Written by Nadia Dardon
Supernatural has been going on for a long time now and with it up to season 13, it must be hard for the writers to come up with new ideas for the series. So far in the season, Lucifer is back on Earth, the Winchester brothers and Castiel have been looking after and getting to know Jack (who is Lucifer’s son), and they’ve also been trying to save their mother who is trapped in another dimension. Dean, Sam, and Castiel have been busy, which is why the 16th episode ‘Scoobynatural’ came as a relief to the season.
A Stuffed Dinosaur
The episode opens with Sam and Dean Winchester in a pawn shop fighting a stuffed dinosaur. This scene throws you off completely, but then you remember it’s Supernatural and anything could happen as more ridiculous things have happened before. They manage to get rid of it by using holy oil and burning it, so the owner of the pawn shop offers them a thank you gift. In the end, Dean accepts the gift and together with Sam they take home a big TV.
Now, we also must not forget this other guy, Jay, who has been watching the Winchesters very closely and acting all suspicious….
Into The Cartoon
Back in the bunker, Dean has been working on ‘The Dean-Cave’ and he gets very excited to try out the new TV. However, as soon as he turns it on, flashes of purple fills the room and the brothers get zapped inside.
The brothers have a small freak out moment as they realise that they’ve been turned into cartoons and it becomes very comical with Sam and Dean Winchester being illustrated and having very cartoonish expressions.
Dean’s car is also zapped into the cartoon and they hit the road to figure out how to get back. They wind up parking next to The Mystery Machine….from Scooby-Doo and they realise they have been transported into the cartoon.
Meeting the Mystery Gang
Once inside the malt shop, Dean sees the Mystery Gang dancing and Scooby-Doo eating some ice-cream. Dean gets very excited as he grew up watching the cartoon and considers the Mystery Gang role models (expect for Fred, he’s not much of a fan of him). Plus Dean also reveals his big crush on Daphne.
This leads the oldest Winchester to introduce himself and his brother to the gang. The gang are very welcoming and they explain that they are celebrating because an old Southern Colonel died and left part of his fortune to Scooby.
Sam pulls Dean aside, and he seems to be the only one who is trying to get them out of there. Dean argues that the last time they got zapped into a TV show they just had to play along to their parts (Ep 6.15 ‘The French Mistake’). Besides, Dean has made it his goal to get Daphne’s attention and they offer to tag along with the Mystery Gang, as they seem to have found a new mystery.
The Colonel’s Mansion
After losing a racing challenge between Dean and Fred, they arrive at the Colonel’s mansion. Dean realises they are in ‘A Night of Fright is No Delight’, an episode of the 1970s Scooby-Doo cartoon, and one that Dean has seen many times.
They meet the Colonel’s lawyer who informs them that a group of people (mostly cousin, nephews, and Scooby) will receive an equal share of a million dollars if they stay the night in the mansion and survive as the mansion is haunted. Sam and Dean agree not to tell the Mystery Gang that they are a cartoon and that Dean knows the result of their mystery. Instead, all of them get ready for the night.
The First Body and Castiel
Their night is interrupted when the ghost appears and stabs a man in the back. When they discover the body, Dean realises the episode is not going the way he remembers it. After a compilation of everyone’s signatures catchphrases, including Dean’s, the brothers realise they can die in the cartoon as well. But more importantly for Dean, Scooby could die as well. Castiel joins them moments later as he returned to the bunker and saw Dean and Sam on the Scooby-Doo episode before being zapped in himself.
The Second Body and Looking for Clues
The group comes across a second body when Sam and Dean realise the cartoon is being haunted by a ghost of their own world. Fred suggests they split up to look for clues, but Sam disagrees with the plan, insisting they should stay together so they can keep everyone safe. They end up splitting up., so Dean heads off with Daphne and Fred, Sam with Velma, and Castiel is left with Shaggy and Scooby.
While Velma and Sam check out the attic, Velma makes her crush obvious by making comments about Sam’s shoulders. Sam tries to explain to her about his world and all the monsters, however, Velma insists that monsters are just “crooks in masks”.
Meanwhile, Daphne, Fred and Dean find themselves in the library of the mansion when Dean discovers a clean book in a very old and dusty bookshelf. As he moves it, it opens a trap door and the trio fall down only to discover the ghost. Castiel, Scooby, and Shaggy are then seen being chased by the ghost and it leads to a very classic Scooby-Doo scene.
The Truth Comes Out
The ghosts pins Velma and Daphne to the wall, throws Fred across the room, and tosses Shaggy out the window. Scooby and Castiel dive out and manage to save Shaggy, though it did result in a broken arm. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam use iron candlesticks to injure the ghost.
With the gang’s injuries, Sam and Dean are forced to tell everyone the truth. The Mystery Gang react to the news by having a nervous breakdown. However, Dean manages to calm them all down with words of encouragement towards their monster-hunting skills.
So together the Mystery Gang and Team Free-Will prepare a trap to catch the ghost. They get a lot of salt and weapons out of the car trunk. When Fred’s plan fails, the Winchesters managed to trap the ghost in a salt circle. It turns out the ghost is the soul of a young boy who is tied to a pocketknife.
Jay, the suspicious looking man from the pawn shop, placed that pocketknife into various items so that the ghost will haunt them. The boys promise the boy they will set his soul free and they decide to set things right with the Mystery Gang. They lie to them and let them believe that ghosts are not real and instead blame it all on the Colonel’s lawyer.
After a round of goodbyes and Sam getting a kiss from Velma, Team Free-Will return to the real world. They set the boy’s spirit free and then get Jay to jail for not paying taxes. The episode ends with Dean looking at the camera and exclaiming ‘Scooby-Doo’, just like the classic cartoon episodes.
Final thoughts?
The episode was enjoyable and it was great seeing the Supernatural actors illustrated! It was entertaining to see the very well made mash-up between a classic cartoon and the modern TV series with a funny and easy-to-follow storyline that could make anyone smile. After years of writing new episodes for Supernatural, the writers managed to make a crossover that was fun to watch and made you like the show more.
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