The Dangerous Chemistry of Gandra Dee! is the fifteenth episode of Season 2 and the 38th episode overall of DuckTales 2017. It aired on May 16, 2019 on Disney Channel.
Synopsis[]
With Huey and Webby's help, Fenton woos a punk rock scientist, only to uncover her dangerous plans for Gizmoduck.
Plot[]
During a severe thunderstorm on Duckburg's rooftops, Gizmoduck struggles with his speech against a weather-based supervillain named Dr. Atmoz Fear, before admitting that he is overworked to the villain, before he is ironically distracted by a phone call from Huey. Atmoz Fear tries to strike lightning on the armored hero. With careful precision, Gizmoduck punches the weather scientist off the roofs and a puddle shorts out Atmoz Fear's climate control device returning the sky to normal. As Gizmoduck says he would "rain on [his] parade", Dr. Atmoz Fear is annoyed by his repeated one-liner, before Gizmoduck carries him away, presumably to the authorities.
Outside the Ray's Electronics store, Webby and Huey are waiting patiently for Fenton, and the red-shirted duck tries to make an excuse when the armored duck hero arrives crashing into an alleyway. Fenton comes out with his bag and Webby realizes that Fenton is indeed Gizmoduck. Fenton tells the kids that his only subject is science for the time being. When he goes inside, the brown-feathered science duck is surprised to have gone viral over the news. Huey knows that Fenton is wearing himself down from saving the day constantly.
While looking for beam splitters, Fenton catches the eyes of a brown-haired female bird. Upon learning of dichroic splitters, the female bird says she, too, is a scientist. She also explains energy physics is a great challenge for newcomers. Fenton says he is a scientist and the girl thinks it is sell-out science, and those who do so are "suits"; The girl scientist says she shatters expectations and works alone. Fenton also says he's working on a dangerous project but cannot figure the equation. The female wants to visit Fenton's lab and the latter says he would pick her up at a later time. Huey and Webby are filming this as a "meet-cute". Fenton also wishes to know the girl's identity, while she uploads her info to his phone. The girl then introduces herself as Gandra Dee before departing.
At Fenton's home, he ponders over what to wear for his meeting with Gandra and Huey suggests formal dress clothes. Fenton wonders if his meeting will turn into a more romantic relationship. Huey believes it will be a date, then M'ma Cabrera barges in. M'ma advises her son to be his best version, then shows a suit once worn by his father then warns if Gandra breaks his heart, she would hunt her down, and dismantle her life.
While riding in Launchpad's limo, Launchpad also believes Fenton's time spending with Gandra would be a date and tells of all the exes he has had himself. Gandra, seeing Fenton wearing his father's suit, jokingly calls him the "bad boy of science". Launchpad drives at top speed while Fenton stumbles on whether or their meeting not being a date.
Later, Fenton and Gandra arrive at Gyro's lab which Huey has redesigned to like an Italian restaurant. At their table, Gandra complains the lab is uncouth with Italian decoration. With Gyro locked away, Webby insists that the pair order some spaghetti. Fenton panics but Huey gives advice from the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook that mood is essential to develop chemistry, while Fenton insists that they should just stick to science work. Gandra receives a call from an attention starved Mark Beaks, who is expecting results. Gyro tries to get out to warn the others, but is shocked unconscious by the brown bird's nanotech hands.
Fenton tries to dismantle the Italian setting, as Huey and Webby insist he and Gandra eat spaghetti then meet in the middle for a kiss, further trying to help the two together, intending to end the night with a date picture. On yet another phone call, a frustrated Gandra insists yhat Beaks stop calling. Using Fenton's Gizmo tech, and using it in tandem with nanites, she created an internal booster for Beaks. But due to the system setup of the Gizmo Tech, her nano serum is nonfunctional unless a "blathering blatherskite" recording with Fenton's voice is heard to activate the tech. Beaks, already growing impatient begins to drink several vials of the nano serum.
Back at the dinner table,Fenton tries to pass off Huey and Webby's actions as the results of a gas leak. Gandra understanding such a situation, tells of a nanobot infestation she accidentally released into her apartment building. She also thought a protonic reversal could easily stop them. Fenton, who has made similar mistakes, empathizes, and the two find themselves surprised at how similar they are. Fenton then invites Gandra to do some science.
Working in the lab, Fenton demonstrates Tasty Spray to make olives taste like glazed doughnuts. Gandra removes her glasses and flashes them; having created Eye Buds to make one's eyes work like wireless cameras. Fenton also presents Universal Solvent which can eat through anything like acid but ineffective against the strongest diamonds. Gandra complains that Scrooge could be gobbling the gems in the world, ironically mentioning a gold magnet- Fenton's next invention- which he choses not to show her. Gandra then removes her safety glove and shocks her date with her nanotech electricity. Revealing that she had implanted nanobots in her body, Gandra can channel electricity and Fenton is shocked at how dangerous that was. Using the flow, Gandra tries to get him to say the passcode, but only getting "blathering".
Having only heard "blathering" and overly impatient, Beaks decides to take matters into his own hands. He sets up his music and begins to storm the outer grounds of the lab, hacking the laser turret defenses while dancing, and using his phone. Beaks successfully breaks into the lab using the air ducts.
To show punk science and how "intense" he can be, Fenton shows a paddle ball, with the attched ball made of a syntetic material called Fentonium. After an initial bounce, he explains, the crystal ball begins to build up speed and power. This greatly interests Gandra, who wishes to see the substances' potential, before Fenton stops her from unleashing it. He explains that the crystal is currently unstable, and the ball would tear the lab apart. Gandra comes to realize her date is neat and they go back to the dining table to have their spaghetti dinner. As Huey sings for the pair, Webby senses something is amiss when she learns Gandra is working with Mark Beaks. Fenton is excited that Gandra really seems to like him, not Gizmoduck and the kids sadly break the news to him. Fenton confronts her, but when she tries to play dumb, suggesting a second date, Fenton, hurt, changes into Gizmoduck. No sooner does he transform, Beaks arrives, having recorded the "blathering blatherskite" cry and activates the nanite serum with stolen gizmotech. Having drunk an overdose of the nanite serum, Beaks' muscle mass begins to greatly enlarge, and soon becomes a monster, calling himself Mega Beaks.
Gizmoduck realizes that Beaks has become an even more dangerous monster than ever and engages him in a duel. Mega Beaks withstands Gizmoduck's mallet, but gets pies bombarded with pies, winding up eating some pie tins. The fight rages, with Mega Beaks striking Gizmoduck's armor until he uses the Tasty Spray, which the former happens to show distaste for. Mega Beaks also throws the Universal Solvent at the ceiling threatening to cave the lab in. Beaks manages to break part of the Gizmoduck helmet but gets flash in his eyes, courtesy of Webby and her camera. Gizmoduck gets to a fair distance and readies a missile. It seems as though victory is at hand when Gandra shocks Fenton and sends the missile flying harmlessly.
Mega Beaks kidnaps Huey and Webby, and the angry Gandra grumbles at his idiocy. Fenton calls her out on her hypocrisy, but Gandra tries to deny it, saying she works alone, simply trying to use Beaks' for his funding. Gandra departs, admitting that Fenton is a good scientist, only to be called a crook by a hurt Fenton. With the Gizmosuit useless, Fenton decides to try his Fentonium to save the kids.
Mega Beaks takes the kids to his Waddle headquarters to garner attention. Just then, Fenton arrives using his Fentonium ball to hit Mega Beaks. The egotistical parrot catches the ball, but then Gandra shocks him with her nanobots. However, Mega Beaks repels Gandra as the nanobots will no longer fully work on his outer body. Fenton suggests trying attacking Mega Beaks from within as his inner body is still frail, using Beaks' ego as a distraction. Fenton distracts Mega Beaks with news of his popularity spreading across Duckburg and the world, and the parrot winds up wrecking the phone, causing him to lose focus. At that moment, Gandra charges the Fentonium ball and Fenton knocks into the insides of Beaks; The shock shorts out the nanotech and changes Beaks back to his weakened self.
Huey and Webby cheer for Fenton's victory even without the Gizmosuit, but then Huey, almost having fallen, cries for help. Fenton panics but sees that Gandra has left element notes on his crystal on the paddle. Back in the lab, Fenton uses his Fentonium to recharge Lil Bulb. Gyro is amused at his assistant's successful experiment but also dismayed at the lab's wreckage.
Cast[]
- Danny Pudi as Huey Duck
- Kate Micucci as Webby Vanderquack
- Beck Bennett as Launchpad McQuack
- Lin-Manuel Miranda as Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gizmoduck
- Jameela Jamil as Gandra Dee
- Josh Brener as Mark Beaks/Mega Beaks
- Jim Rash as Gyro Gearloose
- Selenis Leyva as Officer Cabrera
- Tom Kenny as Dr. Atmoz, News Anchor (uncredited)
- Kari Wahlgren as Roxanne Featherly
- April Winchell as Security System
Trivia[]
- Main Cast Absences: Scrooge, Dewey, Louie, Donald, and Mrs. Beakley.
- Dr. Atmoz' appearance is similar to that of Dr. Doofenshmirtz' in "Phineas & Ferb", while his abilities appear to be based on DC Comics' villain Weather Wizard.
- Fenton has a notebook in which he maintains a list of the people who are aware of his dual identity as Gizmoduck:
- Gyro
- Launchpad
- Dewey
- Huey
- Mark Beaks
- Scrooge
- "The mailman"
- "The dry cleaner"
- "That barista at Starducks"
- "Everyone who lives on my block"
- Webby
- This episode marks the third time in the series where a different song was played during the end credits of an episode. The first being "Who is Gizmoduck?!" and the second being Last Christmas!.
- Mark Beaks' Mega-Beaks form is similar to Marvel's Hulk or DC's Bane; the former due to attire and change in size, the latter due to it being influenced by a device.
- The scene where MegaBeaks carries Huey and Webby while climbing the Waddle building is a reference to King Kong.
- One of the TV news reporters, voiced by Tom Kenny in an uncredited role, says "And so once again, the day is saved, thanks to Gizmoduck" referencing Kenny's earlier cartoon The Powerpuff Girls.
- The Universal Solvent originally appeared in the Scrooge McDuck comics.
- Officer Cabrera gifts Fenton with a suit that she says belonged to his father, implying that Fenton's father is deceased.
