'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' "The Gathering Gloom" (2012)
Opening thoughts: 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' showed major promise from the get go and continued to get stronger with a consistently good to outstanding first season. Despite not settling as quickly, Season 2 is also consistently high quality, with even the weakest episodes of it still being pretty good if uneven. Absolutely loved "The Gathering Gloom" on first watch and found very little to dislike, other than one nitpick, and a massive amount to love (actually pretty much everything else).
"The Gathering Gloom" turned out to still be a great episode. To me, it is the first great episode of Season 2 (speaking as someone who found a lot to love about all the previous Season 2 episodes), one of the best episodes of a consistently solid first half to the season and among the best of the season overall. As well as one of the funniest, in what was a darker and more dramatic season, and creepiest. Almost everything works wonderfully and the only aspect that isn't as good as the rest is pretty much a nitpick really.
Bad things: That aspect being the pretty predictable reveal, the culprit in particular was not a surprise in a mystery with not many suspects and ones one doesn't get to know properly.
Good things: Everything else is wonderful. It is again very well animated, love the colours and the meticulous and more ambitious background detail and the character designs seem more refined. Loved the look of the villain, very cool and creepy. The music has the right amount of momentum and atmosphere. The voice acting is all fine with nobody misfiring, Patrick Warburton is a riot in this episode.
As said, "The Gathering Gloom" is one of the funniest of the season. "No self-respecting ghoul would ever turn down my all American BBQ" is classic Stone, and Daphne's leave the chocolate and the growling at me lines are priceless bangers too. Stone as ever is a hoot and it is one of his funniest appearances. The episode is also one of the season's creepiest, thanks to the hair raising look of the Graveyard Ghoul and the eerie setting. Graveyards always give the shivers to me and here is no exception.
Both mysteries here are strong. The mystery with the Graveyard Ghoul is energetic and creepy and have not seen obliviousness (in regard to the ghoul) done so entertainingly in a long time, when this is a trait that would usually annoy me. Mr E's and Pericles' plan keeps one in suspense and highly anticipating how the plan will be carried out. Pericles also is becoming more dangerous with each episode.
Concluding: Overall, great.
9/10.
Opening thoughts: 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' showed major promise from the get go and continued to get stronger with a consistently good to outstanding first season. Despite not settling as quickly, Season 2 is also consistently high quality, with even the weakest episodes of it still being pretty good if uneven. Absolutely loved "The Gathering Gloom" on first watch and found very little to dislike, other than one nitpick, and a massive amount to love (actually pretty much everything else).
"The Gathering Gloom" turned out to still be a great episode. To me, it is the first great episode of Season 2 (speaking as someone who found a lot to love about all the previous Season 2 episodes), one of the best episodes of a consistently solid first half to the season and among the best of the season overall. As well as one of the funniest, in what was a darker and more dramatic season, and creepiest. Almost everything works wonderfully and the only aspect that isn't as good as the rest is pretty much a nitpick really.
Bad things: That aspect being the pretty predictable reveal, the culprit in particular was not a surprise in a mystery with not many suspects and ones one doesn't get to know properly.
Good things: Everything else is wonderful. It is again very well animated, love the colours and the meticulous and more ambitious background detail and the character designs seem more refined. Loved the look of the villain, very cool and creepy. The music has the right amount of momentum and atmosphere. The voice acting is all fine with nobody misfiring, Patrick Warburton is a riot in this episode.
As said, "The Gathering Gloom" is one of the funniest of the season. "No self-respecting ghoul would ever turn down my all American BBQ" is classic Stone, and Daphne's leave the chocolate and the growling at me lines are priceless bangers too. Stone as ever is a hoot and it is one of his funniest appearances. The episode is also one of the season's creepiest, thanks to the hair raising look of the Graveyard Ghoul and the eerie setting. Graveyards always give the shivers to me and here is no exception.
Both mysteries here are strong. The mystery with the Graveyard Ghoul is energetic and creepy and have not seen obliviousness (in regard to the ghoul) done so entertainingly in a long time, when this is a trait that would usually annoy me. Mr E's and Pericles' plan keeps one in suspense and highly anticipating how the plan will be carried out. Pericles also is becoming more dangerous with each episode.
Concluding: Overall, great.
9/10.
