DuckTales (2017) – Worst to Best Episodes

After three seasons of adventures, the escapades of Scrooge McDuck and his family have come to an end. The show managed to progressively get better, and my personal ranking is reflective of this trend. With the strength of the characters and storytelling, each episode had its own level of appeal regardless of its overall quality. Throughout my rewatch of the series, I’ve been keeping track of my personal enjoyment of each episode. After months of watching the series for this ranking, here’s my personal list of episodes from worst to best.

To see my thoughts on each episode (outside of the top 10 towards the end of this blog post), here are the reviews for each season: SEASON 1, SEASON 2, SEASON 3

DUCKTALES (2017) EPISODES – WORST TO BEST

NOTE: Multi-part episodes are treated as one episode and the episode number is reflective of their chronological order.

69. “The Beagle Birthday Massacre! ” = 7/10 (S1, E5)
70. “The Golden Lagoon of White Agony Plains!” = 7/10 (S1, E15)
71. “Terror of the Terra-firmians!” = 7/10 (S1, E9)
72. “The Depths of Cousin Fethry!” = 7/10 (S2, E2)
73. “Jaw$!” = 8/10 (S1, E16)
74. “The Rumble for Ragnarok!” = 8/10 (S3, E7)
75. “The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!” = 8/10 (S1, E21)
76. “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!” = 8/10 (S2, E3)
77. “The Spear of Selene!” = 8/10 (S1, E12)
78. “Storkules in Duckburg!” = 8/10 (S2, E5)
79. “The Trickening!” = 8/10 (S3, E10)
80. “The Fight for Castle McDuck!” = 8/10 (S3, E17)
81. “Sky Pirates… In the Sky!” = 8/10 (S1, E18)
82. “Treasure of the Found Lamp!” = 8/10 (S2, E9)
83. “Last Christmas!” = 8/10 (S2, E6)
84. “The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot!” = 8/10 (S2, E20)
85. “Woo-oo!” = 8/10 (S1, E1)
86. “The Lost Harp of Mervana!” = 8/10 (S3, E4)
87. “The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck!” = 8/10 (S1, E19)
88. “The Outlaw Scrooge McDuck!” = 8/10 (S2, E10)
89. “The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!” = 8/10 (S1, E22)
90. “What Ever Happened to Donald Duck?!” = 8/10 (S2, E18)
91. “McMystery at McDuck McManor!” = 8/10 (S1, E10)
92. “The Richest Duck of the World!” = 8/10 (S2, E23)
93. “The Great Dime Chase!” = 8/10 (S1, E4)
94. “The Impossible Summit of Mt. Neverrest!” = 8/10 (S1, E3)
95. “New Gods on the Block!” = 8/10 (S3, E15)
96. “Moonvasion!” = 8/10 (S2, E24)
97. “The Living Mummies of Toth-Ra!” = 9/10 (S1, E8)
98. “What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!” = 9/10 (S2, E7)
99. “The Golden Spear!” = 9/10 (S2, E12)
100. “Timephoon!” = 9/10 (S2, E21)
101. “Day of the Only Child!” = 9/10 (S1, E13)
102. “Astro B.O.Y.D.!” = 9/10 (S3, E6)
103. “The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee!” = 9/10 (S2, E15)
104. “The Most Dangerous Game… Night!” = 9/10 (S2, E1)
105. “From the Confidential Casefiles of Agent 22!” = 9/10 (S1, E17)
106. “Daytrip of Doom!” = 9/10 (S1, E2)
107. “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!” = 9/10 (S3, E1)
108. “The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades!” = 9/10 (S3, E11)
109. “Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!” = 9/10 (S3, E3)
110. “Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” = 9/10 (S2, E13)
111. “The 87 Cent Solution!” = 9/10 (S2, E11)
112. “The House of the Lucky Gander!” = 9/10 (S1, E6)
113. “Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!” = 9/10 (S2, E14)
114. “Friendship Hates Magic!” = 9/10 (S2, E8)
115. “Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!” = 9/10 (S2, E17)
116. “The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!” = 9/10 (S3, E20)
117. “The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks!” = 9/10 (S1, E7)
118. “The Missing Links of Moorshire!” = 9/10 (S1, E11)
119. “The First Adventure!” = 9/10 (S3, E16)
120. “Who is Gizmoduck?!” = 9/10 (S1, E20)
121. “How Santa Stole Christmas!” = 9/10 (S3, E18)
122. “The Phantom and the Sorceress!” = 9/10 (S3, E8)
123. “They Put a Moonlander on the Earth!” = 9/10 (S3, E9)
124. “The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck!” = 9/10 (S3, E21)
125. “GlomTales!” = 9/10 (S2, E22)
126. “Escape from the ImpossiBin!” = 9/10 (S3, E13)
127. “The Split Sword of Swanstantine!” = 9/10 (S3, E14)
128. “Beaks in the Shell!” = 9/10 (S3, E19)
129. “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!” = 9/10 (S2, E19)
130. “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!” = 10/10 (S1, E14)
131. “The Shadow War!” = 10/10 (S1, E23)
132. “Quack Pack!” = 10/10 (S3, E2)
133. “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!” = 10/10 (S2, E4)
134. “Louie’s Eleven!” = 10/10 (S3, E5)
135. “Let’s Get Dangerous!” = 10/10 (S3, E12)
136. “The Duck Knight Returns!” = 10/10 (S2, E16)
137. “The Last Adventure!” = 10/10 (S3, E22)

TOP 10 DUCKTALES (2017) EPISODES

10. “Beaks in the Shell!” = 9/10

Fenton and Gandra’s relationship really gets to bloom in a literal and figurative sense, while Mark Beaks makes his final attempt at maintaining relevancy. This episode contains some of the funniest moments in the series, especially from Huey and Fenton’s attempts at keeping the Gizmocloud project a secret. Gandra’s backstory is very touching and heartbreaking as it adds an extra layer to her connection with Fenton. As Mark Beaks became successful through manipulation and stealing, he’s fittingly pitted against the smartest people of Duckburg in a creative battle of wits.

9. “A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!” = 9/10

Having both sets of trios in this episode makes for an interesting adventure that is quite literally character-driven. The individual dream sequences (along with the dream montage) showcase plenty of visual creativity and humor, and they perfectly reflect the personalities of each character. Driving the conflict of this dream adventure is Magica, as she attempts to get Lena’s magical powers in subtly creepy ways. There’s also a lot of sentimental value in this episode as Webby, Violet, and triplets are willing to help Lena in overcoming her internal conflict.

8. “Beware the B.U.D.D.Y. System!” = 10/10

This episode manages to flawlessly introduce two superheroes to the mix, with the Darkwing Duck opening scene emulating the magic and ambiance of his show in the show’s universe. Gizmoduck also has a welcome update to his origin story, with Fenton’s desire to help others is put to good use with his first use of the Gizmoduck suit. Launchpad’s conflict is very engaging, as it features memorable lines of dialogue and a somewhat unique take on the man vs. machine trope.

7. “The Shadow War!” = 10/10

Season finales are meant to be epic, as this show manages to have an epic two-part experience for its first season finale. Magica De Spell shines as a formidable threat while still retaining the comedic charm of her predecessor. Many familiar faces come together to fight off Magica’s shadow army, highlighting their chemistry and action skills. Meanwhile, the events of this episode would eventually lead to different consequences for the next season. The episode also has plenty of memorable moments, such as the “going away” party of the Duck family and Donald’s intelligible voice.

6. “Quack Pack!” = 10/10

As an homage to 90’s culture, this episode provides plenty of laughs and nostalgia along with one of the best guest appearances on the show. There’s a bizarre enjoyment from seeing the McDuck family in extremely grounded scenarios, and how it would be like if they were a “normal” family. Helping to establish the 90’s tone is Steve Urkel voicing Gene the Genie and Goofy appearing in his Goof Troop attire. When the in-universe fourth wall is broken, the adventure ramps up to the usual level of excitement and a higher level of creativity, along with sitcom meta-humor that pre-dated WandaVision.

5. “The Town Where Everyone Was Nice!” = 10/10

The Three Caballeros are back for another adventure that mixes in old and new elements. Even though the lesson of the primary plot is nothing new, the chemistry between the characters makes the experience worthwhile and harkens back to the simplicity of early Disney films. Despite José Carioca and Panchito maintaining their simplistic personalities, their amiable charm is a nice change of pace from the rest of the cast. The subplot involving Dewey, Louie, and Webby is relevant and highlights the importance of living your life instead of spending time capturing it on camera. There’s plenty of nods to The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos, along with a climax that took some visual inspiration from those films.

4. “Louie’s Eleven!” = 10/10

The best iteration of Donald and Daisy’s relationship, as their relationship is grounded in reality and removes the toxic aspects. One of the best instances of emotional weight in this series is having Donald and Daisy bond over their ability to understand each other (literally and figuratively, respectively). Louie’s elaborate scheme makes the plot engaging, as there’s plenty of twists and turns once Falcon Graves shakes things up. Dewey gets his time to shine in proving his knowledge of trends, while José and Panchito return with more comedic antics and dialogue.

3. “Let’s Get Dangerous!” = 10/10

Drake Mallard gets his chance to shine as Darkwing Duck in this pseudo-backdoor pilot for a Darkwing Duck series. This episode does a fantastic job at balancing the two plotlines, with the Ramrod connecting both stories. Like the original Darkwing Duck pilot, Drake’s battle against Taurus Bulba finally allows him to become a genuine superhero. Gosalyn and Taurus Bulba are updated for the modern age despite their personalities being mostly intact. During Darkwing’s escapades, the triplets have their own adventure with Bradford Buzzard as they sense something suspicious. Outside of being a clever reference, the Solego circuit is a clever interpretation of the multiverse concept. Like “The Duck Knight Returns,” the action is slapstick fun that is grounded in reality. There’s plenty of references to the Darkwing Duck series (among other Disney Afternoon-related ones) throughout the episode, especially during the climax.

2. “The Duck Knight Returns!” = 10/10

Darkwing Duck is fully integrated into the DuckTales universe in what is arguably the best episode of the series. There’s plenty of references to the Darkwing Duck series and the writers clearly understand and respect the source material. This episode is a clever commentary on the reboot craze, as it addresses the people who may feel apprehensive about the changes and the importance of honoring the source material when integrating new elements. The plot does a perfect job at introducing Drake Mallard and indirectly passing the baton from Jim Cummings to Chris Diamantopoulos. While every scene provides a dramatic or comedic emotional experience, the two most impactful scenes involve Drake’s inspirational Darkwing Duck story and the epic climactic battle featuring the two Darkwing actors.

1. “The Last Adventure!” = 10/10

With Webby not getting a season-length arc, the finale puts her front and center. In a similar vein to The Rise of Skywalker, this episode goes further into Webby’s backstory and her true family lineage. Outside of the twists involving Webby, other twists throughout the episode shake things up. Despite the finale focusing on Webby, all the major characters have their moment to shine. The episode also gradually showcases the evil side of Bradford Buzzard, where he becomes more of a threat than the rest of F.O.W.L. by the end of the episode. With his lawful evil personality, Bradford is a nice parallel of Ursula, among a couple of other references to The Little Mermaid.

Just like The Rise of Skywalker, there are plot elements that come out-of-nowhere. However, most of those elements could be justified by events established earlier in the season. More than any other episode of the series, this episode truly highlights the theme of family. All of the characters work off each other to the point where the heroes and villains feel like large families. Like all the best finales, the action is epic, and the emotional stakes are higher than ever. In the end, the McDucks ended up solving a lot of mysteries and rewriting the history of cartoon reboots.