Supernatural: Scoobynatural

Posted by: Kyle Tetarenko  •  April 2, 2018 @ 11:54pm

Filed under: Recaps & Reviews

Jenkies! Jeepers! Zoinks! Son of a bitch!

After saving a shop keeper from an evil spirit within a giant stuffed dinosaur, the Winchesters are rewarded with their pick of anything in the store. Sam mentions that a reward is not necessary but a giant flat screen tv catches Dean's eye. After getting back to the bunker and settling in, Dean has a surprise for Sam – the Dean Cave or the Fortress of Deanitude. It come complete with a foosball table, two recliner chairs and the centrepiece is the flat screen tv. Just as Dean turns it on, a strange purple colour emits from the screen followed by quick flash of light. Before they know it, Sam and Dean Winchester have both been transported into the tv and are now animated. It's jarring and strange but they quickly notice that the impala is there with them in this new adventure. After pulling into a malt shop, the Winchesters see the legendary Scooby gang sitting in a booth. Sam and Dean approach Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred and Daphne and strike up a conversation. Dean forces Sam to keep quiet about how they are stuck in a cartoon but the gang tells them that they are on their way to the mansion of a man that Scooby saved but has recently passed away to collect a portion of an inheritance – but there's a catch. The mansion is haunted and the only way to collect is to spend one entire night inside of it. This sounds like a mystery for the gang to solve and may be the Winchesters only ticket home. Do Sam and Dean have what it takes to hang with the Scooby gang and stop the phantom haunting the mansion or will they be stuck in the animated world forever?

I think it's a pretty easy thing to say that Scoobynatural was the best episode of the season so far and probably one of the best episodes of Supernatural in years. Scoobynatural understood the similarities between Scooby Doo and Supernatural and played off of those wonderfully to create the perfect fit for the two shows. While Scoobynatural could have easily had Sam and Dean follow the gang to help them solve one of their mysteries, the phantom brought their world into the animated. Suddenly it became a fresh and, at times, gruesomely violent story. Though the Winchesters were pulled into the world of Scooby Doo, fans were treated with a new twist on the classic characters when consequences became real. Even after one houseguest was stabbed in the back, another was dismembered, it was only when Shaggy broke his arm did everything suddenly seem real. The gang panicked and it was up to Dean to calm them down and get them focused on stopping the ghost. Was Scoobynatural a mind blowing story? No, but that also isn't the point. Everything from the cheesy camera shots of the cartoon to making it feel perfectly organic in Supernatural is what made it a fantastic episode.

Even when things didn't make sense in Scoobynatural, it only helped the story. The boys are animated and need a car? Luckily, the impala is there. Having Sam and Dean acknowledge their confusion at the impala being there added to the humour and set up the race with Fred as well as the monster hunt scene when they showed the gang what was in the trunk. It was a strange set up but had a great payoff that even segued into another one of Fred's elaborate traps being a big failure.

Scoobynatural was a great episode of Supernatural and will likely be known as a highlight for the series. If I had one nitpick, it would be that there was no Scooby Snack moment. Hopefully, next week's The Thing will be just as good.

Tags: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Scooby Doo, Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, Fred

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