Top 10 Best Moments in DuckTales (2017)
#10: Lena De Spell’s Nightmare
"The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!"
When Magica overhears where Scrooge keeps his Number One Dime, she forces Lena to get it for her. Lena convinces Webby to take her to the “other bin” and they spend the episode trying to find the Dime. When finally they do, Magica reveals Lena’s secret to Webby: Lena’s been working for her all along. Webby, feeling used and hurt, makes a break for it to get Scrooge, but before she can, Magica turns her into a puppet that eerily resembles her appearance in the original 1987 DuckTales. Although it turns out to be a nightmare, this is one of the darkest moments on the show! Too bad Magica possessing Lena at the end of the episode wasn’t also a nightmare…
#9: Donald Duck's Normal Voice
"The Shadow War!"
In the season one finale, Gyro Gearloose gives Donald Duck a voice modulator that makes him comprehensible for the first time in... ever. Turns out, Donald’s actually a great leader--we just couldn’t understand him this whole time. Whereas he’s usually the butt of most jokes, considering his bad luck and temper tantrums, this episode gave Donald his shining moment as the adventurer he’s always been. This new voice seems to include a newfound confidence with it, and Donald Duck becomes, dare we say it, a total badass! Don Cheadle does an incredible job providing the voice for Donald’s “normal” voice--maybe it’s something to do with having the same name--although Donald does return to his original, loveable wheezing voice by the end.
#8: Gizmoduck's First Gear-Up!
"Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!"
Blathering Blatherskite! Just like many of its callbacks to the original DuckTales, the 2017 version honors Gizmoduck to the fullest! Not only did this episode introduce Gizmoduck, we also got a Darkwing Duck appearance! Talk about fan-service! Voiced by the incredible Lin-Manuel Miranda, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera suits up for the first time in order to save Dewey, Scrooge, Gyro and Beaks from a robot driver turned evil. Even though it’s Gyro’s secret project, the cybernetic suit was also worked on by Fenton and programmed to respond only to his voice. Fenton, as the clumsy but well-meaning unpaid intern, has the perfect personality for a superhero origin story!
#7: Huey & Louie Duck Find Out
"The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!"
Boy, is this episode ever appropriately named! Secrets are revealed left and right, with Scrooge discovering his Number One Dime was given to him by his dad, and Huey and Louie finding out Dewey’s been researching their mom’s disappearance on his own--[throat clear] with Webby… Ouf, we would be hurt, too. It’s so rare we see Louie get emotional the way he does in this episode and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. Considering his laissez-faire attitude, his reaction definitely tugs at the heartstrings. It all works out in the end, though, when Huey and Louie save Dewey from the Demon Dog of Castle McDuck and, together, they manage to find a sketch of The Spear of Selene.
#6: Donald Meets Daisy Duck
"Louie's Eleven!"
Oh, man! Anyone else a fan of Ocean’s Eleven? This episode was great for so many reasons, including its introduction of the one-and-only Daisy Duck! Louie devises a plan to infiltrate Emma Glamour's party, where Donald finds himself trapped in an elevator with Glamour's assistant, Daisy. Talk about revamping a character! Just like the others in this series, Daisy’s character is more fleshed out than ever. She’s feisty, ambitious, independent, and certainly didn’t ask to fall in love with the dork who got them tangled in her purse strap. Fortunately, she does, and she sticks by him, even when things get weird. She understands him perfectly, after all, which is saying something, considering even his own nephews only catch every third word or so!
#5: Donald & Della Duck Reunite
"Moonvasion!"
After Donald and Della accidentally switch places, with Della returning to earth and Donald landing on the moon, this episode finally sees the siblings reunite. Donald’s bad luck truly could not get any worse! After ten long years, he spots his sister’s rocket ship nearby just before taking off on a well-deserved vacation, only to end up trapped in it and sent to the moon. He’s taken prisoner by the Moonlanders and eventually escapes, but crash-lands on a deserted island back on earth. It’s a long-awaited sibling reunion, one where Donald has gone all Cast Away, but it’s both perfectly hilarious and wonderfully heartwarming.
#4: Defeating Magica De Spell
"The Shadow War!"
When Magica frees herself from Scrooge’s Number One Dime, she makes Lena her shadow once again, traps Scrooge in the Dime, and sets everyone’s evil shadows free. The kids find out Lena was always a shadow and betrayed everyone to free Magica, so head to the Money Bin to save Scrooge. Lena’s betrayal is what ultimately makes her sacrifice so meaningful in the scene where she saves Webby. In the end, Dewey forgives Scrooge for Della’s disappearance on behalf of everyone, Scrooge strips Magica’s powers from her, and Lena becomes Webby’s shadow. After cutting ties with Scrooge and moving out of McDuck Manor, this finale finally sees the Duck family reconcile in one giant awesome fight to save everyone… because “Ducks don’t back down”!
#3: The Spear of Selene
"The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!"
Scrooge, Beakley, Launchpad and the kids set off to Monacrow for a family vacation. On the flight, the kids try to put together shredded pieces of documents regarding the Spear of Selene. When the last piece of a photo flies outside of the Sunchaser, Dewey risks his life to get it back. In exchange for Dewey’s safety, Scrooge, pictured in the missing piece, agrees to tell the kids everything. Hearing Huey, Louie, and Webby talk Dewey off the ledge--of the plane--is incredibly emotional, and finally finding out what happened to Della makes this episode one of the best in the entire series. By the end, history repeats itself: the triplets cut ties with Scrooge the same way Donald did ten years before. Heavy stuff, man!
#2: Webby Vanderquack’s Origins
“The Last Adventure!”
Where to even begin with the series finale… If anyone remembers Daisy Duck’s three nieces in the comics, you might’ve had an idea where this episode was headed. Daisy’s three nieces, April, May, and June, were intended to act as the female counterparts of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. This finale not only introduces the girls, but actually reveals Webby as April! Instead of being Daisy’s nieces, the girls were made--yes, made--by F.O.W.L. May and June are clones of April and April--Webby--is a clone of… Scrooge, thereby making her his daughter! Turns out Webby was closer to the McDuck family than she realized! It’s later hinted that May and June are adopted by Donald and Daisy so, in a way, their story comes full circle, too!
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Lena's Level-Up, "The Phantom and the Sorceress!"
Lena Learns to Control Her Magic & Defeats Magica
The Rescue Rangers Rescue Dewey Duck & Launchpad McQuack, "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!”
Chip ‘n’ Dale! (& Gadget & Monty!)
The Old Darkwing Duck vs. the New Darkwing Duck, "The Duck Knight Returns!"
Let’s Get Dangerous!
Goofy's Appearance, "Quack Pack!"
Ah-hyuck! Ah-hyuck!
Dewey Duck & Webby's Fight, "The Spear of Selene!"
Dewey’s Afraid His Mom Was a Bad Person
#1: Della Reunites with Scrooge & Meets Her Kids
"Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!"
This has to be the most heart-tugging moment on the show. After a decade of being stuck on the moon, and against all odds, Della finally manages to fix the Spear of Selene and get back to her family. She reunites with Scrooge and meets her sons for the first time, after all those years of them growing up without their mom. They’re not Jet, Turbo, and Rebel, as it turns out, but they’re definitely her kids. This moment was such a whirlwind of emotions that we all looked like Webby watching it! Life really is like a hurricane… Woo-oo!
