SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED : SEASON 2 EPISODE 19

SCOOBY-DOO MYSTERY INCORPORATED :

SEASON 2 EPISODE 19 – THE DEVOURING

[Animation, Adventure, Comedy]

This one has to do with a villain that looks like the freakin devil and literally eats people. Dr. Rick Spartan heads back to Crystal Cove to help deal with the problem. Meanwhile, Scooby is freaking out because his girlfriend “Nova” who never says anything is talking about Nibiru. This is not good information since all the gang knows right now is that it’s a reference to a "planets colliding" doomsday event. It’s like right up there with stepping on a leg barefooted. Can the gang solve this latest mystery along with Dr. Spartan before it eats every person or gluten-related food in Crystal Cove?

Art wise this one is really strong. The lighting in every scene is fantastic as well as the background art and even the villain design. I mean he looks like a fat demon, but it’s definitely not mundane or boring.

Regarding the characters, Cachinga or “Charles Wheatlesby” is extremely likable. I kind of wish they had Dr. Spartan treating him better. There is some subtle development for both Fred and Daphne, but a lot of this story is Dr. Spartan-focused. This episode also gets a bit into the Mr. E and Mystery Incorporated as it examines the building friction between Mr. E and Pericles. This is also probably the largest we are ever going to see Shaggy and Scooby get. This episode also clearly took notes from the real-life issues Paula Deen was having but didn’t go into her most controversial stuff. It didn’t stop the episode from going dark especially where it comes to how far Pericles is willing to go for power. This episode does also feature another epic bakery I wish was real.

Fact – Scooby having 3 breakfasts and 2 lunches actually freaks out Shaggy because it means he’s not eating his usual amount of food. This makes Scooby probably the most expensive dog to fee in history.

Second Fact – Dr. Rick Spartan treats his assistant and fellow adventurer Cachinga like crap. Also in spite of being Fred’s hero, he makes up a lot of stuff to sound more awesome than he is.

Third Fact – The Bloody Steak was one of the restaurants destroyed by the Horrible Herd in Episode 17. The dialog reveals that by the time we get to this episode it has been rebuilt.

Oddity – This episode seems to also be a bit of a nod to SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. Shaggy and Scooby have eaten tons of food in this incarnation of this show that I know of and never been able to get fat anywhere but their bellies. They focus on eating gluten-related foods in this episode, largely “bread”. In SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD has a scene where Ramona says that “bread makes you fat”, which may be partly how they were able to explain both Shaggy and Scooby getting so freakishly large. This might be a stretch, but I noticed the correlation.

Best Line – Like pick on someone your own super-sized size! - Shaggy

Second Best Line – There are other demons that have a strange affiliation with food, the Asparagus Demon, the Dairy Demon, I vanquished many of them, the Olive Oil Demon, slippery devil… but as you can see I don’t have any pictures.

I give this one a 5 out of 7. There have been better stories, but the production was solid and it moves the arc story forward nicely while feeling like a complete episode in and of itself.