Chapter 8B: The Prisoner of White Agony Creek
Dates: 1897
In his last comic ever, only found (in English) in the Companion anthology, Don Rosa answers the question Carl Barks didn't even want to ask: What exactly happened between Scrooge McDuck and Glittering Goldie during the month they lived together on White Agony Creek? Oh, just some innuendo, constant fighting and insults, Unresolved Sexual Tension, denial, a visit from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, an incident with an Inevitable Waterfall, and getting rid of an Unwanted Rescue attempt, culminating in a night of wild, violent, destructive hatesex that makes Scrooge fearfully realize how vulnerable he is to his feelings for Goldie. The next morning, he sends her back to Dawson, sure that the woman with the coldest heart in the Yukon could never care about him anyway, both of them too proud to admit the truth.
This chapter provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: While the whole series is basically this for Carl Barks' invention and stories of Scrooge, Don Rosa in particular felt how, no matter how much he loved the story "Back to the Klondike" where Goldie and Scrooge's past relationship to her is introduced, it wasn't quite explained how they went from fighting and mistreating each other to acting like they had been lovers when meeting again as old people. Don Rosa used that unanswered question as inspiration for this story.
- Anachronic Order: Written a whole decade after Hearts of the Yukon. In fact, it's the last story Don Rosa wrote, as mentioned above.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Scrooge and Goldie.
- Black Comedy: Judge Roy Bean really wants to hang someone.
- Bowdlerize: The "Between the legs!" part has been watered down in some translations. In the Norwegian, for example, said line is kept, but Scrooge's wavering at his next line (realizing what he said) is removed, giving the indication that only Goldie got a suggestive meaning out of it, not Scrooge.
- Distracted by the Sexy: In the intro, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are discussing what happened after Scrooge found the Goose Egg Nugget (Goldie drugged him and stole the nugget), and comment how strange it was that Scrooge for some reason was so trusting of Goldie that day. Cut to Donald giggling "Yeah, for some reason". Clearly Donald (and adult readers) can see what was going on.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Inverted. When Goldie finds the piece of paper containing something Scrooge had been admiring every night, she excitedly opens it, only to find that it's "only a stupid lock of someone's—". She then pauses in shock, realizing the lock of hair is hers.
- Freudian Slip: After kissing Scrooge in order to distract him so Bat Masterson can knock him out, Goldie mentions how "I've been waiting to do that for a month! Uh... see him knocked cold, I mean!"
- Friend to All Living Things: Scrooge of all ducks is one in this chapter. When Goldie asks why he's living on beans and sourdough bread when the valley is full of game he could shoot, Scrooge explains he has an "agreement" with the animals: they don't eat him, so he doesn't eat them.
- Hair Memento: It's shown that Scrooge's most prized possession is not any of his money or treasures, but a lock of hair from Goldie O'Gilt. Though unlike most examples she didn't give it to him, but he cut it off while saving her from a bear.
- Hanging Judge: Judge Roy Bean is a literal example. He carries around a rope and almost hangs a random passerby for knocking into him. Subverted when he holds a trial for Scrooge's apparent kidnapping of Goldie, and eventually declares him innocent.
- Important Haircut: Goldie loses a lock of her hair when Scrooge saves her from a bear. Scrooge secretly keeps the lock and still has it 50 years later.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Don Rosa tries to soften Scrooge's kidnapping of Goldie by showing she could have easily escaped (not to mention killed him) but let him take her so she could find his hidden gold claim and get a better opportunity to rob him blind.
- Another interpretation is she used Xanatos Speed Chess to turn her kidnapping into a Xanatos Gambit. Whether or not she escapes she has little to lose and a lot to gain.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Judge Roy Bean wisely decides they do not want to interrupt "what's going on in that cabin."
- The Masochism Tango: Goldie and Scrooge.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: Scrooge had kidnapped Goldie, even if she had let him do it.
- Oh, Crap!: Hilariously, both present-day Donald and Scrooge have this reaction to the boys asking Scrooge "what exactly happened" the month he and Goldie spent together at the cabin. Even if he can't know for sure, Donald likely figured that a young Scrooge spending a month alone with a woman in said cabin probably wasn't all innocent...
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: Goldie kisses Scrooge, and his shocked state gives the opportunity for Bat Masterson to knock him out. Cue him turning to Goldie to congratulate her, only to find her in the same state as well.
- Previously on…: Pages 12
◊ and 23◊. - Retcon: In Carl Bark's story "Back to the Klondike", the flashback of Scrooge having tea with Goldie shows Scrooge looking at her with suspicion. When Don Rosa recreated the same flashback for this story, Scrooge is smiling at her instead. While this is being told, Donald is also seen in the background, giggling at how Scrooge was trusting of her "for some reason". In a nice touch, the original (scowling) Scrooge was Scrooge’s own retelling, while the smiling Scrooge is in the retelling of one of the nephews, indicating an Unreliable Narrator may be at play. Just who is unreliable is
an exercise for the reader. - Save the Villain: Subverted after Scrooge saves Goldie from going over the Inevitable Waterfall. She tells him he has to go back to save "them", too... not the villains but the villains' sled dogs.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: If it really happened there's no way Don Rosa could have shown so in a Disney comic anyway, hence the cut to a lasting view of the cabin.
- Shout-Out: To Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.Sundance: Butch! We're goin' over the edge! I can't swim!!
Butch: Hahaha! What're ya, crazy? The fall will prob'ly kill ya'!- Lampshaded in the very next panel: "Whoah! Deja vu!"
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: Scrooge and Goldie eventually let out all their pent-up anger at each other before the famous implication that they end up having sex. They even provide the trope image.
- And it immediately zigs to Kiss-Kiss-Slap: Goldie promptly punches Scrooge across the cabin, even though she's the one that initiated the kiss. It's the trope image for that as well.
- Sleeping Single: This is established rather unnecessarily clearly early on — and apparently lasts until the last page.
- Stalking is Love: Goldie finds the fact that Scrooge has been spending every night for the last few weeks swooning over a lock of her hair that he keeps in a strongbox enough incentive to return when she had the perfect chance to escape with his gold and the deed to his claim.
- That Came Out Wrong: When escorting Goldie to his claim, Scrooge tells her "Between the legs!◊" When she indigantly replies "I beg your pardon?", he realizes what he said and hastily clarifies.
- That Makes Me Feel Angry: Played for comedy with Judge Roy Bean who always has the same Comically Serious grumpy expression on his face, but says things like "I'm so happy I may weep" completely deadpan.
