credit: The Mighty Ducks
Welcome to The Mighty Participation Trophies, er, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers season 2, episode 6. Is anyone still watching this show apart from the few fans that are left and those of us commenting on it? To be fair, there are a lot of people still watching the show, and everyone has their opinion of it, but at this point, it does feel as though the spirit of this team is so far removed from what it used to be that it’s nearly impossible to compare the Ducks of now with those who started the franchise, namely, District 5.
Back in those days, the team had very little in the way of a natural skill or even the desire to be a cohesive unit, but somehow they came together after a while and made use of the hockey knowledge that their coach, the formerly reluctant Gordon Bombay, had to offer. The big difference between those days and today is that much of what was prized back in the day appears to have been lost between layers of sensitivity training, a need to validate everyone’s feelings, and a strange desire to inject the idea that heart is all an athlete needs to win.
Thankfully, there have been a few moments during the show when that’s been proven false since heart is great, it’s important, and it speaks of the passion and drive that many possess when it comes to sports. But it’s not everything.
credit: The Mighty Ducks
Alex is still a horrible coach.
Let’s put it this way, Alex is probably very good at something, but it’s not coaching, and it’s not even drawing people together. She’s needed help since season 1, and in this apparently woke era, it would appear that even saying as much could be controversial.
But her need to challenge Coach Cole regarding something he knows a lot about is kind of, well, annoying, not to mention detrimental to the Ducks. Not only that, but the fact that she’s seen calling someone that knows Gordon Bombay near the end of this episode brings hope that she suddenly realizes that she’s in over her head and drowning. It won’t be most likely, but it’s a hope.
Plus, trying to inspire the kids to band together is great, but lacking skill is a huge, glaring opening that the team can’t possibly shore up in such a small amount of time. As for getting salty when it’s revealed that Cole’s team is playing with a handicap against the Ducks, Alex makes it known that she wants team Dominate to play their best because she wants to beat them fairly. Huh, boy, someone wasn’t thinking clearly as to how the original Ducks came to be winners because it wasn’t by whining about how unfair things can be.
If the team ends up winning, then it proves that merit and skill aren’t nearly as valued as they should be.
If the Ducks beat team Dominate then it proves that not only is the writing lazy but that the underdog story hasn’t evolved nearly as much in this case as people might think. It’s fun to think that the underdog can win since it’s possible and has been proven in real life. But this means that the other team, or individual, is arrogant enough to lighten up a bit and take it easy.
Dominate already did that under the auspice of a training exercise, but the fact is that Dominate has heart as well as skill, while the Ducks have one or two individuals that can perform on a regular basis, while the rest of them are mid-tier at best, and have no chance against those train to be the best at what they do, and have the discipline and respect for the sport that is actually necessary. So, to put it lightly, if the Ducks do win, as is expected, the story has become a rolling dumpster fire looking for a wall to smash into.
credit: The Mighty Ducks
Nick is not an athlete, nor is he a great sports analyst.
At this point, it feels that only a couple of the Ducks are natural athletes, and even this isn’t enough to help them excel if they’re going to stick with the idea that Ducks fly together. One thing that has been proven in the first season is that the team isn’t about to break up since they’ve already bonded and should be under the impression that this is a CAMP, not a fatal split that will drive a wedge between the lot of them.
Nick has been the weakest link of this team the entire time, and he’s continued to be that way since he’s needed the most help when it comes to skating, handling the puck, and doing, well, anything. Even as an analyst, he’s not skilled since his ability to learn more about the other players has come down to absolutely nothing. As a character, he’s a walking participation trophy that was never told until this show, which had several various flaws that would likely haunt him until he tried to do something that was bound to yank him outside of his comfort zone.
The change of scenery hasn’t done this show any favors.
One of the biggest reasons to attend this camp was to improve the level of play that the Ducks had already established. It’s easy to say that they were underestimated going into this season, and for good reason obviously, since their level of play hasn’t increased. If this were a regular summer camp without any high expectations, then the season would be great and a lot of fun, but still cheesy enough since it is a family series.
But given that there’s a great deal of competition that the Ducks are not meeting in the least, it’s easy to think that this show has become little more than a plea to just accept people as they are and not a testament to why the Mighty Ducks was inspirational in the first place.
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