The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers (1×05) Cherry Picker Review

For our review of the last episode of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, click here.

If anything, Bombay may have a heart after all. Underneath that gruff exterior, he definitely cares about Alex and Evan. Meanwhile, the episode helped flesh out the two a little more as Evan’s estranged father showed up for a visit. The episode title is an obvious foreshadowing to that subplot and while it’s definitely a predictable one, it’s still a compelling one to watch. Meanwhile, to break up that storyline, the episode throws in another superfluous subplot about two girls on the team embracing their differences which went as most would probably expect.

The episode started with a Don’t Bothers practice where Alex was improving as a coach. Bombay invited Alex to a Minnesota Wild game. Interrupting them was the unexpected arrival of Evan’s absentee father. Essentially cherry-picking the moments when to be a part of his life, the musician was the cool parent that left Alex as the bad guy who always had to pick up the pieces. Bombay put himself in that relationship by taking Evan to a bar to see his father perform. At least it got Bombay and Evan together in his broken-down truck which was fun to watch.

Bombay saw Evan’s father for what he was but nevertheless, seemingly bonding before their time at the bar devolved into some sort of an alpha male contest between the two, trying to eat the most chicken wings. The intensity of that competition was enough to keep Evan out past the time Alex wanted him back by so she came down to pick him up. Asking Evan’s father for advice on how to deal with Alex was not the best call from Bombay. In the end, Evan knew the kind of person his dad was but that relationship was still important to him. Meanwhile, Lauren (Bella Higginbotham) and Maya (Taegen Burns) had a subplot of their own as the two seemingly forming a bond as the latter appeared to feel bad for the other. Unfortunately, that’s all it was, as Maya kept her feelings from her non-hockey friends. Lauren treated Maya the same when it came to her friends.

Unsurprisingly, after promising to be there for his next game, Evan’s father found an excuse to leave, taking another gig. Bombay was not going to let that happen, pretending to take him to the airport but instead bringing him to the game. His dad died at a when he was young so he was going to make sure Evan’s dad was there for him. This had an impact on Evan as he just wasn’t the same without his dad there. His arrival flicked the switch and Evan single-handedly won the Don’t Bothers their first game while Lauren and Maya made up on the ice and then afterwards at school. Thinking Bombay was just the same as Evan’s father, that changed when Alex learned the truth of what he did.

The episode ended with Evan learning that his performance in the last game caught the attention of the Mighty Ducks coach thus inserting some tension into the equation. Will Evan go back? He’ll surely be conflicted about it but he seems loyal to the Don’t Bothers.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.