Abusive Parents at their worst.
DuckTales, boo-hoo...WARNING: Per TV Tropes wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies to Moments pages. As such, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
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General
- In the first trailer when Scrooge meets his nephews, Louie tells him that "you used to be a big deal". Scrooge is then seen wiping the dust off a memento while repeating the line in a tone that makes it clear that he feels like he's been forgotten by the world.
- When Scrooge's manor is seen, the whole place is dark and dusty, clearly reflecting Scrooge's current state. Not to mention Scrooge himself is scowling the whole time when he first meets his nephews until they start excitedly asking him questions.
- Word of God has it that Donald and Scrooge used to go on adventures together but had a falling out ten years ago. This manages to be worse than the comics because while there he hadn't seen his family since Donald's childhood here he kept in touch and had the fun he did while building his fortune but still wound up losing those close to him. On a similar note, don't think about what relationship Donald might have had with his mother, Scrooge's sister Hortense; Hortense gave Donald her Hair-Trigger Temper and married a duck just like her.
- Even worse, according to Word of God, Donald and Della's parents died when they were still fairly young and Scrooge was their Parental Substitute.
- Want to rub more salt into the wound? Donald and Della were the children of Scrooge's youngest sibling, Hortense. If he did indeed raise the twins from a young age, that means Scrooge has long outlived his sister.
- In light of "Last Crash of the Sunchaser", this means when Della disappeared, Scrooge essentially lost his daughter. And with him and Donald falling out over it, he lost both of his kids in one go.
- Just to rub salt into the wound, just like how the boys are triplets, Donald is a twin. No wonder he wants to keep the boys away from Scrooge's lifestyle.
- Even worse, according to Word of God, Donald and Della's parents died when they were still fairly young and Scrooge was their Parental Substitute.
- Tears of Joy example: the original series, the Navy called Donald and he had to leave the nephews with Uncle Scrooge. The nephews were not happy about this, and tell Scrooge they know what it's like to be abandoned. Here Donald is not leaving the boys, and he's determined to be their good uncle. In the theme song, for example, he stuffs them into a life jacket before pirates can abduct him.
- In the "Donald's Birthday" short, Donald gets into a fight with his birthday cake candle. And loses. That is the funny part. What's not so funny? When he smashes the candle into his cake, the cake explodes and sets his birthday presents on fire. His family is horrified, but Donald is just resigned. He's used to being a Butt-Monkey.
- Goldie, Scrooge's old flame, has only appeared as a young duck in the promotional images, while in the comics and in the original show she grows old, the way Scrooge does. Make of that what you will.
- Maybe she is alive, just hasn't met Scrooge in a long time, and will reappear as an old duck only in the second season.
- The reveal of her character art also revealed that she's an ongoing rival to Scrooge.
- Donald's entire predicament, pre-show. Besides the huge falling out with Scrooge, he's a single parent (er... uncle) taking care of three kids while basically living in poverty. He can't keep a stable job due to his anger issues. To top it all off, he's still very angry and resentful towards Scrooge for what happened to his sister. Somebody needs to give Donald a hug soon.
- Webby's life, pre-show. She grew up in McDuck Manor and while she was raised by her loving grandmother, Webby was kept in the Manor for her own protection, but this also meant that she couldn't make any friends.
- Much like Alan Young above, June Foray passed away shortly before her old character Magica DeSpell appeared on the show. Magica not saying a thing during this appearance is quite an unintentional piece of Reality Subtext.
- The lyrics in the theme song "might solve a mystery, or rewrite history" become much more poignant when you remember that Della Duck's absence is one of the main Myth Arcs that this show will address. Dewey sets out to solve the mystery of his mother's disappearance and is trying to find the true reason why his mother has fallen out of favor with his great-uncle by stealing the Spear of Selene.
- Dewey's determination to find his Mom. One can see that he is very much like his mother
◊. - Many fans have wondered why Donald is often in absence despite being a main character. Frank Angones eventually answered on his Tumblr that Donald's busy trying to fix his houseboat so he and the boys can move out McDuck Manor and back to the marina. Despite everything that's happened this season, Donald still wants to get the boys away from Uncle Scrooge as soon as possible and go back to the way things were before the pilot. Even though it's an obvious exercise in futility since the nephews adore Scrooge, Webby, and adventuring and have made the mansion their new home. The 2018 SDCC trailer reveals that he eventually gets it fixed in the finale and decides to move his family not back to the dock but to Cape Suzette!
- Look at the main cast. Most notably, who is missing from the McDuck Family Tree◊
- Della Duck, Donald's twin sister. She's actually alive, but she spent eleven years stranded on the moon before she managed to return to her home and see her own children for the first time in her life.
- The triplet's father is still unnamed, unknown, and unmentioned.
- Scrooge's sisters and their spouses. Scrooge raised Donald and Della, so Hortense and Quackmore died young.
- Scrooge's parents are alive, but are in a Brigadoon-style situation and are unable to leave the McDuck Castle.
- Webby's parents and grandfather are also completely absent.
- This huge, multi-branching family tree seems to just have the core cast, Gladstone, and Fethry left alive.
- Russi Taylor also passed away during the show's run, less than a year after making her triumphant return to the franchise voicing a teenage Donald. Suddenly the fans were very thankful the crew was able to get her on the show while they still could. The fact that the episode she appeared in was called "Last Christmas" is also a sad reminder of how that Christmas was literally her last one.
- There seems to have been a conscious decision to not try to emulate Christine Cavanaugh's memorable squeaky voice as Gosalyn, which itself just brings to mind her tragic untimely death, and how she may well have been able to reprise the role alongside Jim Cummings if she was still here.
