The Depths of "Gander": What's Going On Here?!
Whenever I’m asked what my favorite DuckTales episode is, I always immediately want to say “House of the Lucky Gander!”. Not just because it was a fun episode to watch, but it premiered during such a great time.
Disney XD was airing the first season out of order and that disrupted the flow between globe-trotting episodes and the Duckburg episodes. It also affected the amount of screen-time certain characters were given. Some viewers were convinced the show was beginning to focus too much on Webby and expressed their disappointment over the lack of Scrooge and Donald. In addition to this, there were also complaints about Launchpad's character being too dumbed down after “Terror of The Terra-firmians!” aired.
But when “Gander” premiered, it attended to these problems: This was a globe-trotting episode; something we haven’t seen since “Woo-oo!”. Both Scrooge and Donald were present, we got to see a Duck Family relative and we were suddenly let in a little on Launchpad's past! It was wonderful! Perhaps Disney Channel realized that the viewers were upset, because “The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!” was originally set to air on that date. There was a change in scheduling five days prior and because of this, Disney XD Canada, who’s schedule is supposed to mimic the U.S. version of the channel, ended up showing “Internship” anyway. The networks later flip-flopped the airings for the two episodes the following week. Heh, that was interesting.
...But, yeah! I was so shocked by Launchpad's side-quest! It left me with so many questions! Like “what was that all about?!” and “why didn't we get to see what happened?”. The more I thought about it, I began to wonder about the significance of Gladstone’s side of the story as well. I was hoping that we would get to see LP go on another side-quest some episodes later and get to see the action we missed out on! But the season ended without returning to this aspect.
Then about a year later, “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” aired, and much to my delight, we got to see Launchpad go off on another secret adventure! Along with other similar elements to “Gander”! But, yet again, we didn't get to see what that adventure looked like. Everyone was so confused about this. Why did he go on another adventure we weren't allowed to see? What was the point of bringing this idea up a second time if it isn't going anywhere?
After comparing the two episodes and looking back at my theories, I think I know what the show-runners could be trying to do with these stories:
I think they're indirectly giving us information on Della's situation and how her return might play out.
(I know, I know, Giphy wasn't converting the scenes, I had to find something else. Maybe I'll change them later.)
Both “Gander” and “Depths” follow the same formula:
- The family goes on an adventure to see a Duck relative (more specifically, a Duck Cousin)
- The featured relative is compared to one of the kids
- Dewey wants to name something after himself
- Launchpad goes on his own adventure involving someone he previously dated
We can use this as a base to help us determine what could happen in the future.
The Family Goes On An Adventure to See A Duck Relative
“Gander” opens up with the Sunchaser flying though a starry, night sky accompanied by a large, full moon. The family has just arrived to the distant land of Macaw to answer Gladstone’s call for help. Originally, they were on their way to go to the Temple of The Golden Cricket, the home of a legendary insect that emerges every fifty years, but it was decided to attend to this family matter along the way.
When they find Gladstone in the hotel, he appears to be fine and claims that he just wants to hang out with his family. This is a cover for bigger reasons because he knows the owner of the hotel, Toad Liu Hai, and his staff are lurking around; keeping Gladstone in check. Since the beginning of the episode, Scrooge looked down at Macaw because he believed it was full of empty distractions. He constantly tries to mosey the kids over to the hotel exit so they can get back to the main adventure, but Toad Liu Hai keeps obscuring their path and reeling them back in with food and entertainment.
Later on, it turns out that Toad Liu Hai is an immortal being who has trapped Gladstone within his domain solely for the purpose of feeding off of his good luck. Donald fusses at his cousin after this reveal: “We came out here to help you and you put the family in danger!” The two of them are forced to participate in a challenge where the winner is freed and the loser has to stay trapped forever. Gladstone, of course, strolls through the course with no problems while Donald struggles to keep up. Just before Donald can give up on winning, he finds a new found strength in Louie’s words of encouragement that helps him to plow through all the obstacles and past the finish line; all while Gladstone gets distracted by a twenty dollar bill like in the montage from earlier in the episode.
Toad Liu Hai is about to reclaim Gladstone as his prisoner, but Scrooge thinks quickly and deceives the vampire into thinking Donald was the luckier one for winning. Louie is very upset with Scrooge’s decision; someone he admired and trusted, just carelessly handed his uncle over to someone evil! But Louie soon saw that this was all according to plan; Donald’s luck was so awful, that Toad Liu Hai and his entire tourist trap disintegrated! Both of the Duck Cousins are saved! The family get back in the Sunchaser to visit the temple like they originally intended and Gladstone sails away on a yacht.
“Depths” opens up with Huey doing something seemingly trivial and nerdy. He’s determining the age of a tree trunk in Scrooge's office by observing its rings. Dewey, who was interrupted from his bath to watch his brother do this, is bothered. He was hoping to see something exciting; something worth dragging him out of the tub for. Soon after, the office receives a call from Cousin Fethry, who’s been living in Scrooge's underwater lab for the past four and a half years. It's an invitation to meet him in the deep, dark and distant waters of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He's made an exciting discovery and wants to share it with his family. Scrooge and Donald encourage the boys to disregard Fethry's call because he has the tendency to exaggerate the urgency of his findings. Every time they visit him, the discovery ends up being something silly that wasn't worth the dangerous adventure. The boys aren't convinced and answer the call anyway.
They trick Launchpad into stealing the submarine by claiming Scrooge wants them to “test the equipment” and head over to the lab’s lighthouse where Fethry is waiting for them. When Huey and Dewey reach the top floor, they’re not met with their cousin, but a crudely put together decoy of him. Before they can worry about what happened, Fethry appears in front of them from the ceiling; totally fine. He greets the “Little Donalds” and descends the aquavator so they can begin their expedition. While they wait to reach the laboratory, Fethry gives them a tour of it though a miniature display of the lab’s multiple pods. One of which, includes “The Dream Room! Great for naps! Relaxation! Embracing the unending darkness... becoming one with the abyssssss…”
The trio stop by the Tully Observatory, where they’re suddenly attacked by mutated sea worms! Once they’re able to calm the creatures down by showing them affection, Fethry introduces the boys to his team of glowing krill. These tiny crustaceans will assist them in getting to his exciting discovery. Fethry and the boys head back to the aquavator, but not long after, something cuts the cord attached to it! The only way for them to get to the discovery now is for them to swim out to it. Fethry and his krill lead the kids through the hydrothermal vents that surround the laboratory pods. Little do they know, something, or someone, rather, is lurking…
The group make it safely to the Dream Room and Fethry gets ready to finally show Huey and Dewey the amazing thing he found. He hesitates a bit a first by offering them them food; to make his family feel at home and get comfortable, but the kids don’t care about any of those things, they want to see his discovery NOW! It turns out, Fethry called them all the way over from Duckburg...and took them all the way to the bottom of the ocean...just to see a bunch of rainbow krill. This reveal doesn't sit well with the boys at all, especially Huey: “We trusted you! Came all the way down here! We got attacked by a squid! I kissed a worm!” It was all a big waste of time, just like their uncles had warned them...Dewey orders his cousin to take them back to the lighthouse, when suddenly, a giant glowing monster appears in front of the pod window!
The trio desperately swim out and make their way to the aquavator as the vents destroy the laboratory around them. Once they make it, Huey fusses at his older relative again, “You lured us down here to get devoured by a monster. Thanks!” Fethry is saddened by this accusation; that wasn't his intention at all. While the brothers devise a plan to ward off the monster, Fethry begins to notice something very familiar about the creature...it’s not a monster, it’s Mitzi! A long-lost member of his team! She was mutated by the hydrothermal vents! Fethry notices that she's trying to help them get to safety, but Dewey isn’t buying it and continues to blind her with the aquavator’s spotlight. The two cousins fight over the device and Huey is left wondering who to trust. Fethry is able to win him over by reminding him about a rule in the Junior Woodchucks Guidebook involving how you must be open to the unknown to discover the truth. To test Fethry’s claim about Mitzi, Huey switches on the speaker and begins to sing to her like he had seen his older relative do earlier with his team. Mitzi becomes still and glows in response. Fethry was telling the truth! Something that seemed extremely trivial at first, ended up helping them in the end. The giant krill safely brings the boys back to the lighthouse and swims away into the distance with her old friend.
So...how could all of this relate to Della’s situation?
- The environments in both episodes were vast, dark and distant, much like the moon in space. The moon and a starry sky were the first things we were presented with in “Gander”. In “Depths”, Launchpad referred to the ocean as "the underwater sky" and Fethry later described it as “liquid space”.
- Interestingly enough, in “Woo-oo!”, Donald says “This is the Spear of Selene all over again!” when they’re stuck in an underwater chamber.
- Gladstone needed the help of his family to escape the place he was confined to. Della’s stuck on the moon somehow and might need her family to help her. Fethry was secluded far away without interaction with his family and acts strangely because of his isolation. Della will likely act in a similar manner when she comes back.
- One relative calls for help while the other relative calls to share a discovery. Scrooge looks down at something about the upcoming adventure for seemingly being a waste of time; Macaw was full of distractions and visiting Fethry always ends up being a “fool's errand wrapped up in a needlessly, dangerous adventure”. He was originally in the process of trying to do something else he thinks is worth his time, like heading to the Temple of the Golden Cricket or organizing his office.
- Could Della try to contact Earth asking for help but her call is ignored at first? The mission control center hasn't received a message in years, (Where exactly is it? Was it part of The Money Bin?) he may not be quick to believe any transmission is coming through. What if he doesn’t heed her call because he’s too busy saving money in order to beat Flintheart in the bet they made at the end of “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!” so he can keep his company?
- Will she be unable to relaunch the Spear after she repairs it because of an opposing force? Similarly to Donald’s situation with his houseboat?
- Is Selene, another moon deity or creature keeping Della trapped on the moon for some reason? If it’s Selene, is this part of a cruel prank? “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!” highlighted how Della loves to pull pranks and how Selene enjoyed them. The fact that the triplets discover Della’s blueprints for the Spear in the same episode could be implying part of Della’s situation may be Selene’s doing. It doesn’t make sense for Selene to have never seen Della in years when she’s been within her domain this whole time. Was the way she acted when Dewey and Webby entered her garden all an act?
- There’s been a number of other situations involving possession and being imprisoned somewhere:
- Scrooge imprisoned Magica in his Number One Dime, Magica created and possessed Lena to set herself free.
- Doofus temporarily claimed Louie as his “friend present” and wouldn’t allow him to leave his mansion. (This situation seemed very similar to “Gander”; Louie even wears the suit he wore in that episode.)
- Zeus trapped the family on Ithaquack and forced them to participate in a contest. He later gets a siren to possess Storkules and attack the McDuck Family.
- The Ghost of Christmas Past traps Scrooge in the past because he was fed up over being neglected every year in favor of Scrooge spending Christmas with his family.
- Could any of these cases help give us a better idea for why Della could be trapped?
- The relative is thought to be in serious danger in the beginning of the episode but it turns out they're fine or at least they appear that way. Gladstone was just getting an intense massage and Fethry set up a decoy to ward off pirates.
- Could Della have to pretend not to be in trouble so she won’t get caught trying to leave?
- In “Depths”, Huey and Dewey say something similar to Donald’s statement in “Gander” about the relative getting them in danger.
- Could Della’s rescue put them all in a greater danger?
- Fethry just wanted to show his family his discovery about the multicolored krill, he didn’t mean for things to go wrong.
- Did the krill represent Della wanting to show her boys the stars and ignoring how dangerous the journey was? Both just wanted to spend time with their family; Fethry stalled before he uncovered the pod window. He’s usually very alone and more than likely wanted company in the process. His adventures were how he bonded with his family, like Della in “Last Christmas!”. Looking for Santa seemed trivial to Donald but she just wanted to spend time with her brother by going on an adventure with him. Something similar could probably be said for her purpose of creating the Spear of Selene.
- Could the hydrothermal vents represent the cosmic storm in some way? Did going through it give Della any abnormalities? Is that why she’s able to breath in space? I've seen comments here and there comparing her situation to The Fantastic Four.
- If not Della, did someone else experience a mutation? If Fethry, Huey and Dewey were swimming around these vents, could they have been affected in some way?
- Someone’s trust in another person gets tested and words of encouragement are given. Louie gave a speech to Donald and felt betrayed by Scrooge giving his uncle up. Huey had to deal with Fethry’s claim about Mitzi. This is also similar to Donald having to trust Dewey with the death trap in the pilot.
- Will the family have to trust Della about something working out? Or the other way around?
- A big reveal takes place: Toad is an immortal being, Mitzi is a long-lost friend.
- Could the reveal be an explanation to why she could never be found before? A bigger reason why she took the Spear?
- Does Della reunite with an unexpected friend from her past?
- Elements from the earlier half of the episode come back into play in the latter. Gladstone getting distracted by a twenty dollar bill and Fethry singing to the krill.
- Something that was previously believed as trivial will have significance in saving the day? (This sounds reminiscent of Launchpad starting the burrito-based uprising in “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!”)
- Huey, Dewey and Launchpad stole the sub like Della took the the Spear.
- Will a spacecraft be stolen in order to save Della? And could it be done behind Scrooge and/or Donald's back?
- Whenever Launchpad is part of the main action of a story, Donald tends to get pushed back. When Donald's part of the main action of a story, Launchpad tends to get pushed back. (This also occurs when a Duck Cousin is in focus and whenever Storkules is present.) If Donald was involved in the main action of “Woo-oo!”'s Atlantis-half and if parts of that situation were meant to mirror what could happen with Della's rescue, can we expect a flip where Launchpad is in focus during the space adventure while Donald gets pushed back somehow? Is that what his absence from the news report in the Season 1 finale was alluding to?
- At the end of the episode, one relative rides away on a yacht while the other rides away on a giant krill.
- The family rides back home reunited in a spacecraft?
- “The House of the Lucky Gander!” (home is on land), “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” (deep in the sea)
- Can we expect a title along the lines of “The Heights of Della Duck!”? (high in the sky?)
- Since both “Gander” and “Depths” premiered in October, could we expect another episode that follows the formula to be aired in that month as well? Or did the Disney Channel move affect when “Depths” aired?
The Featured Relative is Compared to One of The Kids
When Louie begins to hang out with Gladstone in “Gander”, he remarks “I love this kid! He's like me, but shorter, with a cheaper haircut.” Both characters also wear green, are easy-going, savvy and lazy. In “Depths”, Dewey points out that both Fethry and Huey are eccentric nerds who follow the Junior Woodchuck guidebook and wear red caps that they never take off.
When thinking about which child could end up being compared to Della, I originally thought of Webby. While she isn't a blood relative, she's still treated as family and shares similar personality traits and interests with Della. If Webby took off her bow, she would even look similar to what Della used to look like when she was younger. I've been theorizing that Della will be pretty withdrawn after being isolated for so long. When she gets back, it could be like Webby's situation but sorta in reverse: Della doesn't want to explore anymore, she wants to stay in the mansion. She'll also feel out of place like Webby: her brother is more of a parent than she is and so much has changed since she left. I think the whole family will try to help her readjust, but Webby might be able to relate best to what she's feeling.
In spite of this, I'm starting to believe the next child to be featured in a “Gander” styled episode will be Dewey. There have already been comparisons between him and his mother. Scrooge, Donald and Selene are all reminded of Della's feisty demeanor and recklessness through Dewey's behavior. He was the one to discover the ripped painting in the garage and got the Della Mystery started. If a space trip is planned in the future, he would very likely be the main kid in focus.
I wanted to avoid suggesting him because according to the formula, the kid that gets compared to the relative ends up having the next season's main arc dedicated to them and Dewey already had that in the first season...but who's to say there won't be another episode to follow the formula next season with Webby? Both kids are like Della, so could there be two similarly structured episodes highlighting this?
Dewey Wants to Name Something After Himself
In “Gander”, Toad Liu Hai offers Dewey a jade tiger. Once Scrooge allows him to keep it, he names it Dewey Jr. In “Depths”, Dewey desperately wants to name a new species of sea-life after himself and constantly comes up with variations of his name like “Dewfish” and “The Dewnificent Krilldabeast”. If the family goes to space, maybe he'll want to name a star, some sort of alien creature or the vessel they're traveling in.
If the formula decides to stray a bit from this element, could we possibly expect something else involving his name? The kids were given nicknames in both episodes: Gladstone referred to Louie as “Lou” and Fethry collectively referred to Huey and Dewey as “Little Donalds”. Maybe Della jokingly refers to Dewey as “Bluey” because of his time travel adventure in “Last Christmas!”.
Launchpad Goes on His Own Adventure Involving Someone He Previously Dated
In “Gander”, Launchpad makes a rough, water landing with the Sunchaser, but he doesn't crash like he usually does. When the family disembark from the plane, LP reveals that he wasn't planning on entering the hotel with them. He motions towards a starry patch in the sky over the city and tries to explain to Scrooge that he has an old girlfriend, named Ziyi, who lives in the area. He wants to go check on her due to the problems she's been having with the local crime family. Scrooge ignores all of this and simply reminds Launchpad to be ready to resume the trip in one hour.
When the family comes back from the area where the hotel used to stand, Launchpad is seen holding the plane's plug door open, wearing Chinese armor. He's covered in several arrows with an eye patch over his right eye and a baby panda on his back. He had clearly come from some sort of scuffle while they were gone. While everyone doesn't seem to care and board the plane without a word, Dewey becomes concerned and asks him what happened. Instead of going into details, LP brushes it off as “tourist stuff”. When Dewey goes into the Sunchaser, Launchpad turns around to the city behind him and says “Goodbye...Ziyi. Wherever you are…” This more than likely implies that he wasn’t able to find her. There's a high chance she went missing due to the crime family.
In “Depths” Launchpad doesn't crash, but he lightly bumps Scrooge's submarine into the lighthouse. He hooks the sub to the railing and gets ready to join Huey and Dewey on the adventure, when all of a sudden, a familiar voice calls out to him: It's Oceanika! One of his many previous lovers. She is seen out in the open sea, on top of a rock; far away, but much closer than Ziyi.
When Launchpad returns to the lighthouse after yet another mysterious adventure, he crawls out of the water and on to the platform, wearing an Aquaman-esque get-up. He holds a trident in his left hand, a couple strands of seaweed are draped over his shoulders, a conch shell is hanging from his neck and three color-coded sea creatures are attached to him; a green eel, a red octopus and a blue starfish. While reuniting with Oceanika, he may have gotten caught up in a fight of some sort. He turns around to face the rock he had found her on earlier and begins to bid her farewell, until Dewey interrupts him: “Launchpad, what happened to you?” LP tenses up and claims that he “ran into an old friend...snorkeled around” and “saw some...sea stuff”. A longer explanation than last time, but still rather skimpy on the details.
What could this information possibly be suggesting about the future?
- Launchpad doesn't crash. He makes a rough landing with the plane and a minor bump with sub.
- Could Launchpad make an even softer landing with a spaceship? Maybe even a perfect landing?
- Many comparisons have been made between submariners and astronauts. NASA Astronauts use the sea to help prepare themselves for space missions and the training required for managing a submarine is similar to that of a spacecraft. There are also situations in which test pilots become astronauts and depending on how far the show runners are willing to go with Launchpad's history, he may have already held that aviation position in the military.
- Since discovering the space-sea connection, I pondered a little about the possibility that Launchpad has already been through space before or at least went through some amount of training required for it, because seriously...how is he going to be this amazing at piloting a submarine, without prior experience? He can navigate it while sleeping and while being blindfolded, but he never crashes like he does with everything else he operates...
- Launchpad doesn't join the first relative adventure, but he almost joins in the second one.
- Will he join the main adventure the third time?
- In his first adventure, LP wanted to check in on Ziyi because she might be in trouble. In the second adventure, Oceanika isn't in trouble they just want to see each other, but trouble might have arose in the process.
- Will his third previous lover end up in trouble? Are they already in trouble?
- LP returns from his adventures showing signs of being in a battle. The first time, he was shot at with arrows and wore an eye patch. The second time, he’s holding a trident and not as worn out by battle.
- On his third adventure, will he have little to no damage at all?
- LP returns from his adventures with a smaller creature or creatures attached to him. In the first adventure, the baby panda was in a basket on his back. In the second, the octopus and starfish were on his back and the eel was wrapped around his arm.
- Will he have another group of smaller creatures with him in the third adventure? Will he carry Huey, Dewey and Louie back home with him? The colors and personalities of the triplets match the sea creatures: Eels are slippery, octopi are smart, a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶f̶i̶s̶h̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶a̶i̶n̶s̶. Ha, just kidding about that last one. Not about the fact that starfish are brainless, but Dewey is impulsive; he doesn't think before he acts. Other possible connections between him and the starfish are how it could represent his desires to be an astronaut-president as he claimed in “Internship”, how he wants to stand out from his brothers and how he resembles Della in personality the most. The starfish is even a shade of teal, like Della’s scarf.
- Something else that could support the idea of the sea creatures representing HDL is that there's a pattern suggested with the colors too. Louie is missing where green should go.
- Could Louie have been represented by the baby panda? He’s the “baby” of the trio and his voice actor plays Panda on We Bare Bears. DuckTales was still in development when that show premiered.
- When Dewey asked LP what happened, he is given a description that mirrors what occurred on the relative adventure. At first, a short explanation was given. The second time it's a little longer.
- Will we get a more detailed explanation the third time? Or will the situation speak for itself?
- Going out to help Ziyi mirrored Gladstone’s call for help. Getting beat up at the end of his adventure mirrored Donald getting worn out by the obstacle course.
- Was Ziyi possibly being held captive by the crime family like Gladstone was with Toad?
- In “Gander”, Dewey, a child, took care of an adult animal, the jade tiger, while LP, an adult, took care of a child, the panda.
- When Launchpad rose out of the water with a serious expression at the end of “Depths”, it kinda mirrors how Dewey looked when he was upset over Huey disrupting his bath in the beginning of the episode. Dewey was expressing how he wanted to see something exciting happen and Launchpad ends up coming from something exciting. (Kinda like how Huey licked the tree stump in the beginning of the episode and Fethry later licked the rust in the aquavator...ew.)
- Going off to see someone special from his past mirrors Fethry reuniting with Mitzi. Fethry’s comment about sharing a rib-eye with Mitzi sounded reminiscent of a date too.
- If Huey kissed a sea worm during the second main adventure (oof) while Launchpad’s adventures continue to be romantic based, could there be another kiss on the third adventure?
- We don't see Ziyi because she's far away, we see Oceanika, but she's shown at a distance.
- Will we see the third lover up close?
The intensity of LP’s adventures seem to increase while the intensity of the relative adventures seem to decrease:
- LP’s adventure in “Gander” had less visible characters involved. LP didn’t participate with the family, Ziyi was missing and a short description is said. Then in “Depths”, he’s close to participating, we see his lover from afar, he gives a longer description to the kids and he comes back with more than one creature.
- “Gander” had a more serious threat with more characters involved. “Depths” involved a lesser amount of characters with a lesser threat.
- With each episode, the environments become even more space-like.
These three major elements seem to be leaning into each other and could eventually reach a point where they intersect and even out:
Launchpad goes on a space adventure regarding a Duck Family relative he’s previously dated...?
Ha, if you’ve been following my blog long enough, you know this isn’t new from me, maybe you already sensed it while you were reading through, but seriously...first it was land... then there was sea...and with Della becoming a more prominent character this season, space will be soon. Launchpad’s adventures only occur when a Duck Cousin shows up and the basics always end up being similar to their situation. Ziyi (and Gladstone) could be reflecting Della’s past while Oceanika is reflecting her future; she was lost, but now she’s found.
Something that may be an indicator of these plot lines meeting in the future, is an upcoming Issue for IDW’s DuckTales comic series:
While the comics are not necessarily set as canon, they will sometimes loosely parallel certain events from the show. Like how the first two issues revolved around Donald looking for a job and how that element was present in the pilot episode. “Happy Happy Valley!” seems to be inspired by “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!”. The plot for “The Incredible Shrinking Webby!” sounds similar to “The Most Dangerous Game...Night!” where Gyro's shrink ray got out of hand.
I think Issue 18 could be borrowing certain elements from Della's return with some bits from "Depths" as well.
Let's take a closer look at Cover B:
We're presented with a night sky full of stars and the moon peeking behind a cloud. The submarine and its mysterious owner (who I'm very tempted to call “Subina”), are placed below the moon on the right hand side.
This new character seems to have combined traits from Oceanika and Della. While she’s from underwater, there's a bit of a space-ish vibe about her looks. She wears a teal dress that consists of a lighter shade and a darker shade like LP's hat, so like Della, she too shares his colors. Also, being the helmswoman of submarine technically makes her a pilot...a pilot who has something to do with Launchpad...in a story that gets released a day before Valentine's Day...
And like I've noted earlier, there’s a connection between the sea and outer-space. I believe that a sea theme was used to throw us off but indirectly give us information at the same time. (Like “Woo-oo!” And “Depths”.)
Aside from the mysterious submariner somewhat resembling Della, there's also mentions of her being the cause of a tsunami hitting Duckburg and the possibility of The Money Bin taking a beating from it. This could very well be in reference to the bet Scrooge agreed to with Glomgold. If Della needs to be saved during a time where Scrooge is trying his best to save money, he's going to have to make a choice between his family or his fortune. If he chooses family, he'll end up spending too much money and loose. The natural disaster could also be paralleling some other sort disaster about to happen in relation to the moon.
Before I close this out (Yes! You're reaching the end!), I wanted to mention something that might not support my claim, but I still wanted to discuss it:
At the end of “Last Christmas!”, we find out that Della brought her copy of the family photo from “Last Crash” with her. On the back of the photo are drawings of what look like baby ducks.
I noticed the doodle on the right looks an awful lot like a baby version of Gladstone. Because I mean, c'mon...just look at those thick eyebrows. The curly bang is very reminiscent of Gladstone's pre-reboot hairstyle too. The one on the left however, was very difficult to compare to an pre-existing character... I came across a comment about the possibility of it being a baby version of Fethry. (Maybe the cone shape on top isn't hair, but a pointed hat?) If this is intended to be Fethry and Gladstone, this might be further proof that their situations were meant to reflect Della's.
Another possible explanation for these drawings could be that Della drew Dewey and Louie from memory based on what she could retain from the news report. So maybe there's a sketch of what she remembered about Huey on the bottom half.
I believe it's going to be quite a while before we get a glimpse of what the third “Gander” styled episode will look like. The possible subject matter seems a lot more suited for a two-part finale and we're only six episodes in. Perhaps the beginning of the formula will span over some episodes prior to it, similarly to how “Castle” and “Last Crash” had elements that lead into “Shadow War”. Whether I'm truly on to something with my speculations or not, Della's return to Earth is an exciting subject, and I can't wait to see where it will go on the show.
That's a wrap, readers! Thank you for taking a dive with me on the S.S. Bold De-Ducktion!
TL;DR: We just might be in store for one heck of a family reunion.
˜”*°• December 20, 2018 •°*”~
All that hinting and potential...
tag notes: delpad, launchdad, or at least possible evidence that they could have dated
I'm A Pilot
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