#this one was about a father and his adopted daughter

Wait… they didn’t say the word.  

The word mattered.  Almost 30 years ago the word meant everything.  Gosalyn wasn’t his ward.  She wasn’t an extended family member on a visit.  She was his adopted daughter.  That line in Darkly Dawns the Duck, “now that I’m going to have an adopted daughter to worry about" meant the fucking world to me because no one ever said it.  Batman had wards and other shows had nieces or nephews, but Darkwing Duck had an adopted daughter.  As a four year old adoptee, it mattered that they said it.  It mattered watching Darkly Dawns the Duck for the first time and it continued to matter over the years when no one else ever fucking said it.  Darkwing means the world to me because of Gosalyn. Because she’s adopted.  Like me.  

If I had one fear for this episode, it was that they weren’t going to say it.  And there’s still time to course correct and I understand on some level wanting to complete Professor Waddlemeyer’s arc before they go there.  But at the same time, his open ended fate makes me worried that they’re not going to go there at all.

I don’t know if I have a point to any of this beyond just feeling disappointed.  The show makes the point that Darkwing is a hero because he gets back up, because he keeps trying no matter how many times he gets knocked down.  But that wasn’t the reason for me.  For me it always came down to two words.  

Adopted daughter.