City of Stone

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City of Stone is a four-part story-arc from Disney's animated series Gargoyles. It originally aired between September 18 and September 21, 1995. It is most notable for finally revealing the backstories of Demona and Macbeth, including the nature of their connection and their immortality.

[edit] Plot

Demona and Xanatos come to an agreement, which involves replacing every TV channel with Demona, reciting an ancient spell in an endless loop. However, Xanatos doesn't know what the spell actually does. The spell causes everyone who sees and hears its recitation to turn to stone at night, allowing Demona to go on a killing spree over the helpless people of Manhattan. When Xanatos tells her that the TV Network is ready and that she will be on air when she wants, he decides to leave, but first he goes over to the camera man who happens to be Owen, and tells him, "Either watch or listen, don't do both.". When he leaves Demona starts the spell, but Owen quickly understands the meaning of the spell and tells her that it isn't what she said she would be reciting, and he tries to close the Network but Demona ties him up by magic and makes him watch the whole thing. Xanatos has also told Fox not to watch the Demona program on T.V but she has and he sits in the helicopter with her when leaving the studio. Half way home the sun goes down and Fox is turned to stone along with everyone else in the city. Xanatos must enlist the help of the Manhattan Clan to break the spell. Meanwhile, flashbacks reveal the history of Demona and Macbeth, and the mysterious humans known as the Hunters.

[edit] Development

The story was originally planned as a direct-to-video release, but was changed to a multiepisode format since it focused more on the antagonist rather than the main characters. As a video release, it would have occurred before the second season, with several differences:

• Goliath, Brooklyn and Lexington would have met up with a random blind man, rather than Jeffrey Robbins (from "Lighthouse In The Seas Of Time"). Hudson followed along after the inclusions of Jeffrey.
• Derek hadn't yet mutated into Talon, and he would have been the one to turn to stone in the helicopter (instead of Fox).

[edit] Arc significance

• In this episode, Demona betrays David Xanatos, finally ending the alliance they have had since before the first episode of the series.
• The connection between Demona and Macbeth is finally made clear. Although it had been established prior to this episode, City of Stone is the first time they appear together on screen.
• Demona refers to Owen Burnett as "the tricky one", foreshadowing revelations that will later be made in The Gathering.
• This is the first episode in which actual historical events, in particular the reign of Macbeth of Scotland, is used as a backdrop for the story. Flashbacks of a similar type would later be used in the multi-part episode Avalon.
• The episode introduces the characters of the Weird Sisters, and sets up events that lead into the story of Avalon.
• The episode further emphasises the restrictions of magic in the Gargoyles universe. In particular, it reveals that magic can only affect a person if that person can both see and hear it. Either sight or sound alone will not work. Also, Demona's spell demonstrates another example in the series of magic spells having "termination clauses" (in this case, that the spell will end "when the skies burn"). Commentary on the Season 2, Volume 1 DVD indicates that, within the fictional universe, such clauses reduce the energy required to cast the spell, but are often chosen for their seeming impossibility.
• The episode introduces the concept of the Hunters, which is next used in the second season finale, Hunter's Moon.
• During Demona's rampage, destroying humans while they are turned to stone, she apparently destroys two statues resembling Margot and Brendan, a pair of recurring characters. These characters nevertheless reappear in later episodes.
• Two of the gargoyles used to create Coldstone are shown in Demona's flashback - those referred to by production staff as Othello and Desdemona. When Demona returns to Castle Wyvern after the massacre, she holds up the broken stone face of Othello, which was later used to create Coldstone.