A bitter feud between Scrooge and his sister, Matilda, spreads to the rest of the family as Phantom Blot attempts to steal a priceless artifact and destroy Castle McDuck once and for all.
Tropes:
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Like Scrooge, Matilda lets out her own strings of alliteration when she's mad.
- Aesop Amnesia: Louie has a bit of a backslide into his old habits of taking shortcuts to accomplish goals, though he does make the point that he would rather avoid a repeat of their dangerous and terrifying first visit to the castle; plus there are the high stakes with F.O.W.L to consider, so trying to cut down on time and effort searching for the artifact isn't entirely unreasonable. Huey ultimately reinforces this lesson and how it still holds up even under the current circumstances; rushing and going off of ill-conceived shortcuts will often lead to trouble down the line. But, taking the time to do things carefully and follow the harder path will often reap better rewards, and more importantly, keep one alive.
- An Aesop:
- As said by Scrooge:
Scrooge: Sometimes families fight, but the mark of a great family is one who can work through their petty differences to be closer than ever.- And another one: success requires patience and time; rushing will always lead to undesirable results.
- Animating Artifact: The MacGuffin of the episode is the Blessed Bagpipes of Clan McDuck, a Missing Mystery that can bring life to inanimate objects. Near the climax, a number of statues of McDuck family members get enchanted by it and take on the personas of their subjects.Dewey: "Bless me bagp-" ohhhh, that's why he says it.
- Answer Cut: After Webby asks what could have made the McDuck Castle come back early, the camera pans up to the roof where the Phantom Blot is standing with a device sucking up the mists.
- Back from the Dead: The Blessed Bagpipes, if used on statues of a deceased person, resurrects them into their statues as well.
- Bigger on the Inside: Pepper and the Phantom Blot hide in a cardboard box while spying on Huey and Louie, which is much too small to possibly fit the two of them inside.
- Boring, but Practical: Huey wants to follow the instructions in Finch's diary in order to find the Blessed Bagpipes inside the castle of Clan McDuck, while Louie, being the Lazy Bum he is, decides to go for the Mundane Solution and instead to just ask Downy where the magic bagpipes are stored. However, it's subverted, because there's a huge pile of magic bagpipes, and the specific set of bagpipes they're looking for isn't even in it.
- The Bus Came Back: Fergus and Downy make their second appearance in the show.
- The Cameo:
- The Demon Dog makes a very brief pass-by of the Ducks in this episode, but (apparently knowing better this time) doesn't try to attack.
- Donald and Della are seen in Webby's photograph.
- Casting Gag: David Tennant and Michelle Gomez come face-to-face on the date of the 57th anniversary of Doctor Who. At different points, Tennant played the Doctor and Gomez his arch-enemy, the Master.
- Companion Cube: Scrooge's pet hairball Whiskers returns, and it is revealed Matilda told him Whiskers ran away from home, while she actually practiced dye jobs on the ball. Fergus is still very fond of it.
- Continuity Nod:
- This is the second time that Castle McDuck is used as the setting after "The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!", and the events of that episode are mentioned. The mists that hide the castle until parting every five years are also mentioned; the fact that they are said to have parted four years early here means it's been a year since the aforementioned episode took place. Of course, this is because the Phantom Blot has sucked up the mists with a machine.
- Webby's unfamiliarity with family dynamics becomes a plot point again. Like last time, her well-intentioned attempts to resolve a problem she perceives as worse than it is makes things worse for real.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Dewey warns Webby that meddling in the McDuck family feud would only make things worse. Webby's good intentions end up making things so bad that the past, present, and future of Clan McDuck all end up fighting, and Scrooge actually renounces his heritage. Thankfully, they all make up by the end of the episode.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Played for Laughs. According to Pepper, she's the only Egghead F.O.W.L. has ever able to get to willingly work with Phantom Blot finding him creepy, too intense, and "completely unlikable". Until now, Blot just assumed he worked alone because he was Surrounded by Idiots.
- Evil Counterpart: Pepper is as upbeat and enthusiastic about working for F.O.W.L. and with the Phantom Blot as Webby is for working with Clan McDuck. This is highlighted when the two introduce themselves to each other with equal enthusiasm before resuming their fight.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Played with in regards to Dewey's attempt to fake his own injury. Instead of stopping the feud between the family, it only ends up escalating it, creating a different kind of drama than he had intended.
- Feud Episode: Between Scrooge and Matilda, which spreads to their parents and the triplets.
- Flat "What": Phantom Blot's reaction to learning that Pepper not only volunteered to be on the mission with him but was the only one whom F.O.W.L. could get to volunteer.
- Flipping the Table: Both Downy and Fergus try to invoke this to show how angry they are at each other. Unfortunately for them, the table is too heavy for them to flip.
- Foil: Matilda to Scrooge; the latter is a successful billionaire who is The Ageless thanks to hard work and determination, whereas the former flops from one hare-brained scheme to another and has immortality thanks to the same Druid stones as their parents. The best example can be gleaned from the incident where Matilda stole Whiskers to practice dying hair for her "very popular" hair salon. Presumably, she was the same age as Scrooge was when he had his shoe-shining business.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Zigzagged with Scrooge and Matilda. On one hand, Scrooge is a highly successful businessman while Matilda flakes from one hare-brained business idea to another. On the other hand, Scrooge spends almost all of his time away from their elderly parents while Matilda spends half of hers at Castle McDuck so she can care for them.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: No one else but Pepper will volunteer to work with the Phantom Blot on missions because they find him too intimidating and intense. Once the Phantom Blot hears this, he tries to change himself for the better.
- Generation Xerox:
- Fergus's arguments with his own father are virtually identical to his arguments with his son, Scrooge.
- Webby is horrified to realize that all generations of Clan McDuck are arguing, including the "past" (the statues, Fergus and Downy), "present" (Scrooge and Matilda), and "future" (Huey, Dewey, and Louie).
- Holding Hands: A platonic example of this occurs when Dewey tries to reassure Webby that Scrooge and Matilda's fight isn't so bad.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Huey tells Louie that he learned "sometimes doing things the easy way gets results but ends up making things harder in the end" through "being his brother". Louie is at first touched by this, then offended when he realizes the implications.
- This trope could practically be the guiding principle for all generations of Clan McDuck.Agnes McDuck: Nobody fights our family but us!
- This trope could practically be the guiding principle for all generations of Clan McDuck.
- Ignored Expert: Dewey repeatedly tells Webby that they should just stay out of Scrooge and Matilda's feud. Webby's refusal to listen causes things to get even worse.
- Ill-Timed Sneeze: Pepper, hidden under a cardboard box, sneezes due to the dust from the bagpipes, but both Huey and Louie think the other sneezed and say "Gesundheit" without thinking. After they leave the room, Phantom Blot accuses Pepper of almost giving them away.
- Incorrect Animal Noise: Matilda's emu makes goose-like honking sounds instead of the rumbling real emus make.
- Ironic Name: It turns out Pepper is actually allergic to pepper and gets a "case of the sneezies".
- I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine: Indirectly; Matilda McDuck is voiced by Michelle Gomez, who portrayed the only known female incarnation of the Master, known as "Missy", in Doctor Who, although not an incarnation who has interacted with David Tennant's Doctor.
- Kick the Dog: During their argument about which one of them is Scrooge's favorite, Louie tells Dewey that nobody likes him.
- Leeroy Jenkins: Louie being too impatient to do things in Huey's more calculated and careful approach, tries to just smash his way through the whole process. In doing so, he not only makes things worse but inadvertently ends up helping their opponents.
- Manchild: Scrooge and Matilda literally argue like children, including screaming for their parents.
- Morton's Fork: When the bust of Dingus McDuck is brought to life, he chastises his son Fergus for seemingly wasting his inheritance on a huge mansion, but still being stingy enough to only make him a bust instead of a full statue. When Fergus retorts that Scrooge gifted him the castle, Dingus instead berates Fergus for mooching off his own child and attacks him.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Webby trying to interfere with the McDuck siblings' relationship only results in Scrooge going to war against Matilda for her mistreatment of Whiskers.
- Scrooge and Matilda's reaction to seeing a crestfallen Webby and realizing just how much damage their sibling rivalry has caused.
- Mythology Gag: Scrooge and Matilda's feud is taken from the comic story "A Letter From Home". Scrooge calls himself Scrooge McScrooge, recalling a Brazilian translation where Scrooge was called Patinhas Mac Patinhas, while in dub, his last name was McPato, a direct translation of McDuck, currently, McPato is already used in comic book translations.
- Nap-Inducing Speak: Louie claims to be in a "Huooze".Louie: That's a snooze I take while Huey explains boring nerd stuff. [fake yawns] Trademark Louie Duck.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Webby ignores Dewey's advice that the McDuck siblings' squabbling isn't that big a deal and keeps meddling to make them reconcile, which only makes it spiral worse until everyone is dragged into it.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Matilda makes fun of the fact Scrooge needed "family money" to start his business, referring to the #1 Dime which their father secretly gave Scrooge as a child that inspired him to move to America in the first place.Scrooge: Did everyone know about that but me?!
- Parental Favoritism:
- Fergus takes their daughter's side in the ongoing fight, while Downy takes their son's since Matilda breaks the rules about no animals indoors. Fergus also tells Scrooge that Matilda was the first child he called about the problem with the castle, and repeatedly assumes Scrooge is to blame for things he wasn't even in a position to be responsible for.
- When Dewey is seemingly hurt, Scrooge claims that he's his favorite great nephew, though when Huey and Louie object, he claims he only said that to make Matilda feel guilty.
- Percussive Maintenance: When looking at the mystical stones of the castle, Fergus tries kicking the stones to fix them. Instead, he hurts his foot.
- Pet the Dog:
- Scrooge unhesitatingly offers to be the first investor in Matilda's emu farm idea, even though he likely knows it's a silly idea that's doomed to fail.
- The Phantom Blot willingly rescues and protects Pepper after he realizes how much of a jerk he has been and even tries to earn her friendship once they escape.
- Pungeon Master: Matilda jokes that her goat yogurt business "went sour", and that her emu farm will generate "emu-lah" (moolah). She later calls her emu "Emu-tilda".
- Say My Name: Scrooge yells Matilda's name when he storms into her room.
- Seen It All: Given his own experiences with sibling fights, Dewey assures Webby that Scrooge and Matilda's fight is a "squabble" since there are no punches, tears, or parents stepping in. He eats his words when Scrooge calls out for his mother while Matilda vows to take him and everything he holds dear down with her.Dewey: OK, now it's a fight.
- Sibling Rivalry: Scrooge and Matilda's feud has been going on since what's implied to be their days as children. The Duck triplets' own rivalry also becomes a plot point near the climax.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Downy and Fergus attempt Flipping the Table to show how angry they are at each other, but because the table is too large, it's much too heavy for them to flip, even with both Scrooge and Matilda helping.
- Tell Him I'm Not Speaking to Him: At dinner, after the argument escalates into a full-on feud, Scrooge and Matilda start doing this.
- Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: The no-nonsense Phantom Blot is partnered with an Egghead named Pepper who is a happy-go-lucky chatterbox. The Phantom Blot can hardly stand her but eventually softens near the end when Pepper reveals that she was the only Egghead who wanted to partner up with him.
- Villainous Friendship: The Phantom Blot and Pepper, by the end of the episode.
- With Catlike Tread: While the entire McDuck clan goes into a full-blown family feud, Phantom Blot and Pepper are sneaking around the room to get to the Blessed Bagpipes. The problem is that, unlike Phantom Blot, Pepper sneaks in front of their hiding spots instead of behind, until the former drags her away before she can get caught.
