The Ducks Rumble in Valhalla in DuckTales

DuckTales Season 3, Episode 7 Review

I don’t remember where I read it, but a big theme to the third season of DuckTales is legacy. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are starting to realize that, for better or worse, Scrooge will have to pass the torch down to them one day. While that is awesome, it makes wonder if they’re capable of stepping into Scrooge’s shoes someday. And what prompts this question, you may ask? A trip to Valhalla to fight a world-eating snake in a wrestling match. It’s one of those episodes of DuckTales.

Snake Smackdown in Valhalla

Once every ten years, Scrooge travels to the Norse afterlife of Valhalla to keep the world-eating serpent Jomungandr at bay. However, the means of doing so is through a wrestling match, complete with all the smack-talk, fans, and metal chairs we’d expect to see from the sport. Honestly, it’s hilarious to watch, especially since Jomungandr’s voiced by Game of Thrones alumni Kristofer Hivju. What makes it even funnier is that in Valhalla, Scrooge plays the bad guy, and how he just embraces the role. His alter ego of the “Millionaire Miser” plays up his stinginess and I enjoyed every second of it. Unfortunately, he hurts his back after Round One, leaving Webby and Dewey to fight in his stead.

Wrestling tropes aside, the heart of the episode focuses on Huey and Dewey facing different dilemmas. Huey’s still coming to terms that he may not be as good at everything as he thinks. Dewey, meanwhile, has to learn that not everyone will like him, no matter how much his need for attention wants. In a heart-to-heart in the locker room, the two openly question if they can live up to Scrooge’s legacy. It’s a real world problem people have to face growing up: can they measure up to their parental figure’s expectations?

Real Wrestling Rules

The episode ends on a predictable note: Dewey ends up beating Jomungandr and makes him lose the respect of the people of Valhalla for being a jerk. It may seem to counter what the episode is about, but honestly, I don’t care. I enjoyed the wrestling.

This episode may not be for everyone, and I doubt I’ll remember it in the long run. However, not every episode of a good show has to be this ground-breaking thing. I was entertained, and that’s all that matters.

I Give “Rumble for Ragnarok” a 3.5/5

Stray Observations

• Leave it to DuckTales to take a one time joke from their Christmas Episode and build a premise behind it.
• Too bad Della and Donald didn’t appear. They would have destroyed that Serpent.

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