So, like, the kind of surprising
question that immediately comes to mind is: so are we ever going to
get an ACTUAL terrie fermie episode? 'Cause this one wasn't it, was
it? I mean, okay, the depiction of them seems fine (though why no
ties?), but still. They're more a macguffin than anything else.
Again, there's a lot to like here. The
episode works well as an ensemble piece, and I'm definitely all about
Badass Magic Lena and her evil shadow.
Still...here are the issues I had:
1. The whole conflict between Lena and
Beakley doesn't really seem to be either here or there. She's just
mad at her due to fairly mild teenage-rebellion-y stuff. The episode
description says "Beakley does not trust Lena," which kinda
makes you think it's going to be because she suspects The Truth, but
far from it. Lena is cool for sure, but that seemed a bit
mishandled.
2. The idea that the existence of the
Junior Woodchucks Handbook has the effect of making Huey dull and
incurious? That...kinda seems like the opposite of how a Junior Woodchuck should be portrayed, ever. And, for the
record, I'm still not over the idea that only ONE of them is part of
the organization. A big part of the whole POINT is TEAMWORK, dammit!
I mean, it's okay if they want to have diverging Woodchuck
philosophies, but there should be a basic commonality here.
3. Launchpad. I liked him in the first
episode, but although he had amusing moments here, I feel that the
episode went overboard in emphasizing his incredibly stupidity. I
re-ask the question that I asked before: is he ever going to receive
any of the surprising depth that he did in Original Ducktales' first
season?
Still, the episode was basically fine.
-"Hey! You know what we should
talk about? Another subject!"
"And then I can hunt down your
attackers and avenge your death!" So...apparently it's okay to
specifically reference death, but the word "kill" is a
bridge too far? Am I correctly understanding this?
-Even though this show is a bit wobbly
(still trying to find its footing, we could optimistically suggest),
I still like the fact that we get to discover it together.
Obviously, it's a significantly different dynamic than when I was
watching Original Ducktales, which everyone else was already familiar
with.
1. Since as I mention in previews comment secion this episode is out of order (it was ment to air AFTER the next three episode) I can only asume one of those episode will set-up Lena/Beakley conflict. You can sort-of tell something happened between this episode and previews one.
ReplyDelete2. I can imagine they might make the point in the future of the other two Nephews becoming Woodchucks. One can hope, right?
3. I'm split on Lunchpad. On one hand he felt more like Homer Simpson in this episode then Lunchpad, on other hand 3/4 of his lines made me laugh so I can't honestly complain. Maybe some Lunchpad-centric episodes in the future will balance things up.
Also - Seeing how they building up this one big story-arc I have a hunch that it's not the last we see of Terries and Fermies.
I'm also happy we ALL can discover this new show together guys! ^_^ GROUP HUG!!!
Good episode this week, wasn't the biggest fan of the previous one. Lena is starting to come up on her own (in "Massacre" I was more endeared by the effects she had on Webby than by Lena herself) and low on smarts as Launchpad was, much like Milús I was won over by several of his gags "Just in case" killed me, as did his mind malfunctioning when presented with the possibility of handling a vehicle -without- crashing it, then his satisfaction when the train suffered that fate.
ReplyDeleteHow the Handbook was handled also left me with mixed impressions. I'm all for the idea of Huey not relying on some object to take all life choices for him, but it came at the cost of robbing the mythical piece o' Duck lore much of its mystique and sense of wonder. May as well have been a generic"general survival knowledge" type of book.
The door's definitely open for them to use the Terra-Firmians proper again, here's hoping!
Wanna make sure, but does the episode refer to them as a singular species, or as the separate Terries and Fermies?
ReplyDeleteAt least Webby (who knows legends about them) say they are two tribes - Terries and Fermies.
DeleteP.S. On the "kill" business; with the exception of "The Beagle Birthday Massacre", that word, or a variant thereof (i.e killed, killer) has been used in every episode aired so far!
ReplyDeleteAt least it's clear now that Lena will not be simply a villain, so that's good. Whether Launchpad will be an idiot...that's not so clear. The mischaracterization of the Guidebook is par for the course, I'm afraid. I thought the matching legends created by Webby and the Terra-Firmians were cute, though I actually suspect that Webby's mythifying would have included a female leader in there somewhere!
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts on the portrayal of Magica? The writers' comments suggest they're making her far more powerful than she usually is in the comics and cartoon. Makes me wonder if her motive will still be to steal Scrooges number 1 dime.
ReplyDeleteI think they will keep that core aspect of her motivation, but from the looks of it, revenge for something (probably for locking her up in the first place) will also play a major role. And I don't mind if she is a bigger threat, since villain decay can be a real problem in Duck stories (I've seen loads of stories where the Beagle Boys were so inept they were simply not believable as "dangerous" criminals, for example).
DeleteThey already dedicated entire episode to "introduce" the dime and show why it's important to Scrooge so most likley it still will play big role, like Magica will still wan't Lena to steal it from Scrooge - not that Scrooge is wering now the dime on his neck like a medatlion.
DeleteHowever I think that they will stick to Old shows motivation that Magica want the Dime to "take over the world" (ofcourse!) or maybe it will help free her from some prisson that trap her in the shadow form.
I would love if they would use the Poe = Magica's brother idea. Maybe his Lena's father?
I have this theory that Magica isn't Lena's real aunt but Lena is from some pathological family from which she runaway and Magica took care of her. Lena do appear have a hooligan background.
Re: Magica not being Lena's aunt: I think we can have it both ways. To Lena, Magica is some sort of great- or otherwise estranged aunt whom Lena barely heard about in her childhood (sort of like Scrooge for HDL!), and her parents were as muggle as it gets, and abusive; she ran away and at some point stumbled upon the amulet containing the soul and power of Magica.
DeleteI think it is not so much that the Guidebook makes Huey dull and incurious, but rather that Huey uses it as a crutch to deal with his fear of the unknown. Notice how he uses the book to desperately rationalize any unknowns around him, and how he flees to the light part of the train at some point despite the danger, because at least the light enables him to see, and know, what is around him. Also notice how he adds any new knowledge he learns to the book, and uses it to affirm to himself that the book has ALL the answers after the fact.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible that Launchpad's characterization is somewhat dependent on the writer. I agree that this episode played up his dumbness a bit too much. But at least he is still recognizable as Launchpad on his worst days (remember the Civil War reenactment episode of OD?).
I find the new Webby a lot less recognizable overall as being the same character as in OD. I like the new Webby, but she is so different from the old one she might as well be a new character.
Did anyone else find it a bit odd that Beakly brings the other kids with her to look for Huey, Webby and Lena? I suppose she couldn't have left them with THIS version of Launchpad, but it still didn't seem like the most sensible solution.
While the episode was great, the first act was a bit weak, with a rather convoluted reason for the adventure to start. I'm not sure if the episode self-consciously referencing this with "it all came together in the third act" is a good or a bad thing.
I agree about "discovering a show together"– I'm enjoying reading about different people's reactions. I think the show is simultaneously very much like the original and completely different, particularly in the characterizations, where several characters are completely new versions (or at least radical reinterpretations).
ReplyDelete