Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Donald Duck (DuckTales)

*Minor Donald-related spoilers.*

Back when I started watching this show for Other Doctor Lives, I never would’ve imagined that it would lead to me writing a post about Donald Duck. I went into it for David Tennant, of course. Then other cast members appealed to me, then the kids and Scrooge as character, and then the entire show. Of the major characters, Donald is more recurring than regular, but he’s still a critical part of the series.

In the earliest episodes of DuckTales, I could see how the show updated Scrooge, the triplets, and Webby for the new series. Donald, on the other hand, felt to me like a bit of a relic. Entertaining, to be sure, but I pretty much expected little beyond amusing slapstick from him. And it’s been too long since I watched any vintage Donald Duck to know whether he really has been updated for DuckTales, but the classic hallmarks are definitely there: his iconic voice, his comic mishaps, flying into his trademark fits.

As the series went on, though, I really came to enjoy Donald, and I was happy whenever he showed up in an episode. When it comes to neurodivergent coding, he feels autistic to me, much like the rest of his family, but in largely different ways. While characters like Scrooge, Della, and Huey channel their intense interests and hyperfocus to become incredibly good at the things they’re good at, thriving in an environment that’s suited to their talents, Donald has a harder time with things. He has really low proprioception—in any episode he’s in usually involves a bit of utter chaos caused by his clumsiness. He’s like a walking, talking wrecking ball, and the harder he tries to get something right, the more disastrous it typically goes.

As for those trademark Donald fits, full of windmilling fists and non-lexical vocalizing? Once I was looking for it, it was easy to see them as meltdowns. Donald has a lot of big emotions that he doesn’t always know how to handle, and when it comes to anger, frustration, and general stressors, those feelings build up in him from multiple sources. He gets upset when his clumsiness keeps him from accomplishing a seemingly simple task. His speech impediment isn’t necessarily connected with autism, but I’m sure the aggravation he feels when people can’t understand him would be familiar to autistic folks with speaking or communication difficulties. He's also intensely protective of his family, and while he doesn’t go in for the bold adventuring that most of the Ducks relish, he goes full berserker when they’re threatened.

Donald has a tough time with relationships too. He’s an earnest guy who cares very deeply for his family, and later for Daisy, but he can fumble his interactions a lot. It’s easy for situations to go off the rails for him—to say the wrong thing or mess things up with an uncoordinated calamity. Not to mention, he also tends to get steamrolled by more forceful personalities. When someone like Della or Storkules is bugging Donald, it’s hard for him to speak up for himself and get them to stop.

All the Ducks can struggle at times with their autistic- or ADHD-coded traits, but for most of the characters, I think the show leans more to the “superpower” side of neurodivergence. We see how their skills for adventuring and defeating bad guys are heavily informed by the way their minds work. More often than not, their neurodivergence is something to celebrate, and it’s why they always win in the end. With Donald, I like that we see his traits falling more on the “kryptonite” side. A lot of things that the rest of the family can do easily are tricky for him—being autistic can be hard, and frustrating, and demoralizing. But that makes him no less worthy of love and care than the rest of them. Go Donald Duck!

Doctor Who: Series 2, Episodes 4-9 – “The Dalek Invasion of Earth” (1964)

*End-of-serial spoilers.*

A classic, for all kinds of reasons. Nowadays, when the Daleks have been done every which way into the ground, it can be hard to remember, but there was a time when they were still relatively new. After their instantly iconic debut in series 1, this was only their second appearance on the show, in an eerie serial that I’m sure had many a young British child hiding behind the sofa in 1964.

When the TARDIS lands in London, Ian and Barbara think for a moment that they’ve made it home. But they quickly realize that this isn’t their London. It’s a future version of their city, one in which the Daleks have taken over and humanity is scrambling like rats to get away. They, the First Doctor, and Susan join up with a group of human rebels who haven’t lost their fighting spirit.

Post-apocalyptic/dystopian type stuff has been popular for many years, but for me, there’s always something a little extra-creepy about stories from that genre that come out of this era. Even though the serial is set in a London of the future, it was made in 1964, a year that wasn’t so far removed from WWII, the Blitz, and fears of a Nazi invasion into England. 1964 was also when the Cold War was in full swing, and there was a particular air of fear and paranoia crackling in the air. I can only imagine what it felt like to watch this story live, seeing ranks of Daleks crossing the Thames against the backdrop of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

In addition to all sorts of creepy imagery, we get plenty of what makes for a great story like this. There’s a hard-scrabble human resistance movement with dedicated fighters who don’t always agree on the best way to advance the cause, enslaved “Robo Men” whose minds have been taken over by the Daleks, and unscrupulous survivors who do what they need to do to stay alive. It’s a pretty dark story, in a way that feels well-earned.

Amid all that, our heroes definitely stick out a bit from the outset. As in any Who story of this, they’re just dropping into a conflict that’s been raging for some time, and they’re not as war-weary or beaten-down as some of the humans they encounter. That can make them come across at times as naïve or overly sanguine, but they’re also people who have experience with the Daleks and know a thing or two about going up against them. As such, while they’re initially seen by the rebels as tagalongs or liabilities, it doesn’t take long for them to prove themselves useful.

To that end, there’s some pretty good stuff here for team TARDIS. It’s an especially great serial for Barbara, who gets to display toughness/bravery and smarts in equal measure. Meanwhile, we get some determination and derring-do from Ian and a good helping of wisdom and technical knowhow from the Doctor. Susan doesn’t get to physically contribute as much (the show paints her so much as “the kid” that she rarely gets to really show off her abilities,) but it’s still a significant story for her.

Yep, this is the first major character exit of the entire series, and it’s a doozy. The ending scene between Susan and the Doctor is a classic, with the Doctor realizing that Susan will give up something she greatly desires for the sake of staying with him. He forces her hand, getting her to see (in a pretty tough-love way) that it’s okay to let him go. Top-notch work here from William Hartnell and Carole Ann Ford, and their goodbye is wonderfully shot.

A Little TLC(w): The New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre: Season 1, Episode 22 (1986)

*Spoilers for episode 21.*

After the big action of the last episode, this one is a little slow, but it’s still good. Some interesting developments here!

At the end of episode 21, Zhang Wuji managed to get the other major sects to back off of Ming, who took him in while he recovered from the injuries he sustained defending them. Now, some of the minor sects have showed up to make noise, and Ming’s warriors are still too battered to put up a good fight. It’s up to Wuji to figure out how to keep them safe.

Most of the non-Zhang Wuji stuff in this one involves Sixth Brother of Wudang. Last time, he was shocked to learn that his ex-betrothed, Miss Ji, had a daughter out of wedlock with a Ming disciple. Buhui is the spitting image of her mother, and the interactions between them now are painful for both of them.

In other news, prominent members of different sects are being attacked, and the Ermei Priestess has gone missing. No one knows who’s behind it, but Ming sect suspects it’s all being done to frame them. Oh, and Xie Xun may be coming back into play in the future! If you thought a blind martial arts who’s haunted by visions of guilt couldn’t survive completely alone on an island for ten years, you’ve got another thing coming!

Zhang Wuji nearly sacrificed his life in the last episode to protect Ming, and now they want to appoint him their new sect leader. This poses a challenge for him—as a child, True Master Zhang made him swear never to join a Demon sect, and even though Wuji has since uncovered the truth behind all the animosity, he’s too noble to want to go against his great-grandteacher’s wishes.

However, without him, Ming may be too stupidly noble to survive. Their disciples are still injured from the big showdown with the other major sects, and as more enemies come banging on their door, they barely have the strength to stand. But they want to go out and fight anyway. When Zhang Wuji suggests a reasonable alternative, they try to pull the old, “Yes, you go on ahead, my boy. We’ll be right behind you,” and they later nearly die for procedural reasons. How have they made it this far?

A lot of Zhang Wuji’s story has been about balancing his ideals with his experience in the real world. He’s still an honorable guy, but he’s a practical one too, and he’s learning that there are ways to be honorable without falling on his sword at first notice. Tony Leung Chiu-wai does a nice job with this mix. At one point, Wuji frankly tells the Ming disciples, “All right, it’s more important to save lives right now. We can discuss other matters later.” I like that about him.

Plus, we have another supremely-‘80s martial arts sequence for the ages when Zhang Wuji uses his Super-Secret Lost Move to open a secret passage. There are multiple split screens involved and everything! This is up there with him battling a monk while trapped inside a cloth bag. So delightfully cheesy!