#gs1e3

@katrani replied:

like their height difference in general is one thing, but the size of his hands??? compared to her body???????? all of us who watched this at formative ages were doomed lmao

HA!

It amuses me quite greatly that Owen just leads Elisa to the elevator and just sends her on her way. He is more thorough than that.

I can't help but wonder if the creators hadn't decided on Owen's back story yet or if this is some early mischief showing through. I know that it is done this way mostly for story. Because we have to get Elisa back in the castle by herself. But I don't like to leave it at just that. Not when it's so much more fun to contemplate.

I can't help but suspect that Owen kind of wants to see Elisa face the reality. She bulldozed her way in, waving aside excuses, prompting Xanatos into the little white lie that marked Owen as someone who gets 'confused', and openly remarked on an observation that for most would make her sound crazy. Perhaps he's curious what she would do when faced with the actual reality. I can imagine Owen might be one to look at humans face-to-face with gargoyles, fighting them, and remarking on how they're wearing masks, and be fascinated at the ways people will convince themselves that the world still works exactly as it always did while facing down something that breaks all the rules.

Perhaps if the little detective gets a taste of what is actually happening here, she will run away and never bother them again, unable to face something that challenges everything she knows about the world. He seems to say, 'are you really so sure you don't want to believe a generator exploded like the rest of New York will?'

SPEAKING OF MOMENTS!!!!

AHAHAHAHAHA

The show makes sure we notice something is up with this moment. It is so carefully animated. We have so many expressions going on here. Elisa being at first surprised as once again Goliath initiates physical contact without any warning and so sure of himself it's almost like he's thought this through already. Then she is surprised as she is lifted up, inspects her situation, then makes herself comfortable by swinging her arm up around his neck, which he becomes noticeably pleased about! And then his expression gets... uncomfortable? I want to read into it as embarrassed, and I that's clearly part of it by the exchange of looks with Hudson, but what is on his face looks something maybe more akin to regret.

I think it had a large impact on him when Elisa showed up where, when, and how she said she would. He liked the way she interacted with Hudson in a both respectful but teasing manner.

I also think he is pleased with her trust and comfort in him, like he almost expected the human would suddenly show that she didn't trust the monster after all. This is what he expects from a human. But that isn't the response he got. I imagine him getting a nice flush of warmth at being so trusted to protect and carry a human who he has grown used to having be afraid and distant to him. (Which is interesting in contrast to Xanatos who actually does touch Goliath a lot in these early episodes.)

This is a really good setup for some interesting things this show could have done, but I don't really think they ever really do. Elisa is a detective in this show to put her on this path and give her certain permissions throughout the show that would be more difficult otherwise. But I love Goliath's reactions here. Who decides what is wrong? Obviously no one like him gets to decide.

But the point I think the show is trying to make here I think is to contrast Goliath, who has made decisions without consulting anyone else and clearly against the desires of those he respected, with Elisa who has a sort of authority that is different than his but that he can relate to if he will allow himself.

As leader of his clan, there are no "laws," simply what he decides. He is cop, judge, and jury but of course on such a smaller scale. Each person he might choose to 'arrest' is someone close and dear to him. The level of his distrust here comes from his distrust of humans, but the point is that he and Elisa have a thread that connects them to make room for them to understand each other. He's just hell bent on being wary of humans right now.

Goliath turns away as if to go, and Elisa blurts out "Wait. Don't go." It's a separate thought. Her instinct is to continue this encounter. She wants to know more. This is fascinating and exciting to her. But she also realizes, after he pauses, that she also needs help if she's not going to be stuck here indefinitely. So she follows that up not with, 'I'm so curious about you!' but rather with a request for help. I think also she may realize she touched on a sensitive subject but she doesn't know why. So simply bombarding him with questions may not be the route to go.

WHAT IS THIS MOMENT?!

Goliath looks so proud of her?! Smug?

Hudson is making his compelling, philosophical argument and asks if one would name a river, and Elisa just like, 'Yes' by telling him the name, amusement in her voice. Hudson looks to Goliath, and we get this reaction, followed by Elisa looking to him as well for his reaction. He approves.

I really have felt like it takes Goliath a lot longer to be interested in Elisa but like this sure is a moment! I certainly think part of it is watching the old one have to encounter such a radical shift, but it's almost like Goliath was the one trying to convince him or that he set Elisa upon it.

I think. Maybe. He is assessing her for being the one to show him about the human world? If it were me, I'd want to know more about that whole 'why do you need something to call me,' but there is something about Goliath and Elisa that has a common thread. For Goliath, it would just be the way things are. I think he would have answered much the same as Elisa. So perhaps we're coming around to the way they can relate to each other. Perhaps in fact it's the way Xanatos might wax poetic about the power of names and naming things (at least as Goliath might imagine one might do) that would set him on edge. Elisa is also matter of fact here in the way he was earlier with 'I wanted to make sure you were alone.'

"Our new guests." Very tactful Owen. Haha. He does have a way of going about things.

I can't quite put a pin in why this moment seems so interesting to me. It's almost like they share this moment of 'Xanatos is so over the top right?' Or... something. Which like, Elisa can't exactly know the nature of Owen and Xanatos's relationship, but it wouldn't be strange for her to think of Owen as likely a more normal person than Xanatos and therefore more likely to see what she sees.

If she only knew XDXD

I do think Owen is very good at putting whatever face he wants on things though. I don't think he actually has any nervousness about any of this. One could think that the [nervous laugh] was about wariness about having gargoyles in the castle, living ones at that, as a sort of in-joke with the audience Elisa doesn't know about yet. But I don't think that's really the case. It's all for show.

But I do know I love that Elisa, a detective who has to be very grounded in reality and what's going on and staying in command of herself, openly says that she believed she saw a stone gargoyle move to a person she has already blatantly shown mistrust for.

I think it speaks to the fact that it is just who she is to to state things like they are. She's in tune with how she experiences the world and isn't in the habit of questioning her senses. It doesn't at all strike her as something to be embarrassed about to admit. She thinks it's wild that she thought she saw the gargoyle moved, but I think she can't quite convince herself either though that she was wrong, because that would mean to mistrust and doubt herself.

Elisa and Goliath go find themselves some trouble and save a couple who were being harassed by a group of robbers. Goliath gets the response he expects from the humans he saved, though clearly he is still disappointed. And you know, kudos to him. There are some things I don't think we should have to get used to as long as we can still face the reality of it, which I think Goliath usually balances pretty well.

But this is quite a moment for the two of them. Elisa sees him help two people of her city, people he shows contempt for but not regret for saving. As a cop, she probably knows that feeling well. Victims in reality are not like those in fiction; they're not perfect virtuous humans with clean hands. They're just... people. And even people who aren't the best deserve protection.

And the other hand, Goliath observes Elisa watch these humans run off after he's bashed some people around, and she walks up to him to tell him he's a blessing. He protected with some resentment and still he is worth being admired for all the things he most prides himself on. He most aspires to be a protector, and she sees in him a shining beacon of protection. He is seeing a version of himself reflected back to him in her eyes he hopes to always be, and that's a powerful, powerful thing.