Danny goes back in time to prevent Vlad’s ghost powers when Sam and Tucker are infected with lethal ecto-acne.
9.2
"Superb"
Vlad returns with another case of ecto-acne, this time which is lethal. In order to get Danny to find a cure, he infects Sam and Tucker with it as well! Desperate because he doesn’t know how to find a cure, Danny persuades Clockwork to let him go back in time to stop Vlad from getting his ghost powers. There, he stops Vlad from getting hit, preventing him from becoming half-ghost. But back in the present, it’s JACK who’s the half-ghost, and VLAD who is married to Maddie! Now Danny must reset his life back to normal, but what would that mean for Sam and Tucker?
Yet another very nice episode came from here. I had hoped to see a bit more, but MoaT was still a great one to watch.
In all terms, the opening was mostly…weird. Jack and Maddie dressing in 1980’s chic was good for a laugh, and both the Fenton kids were IC with their reactions. Jazz especially, since we can already see that she is embarrassed by her folks. Things picked up when Vlad showed up here. I was impressed with how nasty he was here, getting Danny to help him by infecting Sam and Tucker with ecto-acne as well.
I very much enjoyed Vlad (only the first one, though) throughout this episode. He showed himself to still be that bad guy, but also a taunting sense of humor that I find funny. As for the latter, I meant his scenes with Danny in Fenton Works, especially his “I swear I get chills” line. As for the other Vlad, there was something that threw me off with him. He seemed somewhat rude and not very smart as simply Vlad Masters there, but this did give me more thought as to he may not have been that good of a person to begin with.
From the moment I saw what the title of the episode was and after seeing TUE, I had a very strong notion that Clockwork would appear. Of course, a lot of others probably had that notion as well, so that’s not saying much. Anyway, he delivered another strong performance in this episode, although it falls well short of how he was in TUE. He understands how one thing can change the course of time. And instead of one thing in the present ruining the future, it’s one thing in the past ruining the present. For Danny, at least. He definitely could see that Danny had other ways to save Sam and Tucker, but he also understands that he would do anything to save them. And again, I just love how sly and mysterious he can be sometimes.
As for Danny, he was done very well here. Sam-centered and Tucker-centered episodes are both very interesting to watch, but I think I enjoy Danny-centered episodes the most, since we really know about him most on the show, and he’s really the actual hero in it. Again, I love that he would risk so much to save those he loves. He definitely has that vibe of Robin from “Teen Titans” in him. And I enjoy seeing him learn from his mistakes. After his trip to the future in TUE and his trip to the past in MoaT, he should know that it’s just not right to mess with the timestream. And I loved his interactions in the alternate timeline with Maddie and Jack.
I was surprised with how Jack Plasmius was portrayed in this episode. Despite the fact that here, he’s the one who lost Maddie and is living alone, he’s still Jack. Kind, caring, and goofy. But I thought he was a bit jumpy as to attacking Danny like he did.
As for Maddie…well, she was pretty good for the most part. Not a whole lot different from the original Maddie, but quite a bit smarter. But I still thought her knowing about Clockwork was a little strange, but I’m guessing she may know of him from being in the Ghost Zone or something like that, actually haven made a portal that works.
There were a number of funny parts in this episode. I enjoyed Tucker and Sam's lines about him not dating a cheerleader. I really liked when Danny said going back in time was a great idea, then the scene switching to Clockwork, saying it’s horrible, and a similar scenario at the end. I liked what Danny said in the past about the culture and blending in. I was thinking, “Destroy the past? I think somebody already beat you to it.” I thought it was funny that Diet Cola helped cure the ecto-acne, as well as Jack’s pounding on Vlad’s chest and offering the Cola to him. I also really liked Danny’s little punch at Vlad at the end, and himself dressing up at the Disco Night with his parents. Great for a laugh.
And I really liked Sam’s little saying of, “When you see Danny, tell him…” Oh, so close. Appropriate for the situation at hand.
There isn’t that much that was wrong, except what I’ve said already, and a few others. I was hoping for more action than what we got. The only real fights were between Danny and Jack Plasmius, and Danny and Vlad at the end, and they were both short and I couldn’t really get into it that much. Also, I found it strange that Vlad would go to Danny for help with the ecto-acne, since he doesn’t know as much. I think it would’ve made more sense for him to ask for help from someone like Skulker.
Also, like in BM, I felt the last part of the episode was very much rushed. From the point where Jack flew into Maddie’s lab up to the end, it looked like they were trying to get it done fast. But I’m normally able to brush off stuff like that. And I REALLY wish we could’ve seen a shot of Dark Danny, if only for a second as he banged around inside the Thermos or something.
For the most part, MoaT was a very good episode. I expected a little more in it, but it still did a very good job. 9.2/10.