Rewatching DuckTales! This is it, folks. The final episode of DuckTales. It all concludes with a two-parter, “The Golden Goose.” Is it truly… the end?

Here’s what happens: Scrooge and family are at a foreign marketplace, where he hopes to buy and antiques for cheap and sell them for big cash back home. He runs into Glomgold, and Scrooge suspects he’s up to no good. Dijon is also there, claiming that he’s changed his ways, only to pick Scrooge’s pocket. Glomgold and the Beale Boys are there, teamed up again, in search of the secretive Brotherhood of the Goose, which Glomgold believes can lead him to the Golden Goose of legend. Dijon impersonates one of the Brotherhood to hide from Scrooge. There, he finds his long-lost brother, Poupon. He shows Dijon where the Brotherhood has the Golden Goose hidden, explaining that it has the magical power to turn anything to gold.

The Brotherhood trust Dijon to stand guard over the goose for one night, with other guards preventing him from stealing it. The Beagle Boys sneak into he Brotherhood’s temple for a heist of their own. In the craziness of their attempt, Dijon grabs the goose and makes a run for it, with Beagles in pursuit. After a wild chase, the goose accidentally ends up on board Scrooge’s plane.

In Duckburg, there’s a lot of business as the Beagle Boys and Glomgold trying to swipe the goose from Scrooge’s department store, as Scrooge realizes the goose is something valuable. Scrooge discovers that it can turn things to gold. Scrooge goes a little crazy, turning his entire mansion into gold. Back with the Brotherhood, they say that the goose needs to be returned to its fountain within two days or else the world could be in danger. They send Dijon and Poupon to Duckburg. The Beagle Boys sneak into Scrooge’s now all-gold mansion to steal the goose. In their escape, they turn Huey, Dewey and Louie into gold statues.

That’s the cliffhanger. Part 2 begins with Webby, Duckworth, and Mrs. Beakeley discovering what’s become of the boys. Scrooge takes the boys to Gyro, who is unable to cure them. Dijon and Poupon arrive and compare notes with Scrooge. Poupon says they only have two hours left before the goose comes to life and turns the whole world into gold.

The Beagle Boys take the goose to Glomgold, and it’s his turn to go nuts, turning his entire auto factory into gold. Scrooge finds them there, and there’s a mad chase around the factory as everyone tries to grab the goose. Glomgold finally gets it, and threatens to turn everyone to gold. Then the time runs out, and the goose comes to life and goes out of control. It turns Glomgold to gold and then flies out over the city, turning entire buildings into gold.

Scrooge and company chase the goose all over the city. They catch it in a golden net. Just before Poupon can turn it back into a statue with the magic water, the Beagle Boys show up with a gun (!) and shoot the water bottle from his hand. The goose transforms again, this time with gold spreading all over the ground devouring everything, kind of like the Blob. As the gold keeps expanding, it threatens to destroy the world. Poupon says the only way to stop it is get the goose back the fountain at the Brotherhood’s temple. Scrooge and Launchpad escape in a plan, but Poupon doesn’t make it.

In a still non-gold part of Duckburg, Dijon finds the goose and goes on the run from the expanding gold. Scrooge and Launchpad fly down to rescue him. They fly across the ocean, as the gold consumes half the planet (!). With only seconds left, Scrooge gets past the brotherhood’s guards and returns the goose to the fountain. In classic fantasy style, this undoes the gold effect, and everything is returned to normal. Dijon promises to be a better person, but then he pickpockets Scrooge’s watch, and Scrooge chases him, just like at the end of the DuckTales movie.

Humbug: Scrooge going nuts over the gold would seem to call back to the series’ first story arc, which ended with Scrooge fighting off gold madness. After his nephews are healed, he says his fortune wouldn’t mean anything without them, which is pretty much all the closure he gets.

Junior woodchucks: Huey, Dewey, and Louie find their toys and sports gear aren’t as much fun when turned to gold. They tell Scrooge they’re afraid he’ll accidentally turn them into gold, and then that’s what happens.

Fasten your seatbelts: When there’s nowhere to land his plane during the finale, Scrooge orders Launchpad to crash it. When he tries to, he brings it in for a perfect landing. I guess you could say this resolves his character arc?

Di-cringe: Although Dijon continues to be a hateful, hurtful stereotype, some small attempt is made to give him some character development. He keeps trying to be a better person, but he just can’t help stealing. Kind of sad.

Foul fowls: Glomgold and the Beagle Boys don’t get any comeuppance, other than turning to gold and (presumably) back again. The Beagle Boys in this one are Burger, Baggy, and Big Time.

Down in Duckburg: All of Glomgold’s factories are run down, with boarded-up windows. Scrooge’s new department store, however, is gigantic, with a massive gold “McDuck” logo at its entrance.

Reference row: Although not referenced directly, the inspiration was clearly King Midas, who may or may not have been a real king in the ancient kingdoms of either Phrygia or Mushki. He shows up in Greek mythology in all kinds of stories, such as playing a role in the creation of the Gordian Knot, or growing donkey ears after offending the gods. But of course he’s most famous for wishing that anything he touched turned to gold, only for that wish to end up very bad for him.

Thoughts upon this viewing: I knew had to do this blog series upon learning that DuckTales concluded with a two-part final episode that conclusively ended the series. Does it? I wonder if this was an earlier script for the DuckTales movie, as they share a lot of similarities. While there are a few moments that shout out to the “mission statement” stuff from the first story arc, there’s nothing showing that the characters’ journeys have ended or if they’ve changed in some way. Maybe the animators were hoping for another season, but Disney had tons of stuff in the pipeline in 1990, and it seems DuckTales had to make way. I maintain that the series was as its best when embracing a spirit of adventure, and not so much when it tries to be a sitcom. In that spirit, the finale is as good as any.

And that’s that. What should I do next for this blog?

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