Deep Dive Ducktales: Wes Looks at Escape To/From Atlantis

Welcome back to Deep Dive Ducktales everyone. When we last left our heroes, Webby and the boys’ tenacious spirit, as well as a harrowing battle with an evil dragon, had reawakened Scrooge McDuck’s long lost lust for adventure. To that end, Scrooge decided to take the children with him on an expedition to find the lost city of Atlantis. Meanwhile, Donald got a job working for classic Ducktales villain Flintheart Glomgold, who it seems is also heading for Atlantis.

Our episode opens with what appears to be the Glomgold industries training video where we basically learn that Glomgold is a shady, cutthroat, unscrupulous businessman hellbent on proving that he’s better, richer and more Scottish than Scrooge. After the video concludes, we join Glomgold and his recent hires, whom he describes as “The Best of the Cheapest,” as Glomgold declares that once they find the lost city, he’ll steal the fabled Jewel of Atlantis and officially become the Richest duck in the world. This is starting to sound eerily similar to Rourke’s plan from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, but then I guess some things are inevitable given the subject matter. In any case, we meet the thugs and mercenaries who Glomgold hired, all of whom have hilarious names such as “Gabby McStabberson and “Hack and Slash Smashnikov.” Okay, was Rob Leifeld a secret guest writer on this episode? Who came up with these names? The only one who doesn’t sound like a member of some Youngblood knockoff team is Donald himself, who’s currently on the phone insisting that Scrooge keep the boys out of danger. Scrooge insists they have a pretty low-key day planned… as he’s in a submarine about to head out on a potentially dangerous mission with four ten-year-olds and a man whose only “experience” with piloting a submarine is “I crash crashed a helicopter in a wave pool once.” As Scrooge says, he’s done more with less.

Meanwhile, as everyone’s getting settled in, Louie takes the phone from Scrooge and lies to Donald about what they’re doing, much to the concern of Webby, who apparently is not exactly adept in the art of deception. Louie insists that Webby call her grandmother and lie to her so she doesn’t worry, but Webby isn’t sure. Huey on the other hand is treating the whole thing like a road trip and has prepared t-shirts, activities and even an all sea shanty playlist.

As for Dewey, he’s super gung-ho about the mission and while Scrooge appreciates his enthusiasm, he insists that the lad sit back and watch an old pro handle things. Dewey is a bit put out by being pushed to the sidelines, to the point where he threatens to cram a t-shirt down he’s brother’s throat. Dewey, upon learning that the course Scrooge charted will take sixteen hours, plots a shortcut that ends up taking our heroes through dangerous waters filled with krakens, hostile merfolk and sentient elemental monsters. Huey needs to use the bathroom, but since there’s a leftover monster in the bathroom on the sub, that option is out. Unfortunately our heroes are in the middle of the ocean and can’t exactly stop at a gas station. The closest spot that might have a monster free toilet is a conspicuous unmarked freighter nearby.

Said freighter just so happens to be how Glomgold and his goons are getting to Atlantis, as we see Donald on board showing baby pictures of the boys to a disinterested Gabby McStabberson. Something we can glean from these photos is that Donald has been super overprotective pretty much the boys’ entire life, something that will come into play later in the episode as well as much later in the series. When the intruder alert goes off, Glomgold and the others see that Scrooge has snuck on board. When Donald sees that the boys are with Scrooge, he completely loses his shit and is ready kill Scrooge with his bare hands, something Glomgold enthusiastically approves of, believing that Donald is simply trying to earn a promotion. Glomgold orders his mercenaries to track Scrooge’s sub and follow him to Atlantis.

Back on the sub, our heroes have finally found Atlantis, and it’s… upside down? Okay, that’s new. Apparently, the ancient Atlanteans were so obsessed with building a city full of wonders and death traps they never got around to building a proper support structure and the entire city fell into the sea and landed upside down.While our heroes get their bearings, Webby finally attempts to call her grandma so she can lie about her whereabouts like Louie said. Webby attempts to lie, but naturally she sucks at it and just ends up sounding like a crazy person as she insists that she’s spending the night at a friend’s house so nothing is wrong. While Scrooge suggests they formulate a plan, it turns out Dewey ran ahead as soon as he heard there were deathtraps involved. Also, Donald and the bad guys are right behind our heroes and Donald is trying desperately to keep everyone safe while also not raising suspicion at getting himself murdered.

Our heroes catch up to Dewey who is sitting in the middle of the floor sulking. See, since the temple is upside down, all the deathtraps are on what is now the sealing, meaning they aren’t really that much of a threat, and, according to Dewey, there’s nothing cool about walking under buzzsaws. Scrooge demands that Dewey not touch anything else, but Dewey doesn’t listen and sets off a trap that causes snakes to drop from the ceiling, floor, whatever. Our heroes run for it, Scrooge now thinking that Atlantis was a bit too ambitious for a bunch rookie adventurers. Fortunately, everyone seems unscathed, save for poor Lauchpad who is now delirious from an overdose of snake venom. Yeah… someone should probably do something about that. Also, Beakley calls Webby asking to know the name of the friend she’s supposedly staying with. Webby gives the name Subena, a totally real name for a definitely real person.

Scrooge and Dewey push ahead to a suspension bridge with glowing blue lasers that unleash a jet of fire from the ground anytime someone touches them. Also, Donald just so happens to be on the ground at this point so anytime one of the laser wires is tripped, Donald’s tailfeathers get burned off. Scrooge suggests that this isn’t safe for amateur adventures. Dewey assumes that this is a challenge and goes for it, much to Scrooge’s annoyance. Dewey literally dances through the trap lasers singing a song that includes the worbs “How does he Dewey it” while Donald, using an old shield he found, desperately tries to keep the stupid kid from ending up a roast duck. Scrooge on the other hand effortlessly swings across without activating the fire traps. At this point, Dewey has it out with Scrooge. He’s sick of not being given a chance to prove himself and treated like a little kid. Scrooge retorts with the point that he IS a little kid and has never been on an adventure like this before. I actually really like this since neither side is technically wrong, but we’ll discuss it a bit more later. In any case, Donald can’t hold it anymore and lets the trap go, burning the bridge in the process.

Scrooge and Dewey press on to the treasure room where Glomgold, with a nearly unconscious Donald in tow, has already beaten them to the jewel of Atlantis. Dewey asks who the weirdo in the kilt is and Scrooge describes Glomgold as “The Poor Man’s Version of Me” which, to be fair, still makes him insanely rich. And yet, I bet neither of them have a castle on top of a skyscraper. Actually, I take that back. If anyone besides Xanatos has a medieval Scottish castle on top of a skyscraper, it would be Scrooge. Scrooge trips up Glomgold, only to get chewed out by Donald for putting the boys in danger. Scrooge insists Dewey is safe with him and that Huey and Louie are fine back in the room with the fire and the snakes. I guess words like “safe” and “fine” are relative when you’re a seemingly immortal billionaire who fights monsters and hunts for treasure in dangerous temples for fun. In any case, Scrooge is understandably pissed to see his own nephew working for his sworn enemy, but Donald, in one of my favorite lines in the episode, simply responds “I can’t keep track of all your sworn enemies.” Glomgold, realizing who Donald really is takes advantage of the situation and takes Donald hostage in order to escape with the jewel, setting off a deathtrap that will flood the chamber and leaving Donald with them to die in a watery grave.

Back with the others, Webby gets another call from her grandmother. Webby deflects things by insisting her friend’s uncle who only speaks Swedish is present and to talk on the phone would be rude. Louie says that there’s no possible way Webby could back that up. In one of the funniest moments in the show and possibly the entire series, Launchpad, still in a snake venom fueled delirium, grabs the phone and responds to Beakley in perfect Swedish… somehow. The best part isn’t so much Lauchpad becoming a linguistic savant when under the influence of potentially lethal poison, even though that is hilarious, but rather Louie looking on in slack-jawed stupefaction.

Back in the treasure chamber, Donald chews out Scrooge for putting the boys in danger, insisting that he’s a crazy old man who only cares about his next adventure. Donald insists that this is the Spear of Selene all over again, something Scrooge adamantly insists he was not responsible for. Dewey intervenes and insists that Scrooge was trying to keep him out of trouble but he was so caught up in trying to prove himself that he wouldn’t listen. However, mid-sentence, Dewey notices a large glowing crystal on the ceiling, which remember, is supposed to be the floor. Scrooge and Dewey simultaneously deduce that the crystal is the real jewel of Atlantis, the power source that runs the city. However, the only way for our heroes to get it is for Donald to allow the water level to rise and trust that Dewey will be safe, I.E. let go, both physically and metaphorically. Reluctantly, Donald takes the chance and together, the three retrieve the jewel and stop the room from flooding.

Outside the treasure room, the others are actually doing a pretty good job fighting off Glomgold’s mercenaries. Well, Huey, Louie and Webby are, Launchpad is still slowly dying from multiple snake bites. However, Glomgold is nowhere to be seen. As we learn over one of the thugs’ walkie-talkies, Glomgold has left with the Jewel and plans to blow up Atlantis with everyone still inside. What an asshole! Our heroes make a run for the submarine (the mercenaries bumming a ride) and as they escape, Scrooge admits that Dewey has the makings of a fine adventurer.

On the surface, Glomgold is busy gloating to the press about his discovery of the Jewel of Atlantis, only for Scrooge to arrive with the real Jewel a few minutes later to steal his rival’s thunder. Glomgold insists he has the real Jewel, but Scrooge insists otherwise. Besides, whatever Glomgold has is probably super cursed anyway, as evidences when a giant tentacle drags Glomgold to the depths. Beakley then arrives and says that she wasn’t fooled by Webby’s lies for an instant, but also knows that she’s safer at the bottom of the ocean with Scrooge McDuck than she is locked up in a vault at Fort Knox. I… question that statement, but I guess Granny knows best. In any case, Beakley says, as long as she doesn’t lie about it, she may go with Scrooge wherever she likes. Donald admits that he’s been a bit overprotective, and since the boys are going to get into trouble no matter what he does, they may as well do it with someone who knows how to get them out of it. So, it looks like Scrooge and the boys will be seeing a lot more of each other, especially since Dewey left the engine on in the houseboat causing it to explode. Fortunately, Scrooge has a dozen or so spare bedrooms, so it looks like Donald and the boys are moving in. That’s nice, now can we PLEASE GET LAUNCHPAD TO A HOSPITAL NOW!!

Later, we see the gang cleaning up after the dragon attack and getting settled in at Scrooge’s place. Donald even parks what’s left of his houseboat in Scrooge’s pool. While cleaning up the garage, Dewey takes another look of the painting of Scrooge and Donald from the last episode and notices a torn corner. Dewey fixes it and sees a female Duck adventuring alongside the two Ducks. And so the episode ends with Dewey looking at the painting with an expression of utter shock, recognizing the third duck as his mother.

Escape To/From Atlantis is an absolutely excellent episode and a vast improvement over Woo-Oo, which was already a great episode to begin with. We got yet another classic Ducktales adventure, some truly top notch comedy, some excellent character arcs for Scrooge, Dewey and Donald, a hilarious villain and so much more. Speaking of Dewey, I just want to point out how cool it is that we had an episode that focused on one of the triplets, something unheard of for the original show. That’s another great thing about this reboot, Huey, Dewey and Louie aren’t interchangeable characters separated only by the color of their shirts and hats, but fully realized characters in their own right. Mind you, at this point their personalities aren’t as fleshed out as I know they eventually will be, we are only two episodes in after all, but they are still there. Huey is super organized and follows the Junior Woodchuck guidebook, Louie is the bad boy who lies and cheats to get what he wants and Dewey is the reckless one who always wants to be the center of attention. And finally, the episode sets up a mystery for the series by teasing that we’ll finally learn what happened to Huey, Dewey and Louie’s parents in this show. Overall, Woo-Oo and Escape To/From Atlantis form an absolutely masterful pilot episode that nearly ensured my continued interest in the show. Next time, it’s Webby’s first outing with the boys in Daytrip of Doom.