Reviews That I Missed: Supernatural 13.16 – Scoobynatural

How do you do a review for an episode like “Scoobynatural?”  That’s probably why I didn’t do a review the first time.  There’s no critical analysis or breaking down of plot or picking apart the writing.  It all boils down to fun factor.  Was this a load of fun?  Hell yes!  This episode was exceptional from the word go.  

You know, a straight review just isn’t possible.  Let’s do a breakdown of what I loved about the whole thing.  Luckily I have several Gifs to share from this episode.  

The Teaser

There was no “NOW” segment.  The colors in the scene were bright and fun, telling us right off the bat this would not be an ordinary adventure.  Nothing like starting right way with Dean and Sam wrestling a giant…green stuffed dinosaur?  A homicidal green stuffed dinosaur?  

One salt and burn later,  after the burning creature explodes into pieces, there’s some explaining to do…

No. Naw, it was a… Defective product. Yeah, sometimes the batteries in these…giant stuffed dinosaurs just explode.

Hey, the whole adventure scores Dean a big screen TV from a grateful store owner, setting up the next best part. 

The Dean cave!

Or, is it the Fortress of Dean-a-tude?   I do prefer the latter instead, given the closeness between the Supernatural and Smallville cast and crew, and that Jensen was in both casts.  But anyway, WE WAITED HOW LONG TO SEE THIS??  

Not only was it a joy to see, but it was the perfect setup for the next adventure, via Dean’s new TV, aka, the haunted TV. Figures that Dean would pick a haunted item to take home.

Dean Winchester is a child

Okay, we always knew that, but talk about a fanboy living out his wildest childhood fantasy!  I mean, where do I begin?  

Ht finally got to woo Daphne, the girl we’re sure he’s been dreaming about meeting for years.  We got that hint in season two’s “Playthings.”  

Dean finally got a bigger mouth!  

He got to wear the old fashioned purple robe in the spooky house.  Priceless!  

Massive kudos for Jeremy Adams, writer of this episode, for bringing us the purple sleeping robe in real life in season 15.

The mashup of a lifetime

The mashup of each of these shows is brilliant.  Take a normal, paint by numbers Scooby Doo episode, and add some Supernatural paint by numbers horror elements, and watch the sparks fly.  Now you can actually die in a cartoon!  Or at least experience bodily harm.  Good thing Wile E Coyote wasn’t around!   I especially love that they didn’t spare the gore.  The corpses were twisted and bloody.  Definitely not your average Scooby Doo cartoon.  

Castiel: It appears his arm is broken.
Shaggy: What? That’s not — I have jumped out of a biplane in a museum and was fine! How did this happen?

This grim scenario also sets up the perfect the blending of catchphrases!

Grouping of characters

I do wonder if the second this episode was pitched the writers decided they must pair Castiel with Scooby and Shaggy, because it’s brilliant.  They’re all the weirdos of the bunch so sending them off on their own set up awesome possibilities.  

They were so buddy, buddy in the end!  Okay, maybe all the love came from Castiel’s side, but hey, he got something out of it.  

Ditto for pairing Sam and Selma.  The awkward intellectuals of the bunch. 

But most of all, Dean playing third wheel in the Fred and Daphne relationship?  I don’t know how that worked, but it did.  Ah poor Dean, there was no way he was going to woo Daphne away from her long time boyfriend.  Who was not a total pussy by the way.  Fred was actually kind of badass.  Dean remained delusional the entire episode though! 

Reality bites

There’s real danger involved since they’re dealing with a real ghost, so Sam, Dean and Castiel reverse earlier course and decide to tell the Scooby Gang ghosts are real?  It went over like one would expect.  

Velma: So everything you told me, it’s true?
Sam: Mm-hmm.
Velma: Werewolves? Vampires? Demons?
Sam/Dean/Castiel: Mm-hmm.
Velma: I thought I was blind without my glasses, but I was just blind. Oh, how could I be so stupid?
Sam: Uh, well, I mean…

Fred: We’ve been stopping real estate developers when we could have been hunting Dracula? Are you kidding me?! My life is meaningless!
Daphne: If there are ghosts… that means there’s an afterlife. Heaven. Hell. Am I going to Hell?!
Shaggy: We told you every freaking time. But did you ever listen to Scoob and me? No!
Scooby: We’re doomed.

Brilliant animation in this scene on the character reactions! 

Of course, once Sam, Dean and Castiel found the ghost was a child who was being forced to scare, they decided to restore the innocence of the Scooby Gang by telling them they were wrong.  It was just a real estate developer, and the ghost played along to make it look real.  Shaggy even got a real Castiel healing!  Dean didn’t get the girl, but strangely, Sam did!  Who knew that Selma had a thing for big shouldered men?  She found the perfect boy to smooch.  

All is well, back to the malt shop.  

Corporate synergy  

It does help when Warner Brothers Television and Warner Brothers animation were in the same corporate arm!  Often both groups appeared with each other at Comic Con, so it was fitting to do it in an episode.  There’s no better scene to show the marriage of the two groups then adding Sam, Dean, and Castiel to the madcap Scooby Doo chase sequence with the ghost to the famous Scooby theme song.  I could watch that over and over again for hours.  

Did I mention the fun?

Come on, how often is this show fun?  Come season 13, episodes like this were very few and far between.  

I really loved how much Sam, Dean and Castiel were in awe when they came back to reality.  Smiles on all their faces.  They needed this!

The Scooby Doo ending

You can’t close out any Scooby Doo themed show without the Scooby Doo ending!  The boys researched the landlord from earlier after learning he was controlling the ghost and found he was guilty of tax evasion.  Naturally, Dean wore the red ascot while they confronted him, since he realized Fred is cool now.   It was an evil real estate developer after all!  

One that line was uttered, Dean HAD to close it out! 

But, this is Scoobynatural, so Sam and Castiel weren’t buying it.  Castiel had the best response to Dean’s ascot laden goofy “Scooby Dooby Doo” fade out.  

One tiny nitpick

The Mystery Machine left the Impala in the dust?  Please!  That can’t be possible!  Dean clearly shanked it.  

Dean: Look, all I’m saying is that, aerodynamically speaking, there is no way my Baby should lose to…that (pointing to the Mystery Machine). Unless Fred cheated, which he clearly did.

When baby appeared Sam and Dean had a slight debate about why she was in the cartoon as well:

SAM: Uh…How did the car get here?
DEAN: I had the keys in my pocket? Or maybe — Wait, seriously? That’s what’s bumping you about this? Okay, look, are we animated? Yes. Is it weird? Yes.

Other Favorite Lines  

Sam: Great. So we’re stuck in a cartoon with a talking dog.
Dean: Not just any talking dog, the talking dog. The greatest talking dog in history. 

Dean: Oh, man. This is like a dream come true.
Sam: Your dream is to hang out with the Scooby Gang?
Dean: Sam, growing up on the road, no matter where Dad dragged us, no matter what we did, there was always a TV. And you know what was always on that TV? Scooby and the gang. These guys, they’re our friggin’ role models, man. Except Fred, he’s a wad.

Sam: Look, if you’ve seen this episode, why-why can’t we just skip to the end?
Dean: Well, ’cause sometimes it’s about the journey and not the destination.
Sam: Or do you just want more time to try and get with Daphne?
Dean: Do not ruin this for me!

Dean: It doesn’t matter if we die. Scooby-Doo could die! And that’s not happening, not on my watch. I’d take a bullet for that dog.

Oh, and one follow-up from their quest for items to open the multi-dimensional rift from last episode: 

Castiel: Sam? Dean? I’m back from Syria with fruit from the Tree of Life. The tree was guarded by a pack of djinn. I killed most of them, bargained with the rest. Think I’m technically married to their queen now.

Overall grade, A+.  Series classic for sure.  Coming up next, “The Thing.”  I don’t remember that one, so perhaps the rewatch will refresh my memory.