motorcycle (I felt sorry for Lex when it blew up. :-). I heard that it's going to be part of a line of "Gargoyles" toys to be released soon. Anyhow, it was cool to see Lex start building things, and I'm looking forward to any other inventions he has planned.
I wonder why the bikers didn't realize Brooklyn was a "monster" immediately, what with that big snout of his.
We found out the name of spell book: The Grimorum Arcanorum.
More continuity - Eliza warns the gargoyles again about Xanatos's impending return. I liked how Brooklyn is the one who started realizing Eliza's point, just after his evening with Demona.
We get more reliably good action in Act III. The moment that particularly stuck in my mind was Brooklyn knocking over Demona as she was reading the spell. Also, Demona tearing out pages just when Goliath attacks her.
The resolution of the spell seemed like a cop-out to me. But I wonder if Greg and Co. will come back to the spell problem. Could make for some plot twists.
And I ROTFL at the last scene. Hilarious expression on Lexington's face. :-D
IMHO, "Gargoyles" plays like a good mainstream comic book, with one big adventure for the main plot and lots of threads that continue in the back- ground. I'm looking forward to the next issue. :-)
Commentary/Review
by Todd Jensen
The second episode of the "trio trilogy", "Temptation" focuses on Brooklyn. It also brings Demona back after "Awakening Part Five", giving the audience the opportunity to see more of "what makes her tick".
The episode begins light-heartedly, as the trio (mainly Lexington) eagerly work on building a motorcycle from left-over parts (with a brief allusion to Lexington's motorcycle ride in "Awakening Part Three"), and Brooklyn eagerly zooms off on it (startling poor Officer Morgan along the way). But things take a serious turn once Brooklyn's attempt to befriend some bikers goes sour. And the mood becomes even more somber when Demona, after saving him from his assailants, takes him on a tour of the city, showing him humanity's dark side.
The sequence that follows is another moment that makes it clear how much "Gargoyles" differs from the Disney norm. Brooklyn is witness not only to a purse-snatching (complete with Demona's accompanying cynical comment about the revolving-door prison system), but also a domestic squabble that turns so violent that the couple's son runs out of the house in tears, and the aftermath of a murder scene. Small wonder that by the end of it all, Brooklyn is so sunk into despair that he agrees to work with Demona in opening Goliath's eyes. Demona even effectively counters Brooklyn's point about Elisa's loyalty by arguing that the police detective is not sufficient protection against the entire human race.
Under Demona's influence, Brooklyn steals the Grimorum and presents it to her at the Cloisters, then lures Goliath there. (The method that he uses in doing so is - to me - one of the most moving moments in the episode, as he eagerly describes the museum to Goliath as "like the world we came from". The reminders of the gargoyles' medieval origins were always one of my favorite parts of the series.) His hope turns to horror, however, when he discovers the true nature and purpose of Demona's spell and realizes the depths to which she is ready to stoop in her war on humanity.
Brooklyn quickly displays his ingenuity in the fight that follows by seizing the page with the mind-control spell on it from Demona (thus shifting Goliath from her side to his), and furthermore, despite his lasting grudge against the genocidal female gargoyle that begins from this moment, takes responsibility for his assisting her, expressing his grief and guilt over having helped reduce Goliath to a zombified state. All of this effectively establishes him as a figure who, while having his faults, has many fine qualities (paving the way for the point when he will become Goliath's second-in-command and even - during the Avalon World Tour - temporary leader of the clan).
Elisa repeats her role from "The Thrill of the Hunt" in urging Goliath to move out of the castle before Xanatos returns. However, she expands on her role this time by finding a way of freeing Goliath from Demona's spell. While her method of doing so does feel a bit of a cheat, it has the advantage of not only displaying the detective's ingenuity, but, more significantly, countering Demona's arguments about the evil and incurable hatred of humanity. Merely demonstrating Demona's treachery would not be enough to nullify her claims; it could only serve as an ad hominem argument against her. But Elisa's rescue of Goliath shows that at least one human can befriend and help gargoyles, that the species is not as hopelessly corrupt as Demona believes it to be. As Goliath explains at the end, Demona's claim about the human race is "a half-truth... but it's not the whole truth".
The animation, while generally good, does provide a bit of a cheat in that, during the sequence when Demona rescues Brooklyn from the biker gang and helps him escape, she is portrayed as constantly veiled in shadow until the time comes to reveal her, while Brooklyn, even when standing in the exact same position that she had just vacated, is shown clearly. To make up for this nit, we have a splendid moment at the end of Elisa shielding her eyes against the risen sun, with excellent lighting effects (alongside a comic-relief moment of Lexington's horrified response to Brooklyn's report on the fate of the motorcycle).
Tidbits
Officer Morgan makes his second appearance in "Gargoyles", the first being in "Awakening" (Parts One and Two).
The Grimorum Arcanorum is named for the first time.
Demona says that the mind-control spell she uses on Goliath is complex and requires much time to study. Since the actual incantation consists of only three Latin words, two of which are short ones, this would indicate (unless Demona was lying to Brooklyn) that the complexities lay elsewhere, maybe in correct pronunciation or accompanying gestures. Remarks elsewhere in the series (such as "City of Stone Part Three" and "The Price") that one has to be an experienced wizard to be able to use magic properly would confirm this suggestion that spell-casting in the Gargoyles Universe consists of far more than just saying the right words.
Brooklyn's motorcycle was designed to be adapted into a toy vehicle for Kenner's line of Gargoyles action figures - though one doubts that Kenner was at all amused when the script proceeded to have the motorcycle blown up before the end of Act One!