At times, I think the Glomgold humor can wear thin when it’s overused, but offering up a surfeit of Glomgold here with a whole episode from his perspective works surprisingly well. This episode is a ton of fun!
Glomgold has finally pinpointed the reason Scrooge always comes out ahead in their rivalry: he has his family and friends to back him up. To counteract that, Glomgold decides to form a “family” of his own, recruiting all manner of Duckburg rogues to team up with him to take down Scrooge’s family.
The episode title is the first not-so-subtle clue, but this is very much a Glomgold-centered episode. He’s not just featured—he’s the star, complete with his own version of the DuckTales theme song, with brand-new lyrics sung by him (there are also bagpipes, ‘cause of course there are.) I was a little skeptical of how this was going to come off, but I think the episode is a success. It’s helped by the very fact of Glomgold’s mission to unite Duckburg’s most prominent baddies. When you bring characters like the Beagles, Mark Beaks, the singing sky pirate captain from season 1, and Magica De Spell together, you have a bunch of conflicting egos and agendas to deal with. And when Glomgold is the one responsible for keeping everyone on task? You’re in for quite the chaotic smorgasbord of villainy!
Plenty of great lines from all our baddies. I love Glomgold’s explanation for why Scrooge’s family always gives him the upper hand, lamenting, “He’s got a whole team who works harder and cheaper ‘cause they, I don’t know, love him.” And while he doesn’t remotely get along with any of the villains, he’s especially contentious toward Magica, largely because the heroes keep assuming she’s the one in charge. There’s a great bit where, after fighting over which of them gets to “get” Scrooge, Magica declares, “Fine, we’ll split him! But I get the top half.” In response, Glomgold cries, “No, that’s the part that screams!” Hee!
Because we’re mainly focused on Glomgold and the villains, we don’t see much of the main cast. Of the regulars, Louie has the largest role, as he’s still dealing with the fallout of the “timephoon” in the last episode. He’s forced to face the consequences of his fondness for schemes and cons, and the show doesn’t waste a moment to draw parallels to the A-plot. The moment Della tells Louie he needs to “learn that no good ever came from cockamamie schemes” and we smashcut straight to Glomgold, we know exactly what kind of episode we’re in for.
Unfortunately, it’s not an episode with much David Tennant. It’s another one where Scrooge basically bookends the story, although he’s a larger part of the climax than he often is in Scrooge-lite episodes. At the start of the story, I enjoy Tennant’s reaction as Scrooge makes an awkward exit for Della to discipline Louie, and I get a kick out of his response to all the baddies showing up. “I knew this day would come,” he declares. “Magica’s grand revenge.” Cue Glomgold screaming, “I’m clearly standing in front!” Even when he’s not trying, Scrooge is constantly cutting Glomgold down to size—love it!
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