DuckTales, Season 3 Episode 6: "Astro B.O.Y.D!"

Episode: 306 "Astro B.O.Y.D !” 5/2/20
Starring: B.O.Y.D. Drake, Gyro Gearloose, Huey Duck, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera, and Lil Bulb
Costarring: Mark Beaks, Doofus Drake, and Launchpad McQuack
Featuring: Inspector Tezuka and Akita
Introducing: Bully Beagle, Clown, and Capsule
An Appearance by: Manny the Headless Man-Horse
Setting: Duckburg (McDuck Manor and Gyro’s Underwater Lab) and Tokyolk (Former Akita Labs International)

PlotTales
In B.OY.D., Huey has finally found a like-minded pal who enjoys the minutiae of Junior Woodchuck’ng as much as he does.  Where others derisively call him “Hue-bot,” B.O.Y.D. gleefully joins him in doing things “exactly the right way.”  But Huey’s new friend is beginning to malfunction so he takes the “definitely real boy” to see McDuck Enterprise’s Head of Research and Development, Gyro Gearloose.  But we will soon come to learn that tucked behind the core circuitry of B.O.Y.D. is the complex origin story of Gyro himself.   

Other than Doofus Drake, no character undergoes a starker transformation from DuckTales ‘87 to now than Gyro.  Who was once a humble and agreeable, absent minded professor type is now a snarky and miserable sort who talks down to his interns and revels in his chaotic neutrality.  Gyro also has a sordid history of his creations turning evil - from Armstrong, Robotica, Lil Bulb, and now... B.O.Y.D.  That’s right, Gyro reveals that Huey’s buddy is yet another one of his “failed experiments” from twenty years ago during his time in Tokyolk where he interned under renowned scientist, Dr. Akita.  And with Huey and Fenton in tow, Gyro will return to where he was “born” to fix B.O.Y.D. and himself.     

People don’t just become cold and contemptuous overnight.  Just as B.O.Y.D. was created, so was Gyro.  But the once “idealistic” young chicken has hardened over the years.  While Huey sees B.O.Y.D. as “just a kid,” Gyro refuses the notion and insists on keeping the robot formerly known as 2-B0 at arm’s length by referring to him as an “it” and “just a machine.”  Even though Akita and his intern designed him to be Tokyolk’s prime defense robot, Gyro still manages to give 2-B0 “real boy” programming.  And, with that, the two developed a bond.  Gyro’s benevolence was undone though when, unbeknownst to him, Akita overrode his programming and executed protocol: “World Breaker,” resulting in 2-B0 attacking the city.

Gyro confides in his friends that he’s spent his “whole life trying to live that down.”  This is why Gyro is the way he is.  He put his heart and soul into 2-B0 and fostered a genuine friendship with him but it was all taken away through Akita’s evil actions. The destruction that 2-B0 wreaked on Tokyolk left Gyro feeling betrayed and ashamed.  It was a traumatic experience that affects him to this day.  But Gyro still holds a glimmer of hope that 2-B0’s true nature will revert back to his original programming and that’s why he travels halfway across the globe to take him back to his old lab. 

It’s in the midst of B.O.Y.D. once again attacking the city (by way of Akita) that Gyro finally stands up for himself and his robot buddy.  “2-B0 never had a choice!” he screams.  “You forced him to be a weapon!”  As he defeats his former mentor with a flurry of slaps, he yells “not all my inventions are evil, some are just wildly misunderstood!”  With that, B.O.Y.D puts Gyro in his cross hairs and furiously dive bombs right at him… to give him a hug.  “You are not evil!” Gyro cries as they embrace.  “You are good. You’re more than your programming.  You are a definitely real boy.”

By far, this is the most Gyro-centric episode we’ve had.  We’ve seen shades of his questionable nature (a looong time ago) in “The Great Dime Chase” (S1, E3) and “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System” (S1, E11) but those were just one-dimensional offerings with him lurking just around the margins.  Here, he’s a legitimate lead for the first time and is also now a fully-developed character.  Like B.O.Y.D., Gyro has been “wildly misunderstood” and now they’re both free to “Be Only Yourself, Dude.”  The only question now is if the hugs will remain “a just for today thing” or will we see a kinder, gentler Gyro going forward?
 
Quacking Points

The Junior Woodchuck meeting is taking place within the grounds of McDuck Manor.  It also looks like Violet is still above regular meetups.

National S’more Day is listed as falling on August 10th but Huey labels a picture he takes with B.O.Y.D. as being in March.

We briefly meet a new Beagle Boy named Bully Beagle.  He’s a Junior Woodchuck (wearing a mask) and, predictably, a bully.  There was a Bully Beagle in the DuckTales ‘87 episode “Nothing To Fear” but there was no indication that he was actually part of the Beagle Gang. 

Junior Woodchuck Guidebook rule# (unspecified): Following the right procedure leads to carefree fun time and leisure.

Did Huey and/or B.O.Y.D. get permission from a parent/guardian before jet-setting to a foreign country with Gyro and Fenton?

Who flew the Sunchaser to Tokyolk?  I’d have to assume it was Launchpad since we saw him earlier and I doubt it was Della since she’d be less likely to stay completely out of the picture during their adventure.  

Tokyolk is an obvious stand-in for Tokyo, Japan.  Among the real life landmarks and staples of the city we see are Takeshiba Road, the Yamanote Line, and the Tokyo Tower. 

The city is peppered with billboards and advertisements for Flintheart Glomgold’s energy drink called GLOM.

My Anime/Manga knowledge is lacking so bear with me… in Tokyolk, there are two extras seen cosplaying as or resembling popular characters Sailor Moon and Lupin III.

The flashback to a young Gyro, with his unruly nest of a hairdo, harkens back to his classic look (and personality) from Carl Barks’ comics as well as DuckTales ‘87.

Astro Boy is the name of a popular Anime series and its creator, Osamu Tezuka, provides the surname for the dogged inspector who helped contain B.O.Y.D. during his first incident.  

Inspector Tezuka appears to be a raven while Akita is an Akita - a popular Japanese breed of dog.

When Fenton shortens his command from “blabbering blatherskites” to just “blah,” he only gets Gizmoduck’s arm.

Mark Beaks found 2-B0 while pilfering electronics from the dump but who put him there and how did he get there?

The crook couple robbing the jewelry store are a Bonnie and Clyde type named Clown and Capsule. 

Will B.O.Y.D. remain in the house of dysfunction that is the Drake residence or will Gyro be taking a more active role in his life?

One big development is Gyro finally hiring Fenton as a full-time scientist and even gives him the title of “doctor” (even though that’s not how doctorates work).

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