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[[Image:Pendragon.JPG|thumb|260px|]]
 
[[Image:Pendragon.JPG|thumb|260px|]]
  
'''''"Pendragon"''''' is the forty-eighth televised episode of the series ''Gargoyles'', and the thirty-fifth episode of Season 2.
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'''"Pendragon"''' is the forty-eighth televised episode of the series ''[[Gargoyles (TV series)|Gargoyles]]'', and the thirty-fifth episode of Season 2. It originally aired on February 12, 1996.
  
*Story edited by: [[Brynne Chandler|Brynne Chandler Reaves]]
+
* Supervising Producers: [[Frank Paur]], [[Greg Weisman]]
*Written by: [[Lydia Marano]]
+
* Written by: [[Lydia Marano]]
*Directed by: [[Dennis Woodyard]]
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* Story Edited by: [[Brynne Chandler|Brynne Chandler Reaves]]
 +
* Produced & Directed by: [[Dennis Woodyard]]
 +
* Animation by: [[Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.]]
 +
* Backgrounds by: Sunwoo Animation Co., Inc.
 +
* Additional Production Facilities: N/A
  
 
==Summary==
 
==Summary==
 +
===Main Plot===
 +
 +
[[King Arthur Pendragon|King Arthur]] and [[Griff]] are [[Harmonic Convergence|transported]] to [[Manhattan]] from [[London]] via the [[Stone of Destiny]], and meet up with [[Hudson]] and the [[trio]] of the [[Manhattan Clan]].  Arthur and the others search for [[Excalibur]] using clues from the [[Excalibur Poem]], while [[Macbeth]] spies on them, intent on claiming the sword for himself.  At the [[Brooklyn Botanical Gardens]], the [[clan]] fights Macbeth's flunkies while Arthur and Griff tussle with Macbeth and an animated [[Stone Dragon|stone dragon]].  Arthur claims the sword from within the dragon, and Macbeth admits defeat.
 +
 +
===Subplots===
 +
Arthur knights Griff, and the two of them begin a quest for [[Merlin]].
 +
 +
==The Story==
 +
===[[Previously on Gargoyles]]===
 +
*'''Recap''': ''([[Avalon Part Three|"Avalon" Part Three]])''
 +
 +
===Act One===
 +
 +
===Act Two===
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 +
===Act Three===
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 +
==Featured Characters and First Appearances==
 +
{{characters
 +
|h1=[[Gargoyle]]s
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|c1=
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*[[Lexington]]
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*[[Hudson]]
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*[[Broadway]]
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*[[Brooklyn]]
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*[[Griff]]
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*[[Goliath]] (Mentioned Only)
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*[[Bronx]] (Mentioned Only)
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|h2=[[Human]]s
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|c2=
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*[[Banquo]]
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*[[Fleance]]
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*[[Macbeth]]
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*[[King Arthur Pendragon]]
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*[[Merlin]] (Mentioned Only)
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*[[Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]] (Mentioned Only as the Queen Mum)
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*[[Diane Maza]] (Mentioned Only)
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*[[Halcyon Renard]] (Mentioned Only)
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*[[Findlaech]] (Mentioned Only)
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|h3=[[Oberon's Children]]
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|c3=
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*[[Lady of the Lake]] '''(First Appearance)'''
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|h4=[[New Olympians]]
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|c4=
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|h5=Others
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|c5=
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*[[Spirit of Destiny]] '''(First Appearance)'''
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*[[Water Djinn]] '''(First Appearance)'''
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*[[Will-O-The-Wisp]] '''(First Appearance)'''
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*[[Stone Dragon]] '''(First Appearance)'''}}
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 +
{{EpisodeFirsts
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|h1=[[:Category:Places|Places]]
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|c1=
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*[[Westminster Abbey]]
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*[[Guggenheim Museum]]
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*[[Brooklyn Botanical Gardens]]
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|h2=[[:Category:Objects|Objects]]
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|c2=
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*[[Electric Crystal Ball]]
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*[[Fake Excalibur]]
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*[[Excalibur]]
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|h3=[[:Category:Magic|Magic]]
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|c3=
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*[[Harmonic Convergence]]
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|h4=[[:Category:Media|Media]]
 +
|c4=
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|h5=[[:Category:Universe|Miscellaneous]]
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|c5=
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*[[Excalibur Poem]]
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*[[Macbeth's Sky-Sleds]]}}
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 +
==Quotes==
 +
 +
*"Brooklyn!"
 +
:"What?"
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:"No, no she-she means [[Brooklyn (Borough)|Brooklyn]]!  The hedgemaze in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens!" - [[Lexington]] and [[Brooklyn]]
 +
 +
* "Why should it be Arthur again?  Perhaps it is my destiny to wield the sword Excalibur." - Macbeth
 +
 +
* "I may be timeless, but I'll be ancient by the time we get through this!" - Arthur
 +
 +
* "Arthur no!  Fight for it!  You are the once and future king!" - Griff
 +
 +
* "I have been a king too long to serve any man.  But if you ever need me to stand by your side, I will come." - Macbeth
 +
 +
==Continuity==
 +
 +
[[King Arthur Pendragon]] appears for the first time since "Avalon" Part Three.  He teams up with [[Griff]], who appears for the first time since [[M.I.A.|"M.I.A."]]. They next appear in [[The Rock|"The Rock"]].
 +
 +
[[Hudson]] and the [[Trio]] appear for the first time since [[Kingdom|"Kingdom"]].
 +
 +
The [[Stone of Destiny]] was introduced in [[City of Stone Part Three|"City of Stone" Part Three]], but plays an active role in this episode, speaking to Arthur (and being revealed as the stone from the Sword in the Stone). The Stone also reappears in "The Rock", [[Rock and Roll|"Rock & Roll"]], and [[Rock of Ages|"Rock of Ages"]].  In "Rock and Roll", we learn how the Stone of Destiny came to be the stone that Arthur drew Excalibur out of.
 +
 +
Both the Stone of Destiny and the [[Lady of the Lake]] reinforce Arthur's statement in "Avalon" Part Three that he was awakened ahead of schedule.  A detail further explored in "Rock of Ages".
 +
 +
[[Banquo]] and [[Fleance]] appear in [[Macbeth]]'s service for the last time (they had most recently appeared in [[Sanctuary|"Sanctuary"]]).  In their next appearance, in [[Nightwatch (episode)|"Nightwatch"]], they are working for [[John Castaway|Castaway]] – which Macbeth briefly alludes to in "The Rock".
 +
 +
Hudson and the Trio allude to [[Goliath]]'s adventures in [[Golem (episode)|"Golem"]] and [[Mark of the Panther (episode)|"Mark of the Panther"]] (which they were informed of by [[Halcyon Renard]] and [[Diane Maza]]).
  
 
==Tidbits==
 
==Tidbits==
[[Greg Weisman]] intended ''Pendragon'' to be a back-door pilot to a spin-off, also entitled ''[[Pendragon (spin-off)|Pendragon]]'', that would have dealt with [[King Arthur]] and [[Griff]]'s adventures as they search for [[Merlin]], adventures that would have taken them, among other places, to [[Tintagel]], [[Stonehenge]], and [[Antarctica]]. The [[Illuminati]] would have had a major role in this series as a recurring antagonist, particularly its leader, [[Duval|Mr. Duval]], who would have turned out to be [[Sir Percival]], a former knight of the [[Round Table]] that had survived into modern times through being the guardian of the [[Holy Grail]]. (This raises the question of how Percival can both be the Grail's guardian - an occupation that traditionally called for very high moral standards - and the head of an organization as amoral as the Illuminati. Greg commented once that Percival has had to pay a certain price for his actions as leader of the Illuminati, though he has so far refused to specify what that price was.) Arthur and Griff would also be joined by Percival's estranged wife, [[Blanchefleur]], who would become a third regular. Greg also planned for another appearance by the [[Stone of Destiny]], this one connected in some way with its real-life return to [[Scotland]] in late 1996. Unfortunately, the spin-off was never made (it is a sad commentary on television animation that ''Pendragon'' was rejected, while the dreadful ''King Arthur and the Knights of Justice'' received two full seasons).
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[[Greg Weisman]] intended "Pendragon" to be a back-door pilot to a spin-off, also entitled ''[[Pendragon (spin-off)|Pendragon]]'', that would have dealt with King Arthur and Griff's adventures as they search for [[Merlin]], adventures that would have taken them, among other places, to [[Tintagel]], [[Stonehenge]], and [[Antarctica]]. The [[Illuminati]] would have had a major role in this series as a recurring antagonist, particularly its leader, [[Peredur fab Ragnal|Peredur]], a former knight of the [[Round Table]] that had survived into modern times through being the guardian of the [[Holy Grail]]. Arthur and Griff would also be joined by Peredur's estranged wife, [[Fleur|Blanchefleur]], who would become a third regular. Unfortunately, the spin-off was never made.
  
Alert viewers will notice that Arthur could not have reached [[London]] immediately after leaving [[Avalon]]. For one thing, Griff is already there, indicating that the events of ''[[M.I.A.]]'' have already taken place. Also, the [[trio]] and [[Hudson]] have been contacted by [[Halcyon Renard]] and [[Diane Maza]] about the events in ''[[Golem (episode)|Golem]]'' and ''[[Mark of the Panther (episode)|Mark of the Panther]]''. According to Greg Weisman, Arthur had an unspecified adventure in the outside world that troubled him enough that he decided to return to Avalon for a time, and he was brought to London after making a second venture into the outside world.
+
Alert viewers will notice that Arthur could not have reached [[London]] immediately after leaving [[Avalon]] (since the events of "M.I.A.", "Golem" and "Mark of the Panther" have already taken place). According to Greg Weisman, Arthur had an unspecified adventure in the outside world that troubled him enough that he decided to return to Avalon for a time, and he was brought to London after making a second venture into the outside world.[https://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=734]
  
''Gargoyles'' here follows the popular interpretation of [[Excalibur]] and the Sword in the Stone being one and the same, which was the case in the earliest Arthurian legends; in Malory's ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', they were, in fact, separate swords. After Arthur broke his old sword (Malory does not say whether it was the Sword in the Stone or a lesser weapon) while fighting King Pellinore, Merlin brought him to the [[Lady of the Lake]], who gave him Excalibur via the famous hand rising up from her lake garbed in a sleeve of white samite. ''Pendragon'' makes use of both concepts, having Excalibur once again embedded in stone (but this time, completely encased, with the sword seemingly thrust in the stone being just a worthless lookalike), but bringing in the Lady of the Lake as instrumental in its recovery.
+
''Gargoyles'' here follows the popular interpretation of [[Excalibur]] and the Sword in the Stone being one and the same, which was the case in the earliest Arthurian legends; in Sir [[Thomas Malory]]'s ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', they were, in fact, separate swords. After Arthur broke his old sword (Malory does not say whether it was the Sword in the Stone or a lesser weapon) while fighting King Pellinore, Merlin brought him to the [[Lady of the Lake]], who gave him Excalibur via the famous hand rising up from her lake garbed in a sleeve of white samite. "Pendragon" makes use of both concepts, having Excalibur once again embedded in stone (but this time, completely encased, with the sword seemingly thrust in the stone being just a worthless lookalike), but bringing in the Lady of the Lake as instrumental in its recovery.
  
The [[Will-O-The-Wisp]] that Macbeth uses to spy on Arthur, Griff, and the remaining members of the [[Manhattan Clan]], is an interesting take on the common cartoon plot device of "villain with cameras everywhere".  This is a common scene in action adventure cartoons where the heroes are discussing something of importance.  The view usually goes to a high angle shot and the camera pull back to reveal the villain watching and listening through a monitor or other viewing device.  The antagonist is able to view and overhear just what he or she needs to, despite the fact that the heroes are in their base, the sky, some place they've never been before, or another location where their foe would be highly unlikely to place a remote camera.  A magical entity, its powers augmented with science, get around the problem of how Macbeth manages to eavesdrop on our heroes from a distance.
+
The [[Will-O-The-Wisp]] that Macbeth uses to spy on Arthur, Griff, and the remaining members of the [[Manhattan Clan]], is an interesting take on the common cartoon plot device of "villain with cameras everywhere".  This is a common scene in action adventure cartoons where the heroes are discussing something of importance.  The view usually goes to a high angle shot and the camera pull back to reveal the villain watching and listening through a monitor or other viewing device.  The antagonist is able to view and overhear just what he or she needs to, despite the fact that the heroes are in their base, the sky, some place they've never been before, or another location where their foe would be highly unlikely to place a remote camera.  A [[magic]]al entity, its powers augmented with science, gets around the problem of how Macbeth manages to eavesdrop on our heroes from a distance.
  
An issue left unresolved is the Stone of Destiny's identity as being the stone from the Sword in the Stone. The Stone of Destiny was (according to Scottish tradition) brought to Scotland from Ireland around the year 500, to eventually become a crucial part of Scottish coronation ritual from 843 (when Kenneth mac Alpin became the first King of Scotland) to 1296 (when Edward I captured it and brought it to [[Westminster Abbey]]). Thus it did not reach London until almost eight hundred years after Arthur carried out his famous act of pulling the sword from the stone (which Malory places in London). So how can the two stones be the same? Greg has hinted that the Stone of Destiny was briefly moved to London and back for the occasion, but has declined to go into details; presumably, these would eventually have been addressed in the ''Pendragon'' spin-off (if it ever gets made).
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==DVD Release==
 +
* ''[[Gargoyles: Season Two, Volume Two]]''
  
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
 
*[http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=416 Greg's Ramble]
 
*[http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=416 Greg's Ramble]
 
*[http://www.gargoyles-fans.org/reviews/ep48.htm Extensive Synopsis and Review]
 
*[http://www.gargoyles-fans.org/reviews/ep48.htm Extensive Synopsis and Review]
 
  
 
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Latest revision as of 21:29, 1 September 2024

Pendragon.JPG

"Pendragon" is the forty-eighth televised episode of the series Gargoyles, and the thirty-fifth episode of Season 2. It originally aired on February 12, 1996.

Summary

Main Plot

King Arthur and Griff are transported to Manhattan from London via the Stone of Destiny, and meet up with Hudson and the trio of the Manhattan Clan. Arthur and the others search for Excalibur using clues from the Excalibur Poem, while Macbeth spies on them, intent on claiming the sword for himself. At the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, the clan fights Macbeth's flunkies while Arthur and Griff tussle with Macbeth and an animated stone dragon. Arthur claims the sword from within the dragon, and Macbeth admits defeat.

Subplots

Arthur knights Griff, and the two of them begin a quest for Merlin.

The Story

Previously on Gargoyles

Act One

Act Two

Act Three

Featured Characters and First Appearances

Gargoyles Humans Oberon's Children Others


Places Objects Magic Miscellaneous


Quotes

  • "Brooklyn!"
"What?"
"No, no she-she means Brooklyn! The hedgemaze in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens!" - Lexington and Brooklyn
  • "Why should it be Arthur again? Perhaps it is my destiny to wield the sword Excalibur." - Macbeth
  • "I may be timeless, but I'll be ancient by the time we get through this!" - Arthur
  • "Arthur no! Fight for it! You are the once and future king!" - Griff
  • "I have been a king too long to serve any man. But if you ever need me to stand by your side, I will come." - Macbeth

Continuity

King Arthur Pendragon appears for the first time since "Avalon" Part Three. He teams up with Griff, who appears for the first time since "M.I.A.". They next appear in "The Rock".

Hudson and the Trio appear for the first time since "Kingdom".

The Stone of Destiny was introduced in "City of Stone" Part Three, but plays an active role in this episode, speaking to Arthur (and being revealed as the stone from the Sword in the Stone). The Stone also reappears in "The Rock", "Rock & Roll", and "Rock of Ages". In "Rock and Roll", we learn how the Stone of Destiny came to be the stone that Arthur drew Excalibur out of.

Both the Stone of Destiny and the Lady of the Lake reinforce Arthur's statement in "Avalon" Part Three that he was awakened ahead of schedule. A detail further explored in "Rock of Ages".

Banquo and Fleance appear in Macbeth's service for the last time (they had most recently appeared in "Sanctuary"). In their next appearance, in "Nightwatch", they are working for Castaway – which Macbeth briefly alludes to in "The Rock".

Hudson and the Trio allude to Goliath's adventures in "Golem" and "Mark of the Panther" (which they were informed of by Halcyon Renard and Diane Maza).

Tidbits

Greg Weisman intended "Pendragon" to be a back-door pilot to a spin-off, also entitled Pendragon, that would have dealt with King Arthur and Griff's adventures as they search for Merlin, adventures that would have taken them, among other places, to Tintagel, Stonehenge, and Antarctica. The Illuminati would have had a major role in this series as a recurring antagonist, particularly its leader, Peredur, a former knight of the Round Table that had survived into modern times through being the guardian of the Holy Grail. Arthur and Griff would also be joined by Peredur's estranged wife, Blanchefleur, who would become a third regular. Unfortunately, the spin-off was never made.

Alert viewers will notice that Arthur could not have reached London immediately after leaving Avalon (since the events of "M.I.A.", "Golem" and "Mark of the Panther" have already taken place). According to Greg Weisman, Arthur had an unspecified adventure in the outside world that troubled him enough that he decided to return to Avalon for a time, and he was brought to London after making a second venture into the outside world.[1]

Gargoyles here follows the popular interpretation of Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone being one and the same, which was the case in the earliest Arthurian legends; in Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, they were, in fact, separate swords. After Arthur broke his old sword (Malory does not say whether it was the Sword in the Stone or a lesser weapon) while fighting King Pellinore, Merlin brought him to the Lady of the Lake, who gave him Excalibur via the famous hand rising up from her lake garbed in a sleeve of white samite. "Pendragon" makes use of both concepts, having Excalibur once again embedded in stone (but this time, completely encased, with the sword seemingly thrust in the stone being just a worthless lookalike), but bringing in the Lady of the Lake as instrumental in its recovery.

The Will-O-The-Wisp that Macbeth uses to spy on Arthur, Griff, and the remaining members of the Manhattan Clan, is an interesting take on the common cartoon plot device of "villain with cameras everywhere". This is a common scene in action adventure cartoons where the heroes are discussing something of importance. The view usually goes to a high angle shot and the camera pull back to reveal the villain watching and listening through a monitor or other viewing device. The antagonist is able to view and overhear just what he or she needs to, despite the fact that the heroes are in their base, the sky, some place they've never been before, or another location where their foe would be highly unlikely to place a remote camera. A magical entity, its powers augmented with science, gets around the problem of how Macbeth manages to eavesdrop on our heroes from a distance.

DVD Release

Links

<< Previous Episode: "Mark of the Panther" Next Episode: "Eye of the Storm" >>