The Gormogon is the cannibalistic serial killer during season 3. He was portrayed by the stunt performer Laurence Todd Rosenthal.
Background and Development
He was introduced in the third season premiere, "The Widow's Son in the Windshield", and has made appearances in the form of teeth marks on bones examined by the Jeffersonian scientists. His first on-screen appearance was in "The Knight on the Grid", although his former master, Arthur Graves, appears earlier in that episode, and his late apprentice, Jason Harkness, appeared in the season premiere. Before the season finale reviewers and fans speculated that the audience has actually already met him, perhaps being FBI psychologist Dr. Lance Sweets. This belief was partially validated later in the season when the show's executive producer, Hart Hanson, stated in an interview with EW.com that the Gormogon or his apprentice are someone the fans are fond of. In the season finale, this statement is confirmed when Dr. Brennan finds that Dr. Zack Addy had lied about some of his earlier conclusions, leading Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth to realize Zack is the apprentice. The team finally tracks down the Gormogon thanks to information given by Zack, and Booth kills the Gormogon in his home; he has not been given a name, and he has been described as "nobody."
It was stated in an interview with Eric Millegan that the identity of the Gormogon's apprentice was not originally known by the cast and directors when he was created as a criminal. After the writer's strike the producers of the show were forced to make budget cuts and therefore named Addy as the "someone the fans are fond of".
Known Gormogons
- Arthur Graves - Now old and at a nursing home, Arthur Graves is the oldest Gormogon shown in the series. He also appears to have been the most successful one, having killed enough people to assemble a whole skeleton. Before he left everything to his apprentice, he pulled out all of his teeth.
- "The Master"- The newest Gormogon. He was first seen wearing a motorcycle helmet and outfit, but his face was later shown in the last episode of Season 3. According to Zack, he is very fast and very strong. He was killed by Seeley Booth.
- Jason Harkness - The first apprentice to appear on the show.
- Unnamed apprentice - Seen briefly in the end of The Knight on the Grid, during which he jumps at Mr. Porter, the lobbyist, with a knife in his hand. In The Perfect Pieces in the Purple Pond, Zack reveals that that particular apprentice was killed by "The Master" sometime afterwards in order to open up the slot for Zack as his apprentice ("There can only be two").
- Zack - Technically not a Gormogon, he was "The Master's" apprentice for a few months. He gave "The Master" information about the lab, made a set of false teeth for him out of canines taken from the bone storage and also claims to have aided him in the murder of Mr. Porter. After Brennan refuted his logic, Zack gave up the Gormogon's location, leading to his death.
Modus Operandi
When particles left on a victim's skull led Dr. Brennan and Booth to a vault in an old bank, they discovered tapestries, paintings, books, and other artifacts related to a number of mystical orders and traditions, including Kabbalah, Freemasonry, and Gnosticism. The key feature of the vault was a silver skeleton arranged in a "widow's son" pose, a position known to the ancient Greeks as one of sacrifice. Parts of the silver skeleton had been replaced with actual bone, which bore teeth marks from two different individuals, suggesting ritualistic consumption of flesh. The vault also yielded a tapestry whose pattern corresponds to specific locations in Washington, D.C. and to tarot cards showing different archetypes, such as the Musician (Gavin Nichols) and the Bishop (Father Cooper). The map provides a schematic for the Gormogon's activities, including the geographic location of the sculpture and of another, older sculpture and the residence of the Gormogon's old master, and the order of archetypes which are being integrated, via their bones, into the sculpture. The bones chosen have some significance for the owner in their personal or professional lives. Additionally, the victims killed by the Gormogon during the events of season 3 had all lost their fathers at a young age, making them literal widow's sons. The Gormogon's weapon of choice appears to be a dagger.
Inspiration
The Gormogons were an anti-Freemasonry order of the 18th century. They are mentioned in scattered writings of the era, and accusations of association with them may have been used as a political weapon, as the very existence of the order involved a rejection of Masonic ideas. [1] However, only the name has any relevance on the show, as Hodgins borrows it to refer to the killer for his dual reverence for and apparent dislike of secret societies and fraternal orders, including the Knights of Columbus. Hodgins' and Sweets' understanding of typical practices among orders, such as the master-apprentice relationship, ritualistic meals, and sacred geography inform the ongoing investigation of the murders.
Victims
Two skeleton sculptures have been found, one of which was constructed by Arthur Graves and the current Gormogon and was completely made out of bone (implying that he had killed several people to put it together), the other by Jason Harkness and the current Gormogon. Not all the victims have yet been identified, but at least one bone in each sculpture was added for its significance to its owner. The three victims named below all lost their fathers at young ages, making them "widows' sons" and thus doubly symbolic as a sacrifice to the Gormogon. They were all involved with a trip to the Anatolian region of Turkey, and associated with the Knights of Columbus. It was also compared to the Order of the Sith from the Star Wars saga, where there were always two, a master and an apprentice. If an apprentice (Darth Maul in Star Wars) fell, the master (Darth Sidious in Star Wars) would replace him with a new one. Coincidentally, Gormogon also had three apprentices in the series, like Sidious had in Star Wars before his death (Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and Darth Vader.)
- At least five prior victims whose bones were included in the silver skeleton. At least three of the tarot cards prior to the Musician (Gavin Nichols) were, in the order they were mentioned, the Architect, the Martyr and the Orator. Their connection to the bones was unspecified.
- Gavin Nichols, a violinist. His left little finger, essential for his art, was added to the silver skeleton, and he corresponds to the Musician tarot card on the Gormogon's schematic.
- Father Douglas Cooper, a bishop. His kneecaps, essential in prayer, were added to the silver skeleton by Brennan as part of an attempt to provoke Gormoggon into trying to take the skeleton back while it was being transferred so that they could capture him, and he corresponds to the Bishop tarot card on the Gormogon's schematic.
- Ray Porter, a lobbyist. As would be expected judging by his profession, his mandible, being a component associated with speech, was sent to Dr. Brennan. He corresponds to the Corruptor tarot card on the Gormogon's schematic. When Dr. Zack Addy was revealed as the current apprentice of Gormogon, it was established that he was Porter's killer. Zack pleads guilty to the murder and is placed in a psychiatric rehab facility. He later admitted to Sweets that he hadn't actually done the deed himself.
- Another unnamed apprentice. The actual killer of Mr. Porter, he was seen for a split second in the end of The Knight on the Grid. Though Zack later claimed responsibility for Mr. Porter's killing, he later admitted to Sweets that he only assisted in the killing and that the Master (the current Gormogon) killed the former apprentice and presumably cannibalized him to open the position for Zack.
- An unnamed SWAT officer.* When Booth and a SWAT team raided the Gormogon's home to arrest him, he threw a knife into the chest of one of the team members, apparently killing him. (a thrown knife would most likely not penetrate a SWAT members kevlar vest, definitely wounded but not killed.)
Notes
Gormogon could be seen as an Anti-Hodgins or an extreme version of Jack. Gormogon also adhered to multiple conspiracy theories but went to horrible lengths to root out said conspiracies.
References
- ↑ http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/gormogons.html The Gormogons