We continue our review of our “Gargoyles” with Episode 8 in Season 1, “Deadly Force.” The episode was written by Michael Reaves and directed by Saburo Hashimoto and Kazuo Terada.
The story revolves around Broadway who accidentally shoots Detective Maza when she is in the middle of investigating Dracon and his thugs who stole Xantatos’s high tech. weapons to sell. Not knowing that Broadway was the one responsible Goliath goes on a rampage to bring Dracon to justice.
Here is the assessment of the episode:
The Pros: Broadway – This is Broadway’s episode and him learning to be careful as he is the gargoyle who acts mostly from instinct, whether with jokes or eating. He experiences the consequences of not being careful and thinking when he shoots Maza but out of guilt begins targeting thieves who are using the weapons Dracon and his thugs stole from Xanatos. This leads him to the area where the selling is happening and ends with him confessing that he shot Maza by accident. Goliath and Maza later forgive him and you get how much his mistake has eaten at him throughout the episode.
Detective Maza – We see her idealism here (threatening to take out Dracon and his goons), kindness (cooking a steak for Broadway and forgiving him) and this is the one time where she makes mistakes too as she left her gun out. She is great in this episode, even if it isn’t for that long.
Goliath – The avenging Angel, we see him destroy Dracon and later destroy Xanatos’s weapons as he wants to keep dangerous weapons off the street. We also see his hard side as it is difficult for him to forgive Broadway initially.
The Message – Only responsible people should use guns, and gun safety is important as you can’t predict who may use it (Broadway) and cause something bad to happen. It’s a clear and good message that is pretty apolitical.
Okay: Dracon – He’s a confident thug who knows he’s untouchable…until he’s not. He’s not bad but he isn’t super memorable either.
This was a good episode, I wouldn’t call it great, but the fact that it showed gun violence in a kid’s show…originally they edited out Detective Maza in her own blood, but I’m glad it is back as it shows just how serious and dangerous guns can be. I recommend this episode for sure, it is good even if it isn’t a favorite.
Final Score: 8.5 / 10. Good message, not so memorable baddie.
cameronmoviesandtv 