YMMV / The Sanctuary Tree

• Alternative Character Interpretation: The victims of the love potion. They have any idea that they are loving another person against their will in a And I Must Scream situation? Or does the potion completely prevent them from realizing what is happening?
• Ensemble Dark Horse: The fat female guard has only two short but very memorable scenes.
• Fridge Horror: The love potion makes you fall in love with the first person you see in front of you, regardless of whether they know the person or find them attractive. The ugly old gypsy uses the potion for a handsome young man to fall in love with her, and Donald intended the same with Daisy. If this premise were taken seriously, it would not been funny at all.
• Rooting for the Empire: Considering how Donald and Daisy act like assholes throughout history, some readers may find that what happens in the end to them at the hands of the fat female guard is well deserved.
• Signature Scene: The two scenes of the fat female guard chasing Donald, for different reasons in each.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • The fat female guard could have been a recurring character, being a love interest and comic relief in the same style as Princess Oona. Unfortunately, that was her only appearance in the comic.
  • Gladstone Gander could easily have participated in the story as Donald's eternal rival for Daisy's love. His luck could cause Donald giving the love potion to the fat female guard instead of Daisy, and he could also mock his cousin while staying with Daisy at the end of the story.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: The fat female guard breaks Donald's fishing rod in half and threatens to hit him. Later, she is happy to see him back in the lake, and goes after him to take revenge. But the fact is that Donald gave every reason in the world to justify her behavior, fishing in a forbidding lake and insulting her appearance.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Oh, where do we start...
  • Donald blames the female guard for being late to the date with Daisy, causing the end of their relationship, but he started it all fishing in a forbidden lake. And then he seem to have no remorse about using a love potion to force Daisy to fall in love with him.
  • Daisy breaks up with Donald and even beats him just because he arrives late and dirty at dinner, not even wanting to hear his justification. Later, Daisy is shocked and furious to see Donald hugging and kissing the fat female guard (at least that's what she thinks is happening), accuses him of treason and says she never wants to see him again. But wait a moment... hadn't she broken up with him at the beginning of the plot? Why is she furious then to see him (apparently) with another woman now that he's single?
  • The fat female guard breaks Donald's fishing rod in half and threatens to hit him. Later, she is happy to see him back in the lake, and goes after him to take revenge. Donald gave her every reason to be angry, but that may seem overstated to some readers.
• Values Dissonance: Donald and the gypsy use the love potion to make people fall in love with them against their will. At the time the story was written, this was considered just a joke. Today, many readers would find this uncomfortable, to say the least.
• The Woobie: Even by their typical standards, everything goes wrong in the worst possible way for Donald in this story. Some readers may feel sorry for him at the end of the story.