'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' "Night on Haunted Mountain" (2012)
Opening thoughts: "Night on Haunted Mountain" was one of the 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' episodes that was seen a good deal later than a lot of the others, for some reason. On first watch, to me it was very well put together, very intriguing, very entertaining and very creepy with a memorable villain and continued to move things forward. Had no doubt on rewatch that it would be every bit as great and perhaps even better, as that was the case with all the previous episodes of the show.
It didn't disappoint at all. Season 2 saw many of its episodes faring even better on rewatch, thanks to appreciating some aspects more and finding more positives and "Night on Haunted Mountain" is no exception. Season 2 started getting great with its previous episode "The Gathering Gloom", after a strong streak of very good episodes with one slight stumble, and continues its greatness with this, one of the season's creepiest and most heartfelt. When it comes to the 'Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated' must see episodes, "Night on Haunted Mountain" is very close to being one of those.
Bad things: There is one thing that did bother me and always did, with there being a part of the plot that makes the gang look like total idiots. That is in regard to where the discs are put, which was plain idiocy (uncharacteristic up to this point for the gang in the show), in a place where they are at their least safe and most likely to be first searched.
Good things: However, "Night on Haunted Mountain" is one of the creepier looking episodes, with an even darker colour palette to usual and one of the show's most mysterious locations. It is especially good in the truly Gothic horror-like character design of the villain. A villain that overall does have a horror vibe and that kind of horror vibe. Adding to the creepiness is the setting, which is enough to give the heebie jeebies.
Can't fault the atmospheric music either, nor the uniformly dynamic voice acting. The writing is a strong mix of smart, funny, intriguing and moving, The Curse of Crystal Cove mystery continues to advance and Hot Dog Water's role was interesting and made me respect her a lot in regard to the disc. Hot Dog Water and Velma's last exchange has a lot of heart, those two have great chemistry together, and Daphne was amusing.
Was not expecting the ending, and apart from being a little derivative of 'What's New Scooby Doo's' "Old Monster, New Mexico" the mystery is a strong one. That is though to begin with, it did turn into another unexpected direction later.
Concluding thoughts: Great episode overall.
9/10.