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Ducktales! Season 3, Episode 5 Review

When it comes to shows like DuckTales, it can be hard to pick a favorite character. There’s just so much great talent behind the show and the characters, ranging from Ben Schwartz as Dewey to David “The Tenth Doctor” Tennant as Scrooge himself. After today, though, I think one of my new favorites has to be Daisy Duck in her premiere on DuckTales! 

Louie’s Latest Scheme and Meeting Daisy Duck

Donald and the Three Cabarellos team up with Louie to get into this party held by famed blogger Ms. Glamora. She writes this blog that decides what’s “IT” every year, and the Cabarellos think it’s their ticket to fame (and Louie gets a cut of the profits. I didn’t know what’s more surprising: how well thought out Louie’s scheme is, or that his family goes along with it. He doesn’t have the best track record with schemes.

I wasn’t really paying attention to watching Louie’s scheme fall apart due to Ms. Glamora’s genre savviness, though. I was paying attention to Daisy Duck, voiced by the legend herself, Tress Macneille. As Daisy’s VA for twenty years, it wouldn’t be Daisy Duck without her. She’s witty, intelligent, and doesn’t deal with anyone’s nonsense. And once she and Donald meet, we can see sparks fly.

At first, Daisy is annoyed by Donald messing with her chance with Ms. Glamora, but once the two start talking, they hit it off. She can even understand what Donald’s saying just fine. Donald, if you meet someone who can understand what you’re saying, I only have one piece of advice: marry them, NOW!

Oh, and it turns out can be just as angry as Donald. Some things are meant to be. 

My Second Favorite Episode of the Season

I know we’re only five episodes into the new season of DuckTales and there are plenty more great moments to come, but I can’t help it. This is on my top five best episodes of the season. It’s just hilarious in all the right ways, and it makes good use of a lot of secondary characters. I hope we see more of Daisy Duck and the Cabarellos this season because DuckTales is on fire right now.

I Give “Louie’s Eleven” a 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• I knew right away that Ms. Glamora was related to Mark Beaks. Called it!
• I wish my blog was as big as Ms. Glamora’s. Oh, well, got to earn it. 

Awesome Quotes

• “Internet Fame. The most important fame of all” That’s not untrue
• “Our brotherhood is the greatest scheme of all!”

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Harley Quinn Season 2, Episode 4 Review

We know that the Joker left a lot of mental scars on Harley Quinn before she finally dumped him. One of the scars that no one ever considered, though, was how skewed her concept of love. Or rather, she doesn’t think love is real. As she gets back to fighting Mr. Freeze, though, she gets a much-needed lesson on love and how it can thaw a cold heart. 

Thawing a Cold Heart

In a lot of incarnations, Mr. Freeze is not really evil. All he wants to do is find a cure for his wife, Nora. He just has to resort to crime to fund it, and to using prisoners to test his subjects on, like Harley. However, after Harley promises that Ivy can help cure his wife, he’s shown to be downright amicable. He brings his frozen wife out to eat lunch with everyone, and lovingly talks about how they first met. It’s a sight that’s both hilarious and heartwarming. 

Too bad Harley doesn’t buy it. Thanks to Joker, she thinks that love is, in her own words, “bulls**t.” That, and she thinks that Freeze’s cold heart is just like Joker: an abusive man who’s keeping a woman trapped in a relationship. She even cites Mr. Freeze trapping her in ice as an example.

Both these ideas come back to bite her three-fold when she uses the villain’s freeze ray to thaw out Nora. Not only does Nora genuinely love Mr. Freeze, but she does have an incurable blood disease. To top it off, Freeze reveals that the Injustice Society wanted to kill Harley; he talked them into freezing her, and even that he didn’t like doing. Ouch.

Fortunately, Ivy does come through, creating a cure for Nora’s blood disease. Unfortunately, it involves injecting a serum into someone to change their blood type to match Nora’s, killing them. In a genuinely tearjerking moment, Freeze sacrifices himself for his wife’s sake, breaking everyone’s hearts in the process. 

In other words: Harley, you screwed up. BIG TIME.

Learning About Love

Meanwhile, the sub-plot sees Ivy and Kiteman try and get the perfect venue for their wedding. Too bad the D-List villain Condiment King wants the same venue. 

If you haven’t seen Batman: The Animated Series, I am not joking. There is, in fact, a villain called the Condiment King, and he’s just as ridiculous as he sounds. Even Ivy doesn’t like him, and she’s very tolerant of annoying people.

So, Ivy and Kiteman’s wedding may be on hold for the time being. However, I don’t think they’ll work it out. All signs are pointing to Harley and Ivy becoming an item. Harley even calls Ivy the “smartest, coolest, hottest person I know,” in this episode. Harley+Ivy4life! 

So, in short, this episode balanced the comedy and tragedy and transitioned between them with little effort. Harley’s already taken down three of the Injustice League, and it’s only episode four. So, I’m guessing something will go wrong or new villains will pop up. I’m already betting that Nora will become Mrs. Freeze and seek revenge on Harley. Here’s hoping Harley can learn from her mistakes!

I Give “Thawing Hearts” a 4/5

Stray Observations

• Clayface is getting better with his powers, it seems.
• Mr. Freeze is voiced by Alfred Molina, who Spider-Fans will remember playing Dr. Octopus in Spider-Man 2. Yet another Scientist who lost his wife.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 Episode 10 Review

We’re only halfway through the final arc of The Clone Wars, and I have to agree with Ashley Eckstein, Ashoka’s voice actor. The Siege of Mandalore is already one of the best stories in Star Wars history! Last week saw the start of the fabled Siege of Mandalore start with a fight worthy of being on the big screen. Ashoka, Rex and the Clones, and the Mandalorians all worked to free Mandalore from ex-Sith Lord Darth Maul, and we got to see how far the former Padawan’s come. However, as epic as it was, we cannot overlook the coming storm gathering in the distance. And in this episode, Maul makes things clear: it’s time to be afraid. 

Hide from the Coming Storm

When I was a kid, I thought that Darth Maul was one of the scariest guys you could meet. Ergo, if there’s something out there that’s enough to scare him, then everyone should be afraid. As the episode establishes in its opening minutes, the ex-Sith knows what’s happening in the background. He may be the only one in the show that’s aware of the coming storm that is Revenge of the Sith. And he doesn’t want to be around when that happens. 

As a result, Maul spends the episode focused on getting off the grid. He kills anyone who could rat him, orders the Shadow Collective to go into hiding, and throws the Mandalorians out as decoys while he gets off-planet. But before he does, he can’t resist trying to make one last jab at Kenobi and Darth Sidious. He was hoping that not only Kenobi would come after him, but also Skywalker, so he could kill both.

Skywalker is the Key 

At first, I was confused as to why Maul would want Anakin dead. Then it all clicked. In the episode’s climax, Maul tells Ashoka the cold truth: Anakin Skywalker is the key to all of Darth Sidious’ plans. Maul figured out that Sidious has been grooming Anakin to become his apprentice since day one. So he decided to rob his former master of that satisfaction by killing him.

This moment was the lynchpin to the whole episode for me. The events of Revenge of the Sith were hanging over the entire episode like a sword about to fall. We know what’s coming, but can’t do anything to stop the coming storm, and it gives the episode a sense of genuine dread. What’s the worst part, though? Ashoka doesn’t believe Maul. 

This moment only makes Anakin’s fall even more tragic. Had Ashoka believed Maul, she could have warned Anakin or Obi-Wan of Sidious’ plans. It could have stopped everything before it started. Tragically, it’s Ashoka’s faith in her master that costs her this one chance to save him before its too late. 

A New Duel of the Fates

I’ve always thought that if the Jedi never fell, Ashoka would be sitting on the Jedi Council by the time of Rebels. So far, the Siege of Mandalore has vindicated these thoughts for me, with Ashoka facing off against Maul in the Sundari Royal Palace. 

The duel between the former apprentices strikes a perfect balance with all the duels in the films. It blends the emotional intensity of the original films with the speed and acrobatics of the prequels. There’s even a hint of the desperation found in the sequel duels. This is peak lightsaber dueling in Star Wars, and we get to see Ashoka largely in control of the fight. Thanks to some help from Rex and the Clones, Maul’s finally captured. It’s small comfort, though.

Day of Reckoning Almost Here

We’re only halfway through the Siege of Mandalore, and I’m already counting it as one of the best arcs in the show’s history. It’s also going to be one of the most tragic stories in Star Wars history. Early in the episode, Ashoka talks to Obi-Wan, who informs her that Anakin killed Dooku and his departure for Utapau. Judging by the film’s timeline, there’s only a few hours left before Order 66 begins and the birth of the Empire. 

In my opinion, this episode hammered home how pointless the Clone Wars really are. An entire galaxy devastated and divided by war, courtesy of Darth Sidious. We hate how he’s going to win, and aside from Maul, no one else realizes it. While we know that Ashoka, Bo-Katan, and Rex live to see another day, this isn’t going to make what’s to come any less heartbreaking.

I love it when shows end with a bang, and it looks like Star Wars: The Clone Wars is going to end on the biggest bang possible. As the coming storm prepares to engulf the galaxy, I’m going to keep a box of tissues handy for the next two Fridays. Tears will be shed.

I Give “The Phantom Apprentice” a 5/5

Stray Observations

• During the whole episode, it felt like Maul was acting like the only one who’s in on the big joke. If it weren’t so tragic, seeing Darth Sidious play an entire galaxy would be hilarious. 
• Maul wouldn’t last five seconds if Anakin had shown up. 
• I got the title for this post from Tartakovsky’s series Star Wars: Clone Wars. Watch it on YouTube.

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