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‘DuckTales’ Un-Plucked – Episode #11: “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!”

It’s the moment we’ve all waited for. It’s the moment that got teased in Episode 3… and then teased even more in this episode. Actually, a lot of things got teased in this episode; but by episode’s end one DID happen – the other I’ll get to later! There were old faces, new faces and familiar voices. So go pull up your DVRs – or just click on the link below – and let’s get ready to take a Closer Look at Ducktales (2017) Episode 11, “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!”

–WATCH HERE ON DISNEY XD –

One of the things that I enjoy most about the new Ducktales series is how it actually give us things like ‘character development’; and this week’s episode gave us another impressive feat for a kids show ‘an episode that builds upon prior episodes’. As I mentioned above, this episode was originally teased at the end of Episode 3, but “Project Blatherskite” wasn’t the only thing of note. This episode as a whole relied heavily on the viewers’ familiarity with both Episodes 3 and Episode 7, where Mark Beaks was introduced. As the episode sets up, we again find Gearloose struggling to find an invention that the Board will approve of – and not turn evil (all aspects introduced in Episode 3). Though when we learn that Mark Beaks has apparently invented a ‘non evil self-driving car’, we the audience should be immediately suspect.

As we learned in Episode 7, Mark Beaks is a fraud who cheats others of their ideas and sells the hype. All episode long, we know that something doesn’t sit right with his whole B.U.D.D.Y. system, and then we finally get that pay off when BUDDY is revealed to be nothing more than ‘Little Bulb’ – who we met in Episode 3 – all grown up. Though when its revealed that Fenton crowd sourced the Bulbtech, it leaves us feeling uneasy again because it shows that Beaks did indeed do something by fixing the programing of Bulbtech…. until we learn that he didn’t. By properly building upon the world, this show was able to have both the audience and Gearloose utter “Oh no” at the exact same time for a hilarious ‘realization scene’. Having the plotlines of Episodes 3 and 7 come together here in Episode 11 was wonderful choice by the writers and will be even more pivotal in the future as we now see Mark Beak’s growing infatuation with Gizmoduck. By episode’s end – just in case it wasn’t clear earlier – we see Beak’s vow to own Gizmoduck. So when we see this plotline in the future, we’ll know it all started here in Episode 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn4wPY-qvTM

Now let’s talk about the well-dressed Duck in the room. On one hand, I’m sad that Darkwing Duck was made out to simply be a TV show from when Launchpad was younger; but I did love all the fanfare around it – funko pop figure included – as it added another level of metahumor to the series. That being said, I couldn’t help but notice something: the Darkwing shown in the reruns was young. Drake Mallard was old in the original series. WHAT IF this was also the set up for a Darkwing Duck episode/ spin-off series where we see this retired actor fighting crime with all his old gear? We can dream can’t we!

Things That “Quacked” Us Up – Easter Eggs, Quotes & More:

  • Launchpad just got his license…. That explains a lot. Also, mailing ‘the license straight to Scrooge so he’d be the first to know’…. that’s still driving without a license…
  • OH MY GOD! “Luduckrous Mode”… LuDUCKrous … one of these days I’ll stop being impressed by cheesy puns, but today is not that day!
  • I know I was excited when it was first announced, but I’m so happy Lin-Manuel Miranda is voicing Fenton/ Gizmoduck!
  • Favorite Quotes:
    • “I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the lone roller skate at the base of villainy’s staircase. I am Darkwing Duck… and I gotta get a shorter intro!” (Darkwing Duck)
    • “Let’s get dangerous” (Darkwing Duck – HE SAID IT!!!!!!!)
    • “Real heroes don’t need high tech special effects or basic safety precautions” (Launchpad)
    • “You need an invention that won’t… well”/ “Turn evil and kill us all” (Scrooge and Dewey)
    • “Stop having mail delivered to my office, that’s for incoming checks and death threats only” (Scrooge)
    • “WAIT…. Don’t crash?” (Launchpad)
    • “Oh no…. No, no, no, no, no” (Gearloose realizing Beaks didn’t actually fix anything)

Previous Reviews: 

Episode 10    –     Episode 09     –     Episode 08     –     Episode 07     –     Episode 06     –     Episode 05     –     Episode 04     –     Episode 03     –     Episode 02     –     Episode 01