DuckTales, Season 2 Episode 22: "GlomTales!"

Episode: 222 "GlomTales!" 9/10/19
Starring: Flintheart Glomgold, Louie Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Della Duck, Magica De Spell, Ma Beagle, Mark Beaks, and Don Karnage
Costarring: DT-87, Huey Duck, Dewey Duck, Webby Vanderquack, Mrs. Beakley, Launchpad McQuack, Duckworth, Zan Owlson, and Funso
Appearances by: Stinky Boots and Peg Leg Meg
Setting: Duckburg (McDuck Manor, Beagle’s Hideout, Waddle, Funso’s Fun Zone, and The Money Bin) and Rock Candy Mountain

PlotTales
This one picks up right where the last episode left off.  Louie still finds himself grounded after getting the smackdown laid upon him by his mom, Della.  The grounding even extends to excluding Louie from his dream quest: searching for the Hobo King’s Ruby Rock Candy Mountain.  But due to an unforeseen circumstance, Louie gets his chance for redemption… albeit, through a dalliance with some of his darker instincts.   

Scrooge’s latest treasure hunt is precipitated by ensuring victory against Glomgold in their wager for the title of Richest Duck in the World.  Ol’ Flinty is also making a last second charge but his actions are much more extreme and diabolical.  Thinking that Scrooge’s secret weapon in acquiring and maintaining his wealth is his family (“the greatest scheme of all) since they’re essentially free labour fueled by “love,” Glomgold sets out to create his own twisted brood of villains to mirror the McDucks.  But the fatal flaw in his plan for a forced family is that there is none of this “love.”  Instead, each of the villains have their own agendas and respective carrots that Glomgold is dangling over them.

After successfully recruiting Duckburg’s worst, the “Glomgolds” descend upon McDuck Manor to take out Scrooge.  But Scrooge and most of his family, unbeknownst to them, are at Rock Candy Mountain with only Louie and a skeleton crew of Duckworth and DT-87 left to defend it.  They aren’t much of a match physically but Louie, who is already calculating the many angles to exploit, is more than up to the task.

Louie quickly sells out Scrooge and is named Glomgold’s partner.  He then manages to con each member of the crew into ceding their fortune over to Glomgold so he can defeat Scrooge and be named Richest Duck in the World.  Louie’s transition into super villain is complete… or so they think.  Louie reveals that Flinheart Glomgold’s true identity is Duke Baloney so his fortune now belongs to his partner, Llewelyn Duck.  The con is complete.  But will Louie give up his title and relinquish it and McDuck Industries back to its rightful owner, Scrooge McDuck?  Stay tuned…    

But the biggest development is that between Louie and Della.  After seeing his skills in action, she sees the potential he has and decides to foster his abilities rather than squash them altogether.  Although she does stress that he needs to “take care not to hurt the ones you love and I’ll be here to help you see the angles you can’t.”  It’s a really nice moment and some elite level parenting from Della.  

Quacking Points

“Big Rock Candy Mountain” is a folk song about a hobo’s idea of paradise which is based on the medieval concept of cockaigne, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease… hence Louie’s attraction.

In Disney lore, Big Rock Candy Mountain was a scrapped idea for an attraction from the late 1950s.  A version of it finally made its way to Disney California Adventure in 2012 where a miniature model is displayed in the window of Buena Vista Street's Trolley Treats. 

Is this the only Scrooge-led family treasure hunt this season?  It’s crazy that what once a staple of DuckTales storytelling is now a mere afterthought.

The idea of Scrooge’s family providing free labour is actually a running joke from Carl Barks’ series of Uncle Scrooge comics when Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie would often make this same accusation while accompanying their uncle on his various treasure hunts.   

Why is Gyro even in the family picture of the McDucks?  Even the look on his face is one of “what am I doing here???”  They probably just included him as a means to give Beaks his McDuck counterpart.  Although, I’d say Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera better fits that bill on both accounts.

The rest of counterparts are as follows: Glomgold/Scrooge, Ma Beagle/Beakley, Burger/Huey, Bouncer/Dewey, Big Time/Louie, Beaks/Gyro, Karnage/Launchpad, and Magica/Webby.      

The aforementioned “respective carrots” are the deed to Duckburg for Ma Beagle, a pa for her boys, a higher profile for Mark Beaks, revenge on Dewey for Don Karnage, and the downfall of Clan McDuck for Magica De Spell.

At one point Flinty calls Ma “Katherine,” which finally reveals her first name.

Glomgold is actually right; “a big scheme can be like a family. It can be big, complicated, frustrating, and people may not always understand it but when all the individual parts come together, they can achieve the impossible.  And a family united is the finest scheme of all.”  But they are not united and they are not a family.  Sad. 

Among one of the stranger autofills when Beaks Waddles himself is “Mark Beaks two babies in cardigan?”  Not sure if that’s in reference to anything we’ve seen but if not, I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole episode dedicated to that visual.

Sure, she’s performing magic for kids’ birthday parties at Funso’s Fun Zone but Magica’s still in a lot better shape then last we saw her at the end of “Nightmare on Killmotor Hill” (S2, E19).