Fun ensemble episode, an adventure for Scrooge and the kids (plus Webby’s friends.) It continues the ongoing plot of the season while also being something of an entertaining side quest.
Scrooge and the kids, with Lena and Violet in tow, are in the city of Swanstantine, searching for a mystical sword that was split into three pieces centuries ago. But F.O.W.L. is after the same relic, and it’s a race for our heroes to find the sword first. While Scrooge duels one F.O.W.L. agent, the kids take on the others as they scour the city for the pieces of the sword, working in teams of two.
The setup of the episode really works well here. Because the characters need to divide and conquer to find the different parts of the sword, we get some interesting duos working together. Part of the sword’s lore also says it needs to be wielded by those with “inner strength,” but it’s not just a matter of having it or not. Rather, it’s about each character identifying what their specific inner strength is and then using that to secure their third of the sword. All the while, they’re dealing with additional F.O.W.L. agents running around Swanstantine, such as Jameela Jamil’s Gandra Dee and Jay Mantoukas’s Steelbeak.
We’ve seen Webby and Dewey team up before, and it’s always a good time. They get along well and make an effective pair, even though they take very different approaches in a crisis. Webby relies on her knowledge, training, and many skills, while Dewey is definitely one to plow in headfirst. In their storyline, we get this awesome exchange:
Webby: “Our piece of the sword lies in the heavens.”
Dewey: “Ugh, how am I supposed to get to Heaven when legends live forever?”
Louie and Violet are the second duo, which is really interesting—they’re not a team I would’ve ever thought to put together. Their search takes them to an underground spice market, where Louie attempts to con his way through the city’s criminal elements to get the goods. The kids take on a notorious Spice Baron voiced by Flula Borg, and we get a fun sight gag with a poster of Glomgold emblazoned with the words “Do Not Accept Checks from This Man.”
That leaves Huey and Lena with the final piece of the sword. Again, not an immediately obvious pairing, but a good one. As Huey predictably tries to use logic to determine the Single Correct Answer, Lena urges him to rely on his less controlled, more emotional side: “Take it from someone who used to be Magica’s shadow. You can’t ignore the parts of yourself you don’t like, even the parts you’re afraid of. You’ve gotta own them!”
Early on, Scrooge gets locked into a duel with the Black Heron, and the two of them fight all over Swanstantine (her with a sword, Scrooge with his cane.) So while the kids do the heavy lifting on the main quest, Scrooge’s duel is more of a framing device, and we check back in with him between each pair of sword hunters. As such, there’s not a ton of David Tennant today. My favorite bit—before the fight gets underway, he mistakes a local woman for the Black Heron, politely apologizing with, “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am, you look like this vile villain I know.”
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