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DuckTales Season 3, Episode 7 Review

I don’t remember where I read it, but a big theme to the third season of DuckTales is legacy. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are starting to realize that, for better or worse, Scrooge will have to pass the torch down to them one day. While that is awesome, it makes wonder if they’re capable of stepping into Scrooge’s shoes someday. And what prompts this question, you may ask? A trip to Valhalla to fight a world-eating snake in a wrestling match. It’s one of those episodes of DuckTales.

Snake Smackdown in Valhalla

Once every ten years, Scrooge travels to the Norse afterlife of Valhalla to keep the world-eating serpent Jomungandr at bay. However, the means of doing so is through a wrestling match, complete with all the smack-talk, fans, and metal chairs we’d expect to see from the sport. Honestly, it’s hilarious to watch, especially since Jomungandr’s voiced by Game of Thrones alumni Kristofer Hivju. What makes it even funnier is that in Valhalla, Scrooge plays the bad guy, and how he just embraces the role. His alter ego of the “Millionaire Miser” plays up his stinginess and I enjoyed every second of it. Unfortunately, he hurts his back after Round One, leaving Webby and Dewey to fight in his stead.

Wrestling tropes aside, the heart of the episode focuses on Huey and Dewey facing different dilemmas. Huey’s still coming to terms that he may not be as good at everything as he thinks. Dewey, meanwhile, has to learn that not everyone will like him, no matter how much his need for attention wants. In a heart-to-heart in the locker room, the two openly question if they can live up to Scrooge’s legacy. It’s a real world problem people have to face growing up: can they measure up to their parental figure’s expectations?

Real Wrestling Rules

The episode ends on a predictable note: Dewey ends up beating Jomungandr and makes him lose the respect of the people of Valhalla for being a jerk. It may seem to counter what the episode is about, but honestly, I don’t care. I enjoyed the wrestling.

This episode may not be for everyone, and I doubt I’ll remember it in the long run. However, not every episode of a good show has to be this ground-breaking thing. I was entertained, and that’s all that matters.

I Give “Rumble for Ragnarok” a 3.5/5

Stray Observations

• Leave it to DuckTales to take a one time joke from their Christmas Episode and build a premise behind it.
• Too bad Della and Donald didn’t appear. They would have destroyed that Serpent.

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Harley Quinn, Season 2, Episode 6 Review

One of the best things to come out of the DC Animated Universe was that it gave us Harley Quinn and her amazing origin story. “Mad Love” remains a DC classic that reminds us all that the Joker is the biggest jerk in fiction. At least he was in Harley Quinn, until Harley and Ivy dropped him in a vat of acid that wiped his memories and made him a normal Joe. However, when the two girls discover the now normal Joker at a bar, the two debate on whether or not they should kill him. Harley says they shouldn’t because she thinks people can change and recounts how she first met Joker and Ivy.

Rather than be just a rehash of “Mad Love” and it showing how toxic Joker was for Harley, this episode subverts this. Yes, Joker is in it (rocking the Heath Ledger look, no less,) and we see hints of how Harley’s relationship with him will turn out. However, the main plot point is how Harley and Ivy became friends. Seeing how Harley was probably the first person to treat Ivy with any form of respect is genuinely sweet to watch. As a result, it looks like Harley proved her point.

I understand that Harley doesn’t want to hurt Joker if he’s now normal, but this is still Joker. Now that we know he’s back, we know it’s only a matter of time before he remembers everything and goes back to being the Clown Prince of Crime. It’s his idea of fun, which is why he won’t change. Ivy even proves it by poking some holes in Harley’s story. Firstly, she gave up on humanity because humanity treated her like garbage; a lot of people would do that. Secondly, a sob story Joker told Harley in the past was something he stole from Ivy.

So, afterward the episode ends with Harley and Ivy being captured by Two-Face, and Mr. J’s repressed memories leaking to the surface. I’m betting that by the time the season ends, Joker will be back causing chaos. 

I Give “All the Best Inmates have Daddy Issues” a 4.5/5

Stray Observations

• It was fun seeing what everyone looked like in the past. Riddler had all his hair, Gordon was in good shape, and Joker looked he did in The Dark Knight. 

• Harley’s the one who coined the name “Two-Face”, but can she get royalties for that? 

• This isn’t the first time Joker’s gone normal. When it looked like Batman died, he went sane. As soon as he came back, he went crazy again. 
• Also, Jason Todd existed in this universe, but Joker killed him years ago. No word if he comes back.

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