Who Will Be the Next “Olympian Idol”

DuckTales! Season 3, Episode 15 Review

What do you when you fire someone from a job because they’re not good at it, or because they’re jerks? You look for people to replace them. As it turns out, the same thing can happen with Gods in the Disney Afternoon-verse (that’s right, that’s the name now.) When a position in the Greek Pantheon suddenly opens, the kids find themselves competing to be the new Olympian Idol.

Good Riddance to Ya, Zeus

I want you to remember the version of Zeus that Disney gave in the 1997 film Hercules. Now, I want you to throw that in the trash, because the Zeus from the Greek Myths is nothing like that. To sum the mythological Zeus up: he’s a pig-headed jerk who tries to date any pretty girl he sees and acts like a sore loser. So take out the womanizing, and you’ve got the DuckTales! version. And after one too many misdeeds, the gods of Olympus decided to strip him of his power and rule.

I don’t know why I enjoy it so much, but there’s something so satisfying about seeing jerks get what’s coming to them. And seeing this version of Zeus become a butt-monkey is just so satisfying to see. I quite a good kick out of seeing him come up with a convoluted scheme to earn back his power; it works, but no one respects him anymore.

Oh, and there’s the matter of who’s going to take his place.

The Kids Prove their Self Worth

Connecting this back to the Olympian Idol thing, the Duck Boys and webby are in a rut when they fail an adventure with Scrooge. Worse, Scrooge’s drive to succeed leads him to disregard the signs that they need his approval and try again with another team. Ergo, when Selene comes to offer Della the chance to take Zeus’ place, they each try instead.

The results are as predictable as they are hilarious, in my opinion. Louie learned that the “Midas Touch” is a curse for a reason. Huey couldn’t handle that big brain of his. Webby was less a Princess and more a demon of friendship; and Dewey? Don’t ask, but let’s just say that he was my favorite fail.

I enjoyed seeing the kids suffer this crisis of confidence, and when Zeus’ plan ended up going awry, they’re the ones that saved the day. When all’s said and done, though, they realize that being a god isn’t as great as it sounds. I don’t blame them, either. As much as I’d want to use the power to end climate change and cure cancer, I know it would backfire somehow!

Donald and Daisy…Plus Storkules

So, remember how Donald met Daisy earlier this season? Well, now they’re dating, and it’s going great. Or at least it does until Storkules shows up and acts as a third wheel during their date night.

We all know that Donald and Daisy are meant to be, regardless of the incarnation; ergo, any strife that happened in this episode would get resolved with little trouble. Still, it’s nice to see Daisy react to how crazy Donald’s life can be and learn to accept him, either way. Not to mention, Tress Macneille.

Olympian Idol: A Fun Filler Episode.

So, “New Gods on the Block!” Didn’t advance the over-arching plot involving F.O.W.L. at all this week. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned form watching cartoons with serialized elements, it’s that not every episode needs to move the plot along. They can have self-contained stories that, when the show ends, will likely be remembered just as fondly as the bigger story. I enjoyed this episode, and I just like DuckTales!

I Give “New Gods on the Block” a 4/5

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