The Duck Boys Show How Far They’ve Come

DuckTales Season 3, Episode 14 Review

The major theme to the third season of the reboot of DuckTales! has been the idea of legacy. Since the start, Huey, Dewey, and Louie have been following in the legacy of those that came before them: Scrooge, Donald, Della, and many others. And without even realizing it, they’ve become incredibly badass as a result of all their adventures. As the race against F.O.W.L. is on in this episode, we get to see just how far the Duck Boys have come, and I love it!

The Split Sword of Swanstantine!

This week, Scrooge takes the kids (the Duck Boys, Webby, Lena, and Violet) on a trip to Istanbul. They’re looking for the magical sword of the city’s founder, Swanstantine. Unfortunately, F.O.W.L. is looking for the exact same thing. This leads to both sides splitting up in order to get to get the parts of the sword hidden throughout the city.

What I like about this idea is that it gives each of the Duck Boys a chance to show the lessons they’ve learned and the skills they’ve gained since they starting traveling with Scrooge. And as I said before, they look pretty badass while doing so.

Let’s Dewey It!

Dewey Duck’s always been the outgoing and adventurous one among his brothers. He was the one who went looking for what happened to his mom, and is almost always the first to jump into danger. Sure, this gets him into trouble a lot, but it seems to be happening less and less as time goes on, and as we see here, his confidence has only grown.

As he and Webby face off against Gandra, they get blinded by a flashbang that leaves the normally deadly Webby an insecure wreck. Dewey, on the other hand, manages to flourish, flawlessly making his way to their piece of the sword and making a fool out of Gandra. The lesson here is that they have to be confident in what they can do. Even if there’s a chance they’ll fall and fail.

Louie Overcomes His Need to Lie

Of the three Duck Boys, Louie Duck’s been the one that’s most insecure about his place in the family. He doesn’t like adventuring as much as the other’s, but his talent for outsmarting others has gotten him in as much trouble as it has gotten out. He’s good at conning others, but he needs to know when and where to use it. In this case, lying about being a famous criminal so they can get the next piece of the sword. His bluffs lead him to face down Rockerduck in a spice-eating contest that lands him him in big trouble. It’s only Violet backing him up that saves his skin.

Louie lies because he’s insecure about himself in comparison to his relatives, but as Violet reminds him, he doesn’t need to do that. He’s just as badass as his siblings. After all, he’s bested the Bombie, cheated all of Scrooge’s enemies out of their fortunes, and defeated an ancient Pharaoh. That’s pretty badass!

Huey’s Inner Rage

This whole season’s been focused a lot on Huey Duck and his character development, and part of that has been about him accepting that his faults and limitations. In this episode, that comes to the forefront as Huey and Lena face Steelbeak for the last piece of the sword. And no matter how Huey tries to think his way out of things. As Lena points out, there’s only one way to win: get angry.

Turns out, Huey’s been repressing his emotions such as anger since he sees them as a detriment to his way of doing things. The result is this Angry persona called “The Duke of Making a Mess.” It’s a lot more badass than it sounds, as once the Duke takes Charge, Huey’s basically a mini version of Donald and Della.

The lesson here is that it’s not healthy to bottle up one’s emotions all the time. You have to know when and where it’s okay to let your anger out, like fighting a steel-beaked chicken man.

Duck Boys Amazing Anthology

As expected, the Duck Family comes out on top, and the Duck Boys show how far they’ve come since the pilot episode. They get the sword, and F.O.W.L. runs away scared. Or do they?

In truth, the whole thing was another distraction so they could get a sample of Scrooge’s DNA. That’s twice now that F.O.W.L. has played the Duck Family. First, they take the Missing Mysteries, and now Scrooge’s DNA? What are they planning? I honestly don’t know: maybe they’re using the mysteries and Scrooge’s DNA to create a jacked-up version of Scrooge to destroy him? That’s my guess, though, and I can’t wait to see how things turn out.

I, for one, think this is one of my favorite episodes of the season and the show overall. It’s nice to see how far the characters you love have come, after all.

I Give “The Split Sword of Swanstantine!” a 4.5/5

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