#gs1e1

[thoughtfulfangirling]

One thing I love about this interaction is that we have Tom trying to make friends with these two younger gargoyles. The youth of these people are so ready and willing to make good with each other.

But here we have this protective mother running to her son, immediately assuming he's in danger. Brooklyn tries to reassure her that there was no design on harming the boy; her fears were unnecessary, and he approaches in as non-threatening a manner as he can manage. But the woman throws and strikes him with that wooden stick she's holding.

Brooklyn is young, and he is hurt. He looks so wounded in that moment, but he doesn't yet look angry. His emotion has settled yet, and an adult of the gargoyles groups swoops down and puts herself between the humans and her clan. She is angry.

We already know that Brooklyn is of the point where he's ready to feel like an adult in the clan, and this is how the second in command acts. She responds with anger. So he does too. Lexington, not to be left out, joins in.

They believe them monsters? Fine, they'll be monsters. I think it's so interesting that Demona asserts that no, the humans are monsters. She actually believes this. I think it says something about Brooklyn and Lexington that they decide to 'go along' with the monster thing. They don't believe any of them are monsters; they're just hurt and angry.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

We see Hakon storm the castle. A small amount of credit, they go straight for the Gargoyles. It could be a way of Hakon to placate his men for attacking so close to sundown. 'Don't worry, we'll get there before the sun sets and take care of those statues. Then you can focus on the real fight.' But whatever his reason, he gives us this great sequence.

And finally we meet Goliath. And I love Goliath. It's hard to convey in screencaps. The blaze of his eyes is just him shedding his stone skin. He is not angry. His toes flex on his stone perch, but they do not crumble the stone, which he is perfectly capable. It is not with great anger or malic that he reaches out and grabs Hakon. He's just... very matter of fact.

"You are trespassing."

With the implication that he may plummet to his death for the infraction, as with no effort at all, Goliath holds him over a grand drop.

It's truly a great opening for Goliath. He is so sure of himself, of the world around him, of his abilities. He wakes up to an intruder and he sets to work. Embarks on his duty. What happens in this flashback shakes his foundation in way that I think we see resonate through the rest of the series, but right here, right now, the world is his. Not as in he owns it. For Goliath, this isn't coming from a selfish place. More than anything, I think it actually comes from a naïve place. He is strong. He cares for his people. His castle is good and he protects it. And the world will work in his way as long as does his duty.

Because it should have been frightening to wake up to an armed enemy at his feet. He should have been angry that he and his came so near to being destroyed themselves. Another five minutes, and they would have been rubble.

But that's not his world. No things went exactly as they should because he does exactly as he should for the world and for his own. It's as if it never occurs to him that he may have awoken too late.

Now let's see if the very next scene will show that I am talking out my ass XD

[thoughtfulfangirling]

"Using the wing as a cloak? Damn. That was very cool."

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And then we meet Demona.

"Face me, human, if you dare!"

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I know this is a lot of screenshots, but since I'm not going to be moving on to Episode 2 today, I have the space to make room for us to see this transformation for Goliath. It's such a telling moment for him. The pain and rage sorts of sinks into him. He lands so quietly, so calmly almost. His mind isn't seeming to process and take it in until he's reaching down to touch the stones at his feet. It sort of comes crashing up upon him like a large, incoming wave, until is smashes against the shore. We get this anguished, 'Angel of the Night' in this almost breaking voice, until he comes out in a full bodied roar as it fully hits him. His lover is dead, his people are dead, the castle has been emptied and abandoned, his whole world has just come down around him, and it all happened while he was away on a goose chase.

And that is of course where the first episodes leaves off. What a dramatic way to close off the first episode. It's certainly a catching cliffhanger!

And like I said above, I'm not going to continue on to episode 2 today. I have stuff I have to get done today, and DST certainly makes that harder XD Maybe I'll be able to start episode 2 sometime later this week though!

[thoughtfulfangirling]

So of course the main takeaway here is that he and Demona are indeed romantic. In case there was any ambiguity from before.

But what's more I think is the way he finalizes thing. This is a very clear moment where he is The Leader. It's not a democratic situation. They are coming up with plans between only two gargoyles, and Goliath makes the call, and once he does, it's not much up for discussion. Demona manages a concession from him, but she doesn't realize that the concession is someone Goliath doesn't even intend to be hugely involved in fighting. He will want Hudson more for tracking iirc.

It's an important thing to establish. Goliath may be good at putting vanity behind him, at playing along for the sake of the good of his clan, but it comes with the cost of him feeling perfectly comfortable making the calls on his own. Not that there isn't weight to that and it's own burden, but it also means having his way.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I have mixed feelings on this.

On the one hand, Hakon is kind of dumb. What's his plan if Goliath drops him? Which is what was likely to happen if he'd successfully wounded him.

On the other hand, Goliath you dramatic little bitch.

I mean he really is. He's got some quiet, dignified drama sure, but he is DRAMATIC. To an extent, I don't think he believed Hakon would draw on him given his current predicament. Goliath is probably at his most dumb when he assumes that others are not. He didn't think Hakon would stab at him because that seems suicidal. Goliath hadn't dropped him to his death yet, so why try to quicken it? Stupid human, he seemed to say.

But also of course he just caught the blade with his hand. Of course he lets Hakon see how useless it is. Sure he can bleed, but what's the use of that if it doesn't impede?

Hakon yelling to his men that they're not invincible is just as much for them as it is for us. This whole sequence is very much for us. We see the majesty and aw of the Gargoyles, we see how effortlessly one picks up a grown ass warrior adult, but we need to know that they are not safe. We do still have to worry for them. Not just when they're stone.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

Okay so here we have huge chunks of rocks falling from a skyscraper and this detective has just stood in the splash zone. While that's like, really really dumb, I think it hints at a very important quality of Elisa's.

She wants in on things. She wants in on all the secrets, all the activity. She needs to be a part of things. No matter how crazy things get, she wants to be a part of things. She wants to stand apart.

"Get back!" She tells the others who almost got crushed with her, but she remains, kneeling in danger behind a large chunk of rock as if that would protect her (it wouldn't).

Some of this instinct I think is yes, to protect and solve problems. But I absolutely do think we see time and time again how it is also selfish. She likes to be on her own, doing heroic things, involved in momentous occasions.

So when she sees scratch marks? In STONE? Consider her curiosity piqued. If something exists in this world that can do that, then by god she's going to learn what it is, not run away for fear of what that could mean about her world.