Goosebumps season 1, episode 8 recap: “You Can't Scare Me”

At the end of the previous episode of Goosebumps, the entire group of teenagers were trapped in a sketchbook, and the sketchbook had fallen in a puddle, causing all the ink to run. It seemed like the characters were doomed, as they fell through the pages of the sketchbook into different drawings, finally landing in Harold Biddle's basement.

As they think they're about to die, Isaiah almost confesses his feelings to Margot but is stopped before he has a chance to complete the words. Also in the basement, they meet the spirits of Harold's parents, who are refusing to move on without him, waiting for his soul to finally be at peace.

Goosebumps season 1, episode 8 recap – Escape from the sketchbook

In the real world, Mr. Bratt and Harold are fighting for control of Bratt's body. Mr. Bratt is able to get enough control that he pulls the sketchbook out of the puddle in time and draws an exit on the picture, freeing the kids.

However, this costs Mr. Bratt in the struggle for control, and Harold regains full control of the body, forcing Mr. Bratt back into the limbo of the sketchbook. Finally back in the real world, the 5 teens head out to find Lucas' mom on her quest to get rid of Slappy once and for all.

But of course, Harold Biddle, now back in control of Mr. Bratt's body, is after Slappy as well. Even when he's stopped on the road, due to an impending snowstorm, he parks and heads into the woods on foot.

He catches up with Nora, who tries to escape in her car, but the car stalls, forcing her to run away into the snowy woods. The teens, spotting Mr. Bratt's car on the side of the road, realize that he's going after Nora.

Lucas, Margot, and Isaiah follow after him, while Isabella and James stay behind. So we have Nora, running around in the woods with the Slappy parts in a bag, Harold trying to find her and get Slappy back, and three teenagers trying to find Nora before Harold does.

Nora thinks she hears Lucas calling for her, but it turns out that it's Harold, who finally grabs the bag, knocking Nora several feet down a small cliff. Isaiah, meanwhile, manages to fall off a very large cliff, which would be a drop of several hundred feet, but he clings to the ledge calling for someone to save him. 

Somehow Lucas and Margot, who were very close to Isaiah when he fell off the cliff, can't seem to find him, but they do manage to find Nora who has a bump on the head but is pretty much fine. As for Isaiah, he is found by a reassembled Slappy, and Harold, who plans to kill Isaiah.

Goosebumps season 1, episode 8 recap – Everyone finally gets on the same page

Isabella and James, who have been waiting at the car this whole time, are starting to get nervous that nobody has come back yet, when, from the other direction, a car pulls up containing the group of parents, who are now fully on board with the fact that the ghost of Harold is back. Everyone confirms that everyone else is up to speed on everything ghost and Slappy-related, and then the whole group ventures into the woods to try and find Nora and the three missing kids.

All of these characters arrive just in time to try and stop Harold from knocking Isaiah to his death. They plead with him to not kill Isaiah and apologize for what happened to him when they were all kids.

They say that it's all Slappy's fault, while Slappy is saying that it's their fault and that all the people are against Harold. Margot breaks through to Harold by calling him a nickname that his parents used when they briefly met them in the scrapbook.

Realizing that Slappy is the reason that his parents are dead, Harold pulls Isaiah back up to safety and throws Slappy off the cliff, where he smashes back into pieces far below. The spirit of Harold then leaves Mr. Bratt and fades away with his parents, who have been waiting for him all these years.

Mr. Bratt is free from the sketchbook and the whole group looks over the cliff at the remains of the puppet before confidently saying, "It's over," and returning to their previous lives. But of course, because there are still two episodes to go, the final shot lingers over the Slappy pieces, and the head blinks back to life as the episode comes to a close.

Goosebumps season 1, episode 8 recap – Characters getting a chance to shine

You know, Goosebumps can be a really silly show, built on really silly premises. The show is structured like a horror show, with all of the characters playing the situation straight and acting genuinely terrified, while the main villain of this show is a puppet.

He is easily chucked off of a cliff and has spent more time on the show in pieces than put together. Even when he's put together and alive, there only seems to be a very limited range of things that he can do.

But, even with the silliness that comes with the show, Goosebumps has still become really enjoyable. The show is working because it's taken the time to set up the characters, and their relationships with one another.

Spending an episode dedicated to each of the main characters, before bringing them all together, is really paying off now. We feel like we know each of the characters pretty well, and now it's fun to watch them bounce off of each other.

Isaiah and Margot furiously texting each other in the car, while pretending they weren't texting each other, was one of the best parts of the show. Same goes for the interactions between the parents and their kids, as they realize that everyone knows all of the secrets at this point.

Neither of these moments were critical to moving the plot forward, but it builds on the characters. Their relationships with each other, are ultimately the strongest points of the series.

What did you think of Goosebumps season 1 episode 8? You can watch Goosebumps season 1 onDisney Plus.