- Story Arc: Xanatos, Fox, and the Eye of Odin
- Characters: The Manhattan Clan, Fox, David Xanatos, Owen Burnett
- Enemy(ies) : Fox, Xanatos
Xanatos proposes to Fox, giving her the Eye of Odin as an engagement gift. Over the next month, a series of attacks by a werewolf-like creature makes the citizens of New York nervous, and their police busier than usual. With mysterious disappearances by Fox coinciding with the "werewolf" attacks, Xanatos suspects that Fox is the "werewolf"; after confirming this, and learning that the Eye of Odin is responsible for her transformations, he goes through a series of increasingly desperate plans to rescue her and stop the attacks.
Xanatos and Fox both reappear in the very next episode, "Vows."
This episode contains the following tropes:
- Animation Bump: The scene with Fox transforming into a werewolf, and Xanatos' reaction, is really well done.
- Armor-Piercing Response: One that gives Goliath a lot to think about, as the evening progresses.Goliath: Even if what you say is true, why should I help her?
Xanatos: Because you know what it means to lose someone you love. - Beast and Beauty: Goliath and Elisa Maza, which is lampshaded with Elisa dressing up as Belle. Gender-flipped with Xanatos and Fox.
- The Cameo: Hudson and Bronx only appear in group shots after the clan wakes up.
- Combat Pragmatist: During her first encounter with the werewolf, Elisa uses her surroundings and a sack of flour to defend herself from Fox until the rest of the force get there.
- Company Cross References: Elisa dresses up as Belle. She and Goliath start dancing the exact same waltz in Beauty and the Beast.
- Continuity Nod:
- When Goliath and Elisa meet Xanatos while trying to contain Fox in her werebeast state, Elisa mistakenly believes that she is another mutate who has fallen victim to Xanatos like what happened to Derek Maza (now going by "Talon").
- There's one to the five part pilot "Awakening". When Xanatos finds Goliath and Elisa he tells them that "Old habits die hard" as he is removing the tracking beacon he placed on Goliath, a tactic he did in Awakening part three.
- Considering how many previous episode plots feature Xanatos tricking Elisa and the gargoyles into doing something for him, it makes sense that, by this point in time, they've learned how manipulative he is and don't fall for his tricks.
- The detective costume Broadway wears is very similar to the coat and fedora he wore in the previous episode.
- Distinguishing Mark: The audience is able to tell that Fox is the werewolf before any of the characters thanks to the unique tattoo around her eye that she kept in her werewolf form.
- Enemy Mine: Xanatos needs the help of the Manhattan Clan to save Fox's life. Goliath doesn't want to at first, but his conscience (and the fact that the werewolf is a danger to herself and others) ultimately gets him to agree. He gets the Eye of Odin out of it, though.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Xanatos and his romantic affections for Fox demonstrate that even a devious mastermind like him can love someone.
- Everyone Can See It: The Trio watch Goliath and Elisa dance.Lexington: They should have Halloween more often.
Brooklyn: Yeah. - For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Goliath attends the block party as himself and is thought to just be wearing an elaborate costume. The Trio do opt for costumes (Brooklyn as a pirate, Lexington as an aviator, and Broadway as a private investigator), though observers think they're going for wearing costumes over costumes (with many complimenting them for it).Lexington: Aw, Halloween! Tonight is the night!
Brooklyn: I can hardly wait. We can walk around in the streets and nobody will know who we are.
Broadway: Better yet, no one will know what we are. - From Dress to Dressing: When Fox turns back into a human, she isn't wearing anything. Eliza takes the skirt from her Belle costume note and gives it to Fox as a cover up.
- Halloween Costume Characterization: Elisa dresses up as Belle, which neatly summarizes her relationship with Goliath.
- Halloween Episode: Complete with a werewolf and several people in costumes.
- Hypocrite: Xanatos tries to convince Goliath to help him by telling him "You know what it means to lose someone you love." But he said so within earshot of Elisa, who had also lost someone she loved as a direct result of Xanatos' machinations. As might be expected, Elisa was not impressed.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: Elisa, Goliath, Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington all attend a Halloween block party.
- Hidden Depths: Goliath knows how to waltz.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Xanatos says the trope almost word for word.Xanatos: Fox, I know you're in there somewhere. It's me, David.
- Involuntary Shapeshifting: The Eye of Odin, that was given to Fox as an engagement present from Xanatos, forces her to transform into a werewolf.
- I Owe You My Life: After helping save Fox, Goliath extorts the Eye of Odin out of Xanatos for safe keeping. Xanatos considers that fair.
- Love Is a Weakness: Xanatos loves Fox, and once gave up the Eye of Odin to get her back safely. At one point, he has this exchange with Goliath:Xanatos: So now you know my weakness.
Goliath: Only you would regard love as a weakness. - Love Makes You Dumb: Xanatos is on plan D in the second half of the episode. That normally does not happen to him. (Also note that plan D is, er, "ask my enemies nicely if they would be willing to help me out."). Xanatos' Plan D wasn't entirely successful either, since Goliath initially refused his request. (So his Plan E was even more desperate than Plan D: "Plant another tracker on Goliath, stay within earshot of him, and wait for him to change his mind.")
- Manipulative Bastard: Xanatos is denied the opportunity to do this as Goliath and Elisa spy on him and announce their discovery of his attempt at this. Though he manages to get their help in the end, but it would be on mutual terms rather than to his own advantage.
- Morphic Resonance: In her werebeast form, Fox still has reddish hair and keeps the blue tattoo around her eye.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Xanatos has a very downplayed version of this when he realizes that the Eye of Odin has been transforming Fox into a werewolf, saying he never would have given it to her if he'd known what it would do.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: Xanatos' engagement gift to Fox turned her into a wolf-like being every night until he and the gargoyles were able to forcibly remove it (similar to the "Hexenwolf" being transformed by a magical amulet). In this case, it's noted that her were-form is unsustainable; she has to feed constantly and is in danger of burning out and dying.
- Properly Paranoid: Xanatos notices Fox's sudden strange behavior in the day coinciding with the monster sightings at night. Upon seeing her transform, he simply remarks, "I thought so."
- Rousseau Was Right: Goliath and Elisa speak about this during the Halloween block party. Elisa is strongly opposed to helping Xanatos, believes that the werebeast is not Fox and that he has some other ulterior motive, which given his past history of deceptions (such as the aforementioned Mutate incident) is understandable. However Goliath counters by noting that if the creature is Fox, they'd be dooming her to death and that "If Xanatos speaks the truth; if someone like him can love, perhaps there still is hope for this world."
- Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: Before Fox first transforms into a werebeast on-screen, she's wearing a trench coat with nothing under it; it's torn apart when the transformation is complete. When she turns back into a human, she's completely naked; Elisa lends her the skirt of the Belle costume she was wearing to provide Fox with some kind of clothing.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: While Elisa is always beautiful, she's absolutely stunning in her Belle costume.
- Shipper on Deck: Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway lazily sigh with approval as they watch Goliath and Elisa dance.
- Ship Tease: Elisa remarks she's wanted to stroll down a city street with Goliath for some time now.
- Shout-Out:
- The whole scene where Xanatos hunts down the werefox is taken from Predator 2, down to the slaughter house and Xanatos's cannon.
- The creators have said that the scene when the sign (which says "Mercury Building") explodes behind Fox at the end of the episode was a deliberate reference to the 1986 movie Highlander.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Xanatos has to swallow his pride and get Goliath's and Elisa's help to remove the Eye of Odin to reverse Fox's transformation.
- Time for Plan B: Xanatos, of all people, starts to run out of backup plans as the episode goes on. Plan C to trick Goliath fails when he eavesdrops, leading him to quip "I don't supposed you have a Plan D?" And when he just asks Goliath for help, Elisa highlights that that is his Plan D and he'll move on to Plans E and F.
- Transformation Horror: Fox’s transformation both into and out of her werewolf state appear to be incredibly painful, as her body contorts and she howls in pain.
- Unwitting Pawn: Averted. Goliath and Elisa followed Xanatos and eavesdropped on him as he was planning on doing this to the Manhattan clan. They came out of hiding just as he finished speaking with Owen Burnett to tell Xanatos that they won't be manipulated into another of his schemes unknowingly.
- Wrecked Weapon: Xanatos crunches Elisa's gun in order to ensure that Fox will not be killed during the confrontation to undo her transformation. She doesn't look pleased about this.
- Xanatos Speed Chess: Yet again, here is the Trope Namer. By the episode's end, Xanatos goes down to plan E. Elisa is also pretty certain he's got at least a plan F to fall back on, as well.
