It’s very easy to understand that kids today don’t often look back to see how The Mighty Ducks franchise was started and how the initial team came from nearly nothing to being champions that would at one point attend the Junior Goodwill games and take on opponents that were far bigger and much more talented than they were, and win. Back then, however, it was a circus, and as the more talented teams that worked to attain their talent continued to be placed in the path of the Ducks, the team had to get better and rely less and less on the same tricks that ended up gaining them a win. Unfortunately, that same idea appears to have been pushed with the Don’t Bothers as they became the Mighty Ducks, that passion and a moderate level of skill could surpass a team that had the drive to win and the skills to make it happen might allow the weaker team to overcome the skill of the superior team. It’s true that having passion and enough skill to get by can help a weak team to beat a strong one, especially when the stronger team is bound to get arrogant and overconfident, which is the premise that Game Changers appears to be going with, much as it did in the first season. This time, however, the Ducks aren’t just bending the rules to get what they need. They’re outright flaunting the fact that they don’t want to conform to ANY rules. On top of that, the current mood appears to be that when the Ducks meet team Dominate at one point, they’re bound to win because of their passion and their quirky, can-do nature.
The idea of merit and hard-earned skill doesn’t appear to factor into this franchise any longer.
Some might want to think that I’m whining about how the other teams are being made to work at an insane pace and focus only on winning and nothing else, but the point here is that the merit that comes from hard work, sacrifice, and the willingness to do anything to be the best is no longer good enough. Now it would appear that everyone needs to be sensitive to every need that a kid might have, which would be fine if Epic was a different type of camp. The point of Epic is to get kids ready for a higher level of competition, and while Coach Cole is a bit severe, the methods being used are meant to get the athletes ready for the rough road ahead if they really want to show that they’re good enough to become a professional hockey player. Like many things in life, this camp is geared toward bringing out the competitive edge in a person, not breaking them down. Unfortunately, since it would appear that the desire of some folks is to coddle kids and let them know that they’re good enough as they are, merit apparently has to take a back seat.
Will Coach Cole and Alex get together by the end of season 2?
The kiss that Coach Cole lays on Alex near the end of the episode is a sign that things are going to change when the final game comes along, or at least it would appear that way. The two adults have been sparring in a verbal fashion the entire season thus far, and it does feel as though they might end up coming together if things go the way they already appear to be going. With Jace and Evan both becoming the leaders of their respective teams, it makes one wonder how this is going to play out and whether or not team Dominate or the Ducks will give way and let things happen as they should. Of course, the script is already written, and the episode is going to show the inevitable that’s already been written, but it would be great this time to see the Ducks take an L and receive a reality check rather than a victory that comes from their sudden need to show that miracles can happen.
Like it or not, the Ducks are still a very weak team.
As much as they’ve been doing, or not doing, at camp, the Ducks are still not a great team, and in fact, they haven’t been a great team in the two seasons they’ve been on Disney+ since, unlike the original group, they haven’t earned that much, and what little they have been made to earn isn’t enough for Epic, save for at least two of them. Sofi and Evan can hang in Epic. That much is obvious, but until she was pushed, Sofi didn’t even want to be there. The fact is that the Ducks are now getting by on little more than heart and the modest skills that they earned in the first season. Barring that, there are only two players on the team that are that skilled, and at this point, none of them are that entertaining.
The Ducks back in the day were easy to enjoy, the Ducks of today are a little too pampered, and it shows.
One reason stands out as to why this current group of Ducks isn’t as easy to like, and it’s because they’re harder to relate to without regard to their race, background, or anything else. They all come from good homes, they’re all pampered in one way or another, and as a result, they’re harder to like. The original Ducks were a mix of kids from all types of backgrounds, meaning it was far more diverse. They had more personality, they had larger obstacles to overcome, and more than anything, they were original. The Ducks of today might entertain young kids that don’t know any better, but other than that, they’re a bunch of spoiled kids that want something they haven’t earned.
Follow Us