Nightmare in Red

Nightmare in Red
Details
Episode #	222
Air date	April 2, 2013 (Cartoon Network)
Written by	Michael F. Ryan
Directed by	Victor Cook
Chronology
Previous episode	The Man in the Mirror
Next episode	Dark Night of the Hunters

Nightmare in Red is the twenty-second episode of the second season of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, and the forty-eighth overall.

Premise

When the Freak of Crystal Cove appears in Scooby's nightmares, the gang has to investigate what's going on.

Synopsis

Scooby is having nightmares with the "dancing man", and Nova. When suddenly his dreams get worse he runs into the once defeated Freak of Crystal Cove—now more scary than ever.

The next morning, Scooby wakes up, and panics to the gang about his dream. The gang shows Scooby a book about "supernatural curses", with a picture of the author on the back; Professor Horatio Kharon, university hypno-therapist, who studied the supernatural. Scooby recognizes him as "the dancing man" in his dreams.

Later on, they drove down to see Prof. Kharon to see if he could shed some light on Scooby's nightmares. Velma thinks the idea is crazy; she never believed in real monsters. When the gang arrived at Prof. Kharon's mansion, he first yelled at them to leave. But when Scooby told him that he was in his nightmares, he let them come in.

When they met, the gang saw that the professor had pictures of "the Monstrous Freak" on his walls, seeing them in his nightmares. The professor kept yelling at them, but then calmed down. He lost "the best part of him", which is the man Scooby sees in his dreams, dancing. Then, he told the gang about "the Sitting room", a waiting room between time, space, and different dimensions. He said that they would find the answers "to whatever it is they need to find" there. Hypnosis was the way to enter the Sitting room, that's how Horatio's "best part" got trapped there. He also warned Scooby that if the "Monstrous Freak" got him in his dreams, he will never wake up. He pointed out to the gang that they need to find the monster's "true identity" and it will be defeated.

The professor had the gang lie down on the floor, in a circle. He gave Velma a talisman to give to his "other self" when time was up. He gave them one hour to confront the Monstrous Freak, and after that, there was no coming back. He pressed a button on his desk, and a big hypno-wheel, lowered from the ceiling, over the gang, spinning. Slowly, the gang were hypnotized into a deep sleep. Then, Prof. Kharon started counting the hour...

The next minute, the gang found themselves in the Sitting Room, surrounded by the "best parts" of other people, trapped there by the cursed treasure. They looked like the old Mystery Inc, Ed Machine, and ex-Mayor Jones. Fred thought that "Mayor Dad" has something to do with the Monstrous Freak, being the one they unmasked. The ex-Mayor Jones figure came to life, and tells Fred that the Monstrous Freak in Scooby's nightmares inspired his Freak of Crystal Cove idea. Suddenly, the Monstrous Freak appears, and the gang scattered in different directions.

Fred then finds himself in the old west; before him stand the Mystery Gang: four mystery solving cowgirls, and their bull, Tiny, who are using one of the keys, the conquistador's helmet. Shaggy and Scooby find their way to Spanish Crystal Cove, where they find Alianza Misterio, the mystery solving banditos, and their skunk, El Fuchi using the mortar bowl. Velma finds the Mystery Fellowship (the Darrow family) using the flintlock. Daphne, appears back at the Burlington Library where the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery have the sailcloth, the fourth key.

Later, the Freak catches up with all of them. The gang get chased to an area where a temple stood; the Freak gets weakened by the light (atop the temple), and runs off. The gang meet Anunnaki Nova, and Velma has a nervous breakdown over things not making sense to her, which Daphne calms her down about.

Anunnaki Nova tells the gang about the very first group of mystery solvers (immortalized at the top of the temple), the Hunters of Secrets. They attempted to destroy the crystal sarcophagus, and the Evil Entity inside with the Heart of the Jaguar. But were stopped when the conquistadors took it, believing it to be treasure. And it was the Hunters of Secrets' intentions, that led to the other mystery solving groups; including the current Mystery Incorporated.

Meanwhile, time is running out, and Fred, along with Daphne, has gone to see his fake dad, who forgives him for what he did, because he wasn't really that bad, and ex-Mayor Jones says that Fred is the best part of him and will be proud of him no matter what happens. The rest of the gang appear and Velma gives the to the Dancing Man, sending the gang and him back to the real world. As this happens, Anunnaki Nova instructs Scooby to find the Heart of the Jaguar to destroy the evil beneath Crystal Cove.

In the conscious world, the Dancing Man rejoins with Kharon, making him whole again, as the gang wake up. Kharon is overjoyed and thanks the gang. The gang, however, are in shock from the revelations they have found out, making them doubt what they should do, but Scooby reminds them of their quest ahead.

Characters

Main characters:

• Mystery Incorporated
  • Scooby-Doo
  • Shaggy Rogers
  • Fred Jones, Jr.
  • Daphne Blake
  • Velma Dinkley

Supporting characters:

• Professor Horatio Kharon ^{(first full appearance)(final appearance)}
• Nova
• Dancing Man ^{(final appearance)(dream only)}
• Fred Jones, Sr. ^{(dream only)}

Villains:

• Monstrous Freak ^{(only appearance)(Fernando El Aguirre's transformation)(dream only)}
• Fernando El Aguirre ^{(final appearance)(main story in dream; also flashback)(redeemed)}

Other characters:

• Freak of Crystal Cove ^(mentioned)
• Old Mystery Incorporated ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Teen Ricky Owens ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Adult Cassidy Williams ^{(no lines)(still figure)}
  • Adult Brad Chiles ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Adult Judy Reeves ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
• Ed Machine ^{(final appearance)(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
• Mystery Fellowship ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Mrs. Darrow ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Darrow daughter ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Cletus Darrow ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Young Danny Darrow ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
• Fernando El Aguirre's men ^{(final appearance)(no lines)(main story in dream; also flashback)}
• Hunters of Secrets ^{(first appearance)(dream only)(statue)}
  • Spot ^{(first appearance)(dream only)(statue)}
• Mystery Gang ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Tiny ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
• Alianza Misterio ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • El Fuchi ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
• Benevolent Lodge of Mystery ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Oswald P. Burlington ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Abigail Gluck ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Marianne Blanchard ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Scotty O'Rourke ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}
  • Mr. Peaches ^{(no lines)(dream only)(still figure)}

Locations

• Crystal Cove
  • Rogers Mansion
    • Shaggy's bedroom
  • Scorpion Wells ^{(dream only)}
  • Darrow Mansion ^{(dream only)}
  • Horatio Kharon's mansion
• Burlington Library ^{(dream only)}
• Sitting room ^{(dream only)}
• Temple ^{(flashback only)}

Objects

• Supernatural Curses and the Extra-dimensional Forces Behind Them
• Segundo Llave
• Tercero Llave
• Primero Llave
• Cuarto Llave
• Crystal sarcophagus ^{(dream only)}

Vehicles

• The Mystery Machine

Cast

Frank Welker	Scooby-Doo Fred Jones, Jr. Monstrous Freak
Matthew Lillard	Shaggy Rogers
Grey DeLisle	Daphne Blake
Mindy Cohn	Velma Dinkley
Amy Acker	Nova
Michael J. Anderson	Professor Horatio Kharon Dancing Man
Gary Cole	Fred Jones, Sr.
Christian Lanz	Fernando El Aguirre

Continuity

• The sitting room that Scooby first went to in The Siren's Song, is a junction between space, time and different dimensions. It can capture the best part of people. Most of the people from Crystal Cove have had their best part taken because of the cursed treasure.
• The connection between Professor Kharon first seen in The Devouring and the "dancing man" first seen in Stand and Deliver, respectively, is established - they're the same person. The "dancing man" is the best part of him trapped from the time he spent in the sitting room.
• The gang went to Burlington Library in Night Terrors.
• The Mystery Fellowship are based on what they looked like right before their house collapsed in Escape from Mystery Manor.
• That Freak is what inspired Jones, Sr. to be the Freak of Crystal Cove first seen in Pawn of Shadows and revealed to be Jones Sr. in All Fear the Freak.
• Fred forgives his kidnapper who raised him as his own which he found out in All Fear the Freak.

Notes/trivia

• This episode was aired in Italy on March 8, 2013
• This episode was aired in Latin America and Brazil on March 29, 2013.
• Daphne announces the "previously on..." recap.
• Interestingly, Professor Pericles isn't among the still figures, perhaps implying that he never had any "best parts" to lose.
• Velma's meltdown when things didn't make sense is similar to the standard continuity Velma's reaction in the DTV, Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King, although the latter was more for humour than seriousness like the former.

Cultural references

• The Miskatonic University that Horatio Kharon is a professor at is a reference to the location of the same name from H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
• Scooby's line "Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in," is a reference to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in the film, Godfather III.
• The theory about the best parts of people trapped 'in between worlds' is a spoof of the theory of the doppelgänger (evil doubles of people in the Black Lodge) from the TV series, Twin Peaks.

Animation mistakes and/or technical glitches

• Danny Darrow's hair is blond instead of brown.

Inconsistencies/continuity errors and/or goofs

• The "best parts" of Professor Pericles, the Mystery Gang, the Alianza Misterio, and the Benevolent Lodge of Mystery, and the Hunters of Secrets, along with their mascots, aren't in the sitting room.
• One would think that Fred would've had already confronted his fake dad after the events of Wrath of the Krampus when he looked after the gang's pieces of the Planispheric Disk.
• Interestingly, Fred was more interested in finding redemption from the "best part" of his fake dad and not his real parents. From his experience with his parents it turned out that the ex-mayor turned to be a better parent all along, but Brad and Judy were victims too who should've also been given the benefit of the doubt.
• Velma finds it hard to believe what is happening is real and needs cold, hard facts, and this has always been her way. Despite the fact that she already saw the real mummy of Friar Gabriello Serra in Theater of Doom, and seems to forget that she didn't question whether or not the Wild Brood or Amy the siren, from The Wild Brood and The Siren's Song, were real or fake.

In other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Spanish (Latin America)	Pesadilla En Rojo	Nightmare In Red
Italian	Il Segreto Del Sarcofago	The Secret of The Sarcophagus
Hungarian	Vérvörös rémálom	Blood Red Nightmare
Norwegian	Mareritt i rødt	Nightmare in red
Greek	Κόκκινος Εφιάλτης	Red Nightmare
Polish	Koszmar w czerwieni	Nightmare in Red

Home media

• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Season Two, Part 2 - Spooky Stampede DVD set released by Warner Home Video on June 18, 2013.
• Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The Complete Season 2 DVD set released by Warner Home Video October 7, 2014.
• Scooby-Doo! Mystères associés: L'intégrale de la saison 2 (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated: The entirety of season 2) DVD set released by Warner Home Video on September 10, 2013.

Quotes

Scooby: (Wearing an eye mask) That scary monster stole my eyes!

Velma: I have spent my whole life believing in facts and clues. But we're in some dream world, fighting a nightmare monster! It doesn't make sense! I want it to make sense! (sobbing) I NEED IT TO MAKE SENSE! Daphne: It's ok. It's alright, Velm. Sometimes you have to not think. Sometimes you need to feel your way in order for things to make sense.

Shaggy: I really, really hate always being the bait! Scooby-Doo: Me, too. It is so unfair!

Fernando El Aguirre: No! Do you not see?! If you destroy the Entity, myself and my men will be set free from this endless curse! We should never be set free! We must pay for all the horrible atrocities we committed, while in service to the Entity!

External links

• TBA

Previous episode:	Series:	Next episode:
The Man in the Mirror	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Season 2	Dark Night of the Hunters