DuckTales, Season 2 Episode 18: "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!"

Episode: 218 "Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!" 9/4/19
Starring: Louie Duck, Goldie O’Gilt, Doofus Drake, Huey Duck, and Della Duck
Costarring: Scrooge McDuck, Mr. Drake, Mrs. Drake, Mark Beaks, Flintheart Glomgold, Launchpad McQuack, Webby Vanderquack, Lena, Violet Sabrewing, Dewey Duck, Mrs. Beakley, and Johnny Ottoman
Introducing: B.O.Y.D., Percival P. Peppington, and Shark Bait
Appearances by: Burger Beagle and Big Time Beagle
Setting: Duckburg (McDuck Manor and the Drake residence) 

PlotTales
Lest we forget, this is Louie’s season.  And this episode picks up where “The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck” (S2, EP) leaves off… with Louie calling upon Goldie to help him “operate his company more shiftily.”  Enter Goldie O’Gilt, Scrooge’s ex-flame and general pain in his pinfeathers, with a ready-made con for her and Louie to undertake: Doofus Drake’s Septleventh Birth Anniversary.   

Louie is finding that the “work really hard, make money square thing” isn’t quite jibing with Louie Incorporated.  He sees Goldie’s method of “make money easy with no downsides” much more aligned with his brand.  But is he truly ready and cutthroat enough to swim with a shark like Goldie?  Louie likes to identify as the “evil triplet” but Goldie sees him as the “scariest bunny in the pet shop.”  

At Doofus’ Birth Anniversary, Louie and his “super young aunt” make quick work of besting rival con artists, Flintheart Glomgold and Mark Beaks, in their pursuit of the $457-million-and-17-cents worth of gift bags.  With the game still afoot, the pair quickly shift gears, turning on each other rather than work together.  But when Louie finds himself strung up like a pinata, about to be bludgeoned by Boyd, Goldie breaks and saves Louie.  Doofus then reveals that his party was merely a ruse to find a replacement for his “Guhmeemama” with Goldie named the winner while Louie finds himself safely outside the Drake residence with the entire cache of gift bags as his reward. But Louie, afterall, is not quite the hardened-without-conscience con artist that Della is.  He returns to rescue Della but while cleverly turning the tables on Doofus, she grabs the loot and slips out the back without so much as a word of gratitude or esteem towards Louie.  

Back at home, Louie is kicking himself for getting “in too deep” with Goldie but Scrooge can’t help but wear a knowing smile on his bill.  This isn’t only because they can now share in the experience of being had by Goldie but he’s self-satisfied in the fact that his nephew is much more like him than he’ll ever be like Goldie.  Louie doesn’t realize it yet but he was able to look past all the “angle” mumbo jumbo and saw what was “right in front of his face.”  Louie did let Goldie get close and that’s a good thing.  And, by virtue of her slipping the photo of Louie into her wallet right next to her picture of Scrooge, she let him get close to her too.      

Like Dewey in “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault” (S2, E13), Huey gets his chance to bond with Della (albeit, relegated to the episode’s B story).  In playing the video game, “Legends of Legendquest,” Huey is content to plow his crops and wait patiently for his turnips and rutabagas to sprout.  Della, on the other hand, is in it for the “high-stakes adventure” and “the impractically giant weapons.”  This isn’t so dissimilar to Louie’s storyline where he’s not quite as hardcore as his adult counterpart either but is efforting to keep up nonetheless.  Huey does eventually “step out of his comfort zone” but also “gets in too deep” as his bloodthirst to take vengeance on the flying, bat-winged tentacle monster that destroyed his crops overwhelms him.  But, unlike Goldie, Della actually steps in and plays the part of the responsible adult. 

Quacking Points

Adventure is afoot in McDuck Manor.  While Webby, Lena, and Violet wrangle a giant werewolf in the library, Dewey and Ms. Beakley do battle with a Tempest in a Teapot.  

Percival P. Peppington, in his flamboyant purple suit, serves as a subtle nod to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory  in acknowledging that Doofus’ party is an even more warped version of Wonka’s factory tour/test.  Doofus’ invitations even resemble the iconic Golden Tickets. 

Flintheart Glomgold’s young “son” is nothing more than a hand puppet named “Sharkbomb.”

Mark Beak’s “son,” B.O.Y.D, is an acronym for “Beaks Optimistic Youth Droid.”

In one of the wallet photos of Beaks and B.O.Y.D., they’re at Lester’s Possum Park which we first saw in A Goofy Movie (1995).

We get yet another A Goofy Movie (1995) reference when Lester’s Possum Park appears as one of Beaks’ and B.O.Y.D’s photo-op locales.

In another wallet photo, the two are at the Duckburg Aquarium where B.O.Y.D is wearing a hat that resembles Flounder from The Little Mermaid (1989).  Also in the background is Destiny the whale shark from Finding Dory (2016).   

Doofus has his own branded pinball machine called “Doofus Destruction!”  Among the other games is the arcade version of “Legends of Legendquest” along with one titled “Money, Money, Money!”

DuckTales does a pretty good job of sticking to and incorporating continuity regardless of how ridiculous it is.  This makes me think this won’t be the last we’ll see of B.O.Y.D, particularly as Doofus’ little brother.