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One Piece, Wano Arc, Act Two Recap

One Piece is now well into what’s likely its biggest story yet: the Wano Arc. The second act came to a close last week, and there’s a lot to unpack! With the Straw Hats about to enter their greatest battle yet, I think now’s a good time to recap some of the major events of Act Two as we make last minute preparations.

Luffy Seizes Udon Prison and Gains an Army

Luffy didn’t get as much attention in Act Two, with most of the action following the other members of the Alliance. He was imprisoned inside Udon because Kaido wanted to break him into his subordinate. That’s not going to stop him from playing a major role in what happens, though.

As I predicted, he was in charge of Udon within a few days, though not how I pictured it. An old enemy showed up and starting attacking the prison, and Luffy used the opportunity to take control of it. Now the thousands of prisoners within, all of whom have an axe to grind with Kaido, have joined the Alliance. Out of those new allies are some very powerful people. Aside from Cairbou, Luffy managed to win over an old man named Hyogoro. Back in Oden’s day, he was the head of the Yakuza, and with him, the Yakuza’s old guard has joined the Alliance.

Orochi Hears of the Alliance’s Plans

I hoped that the Alliance could keep things secret until the day of reckoning came, but that rarely happens. Orochi was able to hear rumors of the Alliance’s plans, and made efforts to counter them. His people started arresting rebels and potential allies across Wano, and even though they believe he’s crazy, he’s actually right. Many of those allies remain imprisoned on the day of the final battle.

Fortunately, though, two critical pieces of info seem to remain unknown to Orochi. First, he doesn’t know that the Nine Red Sheaths are alive, and most have reunited. The fact that he doesn’t know could be th decisive factor in the war. Even so, the Alliance has largely lost the element of surprise. I’m not going to count those men imprisoned off the board yet, though.

Big Mom’s in Wano

Big Mom really holds a grudge against people. After being humiliated by Luffy on her home turf, she follows him to Wano with her children to kill him. It goes awry when she’s thrown overboard by Kaido’s men, and she ends up suffering amnesia. She ends up reverting to the kind personality she had as a kid and becomes an ally of Chopper’s group as they go to rescue Luffy. In the fight that follows, she gets hit on the head and ends up remembering everything.

After being captured by Kaido and brought to him, the two clash for some time. Then, in a complete reversal, the two decide form their own alliance to conquer the world. Then they’ll fight each again.

This is the worst possible scenario. I don’t know if Luffy can handle two Yonko at once. Hopefully, she won’t have time to bring her armies to Wano. If she does, there’s no way the Alliance can win. I still think Luffy can win, though.

RIP, Lord Yasuie.

While traveling around Wano, Zoro ended up befriending this weird old man named Tonoyasu. I didn’t think much of him at the time, but I have learned all too often to never underestimate a fool. Tonoyasu turned out to be far more important than we could have imagined.

In reality, Tonoyasu was really Lord Yasuie, the last of the feudal lords from before Orochi came to power. He acted as a mentor and father figure to Oden Kozuki and the Nine Red Sheaths, and waited for the day they would return. When he realizes that their plans were in danger of being discovered, he made the ultimate sacrifice.

Letting himself be captured, Yasuie was then personally and publicly executed by Orochi. However, he used his last moments to convince everyone that the rumors about the Nine Red Sheaths were a prank he made up. He then proceeded to mock Orochi for the coward he is before his life ended.

Yasuie’s death hit those who knew him very hard. The Nine Red Sheaths were driven into deep mourning, while the village he lived in couldn’t even express their sorrow. They were cursed to smile forever by Doflamingo’s SMILE fruits. Zoro was enraged to try and kill Orochi then and there, and still intends to do so. The hardest hit, though, has to be his daughter Toko.

His sacrifice wasn’t in vain, though. His dying act left Orochi’s men doubting about the rebellion, and the changes he made to their symbol gave them a new location to group at. I hope he watches from the afterlife as Orochi falls. RIP, Lord Yasuie; forever respect.

Momonosuke’s Sister, Hiyori

One interesting thing we learned in Act Two is that Momonusuke has a little sister named Hiyori. When he and some of the Nine Red Sheaths were sent to the future, she was left behind. This was done to ensure that the Kozuki Clan would survive in some form. So now she’s an adult, which is weird.

Hiyori did pretty well for herself in that time. Under the alias Komurasaki, she rose to become the top Geisha in Wano, and considered the most beautiful woman in the world. She also had Toko, Yasuie’s daughter, as her attendant and best friend.

After an incident at Orochi’s palace, Hiyori had to fake her death to protect Toko and fled the capital. She ran into Zoro, and the three stayed together for a while until the time came for Zoro to rejoin with the others. She also seems quite fond of him.

Despite my concerns at first that she was the kind of person who was pretty on the outside but ugly on the inside, Hiyori’s proven her selflessness. She slapped Orochi for trying to kill Toko, and refused to apologize for it, opting to fake her death instead. She’s also quite cunning, using her looks to swindle corrupt men out of their fortunes. And, admittedly, she’s cuter without all those jewels and headpieces adorning her hair. I have a feeling she shall play a major role in the final battle, though I don’t know how.

The Monster Trio Gets Stronger

The Straw Hats and their Alliance are facing an enemy like nothing they’ve ever fought before. It’s going to take all their skill and luck to win this fight, but I’m confident they can do it. Most importantly, though, this Act has seen the Monster Trio skyrocket in terms of strength.

For those who don’t know, Monster Trio refers to the three strongest fighters in the Straw Hat Pirates: Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.

Despite getting his family to leave him alone after Whole Cake Island, Sanji still got an unwelcomed gift in the form of a Raid Suit. While he at first refused to use it, events in Act Two forced to do so. It took his already superhuman strength and managed to make it skyrocket. Plus, it lets him turn invisible like he always wanted.

After losing Ryuuma’s sword, Shusui, Zoro was hellbent on getting it back. Hiyori, however, persuaded him to let it remain as Wano’s national treasure once more. In exchange, she gave him one of her father’s swords, Enma. The blades powerful enough to slice through an island. Yet because it drains its user of their Haki, only Oden Kozuki was ever able to master it.

As for Luffy, he used his time in Udon to train his body to get even stronger, even while wearing Seastone handcuffs. His main problem, though, is getting his Armament Haki to the point where it can override Kaido’s and let him hit the Yonko. With help from Hyogoro, Luffy’s mastered another advanced form of Haki. Now he stands closer to an even playing field with Kaido.

Prepare for War

It doesn’t matter how you look at this. One Piece is about to enter one of its biggest chapters yet; one that’s going to shake the heavens. When the dust settles, I think this could end up leaving a big impact on the manga industry, if done right. This can easily end up being the biggest story One Piece has told since Marineford. I can’t wait!

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One Piece Chapter 956 Review/Recap

It’s rare for me to wake up and find a specific chapter of a manga trending worldwide on Twitter, yet One Piece did it last week. Now, One Piece has done it again, and on National Talk Like A Pirate Day, no less! Brace yourselves, mateys, because this chapters got big news. If you don’t want that big news spoiled, go read the chapter. RIGHT. NOW.

Recap

The Reverie’s over, and the world leaders are returning home. However, this year’s events have ended up sending massive shockwaves throughout the world. Two major incidents occurred, big news that the World Government’s tried, and failed, to suppress. The first is that something happened to Sabo in Marie Geoise. It doesn’t say what it is, but given how people who know Sabo are reacting, it must be bad.

The second piece of big news, though, is turning the world upside down. At the Reverie, King Riku of Dressrosa and King Nebra of Alabasta made a bombshell proposal: to abolish the Seven Warlords system. The motion passed with an overwhelming majority. As a result, the Marines are sending their forces across the globe to arrest the former Warlords. None of whom intend to go down without a fight.

Review

I thought last chapter was huge, but this one just delivered bombshell after bombshell of big news. I wasn’t even able to mention the third piece because I couldn’t find the right place to do so. Let’s breakdown what we know so far.

First, given how everyone reacted to news about Sabo, I can only assume that he’s been reported as either captured or dead. I don’t buy it for a second. Given the source is that yellow journalist Morgans, who lies a lot, I won’t believe it. Until I see his body on screen, I will consider Sabo alive.

In Wano

On the Wano front, we got two pieces of information that, while trivial now, could have major ramifications. X Drake is revealed to still be a Marine, working in deep cover in Kaido’s Forces as part of a unit called “Sword”. Coby’s part of it, and is now a Rear Admiral. My theory is that this is part of a top secret plan by the Marines to get a spy among the Yonko. The fact that the World Government treats Drake as a pirate means that they’re really devoted to this ruse.

The Warlords are History

The biggest bombshell, though, has to be the abolition of the Seven Warlords. This was hinted at earlier by Fujitora, but I can’t believe Oda finally did it. The Warlords have been a part of One Piece for twenty years. This will put the squeeze on several characters, as they’re now wanted criminals once more.

To be honest, though, I’m not that worried about the Warlords. I know they won’t be able to capture Hawkeye, who I’m not even sure is actually a pirate. That’s never been made clear. Buggy will find a way to skip away like he always does. The only one I’m worried about is Hancock, since she has Amazon Lily to look after. I know she’ll find a way to protect her people, though.

At the end of the day, this chapter shows off why One Piece is the biggest manga in history. Eichiro Oda always manages to lay the groundwork for major events well in advance, always giving readers something big to look forward to. It’s what he’s done since the beginning, and it gives us some of the biggest moments in manga history. If the big news we got in this chapter is any indication, then Oda’s planning something that will shake the heavens. I mean both in the world of One Piece, and in real life. One Piece deserves to be trending right now, and releasing this on Talk Like a Pirate Day is a master stroke. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

I Give “Big News” a 5/5. Perfectly setting up for something big.

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Edens Zero Chapter 59 Review/Recap

On the last chapter of Edens Zero that I wrote about, we learned about the tragic passing of Homura’s mentor/mother figure, Valkyrie. She died protecting the slums of Sun Jewel from the army of stone monsters. Now Homura must master the art of being able to move forward from this tragedy.

Recap

In the wake of learning of Valkyrie’s death, the crew of Edens Zero is left to process everything. Valkyrie’s followers in the Slums want Homura to join them in their rebellion, but Homura’s emotionally shattered. Knowing what she’s going through, Shiki tells her how devastated he was when his Grandfather died. It was thanks to the robots of Granbell Park that he was able to move forward, and why he knows Homura will get back up.

At her palace, Kurenai prepares to destroy the Slums, all while laughing over how Valkyrie “saved” her. Right while she’s gloating, Shiki bursts in, demanding that come see Homura. A fight is about to begin.

Review

Congratulations, Kurenai, for you just made an exclusive list of mine. You’re now on my list of worst mothers in fiction. The saddest part, though, is the fact that this sort of thing happens in the real world. Just as Valkyrie showed us, though, you don’t need blood to be family; and Valkyrie was Homura’s real mother.

I, for one, liked seeing Shiki reach out to Homura, and I end up agreeing with him. Homura May have lost Valkyrie, but she has a new family in Edens Zero. A recurring theme in Mashima’s works is that family can extend beyond blood. That’s why I know Homura will come back from this, and why she’ll take her mentor’s place on the Four Starshines.

While I do think Shiki’s actions are reckless, I’m not surprised by it. I’m hoping that he can bring Kurenai’s reign of terror to an end soon. Still, it’s a bit worrying that the manga’s already moving to this point sooner than I expected.

I give “Being Able to Move Forward” a 3/5

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a huge fan of Dinosaurs. I used to go gaga over them at museums, and I watched every Dinosaur documentary I could find. To this day, Walking With Dinosaurs is one of my favorite documentaries. Ironically, I never got into the Jurassic Park franchise until the soft reboot, Jurassic World.

With the third Jurassic World movie coming out in the near future, Universal’s gearing up its viral marketing campaign to get people’s interest. Yesterday, they dropped a new short film bridging the gap between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and the unnamed sequel. Dubbed “Battle at Big Rock”, it’s trending at #11 on YouTube at the time of this writing. So I’d thought I’d give my personal thoughts on this look at a world where Dinosaurs freely exist on Earth. Or at least the Americas.

Oh, and spoilers for Fallen Kingdom are ahead.

Jurassic World (For Real)

At the end of Fallen Kingdom, all the surviving dinosaurs rescued from Isla Nublar’s destruction were set free on the Continental United States. Needless to say, this has caused a lot of problems for humanity, as even the herbivores are potentially dangerous. The film shows a family camping one night at the Big Rock National Park that gets intruded upon by a family of Triceratops’. They end up drawing an Allosaurus, which then tries to eat the family. Then we get the traditional terrified struggle until one of the kids drives it off with a crossbow.

I Don’t Humanity’s Screwed

So, my thoughts. I think this short seemingly confirms what I already knew: bringing back Dinosaurs into modern world will cause a lot of problems. Humans would have to deal with species of animals that existed millions of years before we did. Dinosaurs would be in a world different from what their genetics know. As this short film show, there would be a lot of confusion and potential death.

Despite Dr. Malcolm’s fears in Jurassic World, though, I can’t feasibly see dinosaurs as the big threat to humanity the franchise makes them out to be. As the girl in the short reminds us, humans have weapons that range from swords and spears to tanks. HISHE even points out this fact in their episode of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

At best, I think Battle at Big Rock demonstrates that Dinosaurs are simply a safety hazard. Unless they multiply exponentially, they won’t be as big a threat as they’re made out to be. I’m more concerned that they could drive many species of animals into extinction by eating all their food. Or that someone gets killed trying to domesticate them.

I have to give the short credit, though, for it does a good job of getting us hyped for Jurassic World. Now I can’t wait to see if Universal does more short films like this!

Edens Zero, Chapter 60 Review and Recap

After learning of Valkyrie’s death, Homura was completely broken by the fact that never see her mentor again. Outraged, Shiki decides to take matters into his own hands. He launches a one man assault on Kurenai’s headquarters, determined to bring the woman to her daughter.

Recap

Despite the level of security the Crimson Woman has in her palace, Shiki makes short work of her robots and subordinates before baring his fangs on Kurenai herself. Kurenai once again mocks her daughter, this time calling her weak for crying, saying those who smile win. Shiki proclaims that if cryings a weakness, then his friends will carry it until it’s a strength.

In the Slums Valkyrie’s followers are flabbergasted that Shiki went to fight Kurenai on his own, and rush to help. Rebecca, on the other hand, tries to help Homura overcome her sorrow at the loss of Valkyrie, telling her that the warrior knew how much she (Homura) cared about her. Back with Shiki, Kurenai’s orbits weapon’s suddenly hacked. The one responsible is none other than Drakken Joe, whose come to collect a debt from the Scarlet Woman. Infuriated, Kurenai decides to go to war with Drakken Joe.

Review

This is getting stupid now. So instead of a war between Edens Zero and the Scarlet Woman, now we have a three way brawl between them and Drakken Joe. This whole plot’s becoming very convoluted in my eyes.

Given what I know, Drakken Joe’s the one who helped put Kurenai in power, and now he’s trying to collect on it. At this point, though, I don’t care what happens to her. Now that Joe’s here, he’ll be after the Edens Zero, and that means Shiki has to face his entire organization. I know Shiki will win, but it’s going to be his toughest battle yet. My problem is that I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I only hope this doesn’t reflect on the rest of the manga.

As much as I enjoyed Shiki’s remarks about weakness becoming a strength, I was unimpressed. I’ve heard much of the same thing from a bunch of other Shonen manga. Mashima’s not being original here. This may be one of the weaker chapters of the manga so far, and I think it’s rushing events.

I give “Until It Becomes Strength” a 2/5. Unoriginal speech and rushed plot.

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DuckTales Season 2, Episode 24 Review/Recap

This season of DuckTales has had its ups and downs, but in the final act, they managed to rally. While the whole “Moonvasion” thing seems a little stupid, it’s true purpose shines through in the season finale: giving the fans the kind of epic adventure we’d expect from the show. We get a who’s who as many of the show’s characters rally together as the Duck Family faces their biggest challenge yet!

For this review, I’m forgoing my usual formula in favor of trying a format more traditional.

When Lunaris’ Moonvasion begins, saying he’s prepared for everything is an understatement. He manages to counter everything Scrooge throws at him, be it destroying all his weapons to capturing most of his allies. By the time we reach the halfway point, Scrooge flat put admits he has no idea how to beat Lunaris.

For the first time ever, we see Scrooge facing someone that’s as tough and smart as him, but smarter. It’s one of his lowest points in the show.

Character Reversal

Meanwhile, Della doesn’t do any better. Instead of wanting to charge into battle, she chooses to flee with the kids since she knows Lunaris will target them. It’s a big reversal of what we’ve seen of her so far, and honestly, it feels like It comes out of nowhere. We know she has some PTSD from being stuck on the moon, but the show doesn’t take a lot of time to develop it. The last few episodes helped, but that’s about it.

Making this reversal even more obvious is Della and Donald’s long-awaited reunion. They end up on the same desert island where Donald’s been living Castaway style, complete with an imaginary friend that looks and sounds familiar. He wants to go back and fight Lunaris, mainly because he knows what will happen otherwise. Donald does play a role, but it ends up being Louie who does ultimately helps Della.

Remember that song Della sang on the Moon, about facing the unknown without fear? Donald sang it to the boys every night as a kid, and now Louie sings it to his mom. Its one of the episodes best moments, serving as an epilogue to Louie’s own character arc and a heartfelt moment between mother and son. Its Followed immediately by a funny moment where they’re all rescued by Fethry Duck, his mutant mollusk, and Gladstone.

Too Many People At Once

On that note, Moonvasion! is the kind of event that requires all hands on deck. So, many of the show’s recurring characters, and even some that have only appeared once before, make appearances. In an ideal scenario, we’d get an epic battle between the moonlanders and the Duck Family’s allies fighting as one; everyone gets a chance to shine and show off. There is a fight, but many characters are little more than cameo candy, and after a lot of them get captured, they disappear. Which is a shame, because some of my favorite characters on the show are secondary, like Darkwing Duck. It’s hard to fit so many characters at once, but I still think the show could have done better.

Funny Moments

What Moonvasion! Did best, though, is what DuckTales does best: comedy and over-the-top adventures. The episodes filled with plenty of moments that range from putting a smile on your face to outright laughter. The funniest thing about the entire episode, though, was the plan that saved the Earth, and the hero who masterminded it. GLOMGOLD!

Yes, when Scrooge runs out of ideas, Glomgold steps in to save the day. As typical of a Glomgold scheme, it’s ridiculously dumb and shouldn’t work. In fact, here’s Yet it’s the sheer stupidity of it that actually works! Lunaris gets so thrown off by what happens that he becomes vulnerable, leading to the heroes victory. Its one of Glomgold’s shining moments, and earns him a genuine cheer at the end. Scrooge better be ready for Flinty to hold this over him for years.

Moonvasion is pretty solid

So as far as season finales go, DuckTales didn’t have the most graceful one. It does have some notable flaws to it, but at the end of the day, Moonvasion! Embraces the silliness and grand sense of adventure that makes DuckTales so enjoyable. It’s got laughs, callbacks throughout the show’s run, and some genuinely heartfelt moments wrapped into it. It’s not as epic as I thought it’d be, but I think that’s because Avengers sent my standards really high.

More importantly, Moonvasion! Sets the show up for a bevy of possible stories for its third season. The Duck Family’s finally whole again with Donald’s return, and they have all these friends and allies to go on adventures with. What no one realizes is that their actions have attracted the attention of a secret cabal of criminals, F.O.W.L.. From the looks of things, season there’s going to be even crazier than ever, and I can’t wait for it!

I Give “Moonvasion!” A 4.25 out of 5

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DuckTales Season 2, Episode 23 Review/Recap

While I enjoy most of the stories from this season of DuckTales, I think this week’s batch of new episodes are among its best. Not only did we get time travel antics and a dream team of villains, we got great character development from two of my favorite characters, Louie and Della. With the hour long season finale set for tomorrow, the show uses this episode to wrap up Louie’s season long arc while setting up for the Moon Invasion. Also, we get something called the Bombie, and that’s a funny name.

Recap

After Louie successfully tricked the villains out of their fortunes, his love of money gets the best of him. So he keeps the villains money and Scrooge’s company, making him the richest Duck in the world. Having achieved his goal, Louie then decides to sit on his laurels and $100 million ottoman. As soon as he does that, though, he’s plagued by a new problem in the form of a monster called the Bombie.

The Bombie’s a creature cursed to hunt the richest person in the world.Scrooge had it imprisoned on a deserted island decades ago when he couldn’t stop it. The only way to beat it is to gain the one thing the richest person alive doesn’t have. Despite trying hard to prove otherwise, Louie finally admits that he doesn’t deserve to be the richest Duck in the world, which makes the Bombie back off. Louie realizes that the one thing the wealthiest person has to earn is humility. Not even Scrooge could figure that out! Having learned a lesson in humility, Scrooge and Louie are freed from the curse, and the Bombie departs in peace.

Review

With this episode, Louie’s character arc has come to a close for now, and I think DuckTales did a good job of resolving it. Admittedly, I think the process was slow going for him all season, but it really picked up in the past three episodes. Della’s tough love ensured that he learned to never let his plans endanger him family. The Bombie ordeal drove home the fact that he’s not ready to be a billionaire, and the importance of owning up when he’s wrong. Humility’s something not even Scrooge fully mastered, meaning that Louie ‘s surpassed his Uncle to an extent.

Meanwhile, the B-Plot sees Della’s own character development continue, albeit at a slower pace. This episode gives us hints that she may be suffering from some PTSD over being stuck on the Moon alone. She also realizes that maybe her behavior was a bit off putting to Penumbra, and that Penumbra didn’t want to be her friend. I think it shows that she’s finally learning how her actions affect others.

Of course, all this takes back seat to the imminent Moonvasion. And judging by the trailer, the Duck family’s getting all hands on deck for it. This episode did a great job of tying up loose ends while paving, even if Louie’s arc seemed a bit lackluster. It does pave the way for the finale, and I enjoyed it for doing so.

I Give “The Richest Duck in the World!” A 3.5/5

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DuckTales, Season 2, Episode 22 Review/Recap

It seems like DuckTales plans on keeping the gravy train rolling this week, because it just came out with another awesome episode! Though it’s not DuckTales, it’s now GlomTales!

Recap

With the bet between him and Scrooge over in two days, Glomgold comes up with his biggest scheme ever. He gathers up all of Scrooge’s worst enemies and unites them with the common cause of destroying the Duck Family! Too bad they’re all off on an adventure to Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Everyone except Louie, that is, since his last scheme almost got everyone killed. So he’s the only one around to see Glomgold’s league show up. This time, Louie puts his scheming to good use, and convinces everyone to sign their resources to Glomgold. Except, Glomgold’s a fake name, so it all goes to… Louie! So Scrooge wins the bet, right? Right?

I think Scrooge wins the bet, but that’s all up to Louie giving him the money; which I’m only 50% sure he will.

Review

Few things can be as entertaining as watching a hero’s enemies teaming up to destroy him. At least, that’s their plan, before their clashing personalities and ego’s ruin everything in a hilarious fashion. In this case, Ducktales Glomtales pulls off this trope spectacularly. Seeing all of these villains, many of whom people grew up watching, team up is the kind of thing that makes fans 🤤.

Since they’re the bad guys, or more importantly Glomgold, the plan’s doomed to failure to the viewers entertainment. Glomgold only puts in the bare minimum of work. Yet he’s so bad at it, we can’t help but love his failures. Just look at his takeover of the DuckTales theme song, GlomTales!

Aside from that, I’m glad to see that Louie learned his lesson about scheming. There’s no denying he’s good at seeing the angles, but he needs to see every angle; especially the ones where he may fail and how it will affect him. At least now Della will be there to help him.

While it’s never fun to see a lovable character get punished, I think this experience taught Louie a lesson about putting his family’s safety before his schemes. As much as I want him to just give Scrooge the money, I’m worried he might keep it for himself and let it go to his head. 🤞

Regardless, I think GlomTales! was a hilarious episode. Watching these villains play off each other’s egos, then get outsmarted by Louie, was brilliant! I can’t wait to see how this sets up future conflicts in the show!

I Give “GlomTales!” A 4.8/5. Near Perfect.

Some Observations

• That takeover of the intro is actually a real video on YouTube. It’s part of their “Theme Song Takeover” Series. Using it for this episode was genius!
• Noticed how everyone considers Magica as Scrooge’s greatest enemy, and not Glomgold? Seeing Glomgold react to that was hilarious.

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Ducktales, Season 2, Episode 21 Review/Recap

Last Friday’s episode of Ducktales was a complete bust, admit it. Kickstarting our second week of new episodes though is one that’s furing in all cylinders. Get the TARDIS ready, people: we got ourselves a time travel episode! It’s a Timephoon!

Recap

While the rest of the family prepares for an oncoming hurricane (and Mrs. Beakley and Della argue about parenting styles), Louie comes up with his best scheme yet. He uses Gyro’s Time tub to travel into the past to find treasure before its lost. It predictably backfires, though, when he accidentally brings home a caveduck named Bubba, who adapts quickly to modern times.

Unfortunately, time travel+storm= a timephoon, which drags people from across history into the present. Pretty soon, the Duck Family gets dragged into parts of history before uses the time tub to send everyone back where they belong. The repurcussions, though, are immediate, and seem to drive a wedge between an angry Della and Louie.

Review

This episode manages to kill two birds with one stone, giving us a wacky adventure that also served to drive the plot of the season forward. While the time traveling shenanigans are hilarious, I think the focus of this episode is on Louie and Della’s strained relationship. Yes, Louie’s actions were reckless, but as Louie points out to his mom, she’s guilty of the same thing. She recklessly went into space on the Spear of Selene in the middle of a cosmic storm, leaving her out of her son’s lives for a decade. Yet, her actions since coming back to Earth indicate she hasn’t fully learned from her own mistakes.

Louie and Della’s relationship can go one of two ways from here: they’ll both realize that they need to temper their recklessness and reconcile. I’m hoping this is the case, because given how the whole family embraces crazy adventures, it feels unfair to single out Louie this one time. Or, it could just lead to more drama leading into the season finale.

Then we have Bubba Duck. I never got to the point where he shows up in the original show, but I love the guy. He’s like the fourth brother the Triplets never had and adapts fast to the modern world. There’s a good reason: the final episode does in fact, reveal that he’s the the Duck Family’s ancestor. I’d love to see more of him in future seasons!

Also, just throwing this out there: when Launchpad comes back from the future, he says he saw the end of the world. Then he nonchalantly says he’ll see everyone at it “soon.” I take this as a big hint about Lunaris’ upcoming invasion. Hopefully, the next few epsiodes will continue building up the tension for this big invasion.

I give “Timephoon!” A 4.5/5.

Extra funny because I love anything having to do with Scrooge and time travel, since David Tennant was the Doctor.

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Ducktales, Season 2, Episode 20 Review/Recap

Well, after that awesome episode on Thursday, we’re back to one that isn’t as awesome. Since it’s Ducktales, though, it’s still good. Even the bad episodes are fun to watch, especially with a story that screams “classic Ducktales” like Cornelius Coot.

Recap

Webby and the Triplets are at the historic fort of Cornelius Coot, Della’s ancestor/Duckburg’s founder. Legend says that Coot left behind a treasure that not even Della could find, so Webby’s determined to be the one to do so. She drags the boys along an underground passage, and becomes obsessed with finding it in order to surpass Della. So she’s pretty let down when it’s discovered that Coot’s “golden treasure” was really piles of corn.

Meanwhile, Della’s planning on flying her plane over the fort for the day’s event, but realized she has to deal with Launchpad. She easily loses her temper with his lack of flying skills, but his ability to crash things ends up saving everyone.

The Beagle Boys, who’ve been pursuing the kids to steal the treasure, capture them only to be thwarted by Launchpad’s crash-landing. Then when Webby turns all the corn into popcorn, Launchpad saves them again by crashing the plane through a hillside. So the boys sell the popcorn at the fort and Webby learns to stop trying to prove herself to Della.

Review

I read Kevin Johnson from the AV Club’s review for this episode and I have to agree: this episode feels off. Cornelius Coot has all the makings of what should be a classic Ducktales episode. I can’t get into it, though, and I jump at the idea of treasure hunting stories.

Also, I know Webby’s always looked up to the Duck Family as her idols, but I don’t see why she needs to prove herself. She’s already an amazing adventurer. Oh, and that C-plot about Big Time Beagle trying to prove himself to Ma Beagle didn’t interest me at all.

At least Launchpad knows he doesn’t have to prove himself. Despite his record with crashing every vehicle imaginable, we know he’s a good pilot. If he wasn’t, then he wouldn’t survive all those crashes. The twist on Cornelius Coot’s treasure was pretty funny in hindsight, but that’s about the only good thing I can think of. Maybe next episode will do better.

Also, I think this episode confirms that Dewey changed his middle name to Turbo. And I still think “Turbo Duck” sounds awesome.

I Give “The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot” a 3.25/5. Bonus points for “Turbo Duck”

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