YMMV / DuckTales (2017) S3 E21 "The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!"

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Louie's apology to Doofus at the end. Was he really sorry for what he did or did he just say what Doofus probably wanted to hear in order to keep Doofus from antagonizing him for the rest of his life like Scrooge's enemies did? In any case, Louie didn’t need to be sorry for rightfully punishing Doofus, but he may have done so as a way of turning the other cheek.
  • Likewise, did Doofus accept Louie's apology out of genuine gratitude, or did the trial make him realize he was better off not antagonizing Louie lest he ends up stuck in a Cycle of Revenge like Scrooge's Rogues Gallery, merely accepting the apology as an out? Either way, he will be less of a threat to Louie now.
  • There is no doubt that Magica de Spell was evil in the past, but what would happen if Scrooge saved Poe back then instead of letting him fly away and helping himself to Magica and Poe's treasure? Would Magica still want to make Scrooge suffer as she does now, or would she leave him alone, would she still terrorize the villagers, or would she repent?
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Poe de Spell pretty much became an instant hit after his debut in this episode thanks to a combination of him acting as a pragmatic foil to his sister Magica, his transformation and subsequent disappearance giving her a surprisingly tragic reason for her enmity against Scrooge, being played by Martin Freeman, and fans agreeing that he was the highlight of an otherwise lackluster episode.
• Fanfic Fuel: What if Scrooge’s enemies did win the trial and end up with his stuff?
• Genius Bonus: Poe, Magica's brother, was named after Edgar Allan Poe, the author of several horror stories. The creature he turned into, a Raven, was likely a reference to The Raven. Speaking of, the story, where the person tormented by the Raven ends without him never seeing his wife again, is somewhat reminiscent of Magica's pain of never seeing her brother, Poe, again.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • As we learn in this episode, Della getting stranded on the moon wasn't the first time Scrooge ended up losing a twin and gaining the hatred of the remaining twin. Essentially, Della's disappearance almost seems like Laser-Guided Karma for what happened to Poe.
  • Scrooge goading Magica that "family holds you back." It echoes even worse when you take into account that Poe was a... partial restraining influence on her already Ax-Crazy tendencies, and Magica's relationship with Lena, whom she never treated like family. Maybe Magica took Scrooge's advice too well.
  • Perhaps, if Scrooge had rescued Poe from being turned into a raven, then Lena wouldn't have suffered an abusive relationship at Magica's hands. However, no matter how we interpret it, Lena would also have never come into existence or become friends with the McDuck family at all.
  • Scrooge's claims that he won his fortune "fair and square" are put into question now that it's revealed he profited off milking formerly-sapient goats, and kept their stolen wealth mostly for himself (he did use some of it to pay to build a farm to care for the goats, and milk them).
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: The episode feels very compressed since it largely consists of three flashbacks, with the resolution of the episode taking place within the last few minutes. Given this is the penultimate episode of the series, many fans were expecting a bigger set-up going into the series finale only to be disappointed when nothing of the sort happened, unlike previous penultimate episodes of past seasons.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Magica is one of the villains, but remember, Even Evil Has Loved Ones. You can only imagine how broken she was when Scrooge refused to stop Poe from escaping and how she never saw him again.
  • Not to mention Poe, who was nearly as ruthless as his sister and had no problem transforming innocent villagers. Nearly all fans feel sorry for how he ended up becoming a victim of his sister's and his own magic.
• Memetic Mutation: One can say Poe was nevermore.
• She Really Can Act: Catherine Tate does an amazing job selling Magica's heartbreak once she realizes what she did to Poe and Scrooge letting him fly off.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: There are a few fans who feel that Magica's backstory with Poe should have been an episode on its own rather than a piece of this episode due to how much it recontextualizes Scrooge and Magica's relationship as enemies, along with wanting to see some resolution toward Poe's tragic fate.

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