DuckTales, Season 2 Episode 10: "The 87 Cent Solution!"

Season 2, Episode 10: "The 87 Cent Solution!" 5/9/19
Starring: Scrooge McDuck and Flintheart Glomgold
Costarring: Huey Duck, Webby Vanderquack, Zan Owlson, Manny the Headless Man-Horse, Gyro Gearloose, Louie Duck, Dewey Duck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera (as Gizmoduck), Launchpad McQuack, Donald Duck, Mrs. Beakley, and Roxanne Featherly
Appearances by: Lil Bulb, Bentley Buzzard, Bradford Buzzard, and Mrs. Quackfaster
Setting: Duckburg (the Money Bin, McDuck Manor, and Glomgold Industries)
Plot: When 87 cents goes missing from Scrooge’s Money Bin, his descent into madness brings on concerns that he’s suffering from Gold Fever.

So, what separates Scrooge McDuck from Flintheart Glomgold?  We delved into a little bit of that in “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!” (S2, E3).  But it’s never been as clear as when Scrooge simply states to a dejected Glomgold, “you can never beat me because I have my family to keep me grounded.”  Who cares though, right? Scrooge can smugly flaunt his family in Glomgold’s face all he wants. An unhinged, spinning off his axis Flinty is all we ever wanted and all we ever needed.

Incidentally, in an episode where the plot is retroactively manipulated through time travel, you can bypass the first three-quarters of the story and just fast forward to the funeral scene where Glomgold has his big reveal.  Not that nothing of note happens during Scrooge’s descent into madness but Flinty does it soooo much better. A momentary bout with Gold Fever* (fake, real, or otherwise) is quaint compared to the burning, churning furnace of insanity fueling every essence of Glomgold’s combustible existence.

That’s the great irony of this episode.  Where Scrooge strikes a mighty blow across Glomgold’s bow in their multi-episode-wager for the title of Richest Duck in the World, Flinty thoroughly outshines our hero.  From the moment when Glomgold bursts through the doors of Scrooge’s faux funeral with a boombox blaring** from his shoulder, he becomes the spiritual winner of the story.  I mean, Scrooge literally almost kills Launchpad and Dewey in one fell swoop and we barely remember because that “cockamany cockamaniac” tries to dance on Scrooge’s casket and loses a one-year staring contest to a baby!  This is without even mentioning the devil suit unitard Flinty slips into during his time teasing*** shenanigans. Why is he wearing it and where did it come from??? Who cares? Glomgold wins!!!!       

Sure, “poised, calm, and respectable” is what you build a show around.  Scrooge is an amazing and wonderful character that will undoubtedly steward DuckTales through multiple seasons chock full of adventure, intrigue, and whimsy but you need a little bit of deranged lunacy sprinkled in there every once in a while.  Flintheart Glomgold isn’t a new character by any stretch but the depth given to him through the disclosures in “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!” coupled with all the nonsense here have breathed new life into the ol’ plaid windbag and the show writ large.  

(*) Gold Fever was first introduced in DuckTales 87’s five-part-pilot, “Treasure of the Golden Sun.”  There, both Scrooge and a dusty old dog named El Capitan, display similar symptoms when the prospect of acquiring large sums of gold overwhelm their collective sanity. 

(**) The song is a real world diddy called “All I Do is Win” by DJ Khaled and his friends Snoop Dog, T-Pain, Ludacris, and Rick Ross.  

(***) The time teaser makes its first appearance in an episode of DuckTales ‘87 aptly called “Time Teasers” where the Beagle Boys get a hold of Gyro’s invention and chaos ensues.  

Quacking Points

Maybe even more insane than everything we’ve just seen is the idea that Scrooge and Glomgold are still running the Dimes for Ducklings charity together.

Where are the rest of Duckburg’s Rogue’s Gallery of Villains? Mark Beaks is live-tweeting at Crowchella, the Beagle Boys have their own booth at Con-Con aka the Convicts Convention, while there is still no sign of Magica DeSpell… dun, dun DUNNNN!!!!

Despite being thoroughly overshadowed, Scrooge may have still delivered the line of the episode: “I took my own advice and listened to my family.”

We need an episode dedicated to exploring the origins and exploits of Chester the Interdimensional Imp. 

Zan Owlson pacifies Flinty with a lollipop because he’s a SUCKER!

Speaking of Owlson, what’s her deal?  She misspeaks at one point, lending credence to the idea that she’s really a wolf in sheep’s clothing and may be looking to out-scheme Glomgold in some sort of corporate takeover of Glomgold Industries.  After all, owls are predators… 

All this talk of Richest Duck in the World begs the question: is there a Richest Dog or Pig and are they richer than Scrooge???

“Rest in Profit” is a fitting epitaph for Scrooge.

If you’re keeping track of the status of Donald’s oft-destroyed boat/home, it looks to be repaired and docked in the McDuck Manor pool.