There’s a reason why Vlad is my favorite character; he’s the most complicated of the entire DP cast, oftentimes it's frustrating as it is fun trying to decipher his many moods and gestures. Such is the case with “Maternal Instinct” where the focus on Vlad’s attention for Maddie outweighs his desire for a son in Danny. Throughout, he treats Danny like trash and makes no hesitation berating, beating, and sending large quantities of ghost animals at the boy. Sure, Vlad did all this and more in his first offering, but his abuse seems far more antagonistic then what he later puts out for the kid. Especially erroneous when he later tries to embrace Danny when the child fakes his way into Vlad’s heart.
He cares for Danny in a way a man like him can care for in a surrogate son. His constant push towards the boy can only be resolved with one simple solution: Maddie. He wants her as much as he wants Danny, but in order to gain her, he needs to keep the one obstacle out of the way: Danny. He's a walking mash of intricacy; he adores Danny, but he uses him as his pawn to get what he wants (he sends the ghost beasts after him to lure protective mother into his den). His desire for Maddie is less physically demanding, but partially attributed to human desire to woo another. In Vlad’s eyes, Maddie is a delicate flower--female ghost warrior or not--never in the entire run of the series does he physically or mentally abuse her. And if manipulating Danny is the only way to get it, so be it. After all, she and her son were once close; in Vlad’s eyes, you first get the leader and the rest will follow. If not, Vlad could just as easily blackmail Danny into joining him for his mother’s benefit. Again, he loves Danny, but only in the manner of what he thinks. If “Masters of All Time” is any indication, he has no problem controlling his loved ones; Vlad is a selfish man ruled by a lonely heart. It makes it all the more tragic. In other words, the writers felt to get the Maddie angle out; after this episode, his prime focus is on Danny with the occasional passing remark of flirtations towards her sprinkled throughout.
This episode is a definite mark of family and the episode benefits from the sense of camaraderie the Fenton Clan displays. There are essentially three different types of bond: Vlad and Danny provides the father/son: a highly dysfunctional one at that. Danny and Maddie provides the mother/son which portrays the majority of this episode. Having shown Danny was once a mama’s boy, Maddie tries to make up for lost time by penetrating the separation between the two. Predictably, Danny behaves like a teenager: he broods, he remarks his desire for solitude, he gives off constant death glares, and disobeys her orders. Never mind the very ideal thought that your ma is basically Wonder Woman, he’s taken her for granted after fourteen years of constant exposure. Even more so now that he has ghost powers, abilities that not only raise his confidence, but gives him the power he needs. She’s still a mom, but it's the very heart of this element that causes Danny to see her for who she really is: She’s a warrior not just out for ghosts (which Danny got a nice firsthand look at) but to protect her family. Like some raging She-Hulk, she demolishes the beasts with little reluctance to protect her child. Naturally, this happens when Danny himself was helpless, having lost his ghostly abilities for a brief time, but it’s that short span of weakness that proved to Danny his mother is all that and a bag of chips. In a way, Danny carries much of his mother's protective nature; he wards Jazz's suspicious boyfriend, concerns over her and Sam's lack of relationship, and lectures Tucker's power abuse. For the maturing child, Danny takes another step into adulthood when he plants a kiss on his mother. There will be other embarrassing moments, but from this point on, Danny makes it known how wonderful the Fentons are (he’ll later see his father in a greater light in “the Million Dollar Ghost”)at several junctions. Too bad the mother/son angle isn't played up again.
The third and last family bond is father/daughter. Danny’s appreciation for his mother slowly accelerates his growth. Not wanting to leave Jazz out, the writers gave her ample bonding time with her father where she reluctantly learns the tricks and trades of ghost fighting and also witnesses a parent in action. It’s a basic parallel of Maddie and Danny’s down to a tee, only in a smaller light. It’s just as equally important because it’s another step in Jazz’s growth. Her first impression of a Fenton weapon in “My Brother’s Keeper” and her knowledge of Danny's ghost half prepared her for the trials ahead. She slowly releases her armor, gets over her denial (and ego), and enjoys a part of Fenton culture. No longer self-absorbed in her own world, she takes a chance and explores someone else's and she loves it. Like Danny, Jazz slowly realizes why she is a Fenton: she has much of her own obsession as her father does before her; later she spends as much time researching ghostly behavior as she does schoolwork.
After much suffering from off-model rubbery badness, “Maternal Instinct” returns in favor of the more higher quality, if not stiffer animation from start to finish. Vlad’s movement--especially his hands--are poetic while any battle scenes without the use of still shots are delivered wonderfully. Coloring is solid, though nothing stands out outside of the indigo/violet background scheme. But Jazz in Maddie’s hazmat suit is adorable.
8.5/10
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Article written revised in: May. 25, 2008
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