Supernatural 13×16
Scoobynatural
Warning: This article contains spoilers from the last episode of Supernatural. Read at your own risk.
You’d think after thirteen seasons- with the fourteenth announced just yesterday-the Supernatural writers would have a more difficult time coming up with new ideas, but “Scoobynatural” has proven that there’s plenty of creative genius left. As executive producer Andrew Dabb put it at Paleyfest several weeks ago: “There are still more stories to tell”.
The Timelessness of Scooby Doo
It was a stroke of genius to choose Scooby Doo as a crossover not only because of their blatant similarities, but also because of the popularity of Scooby Doo among such a large range of people. Since the episode we’ve seen some of the behind the scenes moments with Supernatural stars Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester), Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) and Misha Collins (Castiel), who are aged 35, 40, and 43, respectively. They all attribute Scooby Doo to be an iconic aspect of their childhoods. I am 26 years old and can remember singing along to the Scooby Doo theme song when I was lucky enough to catch it on television. The showrunners created a crossover that the diverse Supernatural family could all relate to and enjoy, no matter their age or gender. Scooby Doo was a cherished aspect of all of our childhoods.
Supernatural has made a name for themselves, especially in the way of strange or quirky episodes that I feel confident in saying no other show could get away with. In addition to visiting the Scooby Doo universe, the Winchesters have also been thrust into T.V. land, bore witness to a musical written about their lives, and even played actors named Jared and Jensen on a television show called Supernatural. Some say the show is jumping the shark here, but the showrunners themselves have made unapologetic jokes about that, the first of which was 4×19 in an episode aptly named “Jump the Shark” where Sam and Dean are introduced to Adam, their unassuming half-brother. This is nine years later, die-hard fans are just as excited about seeing the brothers’ adventures, and the stars are still very much jaded by their success.
The “Scoobynatural” success, however, came as no surprise. Let’s break it down!
Killer Stuffed Dinosaur??
So the opening scene depicts a very large, very green, very stuffed dinosaur throwing Dean around and roaring ferociously as Sam tackles him to the ground. After a scuffle, the boys send the giant dinosaur exploding into bits with a concoction of holy oil and fire. The owner of the pawn shop the plushy had apparently been terrorizing is grateful and offers them anything they want in the store, which Dean gratefully accepts despite Sam’s humble “We’re just happy we could help”. Dean takes it as a win and picks out a flat screen television to take with them. Meanwhile, Sam seems unsure that the plushy is a cursed object like they originally thought, and he’s made increasingly uncomfortable by a creepy dude named Jay that comes in to see what’s going on and, for lack of a better phrase, invades their personal space.
We’ll talk more about creepy Jay later.
“Dude. Be like Elsa. Let it go.” -Dean Winchester
I just love that even after all this time, we’re finding out little details about Dean Winchester that kind of help us to break down that hypermasculinity he’s accused of having. This is one moment of many in this episode in which Dean is unapologetically liking the things he likes, and not caring what Sam thinks when he inevitably calls him out on it.
Sam and Dean in the Dean Cave© 2018 The CW Network, LLC All Rights Reserved
Back at the bunker, Sam is still unconvinced that the giant plushy was a cursed object, reiterating this concern to Dean over and over. Dean brushes it off, utters his Elsa line, and excitedly introduces his little brother to his “Dean Cave” or “Fortress of Deanitude”, which of course has a foosball table, a classic vinyl jukebox, two (plaid, of course) recliners, and their brand new TV. Dean turns on the television with dramatic fanfare, but instead of turning on there’s an electrifying purple light that promptly sucks them both into the TV!
Ruh-Roh!
They realize quickly that they’re in a cartoon, but it takes seeing the Mystery Machine parked outside a malt shop for them to recognize the cartoon as Scooby Doo. Also, sidebar: the animator did not miss a single detail, beautifully nailing Dean’s features and Sam’s signature “bitchfaces”. The gang is celebrating because Scooby stands to inherit money from the late Colonel Sanders whom he once rescued from drowning. Fred makes the typical mystery declaration and Dean offers for them to tag along, so the gang and the Winchesters head to the old Sanders mansion to meet Sanders’ attorney, Cosgood Creeps. Dean immediately recognizes this as the old 1969 episode, “A Night of Fright is No Delight”. Inside the mansion, Creeps plays an old vinyl recording of Colonel Sanders last testament. It offers Scooby and four of his family members an equal share of one million dollars if they make it through the night at his haunted mansion.
Daphne and Dean© 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc
It’s declared bedtime when the clock strikes 10 p.m., and Dean offers to bunk with Daphne, to which she lightheartedly replies, “Oh, Dean! Boys and girls don’t sleep in the same room, silly!” This, of course, comes right after Dean delivers a line to Sam about the Scooby gang being “innocent, pure, and good” and their need to maintain their innocence. Dean, as expected, is enamored with Daphne, and while the flirting is at times a little gratuitous, it fits nicely within the realm of Scooby Doo and its style of over-exaggeration and had me laughing out loud and covering my face in embarrassment.
Zoinks!
Daphne and Velma bunk together and Daphne calls her out for being interested in the “big lug” type while she gripes about Sam and his “linebacker shoulders”. Dean enters the room he’s sharing with Sam, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby in what he describes as a “sleeping robe”, which looks suspiciously like a nightgown. And score two for Dean being his unapologetic self and making me giggle when he equates the robe to being “wrapped in hugs”. Shortly after settling in, Cousin Simple is murdered and we get to hear all the melodramatic catchphrases from the gang, as well as Dean’s classic “Son of a bitch!” The boys come to the realization that they could all actually die in the cartoon, and they resolve to make sure everyone in the Scooby gang stay safe.
Castiel, Cartoon Angel of the Lord
Cas, Shaggy, and Scooby© 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
In true Castiel fashion, he makes a memorable entrance, stumbling into the middle of the room through large french doors as a thunderstorm rumbles in the background. He explains he’s been following them for a while, having been sucked into the TV after returning from Syria with fruit from the Tree of Life. The show cuts back to live action where Castiel is returning to the bunker, admits to the possibility that he’s now married to the queen of the djinn that were guarding the tree, and ends up in the Dean Cave. Here he sees Dean challenging Fred to a street race, and Castiel is promptly sucked into the TV just in time to see Baby and the Mystery Machine zoom off into the distance.
Working the Case
Team Free Will and The Scooby Gang© 2018 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
The second body is found, and Fred suggests that they all split up to look for clues. Dean teams up with Fred and Daphne, Sam and Velma go check out the attic, and Castiel tags along with the lovable Scooby and Shaggy (my favorite collaboration besides Team Free Will themselves). Just before Dean almost slips up and reveals to Daphne and Fred that they’re in a cartoon, but they’re sent free-falling into a secret passageway that leads them straight to the phantom. Cue the traditional Scooby running sound effects and multiple-door-slamming “Scooby Dooby Doo, Where Are You?” musical montage which made my heart sing with childhood nostalgia. There’s even a small cameo of Scrappy Doo!
The phantom appears to them again and tosses the gang around, throwing Fred up against a wall, and Shaggy out the window. Sam and Dean grab iron candlesticks as the phantom levitates Daphne and Velma against the ceiling. They stab the phantom in the back and he shrieks and disappears, but Shaggy is still in danger! He falls from the balcony and Scooby jumps after him, followed by Castiel and his life-saving trench coat that helps get them all safely to the ground. Shaggy breaks his arm, and Sam and Dean tell the gang the truth about the supernatural, which elicits something of an existential crisis from the once-wholesome gang. Dean pulls out one of his signature inspirational speeches, and they all quickly band together again to formulate a plan to catch the phantom.
We’re Gonna Catch that Villain!
Fred devises his typical wacky plan which includes soap suds, a washing machine, and a bunch of coconuts. When it inevitably doesn’t work, Dean calls for Plan B, in which Scooby lures the phantom to the trapdoor in the library and sends him careening down, directly into a salt circle where Sam, Dean, and Castiel wait. The phantom is actually a boy whose soul is tied to a pocket knife his dad gave him, being controlled by creepy Jay from the beginning of the episode. Creepy Jay used the boy to scare people away so he could buy their property for cheap, and he used him against the Winchesters because he felt they were being too inquisitive. It turns out what Velma told Sam earlier in the episode was true: it’s always the “unscrupulous real estate developers”!
In the interest of returning the Scooby gang’s innocence, Team Free Will asks the little boy to help them out. He transforms himself into the bad guy of the original 1969 episode, attorney Cosgood Creeps, and the gang unmasks him. Sam admits they were wrong and Velma reiterates that “there’s no such thing as the supernatural” and our sassy Cas stares into the camera like he’s on The Office. Just before they part ways, Cas heals Shaggy’s arm, and Velma pulls Sam in for a kiss, walking away with a declaration of “Those shoulders! Jinkies!”
Same, Velma. Same.
There’s No Place Like Home
The boy transports Sam, Dean, and Castiel back to the real world and Dean smashes the TV to discover the pocket knife Jay snuck inside. They destroy it and watch as the little boy disappears before their eyes, finally at peace.
In true Scooby Doo fashion, the boys go back to the scene of the original pawn shop crime to unmask creepy Jay. Dean’s sporting a red ascot, due to the fact that Daphne told him she likes men with them, and he’s too proud to even deny it. Are we keeping score here? Like what you like, Dean!
Cas, Dean, and Sam Unmask Creepy Jay© 2018 The CW Network, LLC All Rights Reserved
Team Free Will explains to the pawn shop owner what Jay has done just before he signs away his property, and the police arrive to take him away. Jay is ushered into the police car, and we’re gifted with this classic Scooby Doo exchange:
Jay: “I would have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling kids!”
Dean: dramatic gasp “He said it! He said the line!” clears throat “Scooby Dooby Dooooo!”
…as the camera pans in just on Dean’s face. He’s quite proud of himself, and despite Sam and Cas’s reactions, we’re proud of you too, Dean!
The Unlikely but Perfectly Sensible Crossover
I cannot even begin to properly express how in love with this episode I am. I don’t think I’ve stopped grinning since it aired, and I’ve watched it no less than five times since. It’s the perfect combination of my favorite childhood and adulthood shows. I couldn’t be happier with the amount of effort and detail that went in to protect the sanctity of both shows. This episode is a must watch for Supernatural fans, a must watch for Scooby Doo fans, and a great episode to use to get non-watchers invested. And if they’re still unsure, ask them if they’ll do it for a Scooby Snack.
