This episode is pretty much the usual fare for Guess Who, Sean Astin (the guest star) is allowed one trait/reference and they run it into the ground, there's a passable mystery, and Scooby and Shaggy get to do stuff.
My main problem with this episode though was a scene about halfway through. The gang have split up, with Fred, Velma, and Daphne together as usual. Daphne slips a bit on a puddle of what she correctly identifies as hydraulic fluid on the floor, afterwards Fred says that there are also various other fluids in the aisle like brake and steering fluid. Then he points out that they're in the automotive aisle. And Velma responds with possibly the worst sentence I've ever heard any of the gang say in Guess Who.
"Thanks for the Mansplaining, Fred."
This is so jarring to hear. I literally recoiled back from the screen as I was watching this episode. First of all, how is this Mansplaining? Fred is not explaining something he knows very little about to a woman who knows more then him, or talking over or interrupting a woman. This is a subject that he knows/is passionate about and has been for several iterations of Scooby Doo, so it makes sense for him to comment on it. Secondly, it's a super common thing for someone in the gang to say something obvious, on a sliding scale of obvious vs not obvious, but still. It is not offensive for Fred to point out the obvious fact that they are in the automotive aisle even though all three of the characters probably would already know this, we as the audience didn't know that, and this could have been a perfectly fine way of informing us. Thirdly, Velma has shown no signs of particularly caring about feminism in this manner. Velma (and Fred and Daphne) gets hardly any focus in this series so wasting any screen time on this just ridiculous to me.
Not to say "Rrrrrrrr feminism bad!" but this was just painful. It comes out of nowhere, and it's very mean spirited. A video essay I watched recently about the Scooby gang pointed out that some of the worst versions of them are when you get the feeling from them that makes you wonder why they're even friends. I don't wonder that a huge amount in this series, but this moment did not feel like an interaction between friends. Velma's tone is very aggressive and seems more like something she'd be saying to a stranger not one of her closest friends. (I also don't think she'd use the word Mansplaining at all really but whatever.)
I know I didn't talk a lot about the episode as a whole, but there's really not a whole lot else to talk about, it's pretty much an average Guess Who episode. I wish they'd picked something else for Sean's running gag then not getting to carry the ring in the LotR movies (which isn't even true), and the episode introduces Sean by saying that him and Daphne are good friends but then after the whole gang meets him Daphne doesn't even talk to Sean after that scene, but I mostly cared about the Velma line.
My main problem with this episode though was a scene about halfway through. The gang have split up, with Fred, Velma, and Daphne together as usual. Daphne slips a bit on a puddle of what she correctly identifies as hydraulic fluid on the floor, afterwards Fred says that there are also various other fluids in the aisle like brake and steering fluid. Then he points out that they're in the automotive aisle. And Velma responds with possibly the worst sentence I've ever heard any of the gang say in Guess Who.
"Thanks for the Mansplaining, Fred."
This is so jarring to hear. I literally recoiled back from the screen as I was watching this episode. First of all, how is this Mansplaining? Fred is not explaining something he knows very little about to a woman who knows more then him, or talking over or interrupting a woman. This is a subject that he knows/is passionate about and has been for several iterations of Scooby Doo, so it makes sense for him to comment on it. Secondly, it's a super common thing for someone in the gang to say something obvious, on a sliding scale of obvious vs not obvious, but still. It is not offensive for Fred to point out the obvious fact that they are in the automotive aisle even though all three of the characters probably would already know this, we as the audience didn't know that, and this could have been a perfectly fine way of informing us. Thirdly, Velma has shown no signs of particularly caring about feminism in this manner. Velma (and Fred and Daphne) gets hardly any focus in this series so wasting any screen time on this just ridiculous to me.
Not to say "Rrrrrrrr feminism bad!" but this was just painful. It comes out of nowhere, and it's very mean spirited. A video essay I watched recently about the Scooby gang pointed out that some of the worst versions of them are when you get the feeling from them that makes you wonder why they're even friends. I don't wonder that a huge amount in this series, but this moment did not feel like an interaction between friends. Velma's tone is very aggressive and seems more like something she'd be saying to a stranger not one of her closest friends. (I also don't think she'd use the word Mansplaining at all really but whatever.)
I know I didn't talk a lot about the episode as a whole, but there's really not a whole lot else to talk about, it's pretty much an average Guess Who episode. I wish they'd picked something else for Sean's running gag then not getting to carry the ring in the LotR movies (which isn't even true), and the episode introduces Sean by saying that him and Daphne are good friends but then after the whole gang meets him Daphne doesn't even talk to Sean after that scene, but I mostly cared about the Velma line.
