How Supernatural Fans Really Felt About The Scooby-Doo Crossover

Once upon a time, "Supernatural" had a plan. As Misha Collins, who plays Castiel, told TV Line in 2014, the showrunners created a story for five seasons of content, but when the time came for them to wrap things up, they simply kept going. And going. And going. That's how The CW's dramatic story about two brothers hunting cryptids went through a number of significant changes and additions to include things such as the hosts of Heaven and Hell. "Supernatural" jumped the biblical shark, basically. Clearly, there were times when "Supernatural" overreached, but it was arguably all worth it, because in Season 13, there was an animated crossover episode with the quintessential cryptid catchers.

Season 13, Episode 16 of "Supernatural" is called "Scoobynatural" and it features the Winchesters joining forces with Scooby Doo, Fred, Daphne, Velma, and Shaggy to investigate a murderous ghost. How do they justify it? Magic TV, obviously. They get sucked in, the same way the legitimately evil ghost did. It's wonderfully ridiculous and campy and exactly the kind of media that's going to get talked about. Here's what the fans are saying about it. 

In the Subreddit r/Supernatural, u/AyathanAshwin posted a Tumblr screenshot with a caption that read, "We've come a long way." The screenshot consists of two images from "Supernatural." The first image came from Season 5, Episode 8, "Changing Channels," and it depicts Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) staring longingly at a towering sandwich. As he looks, he says, "I'm gonna need a bigger mouth." The second image is from "Scoobynatural" and it depicts an animated Dean unhinging his jaw to consume a sandwich of similar ilk, only this time he's doing it with Shaggy and Scooby, the very characters who inspired the joke from the first picture.

One of the highest upvoted responses to the post came from u/theblankpages, who said, "As a lover of Scooby-Doo when a child, I was super anxious to watch this episode from the first moment they released the news that the crossover would happen. I was very much not disappointed. I smiled like a giddy child on Christmas morning during the whole episode. And then look at the continuity here! These events happened YEARS apart. I love how Supernatural did this." Aside from a few individuals who were terrified of Dean's eyes being shaded the same color as his skin, the rest of the comment section was in heartfelt agreement with u/theblankpages that "Supernatural" created a winner in its unexpected crossover episode.

But what, exactly, made fans adore the special event so much? 

Several "Scoobynatural" fans on Twitter noted their enjoyment of the "multiverse" aspect of the crossover, which the show deconstructs for comedic effect. As CBR recapped, "Scoobynatural" starts with the Winchesters entering an episode of the classic 1990s "Scooby-Doo" series. The first act follows Dean insisting that they maintain the cartoon's continuity, as the Mystery Gang is clueless about their animated existence. The second act sees the continuity crumbling as the Mystery Gang accepts a dark truth about the universe. In the third act, the Winchesters and Castiel desperately try to course correct the episode back to grounds that the teenage sleuths are comfortable with, thus saving their sanity. 

On paper, it's clever to mash the darkness of "Supernatural" with the light of "Scooby-Doo," but fans seemed to resonate with the less somber moments, too, like the race between the Mystery Machine and Dean's Impala (which one fan seemingly staged in real life) and Velma flirting with Sam, who is having absolutely none of it. Regardless, the latter had @DestielAlways swooning, "I ship Velma and Sam so badly." 

The "Scoobynatural" fandom also came from within, with Jared Padalecki telling Den Of Geek that he even declined an audition for the 2002 live-action "Scooby Doo" film in order to preserve the purity of his love for the show. "I wanna watch that as something I enjoy." Of the crossover project, he said, "I'm more excited for the 'Supernatural' lore to be a part of the 'Scooby-Doo' canon. ... That now there's a footnote about 'Supernatural' when people are talking about 'Scooby-Doo.'"