When Crystal Cove is taken over by Aphrodite's love spell, only Scooby-Doo and the recently escaped Professor Pericles can save the gang from the spell and solve the mystery. Pericles says he can make an antidote, but does he have ulterior motives?
Synopsis[]
During a riot at the Crystal Cove High School soccer game, the hideous goddess of love appears to entrance all the students into her spell. Throwing strange flowers around each person, they slowly start to fall in love with everything in town, eventually losing their minds.
The next day, the gang stand inside the hallway aware of the odd attractions between students that would have never occurred before. Once admitting that he never studied for the test, Shaggy realizes that there's a substitute teacher relieving him from the test.
Shaggy went to greet the substitute only to realize that Aphrodite is posing as one. Her ugly appearance distracts Shaggy long enough for her to blow a handful of her mysterious flowers into his face, filling him with the love that the town was filled in.
The day falls through with the Mystery Inc. being infected with the love regaining their relationships with each other.
Later we find Scooby roaming the halls in search for his owner only to find both group of students tickling him and the startling Aphrodite that attempts to bring him into the love with the rest of the town. Once realizing that Scooby is immune to her spell, she demands that the adoring people capture him. Scooby, of course, runs away from the school and into the town who's eerie love begins to grow intensely. Aphrodite abuses her power, controlling the gang to run down Scooby-Doo into the road, but he narrowly escapes into an alley where he finds Pericles, escaped from prison.
Scooby hardly believes Pericles when he claims he's willing to help save the town despite his recent imprisonment and enlists Scooby's help for the ingredients to the antidote.
Pericles guides Scooby through many locations retrieving the ingredients from churches, museums, and mines in search for pewter found commonly in stained glass windows, the ectoplasm of a spirit, and Rose Quartz. After finding each successfully, they return to the school to combine them, creating a green liquid. Thinking they're safe, they're proven wrong when Aphrodite pounds down the door with her minions under her spell that have been demanded to steal the antidote before they save the town. The two finally escape and spray the gang with the antidote, reverting them back into their normal state, angering the people in the love. Angel Dynamite, who states she has no sense of smell, drives the Mystery Machine to their rescue from the attacking town.
The gang try to settle what really happened while they were under her love spell, and what it meant to them while shuffling through the library. Though Fred and Daphne both agree that they didn't need the spell, Velma and Shaggy are both reluctant to show their true feelings. Thinking about the attire that Aphrodite had dressed in, the gang realize she's chosen a prom dress and traced it down to a girl who was laughed out of the school by a vicious joke during prom, who's name is Amanda Smythe, a science geek. The gang, with Pericles and Angel's help, then recreate the antidote into many canisters that they had disguised themselves.
Dressed as the common love struck citizens, the gang crash the prom that the citizens have created to honor the new queen of Crystal Cove, Aphrodite. However, the gang uses the antidote on all the townspeople, turning them back to normal. Fred uses a trap to catch Aphrodite. She was unmasked as Amanda Smythe, (who looks beautiful now) she was furious at how she was humiliated the night she was pranked. She left Crystal Cove, but vowed to return for revenge. She found a formula that makes people lose their minds with love, and would use it to claim the crown, then destroy the town the way it destroyed her.
After Amanda is taken away, the gang thank Scooby for saving the day and even wonder if Pericles may have changed, but they are quickly proven wrong. They are approached by Ed Machine, an associate of Mr. E, who plays a recorded message that Pericles sent. On the recording, Pericles reveals that he orchestrated the Aphrodite mystery and gave Amanda the formula for her love potion so that he could secretly search for objects needed to unravel the curse of Crystal Cove. While he and Scooby searched for love potion antidote ingredients, Pericles quietly collected an ancient Conquistador's ship manifest, a stone piercing industrial-grade diamond drill bit, and geological reports from the Darrow mining company. After the message ends, Shaggy asks what it has to with the mystery, prompting Ed to inform the gang that it traces back to a cursed treasure, an ancient fortune left behind by the Conquistadors that first settled in the area, that is buried deep beneath the town. He warns them that Pericles is one step further of discovering it, and if he does, it would mean the end of Crystal Cove.
Fred makes another attempt at his catchphrase "It's traping time" when he says "It's time to set a trap. Trap time."
Cultural references[]
Someone getting a terrible revenge for supposedly being chosen prom queen and then humiliated by her peers is a reference to the Stephen King book (and movie) Carrie.
This episode parallels Invasion of the Body Snatchers, including the squawking sound people make when they discover someone "not in the love".
Two of the love-infected teenage girls at the beginning of the episode, are based on Pebbles Flintstone and Suzie Chan, from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, respectively.
Professor Pericles' left eye keeps switching between green and orange throughout the episode.
Angel rescues the gang after they're cured by Pericles and Scooby. When she realizes Pericles is there, the scene transitions and Angel isn't there all of the sudden.
It's odd that the potion made Shaggy fall in love with Velma even though she wasn't with him when he smelled the potion.
Matthew Lillard and Tony Cervone are credited as "Referee #1" and "Referee #2", respectively, but only one appears, and he doesn't talk.
The Soccer Referee wears a striped shirt, like an American Football referee, instead of the solid color ones typically worn by soccer referees.
When Amanda is unmasked, the rest of her costume switches skin-color from the pale blue color it had to Amanda's normal hue.
Aphrodite: Quiet now, sweet pup. All you need is the love. (blows her love spell on Scooby, but nothing happens) Scooby-Doo: Sorry ugly lady, not feeling it. Aphrodite: It's not working. Get him!
Aphrodite: They shall be made sacrifice to the goddess of love, which is to say... me!
Aphrodite: I am the goddess of love. Bow at the feet of Aphrodite! Velma: I think you mean Amanda, Amanda Smythe. (Velma unmasks Aphrodite)
Amanda: And I would have succeeded too, if it wasn't for your olfactory challenged sidekicks. Professor Pericles: I am no one's sidekick! Scooby-Doo: You said it!
