Heartwarming / DuckTales (2017) - Season 3

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"You are a definitely real boy!"

Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!

• The opening sequence now includes Della too, running with the family and piloting with Launchpad.
• In the very first scene we see Donald taking pictures of Huey's important day. It just goes to show that he doesn't have to go Papa Wolf to prove he's a good dad. Sometimes, it's the little things like taking pictures on special events that matter.
  • It's also heartwarming to note that despite Della coming back, Donald isn't going anywhere and he's still going to be a major part of their lives.
• Meeting Violet's dads; and like an ever increasing number of examples, the heartwarming part comes from how casually it's revealed. Lena even says "That's my sister from a couple misters!" while sitting right next to them.
  • Interestingly enough, Indy and Ty were very much loud with their relationship (hence shirts that say "I'm With Dad" pointing to each other), and twice were they in full view of Scrooge. It’s worth noting Scrooge grew up in the 19th century, a time of immense, institutionalized homophobia and bigotry against people who weren't heterosexual. Not once did Scrooge bat an eyelid at or judge the idea of a man romantically involved with another man, and it shows what an open-minded person he is for someone who is old fashioned.
  • Expanding on that; Scrooge also grew up in a time with a lot of institutionalized sexism. Regardless, he passionately describes how the adventures of Isabella Finch were a big influence on him growing up. That's right, one of Scrooge's biggest adventuring heroes is a woman.
    • Though considering Della became a knight while she was stranded in Medieval Times, it seems sexual equality is more prevalent in this world since historical times, which is still heartwarming.
• Lena spends most of her screentime being a supportive big sis for Violet, happily cheering for her during the competition. Just seeing Lena so happy after the hell she's been through until that day is nice to see. Given the circumstances leading to that, Violet's dads don't seem to care of Lena's heritage as a De Spell, a foul lineage she has since repudiated.
  • Word of God reveals that Lena moved in with Violet and her family after she returned, and is by this point Happily Adopted, meaning that she wasn't being merely cute with the cheer: Violet is her little sister, in all meaning of the word.
• Violet rescuing Huey from falling into the lava, even after Huey left her behind trapped in the tree earlier, because a Junior Woodchuck doesn't leave a fellow Woodchuck behind. This makes Huey realize how wrong he was to do so and that Violet is more worthy of being a Senior Woodchuck than he is.
• Violet, realizing that "smack talk" isn't what Huey needs right now, interrupts Lena before she makes another "friendly" insult.
• Isabella's ultimate treasure turns out to be a journal detailing all her adventures, including everything she was never able to find. The second he sees it, Scrooge seems close to tears as he says "It's more precious than I could have imagined!"

Quack Pack!

• While it may just be a product of the sitcom reality, it's still nice to see that after all their conflicts and struggles the previous season, Della and Louie are now being very comfortable with each other. They banter easily, their personalities and priorities working together instead of clashing. Then there's little things, like the identical doe-eyes they give Scrooge at one point, or Louie holding Della's hand as Scrooge drags them off-screen. It's just really sweet.
• Donald's stressed as the photographer he hired hasn't shown up yet... cue an old friend showing up:
  Goofy: Hiya, neighbor!
  • Just the fact that Goofy's here! If his simple charm and lovability don't tug at your heart strings right away, then him bringing up Max the first time will.
• When you think about it, the fact that Donald's wish does not alter any of his loved ones' personalities. Huey is still a neurotic control freak, Dewey is still a showboater, Louie is still a troublemaker after that quick buck, Webby is still violently paranoid, Della is still an adrenaline junkie, Launchpad is still a loveable doofus, and Scrooge is still the cheapest of the cheapskates. Donald loves his family for all that they are, he only wanted them to lead safer lives.
  • Well okay, the wish does exaggerate their personalities a little (like Della comparing things to her time on the moon, Dewey's terrible humor, etc.) but to be fair, this is probably a mix of Donald's interpretations on his family, and the fact they're in a sitcom world.
  • Not only did Della retain her traumatic experience from her time stranded on the moon, but she still has her prosthetic leg. Whether it was Donald or Gene, but the wish didn't erase what happened to Della and thus works as a message that having trauma or having lost a limb doesn't make Della, or anyone else, any less "normal."
• As Donald and Goofy set up for the family photograph while the rest of the family fights the human audience, Donald vents his frustration about how he just wants a normal family photograph without any of the shenanigans the Duck family is typically involved in. Goofy then sits down and calmly talks with him as a fellow family man, sharing his belief that the best family photos are ones that capture moments of the family just being themselves. To demonstrate this point, he shows Donald a collection of wallet photographs of himself and Max during an outing at an amusement park, during which Goofy fell out of a rollercoaster and crashed into a cotton candy stand. Despite the accident, Goofy and Max still had a great time and were glad they got to make that memory together even if it wasn't "normal".
  Goofy: Donald, in my experience, the best photos are the ones that aren't all staged and purty. Like this photo of me and Maxie on a rollercoaster. I was terrified and almost lost my lunch, a-hyuck! Sure, it was scary. Sure, I got stuck at the top of a loop-de-loop and Max had to catch me and swing me into a cotton candy stand, but the park gave us free admission for life and all the cotton candy we could eat! And Max and I made a memory. That's just who we are.
  Donald: Is it so wrong to want to be normal?
  Goofy: I reckon every family has their own normal.
  • The very first picture is of Goofy with an infant Max, with Max gripping one of Goofy's fingers in a tiny hand.
  • The Continuity Cavalcade combined with Mythology Gag from the photos shown: Goofy and Max in their Goof Troop outfits, the A Goofy Movie references including Max in his Powerline outfit for Halloween and what appears to be him and Roxanne going to prom together.
    • While the timing was likely coincidental, this episode also premiered three days before the 25th anniversary of A Goofy Movie, making this scene even sweeter.
  • If you look closely at the amusement park photos, you can see that Max was the one taking them as selfies. He wasn't embarrassed at all by Goofy's hi-jinx and still wanted to capture his bonding time with his dad on camera. A far cry from the embarrassment his post-Goof Troop self tended to feel concerning Goofy's antics, meaning he's far more comfortable with his father being who he is, and Goofy himself, accounting for being the wiser family man here, is more in touch with being the father to a teenager than in the movies.
  • The implications made by the last photo, of Max and Roxanne on a formal date, presumably prom. Max might either just be in senior year or even in college by the present. Either way, Goofy's still doing active photography as a job, rather than be a factory worker that loses his job over being emotionally affected by Max going to college, thus forcing him to take a year of it. Thus, combined with Max's better relationship with him, in this continuity, the drama of An Extremely Goofy Movie is avoided.
  • The Accidental Aesop Goofy provides relating to Pete and his family; they were pretty dysfunctional. Yet as Goofy points out, they still had their heartfelt family moments and their own "normal."
  • All in all, this shows that despite Goofy not being exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, he makes up for it by having a lot of heart and being a good person.
  • The scene is also heartwarming because it's the first time Donald and Goofy are ever seen talking to each other about their families and their roles as father figures. Out of all of Donald's friends, Goofy is the only one who can relate to him on the subject and it's nice to see that connection on screen.
  • Just the fact that Disney hasn’t forgotten about Max should speak for itself. Because as Frank Agnones puts it, "Dad Goofy, is the best Goofy!"
• Donald uses his last wish simply for a picture of the whole family fighting the studio audience, the perfect encapsulation of their own version of normal. While Louie is outraged at his blowing the opportunity, Huey just says "I like it."

Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!

• It's small, but Launchpad calls Scrooge "Uncle McD" at the beginning.
• Webby trying to get Scrooge into the swing of things at Funso's. She outright squeals with glee once he starts to enjoy a game.
• When Dewey and Launchpad are trying to figure out a way to escape from their cells, Launchpad notices the Rescue Rangers assemble the Ranger Plane and try to launch it. He just casually walks up to them and helps them take off, which in turn helps them to escape. More so, it seems that Launchpad helped them, not because he thought it was the solution to the problem, but just to be nice.
• Launchpad was perfectly willing to take the bullet for Dewey when Steelbeak points the ray at him. Know that none of them knew that it was set in reverse at the time.
• The Rescue Rangers coming back to help Launchpad in the climax of the episode, presumably just as thanks for the help he gave them earlier.
  Launchpad: Thanks for the rescue.
  [Gadget winks and salutes him before flying the Ranger Plane away]
• Before he sacrifices his newfound intelligence, Launchpad admits to Dewey that he's hesitant to go through with it because then he'll go back to being a burden to him. Dewey responds by telling him that they're best friends, no matter how much of a load Launchpad can be, and nothing will change that.
• As Launchpad's intelligence slowly slips away, he has one shot at warning the others about F.O.W.L. before he forgets. Instead, he takes the chance to inform Scrooge that he "really likes the color purple" to console him over squandering a ton of time and money on a worthless, purple mustache comb. What could be a greater concern than a shadowy super-criminal cable? For Launchpad, it's comforting the distraught friend right in front of him.

The Lost Harp of Mervana!

• Instead of Scrooge, it's Huey who is the Mr. Exposition for this adventure. When Dewey interrupts to point this out, his uncle states that it's Huey's quest and they should support them. While he does butt in, him and Huey start finishing each other's sentences before ending it in speaking at the same time. They then give each other a hug in excitement!
  • Scrooge's gets a might insulted when his lectures are called long-winded but instantly smiles when Webby states that she likes them.
• It's Louie of all people who reminds Webby, Vero, and Aletheia to look for the good in others. This persuades all of them to fight back against Honestus.
• Della actually manages to make physical contact with Honestus to protect her family despite hating fish.
• The other Mervanans hold no ill will whatsoever towards Honestus and immediately welcome him back with open arms, even reassuring him that he doesn't need to be their leader. At the end of the episode, they're all rebuilding Mervana together.
• When meeting the Mervanans, Scrooge takes a second to reconnect Donald's oxygen tank.
• Seeing Donald having a moment of peace is rather nice. Even though it's interrupted later... by Dewey intentionally provoking Donald into anger, because he trusts his uncle will channel that anger into protecting his family from the rampaging mer-monster.

Louie's Eleven!

• Donald and Daisy's blossoming relationship. Donald begins to fall for Daisy when he sees how creative and talented she is, and Daisy is charmed by Donald's voice (stating, when Donald miserably says no one understands what he's saying, that she can understand him perfectly fine).
  • This gets some focus when she encourages Donald to sing something for her while they're stuck in the elevator. While we start off with Donald singing in his usual squawk of a voice, we then shift to Daisy's perspective and hear Donald as she hears him...and we get a smooth, heartfelt singing voice that sweeps Daisy right off her feet.
  • Keep in mind that one of Donald's biggest hangups is how his voice keeps him from being understood with even his own family not being able to comprehend what he's saying sometimes. But with Daisy he finds someone that can hear everything he says pitch perfect and said voice is in fact part of the reason she starts to fall for him.
• The fact that rather than being after something Emma Glamour has that he wants, Louie concocts the scheme in this episode because he wants to help his Uncle Donald and his friends get their career as a band off the ground. True, he sets it up so he'll receive half the money the band makes, but it's still progress from previous schemes that were arranged for his sole benefit.
  • While he does give the Three Caballeros a hilariously skewed deal in his favor, Louie's scheme this time is basically a standard promotional gig. This is a far cry from his previous ventures, which were barely legal and often required him to screw or exploit someone's naïveté or trust. He also seemed to have genuinely believed that the Three Caballeros was a good band (up until he heard Donald sing anyways).
• During the fight against Falcon Graves and his crew, Graves manages to throw Donald against the stage and briefly knocks him out. Needless to say, Daisy does NOT react well to seeing her new friend and romantic interest being hurt and immediately attacks Falcon in a rage, hitting some pressure points on him and slapping him before smashing a vase on his head to take him out. Even though she just met Donald that night, Daisy already has the makings of a Violently Protective Girlfriend. Della will approve of her, we think!
  • And from the smile Donald gets as he sees all this, it's clear that he doesn't mind that side of her one bit.
  • Donald returns the favor when Daisy's boss Emma Glamour starts yelling at her for ruining the party. Cue Donald defending Daisy by striding up to Ms. Glamour and chewing her out, even though she's influential enough to sue him several times over.
• Emma not letting her son Mark get arrested despite hiring Graves to rob her and just punishing him by making him stay at the party he hates is awfully generous for her, compared to anything else she’s probably done to him in his life before.
• Louie apologizes to Dewey for ignoring his ideas throughout the episode and to make it up to him, he shows him a new scheme he's working on called "The Dewey Dozen" and asks for his advice.
  Dewey: [tearing up] Our brotherhood is the greatest scheme of all!
• The episode's ending is really sweet: although Louie's scheme to get the Three Caballeros a place on Emma Glamour's IT List is ultimately unsuccessful due to Donald's horrid singing voice, the Caballeros take it in stride and have fun performing at the party thanks to Glamour being grateful enough to let them stay for taking out Falcon Graves and his crew. Best of all, thanks to helping her get her dress on the IT List, Donald has won himself a new love interest in the form of Daisy, who can not only understand him perfectly but is also the only one enchanted by his singing.
• Daisy's Establishing Character Moment: she finds out (too late) that someone brought rhododendrons when Emma Glamour hates them. Being the Beleaguered Assistant in charge of the party, she's likely to be yelled/sneered at for it, but she covers for the person responsible and makes an excuse.

Astro B.O.Y.D.!

• Huey and B.O.Y.D. hit it off quickly at the Junior Woodchuck camp out, and get to bond even more as they explore Tokyolk. It's the first time we see Huey connect with anyone like this outside of Dewey, Louie, and Webby, and he's probably the first genuine friend B.O.Y.D. has had.
  Huey: B.O.Y.D., I don't think you're a killer robot. You're just a kid.
  B.O.Y.D.: That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.
  • B.O.Y.D. saving Huey from falling to his death.
• It's revealed that Gyro used to have a much brighter demeanor than he does in the present. In B.O.Y.D.'s memory of his activation, Gyro happily welcomes him to the world and affirms that he's a "definitely real boy."
  • Seeing Dr. Gearloose in his original frizzled hair "Geppetto-styled" incarnation from the 1980's design implies that, before he became sardonic and cynical, B.O.Y.D. was created by the kindhearted Gearloose from the original series.
  • In B.O.Y.D.'s memories with Doofus Drake and Mark Beaks, he offers each of them a hug. In the activation memory, what is one of the first things Gyro does to B.O.Y.D.? Give him a hug. Even though B.O.Y.D. had his original programming forcefully overwritten, he never forgot the first thing his original creator gave him.
• When Dr. Akita has B.O.Y.D. fire at them, Gyro full-on picks Huey up before running away to get them both out of harm’s way.
• After Gyro realizes that Akita engineered B.O.Y.D.'s original rampage, he almost immediately reacts angrily at his former mentor (don't mess with Gyro's inventions). He then steps up to stop his mentor's plans and eventually talk B.O.Y.D. down, returning to his old faith in him.
  Gyro: 2BO! You are not evil! You are good! You're more than your programming! You are a definitely real boy!
  • Which leads to B.O.Y.D. and Gyro hugging which almost looks like a father and son hugging, followed by B.O.Y.D. opening his eyes to reveal that they are now Innocent Blue Eyes.
  • Throughout the whole episode, Gyro treats 2BO poorly, calling him an "it." But after seeing the flashback, he immediately starts referring to 2BO as "him," finally humanizing him.
  Gyro: At 2BO's core, it's a weapon!
  Gyro: That WAS his core! Until- Akita overwrote my work. 2BO never had a choice! YOU FORCED HIM TO BE A WEAPON!
• Gyro trying to do better with Fenton than Akita did with him.
  Gyro: Yes, intern. I was once like you. Of course, I was a naive idiot back then... But if I had someone to actually listen to me, I might not have been so hopeless. So... You're hired full time, Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera.
  Fenton: (starting to cry) That's not technically how doctorates work, and I don't care!

The Rumble for Ragnarok!

• Webby and Beakley fighting together as a grandmother-granddaughter team.
• Louie's pep talk to his brothers, where he helps both of them overcome their insecurities.
• The crowd turning against Jormungandr when it becomes obvious he's just toying with Dewey and helping Dewey to win.
• The reason why Scrooge had to have the kids step in for him? Because he took a thrown chair that was aimed at Dewey.

The Phantom and The Sorceress!

• Blink and you'll miss it, but when the Nightmare Beast comes out of the TV, Lena moves her arm to block Violet.
• When Scrooge declares nothing good ever came from magic it is the triplets who quickly remind him that Lena is magical and gesture at him to knock it off. He then quickly assures Lena he didn't mean her, as she is the sole good thing to ever come out of a magic spell.
  • Crosses over into Fridge Heartwarming: Scrooge had to be reminded that Lena was originally made by Magica via a spell. To him she's just Webby's close friend.
• When Webby realizes the Blot is going to be coming back for Lena, she exclaims that they need to protect her at all costs.
• It is extremely minor given who the source is, but when helping Lena train there are a few times Magica actually looks happy for her.
• Lena using The Power of Friendship to unlock her Super Mode.
• The snake Webby spoke to get help actually coming back with reinforcements.

They Put a Moonlander on the Earth!

• Webby putting an enormous amount of effort in to help Penumbra to get used to Earth.
  • There's just something so sweet about this scene if you consider the very first earth thing Penumbra enjoys turns out to be hamburgers. If you remember back in "Woo-oo!" Webby declares at the end of her riveting speech to help Scrooge defeat the golden dragon was wanting to try a hamburger herself. Now, Webby's showing someone else how delicious eating hamburgers are.
  • Afterwards, Webby introduced Penumbra to ice cream as the moonlander happily eats the dessert even showing how much she likes it despite getting a Brain Freeze later on.
• Gibbous and Zenith are clearly having a blast living on Earth. You can see this right away since they're wearing clothes from Earth and are learning sayings to top it all off. They've even got a dog!
  • The fact that Earth still let them stay after the failed invasion is sweet too.
• Webby's face when Penumbra says she's having a barrel of monkeys.
• Despite Gibbous getting Glomgold into MAJOR trouble, Glomgold can't find it in himself to stay mad at him.
• Penumbra telling Launchpad that she does like him; she just isn't interested in dating an 'Earth male'. Launchpad, instead of getting angry or upset, takes it like a champ, and they properly become friends over their battle tactics.
  • Launchpad in general feels awful for the bad date he had with Penumbra, and thinking that she hates him now, goes out of his way to stay out of hers and to not make her uncomfortable. He respects her that much.
• Della rubbing Dewey's head when he's upset he didn't get on the news.
• Penumbra's decision to stay on Earth.
• Shortly after the above, Penumbra lifts Della over her shoulder and carries Dewey with her to go and dismantle her ship.

The Trickening!

• Webby, Dewey, Huey, and Louie going trick-or-treating together. Even Scrooge, the billionaire himself, follows them for trick-or-treating.
• Della and Donald looking for Launchpad.
• When Della propose to traumatize children by fueling Launchpad's paranoia, Donald, who activates his Papa Wolf tendency, prevents her from doing so since he doesn't want anyone to get hurt during Halloween.
  Donald: No, I can't let you do it!
  • To her credit, as soon as she realizes that Launchpad could really hurt someone rather then just scaring them, Della goes racing after him.
• Launchpad attacking the monsters when he thinks that they hurt Dewey.
  Launchpad: What did you do to Dewey?!
• There's something kinda sweet about the adults getting excited for Halloween. Donald and Della wear twin-themed costumes of an angel and devil, respectively (and appropriate for their personalites), and Scrooge is going absolute ham in his skeleton costume. It goes to show that trick-or-treating isn't just for kids.
• A small one but after Launchpad scares a group of kids one little boy falls and can't get back up. His friends instantly turn around and save him.
• When Huey finally explains to Louie why he didn't want to come to the haunted house and get the lifetime supply of candy (he was worried they wouldn't celebrate Halloween, the triplets' old "biggest adventure of the year," anymore), Louie immediately realizes how Innocently Insensitive he's been and tells Huey the candy doesn't matter.
• The monsters making peace with the Ducks out of respect for scaring them out of their wits. They even go in line for candy at McDuck Manor.
  • Three of the kids in line even compliment the monsters for their "costumes", proving them wrong about modern kids not appreciating the classics.
• Launchpad enjoying Halloween after finally learning what it is.
• The final shot of the episode is a Halloween group photo of the Ducks and the monsters together. It's a parody of the ending of The Shining, only a happy one.
  • One can also see Donald and Della wrapping their arms around each other, which shows how much they care for each other despite their conflicting personalities.

The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!

• Despite that Jeeves is turned into a baby, Rockerduck immediately carries the Frankenstein baby out of the resort without creating more fuss about it, showing that he cares about him.
• The whole episode, seeing Scrooge and Goldie so happy at being young and youthful again. They are clearly having an utter blast as they explore together. What's more, they seriously consider, and agree, to stay young and be together letting the erasing of their old age to be equallivant to washing away their past history as rivals.
  • Goldie finally deciding to put someone before herself and help Scrooge instead of making an easy escape.
    • And the final motivation in doing so? Seeing Louie's dour face.
  • As Scrooge and Goldie fight Ponce De Leon, a flamingo that's been turned old by the pool's water struggles to the edge of the pool. Scrooge immediately runs over to help him out, and it cements his decision that while being young again is tempting, it's not worth it if it means stealing it from someone else.
  • What's more, Goldie ends up agreeing, to the point she sacrifices her own recently-gained youth in order to save Scrooge from drowning in the end.
    Scrooge: But...your fresh start...
    Goldie: A fresh start isn't worth it without you, you crazy old coot.
  • Scrooge and Goldie's Big Damn Kiss at the end.
  • The fact that Goldie didn't just save Scrooge and the gang, but actually stuck around to hang out with the family. Scrooge himself is surprised, as he figured she'd be well on her way to finding her next big score.
    Goldie: I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye...this time.
    • Immediately after the above line, Scrooge turns with a look of such love-struck relief on his face that it makes Goldie blush, then smile back as she returns the journal to Scrooge.

Let's Get Dangerous!

• Launchpad is so excited to finally see Darkwing Duck in action, and proud to see his friend take up the mantle of their childhood hero.
• Darkwing Duck really likes Fenton and thinks he's both a swell guy and a talented scientist. He even says that Fenton is wasting his talents "working for that hack Gizmoduck".
• Darkwing Duck sympathizes with Gosalyn and her situation, but does point that he can't just attack someone based on one person's word. However, someone does reach out to Gosalyn and decides to help: Dewey.
  • On top of that, all it takes is Launchpad reminding Darkwing Duck why he took up the role in the first place - to be an inspiration for lonely, bullied kids like he used to be - to convince him to help Gosalyn out by investigating Bulba.
  • Dewey's reason for helping was that he empathized with Gosalyn's quest to get her grandfather back and so that he could be Gosalyn's Webby, showing just how much her help during his investigation into Della's disappearance meant to him.
  • While initially Gosalyn is unimpressed by Dewey's attempt to force a "Dewey-ing it"-style pun with her name ("Let's Gos for it, Gosalyn!" "Please, stop."), she later uses it during the fight with Bulba over the Ramrod key, and Dewey just sounds so adorably touched.
    Gosalyn: Dewey! Let's... uh... Gos for it!
    Dewey: *gasp* She's Dewey-ing it!
• How much Scrooge has come to implicitly trust Huey's instincts. Scrooge investigates the Ramrod with nothing more than Huey's suspicions to go on.
• It's a small little moment, but when the trio are attempting to confront Quackerjack, Launchpad and Darkwing sing the Darkwing Duck theme song while attempting to recollect an episode specifically involving the villain. They're just so happy reminiscing about their childhood show, it's a sweet moment to see how close the two have bonded over their mutual love for the hero.
  • It's also worth nothing how much this compares to the two's relationship on the original show. Darkwing certainly cared for Launchpad, but he was often belittling or demeaning of his sidekick. Here, the pair practically act like best friends.
• When the triplets and Bradford Buzzard end up encountering a sleeping Bushroot, Dewey is perfectly able to recall the villain's origins, mentioning that Launchpad made him watch a lot of Darkwing Duck. The fact Dewey not only remembers this perfectly, but the fact he does so with the same nerd-like bravado as Launchpad shows how much he truly is a good friend to the pilot.
• After spending days looking for a way to find Gosalyn's grandfather with Fenton, Darkwing Duck is close to collapsing from exhaustion. Gosalyn takes DW by the hand and leads him to the couch to sleep, while tucking him in with his cape.
  • You may recognize the tune that Gosalyn hums while she does this...
  • Just the sheer resolve Darkwing shows in trying to make sure Gosalyn gets her grandpa back. Even when Fenton is trying to convince him that it's too dangerous to leave the Ramrod running, D.W. refuses to give in. And what's driving him? The chance to make it big as a hero? The recognition, the fame? Nope...
    Darkwing Duck: I can't let her down...
• A small one but Launchpad and Darkwing both are quick to point out that Bushroot isn't really a villain.
• When Gosalyn is about to shut down the portal, Taurus Bulba makes an offer to Gosalyn to take her to a different reality where she can live with her grandfather. Despite being responsible for Waddlemeyer's disappearance for entirely selfish reasons, his offer appears to be genuine.
  • Even as Darkwing is wrestling Bulba and getting choked out, he still urges Gosalyn to search the Ramrod for her grandfather until the very last second.
• Darkwing instantly going to Gosalyn as she breaks down in tears after destroying the Ramrod, hugging her.
• Darkwing Duck taking in Gosalyn as his sidekick/sort-of-daughter, at least until they can get her grandfather back. Launchpad and Dewey tear up watching it and Dewey encourages Launchpad to join them. Launchpad proceeds to hug the two and declares he'll split his time between Duckburg and St. Canard so he can help them fight crime. Now the team from the classic show is finally whole.
  Dewey: ...Go to them.
  • Better yet, Darkwing does this out of costume, presenting himself not as the Terror that Flaps in the Night, but as Drake Mallard. He not only cares about her enough to trust her with his secret identity, but gives this heartwarming bit of advice to her, while assuring her he won't stop helping her trying to find her grandfather.
    Drake Mallard: Look, you got knocked down, beat up, and blown up today. But what matters...is that you get back up. And I promise, I'll help you find your family.
  • While it is originally a joke that Launchpad thinks the trio need to be an Adventure Having Family (with Gosalyn as the Dewey, DW as the Launchpad, and Launchpad as the uncle) Launchpad happily takes to the role of caring uncle, making Gosalyn and DW pancakes and at the end declaring he is Uncle Launchpad to Gosalyn.
  • This is also a rare case of the show actually being Lighter and Softer than the original, which made no bones about Waddlemeyer simply having been murdered and Drake outright adopting Gosalyn as she had no biological family left.
• Mayor Owlson showing Darkwing Duck respect at the key to the city ceremony and even asking for help when the Fearsome Four attack St. Canard.

Escape from the Impossibin!

• After Webby spends the entire episode trying to hurt both Huey and Dewey, she is appalled after spraining Huey's leg and ashamed of herself.
• Afterwards, when Beakley wants to hurt the kids even more, Webby stands up to her grandma and does the right thing.
  • Donald really solidifies his role as the series' Papa Wolf when he learns that Beakley wants to hurt the kids through a Training from Hell.
• Darkwing has a direct line to Scrooge's phone, meaning Scrooge remembered him and was interested in keeping in touch. Rather heartwarming since in the previous episode, he didn't remember him at all from the last two times they've met.
• While F.O.W.L. did get away with stealing everything that the McDuck family has achieved, Scrooge remains positive that they'll retrieve all the last remaining treasures of Isabella Finch from them as a family.

The Split Sword of Swanstantine!

• Scrooge may have inadvertently dragged Violet and Lena along for the ride, but Webby doesn't mind.

  Webby: Best friend road trip!
  [She embraces Violet and Lena]

• Gandra Dee openly admits that she doesn't want to hurt Dewey or Webby, and she doesn't; the worst she does is hit them with a flashbang.
• Each segment showcases the nephews, Webby, and their friends' interactions with each other despite being The Friends Who Never Hang.
  • In Dewey and Webby's side of the story, Dewey teaches Webby to be confident with herself when they were temporarily blinded by the flash grenade, and this helps Webby to rescue Dewey from being injured.
  • In Louie and Violet's side of the story, despite her skeptical reaction to Louie lying his way to the spice bar, she chose to help him by eating all three spices for him after Rockerduck challenged them. When the truth is revealed, both Louie and Violet pull themselves out of it by being completely honest. Even the criminals are impressed when they found out who Louie and Violet really are.
  • In Huey and Lena's side of the story, Lena convinced Huey to accept his violent side while being a Cool Big Sis figure to him by protecting him from Steelbeak, even being touched at seeing how Huey takes her advice to heart and defeats Steelbeak.
    • When trying to convince him to embrace his violent side, Lena draws on her own experience as Magica's shadow. Seeing as its most likely still a very touchy subject for her, she has clearly accepted who she is and is now willing to help someone else in a very similar spot.
• In general, getting to see Lena and Violet having more substantial friendship interactions with any of the triplets in this episode (before, their interaction with them was minimal, with "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks" being the only exception to this with Huey and Violet).
• Scrooge explains that the children are his inner strength.

New Gods on the Block!

• Throughout the episode, Della proves herself as a genuine mother to her children while letting her brother carry out his date with Daisy:
  • First, Della really tries to cheer the kids up when they're led to believe Scrooge is replacing them by encouraging them to prove themselves to Scrooge by auditioning for Zeus' place.
  • Afterwards, when the children learn how they failed miserably with their auditions, Della shows genuine concern for their well-being while showing anger at Scrooge for replacing them with Penumbra, Djinn, and Quackfaster.
  • Finally, when the Titan appears to harm them and Scrooge being insensitive again, Della cranks up her Mama Bear status by calling Scrooge out for his treatment of the kids as she coerced him to apologize for his words to them.
  • Easy to miss but when the kids first get upset, Della pulls all of them into a group hug. This includes Webby.
• The fact that the Gods would consider the kids, Donald, and Della worthy to be the next head God.
• Daisy and Donald's date, despite Storkules' unintentional third wheeling.
  • Sure, Storkules takes the matchmaker role too far, but he just wants the date to be perfect and is very sweet to Daisy.
• For Daisy, it’s normally bad that she always falls for guys who need saving, but the fact that she decided to go back for Donald means he’s special enough for her to consider him worth saving.
• Webby applauds Dewey's dance routine, even though he accidentally fouled up the audition for godhood.
• When Daisy calls Donald her boyfriend, Donald temporarily forgets he's trapped in a Titan's gut to celebrate.
  Donald: Wait, ''boyfriend''? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!
• Daisy and Donald's kiss. There's even an instrumental reprise of "Hear My Voice" playing in the background.

The First Adventure!

• While it was arguably a bad idea for several reasons to begin with, the fact that Bradford originally conceived of F.O.W.L. (originally named O.W.L.) as means to better fight crime and villainy albiet through controlling it. It was mainly thanks to Professor Von Drake's dismissal and Black Heron's corruptive influence that it became the Fiendish Organization for World Larceny.
• Black Heron tries to use the Papyrus of Binding to make "Scrooge's sidekicks perish". When it seems to have no effect on Donald and Della, Scrooge brags "They're not my sidekicks, ya degenerate egret! They're my family!"
• What makes Donald utterly explode with apoplectic rage? The thought of his sister being dropped off a cliff. Black Heron learns the hard way that you do not make Donald Duck angry.
• The Double-Meaning Title behind the episode's name. It features Scrooge going on his first adventure with Donald and Della when they're kids but also his first adventure period.
  • Turns out all the treasure hunts and artifact seeking up to that point had been "business trips" to better finance his company and expand his fortune. While we know they were important to him as family, here Donald and Della are revealed to be the ones who turned The Workaholic businessman Scrooge McDuck into thrill-seeking, adventure loving Cool Old Guy Uncle Scrooge.
  Scrooge: [Grinning like a little kid while fighting the undead Yellow Beak] Curse me kilts this is fun!

The Fight for Castle McDuck!

• When Scrooge learns about Matilda's emu business plans, he actually offers to invest in said business.
• Scrooge and Matilda notice Webby's Heroic BSoD and realize what their feud is doing to those around them. Both then quickly step in to save Webby from a falling pillar.
• Clan McDuck, both alive and as statues, uniting to defend their home, with Agnes, Countess McDuck, declaring that "Nobody fights our family but us!" A McDuck can do what they like to a McDuck because that's generally what they do - they're Scottish and love to argue with one another - but anybody else tries to hurt a McDuck and they'll rally round and you will regret it.
• A surprising example of one from an antagonist; the usually stoically serious Phantom Blot and the perky F.O.W.L. henchperson Pepper form a genuine bond across the course of the episode, to the point where the Blot shows genuine warmth towards his partner. Best exemplified when he chooses saving her life over completing their mission.
  • At the end, Blot assures her that the magical world will soon fear him...and her, resulting in the two sharing a high five and happily running off.
• In a weird way, Webby and Pepper enthusiastically introducing themselves to each other (before resuming their fight) is very touching.
• The triplets making up after their squabble (even with Huey dropping a Stealth Insult at Louie's expense - it's clearly meant affectionately). Dewey in particular, not having been involved at all with Huey and Louie's beef throughout the episode, still runs over to enthusiastically join in the sibling hug.

How Santa Stole Christmas!

• Huey, Dewey, and Louie are absolutely giddy to meet Santa Claus, who offers them each a gift they wanted for Christmas.
• In the scene where Webby is delivering presents at the Sabrewing residence, it is shown that Lena and Violet sleep together on the same bed, which is rather sweet.
  • In that same scene, Webby gives both of them goodnight kisses as she delivers their presents.
    • After Webby kisses her, Violet gives a little smile.
• When Scrooge and Webby are delivering Donald and Della's presents, it is shown that Della sleeps in Donald's houseboat with him.
  • Doubly heartwarming when one realizes this is their first Christmas together in about a decade.
• Santa explaining himself to Scrooge:
  Santa: I thought if you saw the joy of giving away toys on Christmas, you'd finally come around, and we could be friends again.
  Webby: Santa was willing to risk Christmas...
  Scrooge: ...because he wanted to spent it with me.
• Scrooge ending his feud with Santa. After Santa gives Scrooge his gift (a pair of jingle bells engraved to commemorate their old partnership), Scrooge gives him in return what appears to be an ordinary garage door opener. Then, as the sleigh nears McDuck Manor, Scrooge prompts him to press the button, revealing it deactivates all of Scrooge's Santa traps, signaling that Santa is finally welcome again from now on.
• All nine main characters helping Santa deliver the Christmas presents on time at the end.
• The fact that of the Beagle Boys, Bouncer is good enough to be on Santa's nice list.
• Little Jennifer is downright adorable; her reaction to finally getting a toy, even if it's just a piece of coal, is what allows Scrooge's Jerkass Realization. Even more, when Santa gives her a real doll, she doesn't drop the coal, but loves both toys the same; she appreciates the gesture as much as the gift itself.

Beaks in the Shell!

• Despite all the confusion and chaos throughout the episode, Detective Cabrera completely approves of Fenton's relationship with Gandra and is happy to see her son with someone he loves dearly.
• Even though Fenton and Gandra have different approaches to science and morals, they clearly love each other and appreciate each other's genius and traits, flaws and all.
• Despite understandably mistrusting Gandra for her F.O.W.L. ties, Huey sees how much Fenton loves her and wholly pledges his support for their relationship.
• Gyro is actually impressed with Fenton for not only managing to create a virtual world, but also managing to get a F.O.W.L. agent to change sides.
• The reason that Fenton and Gandra created the virtual world was to create a place where not only can people create inventions to change the world, but also ensure that no one gets hurt in the process.

The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!

• Della and Dewey's interactions are all this:
  • In the episode's opening, Della is teaching Dewey to fly a plane, and she is proud (if a little worried) of Dewey's talents.
  • When Dewey gets enthusiastic about becoming Kit's cloud-kicking sidekick, Della is not happy (partly out of jealousy, partly out of concerns for Dewey's safety), but she still prioritizes being supportive of her son.
• Kit and Dewey's relationship. When Dewey expresses an interest in learning cloud-kicking, Kit immediately and happily takes him under his wing, looking forward to recreating the dynamic he had with Baloo. While he's immature and out of his depths, he never pushes Dewey too far, and when Don Karnage shows up, Kit ignores the expectations and potential embarrassment he feels that caused him to take up piloting in the first place; he instantly goes back to cloud-kicking to save Dewey. He points out that Dewey's "talent" at keeping a plane steady, which Dewey feels is boring, is actually something very special and worth doing. He doesn't feel any betrayal when Dewey decides to give up cloud-kicking.
• For fans of TaleSpin:
  • It's nice to see that Higher-for-Hire is still up in business after Baloo's retirement, with Kit taking the helm.
  • Molly Cunningham has grown up and is living her dream as a professional stuntswoman and the star of a flying circus. Her alias is Danger Woman, after the radio show heroine she idolized as a child.
• Della manages to tame Butterbear and even gives her some scratches once she got off of her. Butterbear even gives her a friendly lick. Once Butterbear flies off, Della calls her "my majestic steed".
• The ending of the episode: as Kit is feeling down about the fact he can't live up to Baloo's legacy, his childhood friend Molly shows up and hires him as a cloud-kicking stuntsman for her air circus.

The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!

• On Louie apologizing to him. Doofus hugs him and leaves the trial. He might not forgive him for making him share his inheritance with his family, but it looks like (aside from and more than ruining Louie's life) all he wanted was a sincere apology.
  • Doubly wonderful when you remember how Doofus acted in the original series. Sure, he annoyed them, but he got along fine with the triplets. Now his current incarnation, after spending three seasons corrupted by his own wealth and warring with Louie, finally makes peace with his former rival and leaves without a fuss.
• Even though both are clearly evil, Magica and Poe cared for each other very much.
  • Magica later promising that she’d give Scrooge anything if he helped her save Poe, showing just how much she loves her brother. She even notes that she spent years looking for him.
• When Scrooge manipulates Magica into taking Poe’s talisman, Poe still defends her from being cursed.
• After hearing their testimony, and following Louie's lead on apologizing to Doofus, Scrooge gives a sincere apology for his part in his villains' Start of Darkness. Unfortunately, they think he's tricking them and reject it, but Scrooge at least tried.

The Last Adventure!

• Beakley reveals to Webby that Scrooge actually paid at full price for Webby to have her birthday party at Funso's rather than use coupons to save money. This prompts Webby to give him a big hug.
• Donald and Daisy are planning a romantic getaway together. When Della protests, she also admits that Donald deserves a proper vacation. If anyone remembers how his last vacation went, well...
  • It's a little heartwarming to see that Gladstone, of all people, has the decency to know an awkward moment when he sees one and promptly leaves with Fethry (who instigated said drama with his big mouth.)
    • Doubly heartwarming since, unlike in the comics, Gladstone is perfectly willing to let Donald have his relationship with Daisy.
• Webby's mystery board has turned into a family tree with all their connections.
• Scrooge initially tries to stop the kids from boarding to plane to go save Webby, Huey, and the others but they shut him down quick, stating with determination that they're not going to take no for an answer.
  Scrooge: Where do you think you're going?
  Dewey: Save it. We're coming.
  Gosalyn: Fenton tried to help me get my people back. I'm gonna do the same for him.
  Boyd: Huey made me not a killer robot!
  Violet and Lena: It's Webby.
  Louie: So are we gonna do that thing where you tell us not to go and we sneak along anyway?
  Dewey: Or are we gonna go get our family back?
  (Beat, Scrooge steps aside)
  • Note Scrooge's smile after the kids board the Sunchaser. Clearly he'd expected nothing less and is proud of all of them.
• Subtle, but a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in the background shows Gosalyn adjusting Darkwing's uniform for him before they begin the mission and she does it with a sweet smile on her face. Tomboyish she may be, but she's definitely got a nurturing side. Clearly she will make a good daughter to Darkwing and it appears as though their bond grows stronger with each passing moment.
• Rockerduck taking care of infant-Jeeves, including feeding him and rocking him to sleep, in his own bizarre, detached way. Even someone as crooked as him can't resist a helpless baby.
• Pepper is shown to be really nice to her associates when there aren't any intruders, even calling Webby (disguised as fellow F.O.W.L. member June) "sweetie" when she asks where the interrogation room is at. She's also shown to be really close to the Phantom Blot too, being close to him during all of their interactions.
  • This is extra sweet when you consider how desperate May and June are for any affection from their "mom" Black Heron, and how Bradford literally only created them to get to Webby. There was at least ONE person in F.O.W.L. who was genuinely nice to them.
• Donald hugging Louie as he prepares to exit the Sunchaser during the rescue mission with Louie even smiling back.
• When the kids and adults are splitting up, Gyro quietly says to Lil' Bulb, "Look after your brother," before handing him to Boyd.
• The flashback proper shows that Beakley didn't steal Webby to sabotage F.O.W.L. She looked into the eyes of a baby duck in a test tube, and her heart melted when the baby reached for her. Then she dressed her up in trademark bow after swaddling her. Beakley in her mind was rescuing an innocent child from evildoing.
  • Beakley openly admits if she had just kept going she could have captured Bradford... but that put Webby at risk. Remember that Beakley's entire attitude as Agent 22 was to go by the book and complete the mission. Her final assignment ended with her casting aside everything just to save a child.
  • It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, but when Beakley arrives at Scrooge's mansion, it's implied that this was a little while after Della's disappearance so he was probably at his lowest point of his life, hating the world and shutting everything out, then Beakley and Webby gave him a family again.
    • The fact that Scrooge didn't even question it. The moment he sees Beakley and baby Webby he INSTANTLY steps to the side and silently invites them in. He may be sad about losing Della... but he's not going to leave his best friend or an adorable baby out in the cold: they needed a place to stay, so he gave them one and trusted Beakley enough to tell her what happened to Della.
• Manny turns out to be the "Headless Man-Horse of the Apocalypse," a being of phenomenal power... and he just wants to move on from that and be "normal". Despite that, he fights along side Scrooge and company after it's revealed, even using his true power, which he had sworn to never do again.
• When Dewey and Louie find Huey and Gyro. The absolute look of joy in Huey's face seals it.
  Huey: How did you guys find me?
  Louie: The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook has the answer to everything.
• While the triplets were captured, they tell June and May with absolute confidence that Webby can beat Bradford and all of the villains, only to see Webby captured. While a funny moment, it shows that no matter what, the triplets are confident of their honorary sister while Webby, who just recently went through a pretty bad breakdown, is touched by their words.
• When May and June are despondent over Black Heron's death and learning that they were only created as means to an end, Webby teaches them what family really is.
  Webby: Heron made me, but she's not my family. Family are the people who stick by you, fight for you, blindly invade a sinister villain secret stronghold for you.
  Dewey: Twice in one week!
  Webby: Family would do anything to keep you safe, and sacrifice everything to love you, no matter who or what you are. Like Scrooge. Like... my granny. Or like you two. Please... help us save our family.
• When Launchpad is getting beaten by Steelbeak and the brainwashed villains, Darkwing, Fenton and all of the other captured friends tells him that while he may not be a hero, he has a heart of a hero, and using the Gizmoduck armor, is able to defeat the villains.
• Scrooge finally agrees to sign the Papyrus of Binding when Bradford threatens to erase Donald from existence. Notably, Bradford gives him to the count of five after he makes the threat, but barely counts down one before Scrooge agrees.
  • Donald likewise begs Scrooge to not sign the contract, even though his own life's in danger. This is the guy who'd rather not adventure if he could help it, begging his uncle to not give up adventure.
  • And then, once Donald Duck's saved thanks to Scrooge going through with it, he repays the favor by saving Scrooge from Bradford. The Call-Back to the first episode is just icing.
    Scrooge: [grinning widely] Donald Duck.
    Donald: [also grinning] Uncle Scrooge.
  • Bradford chose Donald to threaten in the first place because he considers Donald to be Scrooge's "most trusted ally".
• It's small, but Scrooge shows clear gratitude to Magica dealing Bradford his final defeat. Magica returns the small look, and she actually takes Glomgold, Ma Beagle, and the Beagle Boys with her in peace. Despite being Scrooge's mortal enemies, the way they gracefully leave without a fuss (even Glomgold stays quiet for once), maybe they really did take his apology in the previous episode to heart a little.
• Despite The Reveal that Webby was created by F.O.W.L., none of the characters treat her any differently than they did before and love her exactly the same way they did before. There's one sole exception: an overjoyed Scrooge McDuck.
  Scrooge: ...Dad?
  Webby: ...Dad.
  • It should be noted why he's so accepting of this concept. When presented with the contract with the Papyrus of Binding attached to it, he's probably thinking how it's possible, since the triplets, the most likely candidates, are still disqualified as they are not his direct heir. Once Webby dropped the dad line while defending Scrooge, it probably clicked for him. Once the fight was over, he just wanted confirmation from her. Scrooge also looks to the triplets with a look that says "Really?" in a hopeful sense. A silent nod back from Huey, Dewey and Louie, and that's all Scrooge needs to believe it.
  • On Webby's part, her identity was something Beakley chose for her, but upon coming to terms with her origins, she willingly chooses to reject her old identity as a creation named "April". In the end, she chose to embrace the life that brought her friends and family rather than one where she would've been a pawn for evil ends.
  • May and June having been regarded as "failed experiments" and their shock at Webby getting the Papyrus of Binding implied they themselves failed to get it, even though they should also be descendants of Scrooge. What F.O.W.L. didn't realize was that, to Scrooge, family was more than blood relations—Webby may be his genetic daughter, but long before they knew that, she earned her way into the family fair and square.
• Von Drake still being alive and free of F.O.W.L. means he can see his now-middle aged children.
• As Scrooge and Webby have a tender moment, Beakley walks away from the crowd, ashamed at having to deceive Webby... but Webby grabs her hand. No matter what, Beakley will always be Webby's granny.
  • And then Scrooge offers his hand to Beakley, as if to say 'let's raise her together'.
• Fenton and Gandra get to share another (non-virtual) kiss on board of the Sunchaser as the gang flies back home.
• Donald calling Daisy to suggest taking May and June with them on their trip.
  • Speaking of the girls, the way they think of Heron as their mother is surprisingly cute, even when directed at a Card-Carrying Villain- and makes it surprisingly sad when Bradford wipes her out.
• After finding out that Webby is his daughter, Scrooge's first act is to put her into a life vest out of concern for her safety, becoming overprotective of her in a way that he isn't with his niece and nephews and is very reminiscent of Donald in the pilot episode.
  • Beakley's response, while mostly a funny moment, also counts. She just silently gets Webby out of the vest, with a slightly resigned look on her face. She clearly gets where Scrooge is coming from with his new point of view, but silently reminds him that Webby is just as capable now as she's always been.
• The last conversation summarizes that all of the young Ducks are ready to carry on the family legacy:
  Huey: You don't have to worry about us, Uncle Scrooge. We're smarter...
  Dewey: We're tougher...
  Louie: We're sharper...
  Webby: And we'll earn our way square!
  Scrooge: [smiling] Couldn't have said it better myself.
• When everyone gets thrown out of the plane at the end, Lena is holding on to Violet while Donald has his arms wrapped around May and June.
• The final credits showing off various groups of characters:
  • Gyro holding Lil Bulb and being rocketed by Boyd, causing him to smile.
  • Gandra and Fenton falling together with their foreheads touching. Fenton then turns into Gizmoduck and carries Gandra away, all the while Gandra has a massive smile on her face.
  • Darkwing flailing around when Gosalyn and Launchpad grab onto his cape and they all float to safety.
  • Violet floats down joined by May and June when Lena embues them with magic and they fly out.
  • Beakley skydiving through only to encounter Della and Donald on Manny, jumps on and rides off.
  • Which leads to Huey praying for safety, Louie flying into Huey, and Dewey moonwalking under them until he joins them. The triplets are then joined by Webby, then Scrooge flies in between them leading to the final shot of the series; Scrooge skydiving, his hands linked with Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Webby.
    Della: To adventure!

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