"You must trick or treat... Or die!"
"Summerween" - It's Gravity Falls' version of Halloween in Summer with Jack-o-Melons and lots of trick-or-treating. Dipper and Mabel are excited to join in on the fun, but when Wendy casually mentions that trick-or-treating is for kids, Dipper's whole outlook on the evening changes. The night gets even more complicated when a monster that Dipper accidentally insulted makes them fulfill his candy quota by night's end or else he will eat them. Meanwhile, Stan tries to scare away the kids who come over to ask for candy.Tropes in this episode:
- Accidental Hero: Soos, when he hits the Trickster with his truck.
- All for Nothing: The kids manage to acquire all the candy needed for the Trickster to let them off free, but when Wendy and Robbie pass by, Dipper hides the wheelbarrow in a bush, which causes it to fall off a cliff and dump all the candy into a river, making the trick-or-treating a complete wasted effort. Worse still, there's no time to get any more, as all the jack o' melons have gone out except for Old Man McGucket's.
- Ambiguously Brown: The clerk at the Summerween Superstore.
- And Show It to You: When Soos bursts out of the Trickster. The candy he eats kind of looks like a heart.
- Anthropomorphic Food:
- Candy dresses up like a peppermint candy for Summerween. "I am so sweet, I could eat myself!"
- The Summerween Trickster turns out to be an amalgam of unwanted "loser candy".
- Artistic License – Physics: The episode is meant to take place in June, when sunset in Oregon should be around 9pm, yet it starts getting dark in the early evening (as it would if it were actually Halloween).
- Bait-and-Switch: A monster with labored breathing watches Dipper throw away the loser candy. Right after that the doorbell rings, and when Dipper answers it, we hear that same labored breathing. Dipper gasps in horror...only to reveal it's Robbie and Wendy at the door.
- Big Damn Heroes: Soos (temporarily) saves the gang from the Summerween Trickster by ramming into him with his pickup truck. And then permanently saves them by devouring the Summerween Trickster's candy heart, telling him he actually tasted good and putting him to rest.
- Bland-Name Product: The "loser candy" includes such products as Mr. Adequatebar and Gummi-Chairs.
- B-Movie: At the end of the episode, the gang watches a horror movie marathon, which includes a film called The Fear Guy From Terror Town Street that apparently consists of alternating shots of a screaming woman and a growling crappy-special-effects alien.
- Bring My Brown Pants:Mabel: Now, some might say being cursed by a bloodthirsty holiday monster is a bad thing...
Grenda: I wet myself! - Brick Joke: Early on, the Summerween Trickster eats a kid named Gorny. Later, when Soos eats his way out of the monster, Gorny pops out as well.
- Buffy Speak: When listing a few of the candies he is composed of, the Trickster includes "every discarded bar of old chocolate with like that white powder stuff on it. YOU KNOW THAT STUFF?!"
- Cape Swish: Stan pulls off a nice one with his costume.
- Chest Burster:
- One of Stan's attempts to scare the trick-or-treaters is this. The children are unimpressed (the fact that the "creature" is an adorable pig might be part of the problem).
- Soos provides a rare heroic version when he eats his way out of the Trickster.
- Christmas in July: Or rather, Halloween in June. The people of Gravity Falls love Halloween so much they celebrate it twice a year.
- Compliment Backfire: Wendy tries to defend Dipper by saying he's too old to go trick-or-treating, unaware that Dipper doesn't mind still going, or at least didn't until she said something negative about it.
- Continuity Nod:
- The teens whose disrespectful rap music killed the old couple from "The Inconveniencing" appear in the Summerween Trickster's flashback.
- Also from that episode, the explosion/muffin Robbie painted on the water tower makes another appearance.
- The biker Mabel meets in "Headhunters" turns up again at one of the houses the twins visit.
- Counterfeit Cash: Stan used a $50 "Stan Bucks" bill to pay for the Summerween supplies, which is just a piece of loose leaf paper with his picture drawn on it saying "It's money!"
- Darker and Edgier: Befitting a Halloween episode, this is the darkest episode of the series to date. The Trickster is not played for any laughs beyond the black comedy of Gornie getting eaten (and even his survival isn't confirmed until the tail end of the episode), he poises a threat to the cast's very lives, and the central drama is part of the show's overall themes of growing up.
- Deliberately Cute Child: The twins weaponize it to get as much candy as possible.
- Disney Death: Gorney and Soos, both eaten by the Trickster, get out of him alive at the end of the episode, although Gorney declares he's traumatized.
- Dramatic Drop: Grenda drops the blown-out jack-o-melon when the Summerween Trickster appears, ready to collect his candy.
- Eating the Enemy: How the Trickster was defeated.
- Entertainment Above Their Age: The bratty trick-or-treaters cannot be scared because they have been watching horror movies since they were two years old.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: An evil laugh variation.
- Failed Attempt at Scaring: The subplot has Grunkle Stan trying and failing to scare a bratty pair of trick-or-treaters who've come to his door so that he doesn't have to give them candy. No matter what trick he tries, they aren't fazed. Upon breaking in to confront Stan about their candy, the boys are finally scared off by the sight of the old man half-naked and preparing to take a shower.
- Fan Disservice: How Stan manages to (unintentionally) scare the two bratty trick-or-treaters. See Naked People Are Funny below.
- Foreshadowing:
- Waddles pulling a Chest Burster on Stan mirrors Soos's escape from the Trickster's innards.
- Mabel names everyone's qualities with which they'll solve the problem, then gets to Soos and... can't think of one. But it's Soos who saves everyone in an unpredictable manner. Twice.
- Dipper hucks a candy bar at the Trickster, which absorbs it into his body. Later it turns out he's made of candy.
- Freudian Excuse: The Summerween Trickster wants revenge for all of the discarded candy that no one liked. All he wanted was for someone to say that he tasted good.
- Getting Eaten Is Harmless: Both Gorney and Soos survive getting Swallowed Whole by the Trickster.
- Go Out with a Smile: The Trickster smiles as Soos is eating him, happy because he wanted someone to say he tastes good.
- Group Costume Fail: Dipper and Mabel planned to do a twin costume theme of Peanut Butter and Jelly, but Dipper tries to back out because a comment from Robbie and Wendy makes him think he's too old for trick-or-treating, pretending he's sick so he can go to a teen party. He's forced into wearing the costume when the Summerween Trickster gives them an ultimatum to collect 500 pieces of candy by the end of the night.
- Halloween Episode: Naturally, even though the show takes place during the summer. This is justified by Gravity Falls having its own version of Halloween that they celebrate in summer called Summerween.
- Hope Spot: The kids were one candy short of their goal (and already on their way to get the last one), but, in an attempt to hide the fact that he was trick-or-treating from Wendy, Dipper accidentally tosses the wheelbarrow over a cliff, losing all the candy into a river.
- Horny Vikings: The costumes worn by Manly Dan and his sons.
- How Did You Know? I Didn't: Soos seems to have a Big Damn Heroes moment by smashing the Trickster with his truck, but the first thing he does afterwards is ask if that was a pedestrian.
- I Got a Rock: There's a running gag about "loser candy" like black licorice and chalky old chocolates. Then it turns out the Summerween Trickster is the embodiment of all those unwanted candies.
- Innocently Insensitive: Robbie teases Dipper by asking if he's going trick-or-treating. Wendy pipes up and says that he's too old for that "of course". Dipper actually WAS excited to go trick-or-treating with his sister, but after that remark, he decides to ditch it. May also be a case of Unwitting Instigator of Doom, as this action causes Dipper to anger the Summerween Trickster and almost get eaten by them.
- Irrational Hatred: Even though Dipper was the only one who insulted the Trickster, he threatens not only him, but Mabel, Candy and Grenda (the latter two who didn't even speak to him) presumably just for being in the same room. He also eats Gorney on the spot even though he was dressed up and in the spirit.
- Jump Scare: The trick-or-treaters scare Stan with a Screamer Prank of a cat video that suddenly ends with a shot of a ferocious monster snarling.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Robbie sees an opportunity to bully Dipper and takes it, even getting Wendy to indirectly join him in it. By the end of the episode, Wendy reveals he had to go home sick for trying to eat a lollipop stick-first.
- Let Them Die Happy: The Summerween Trickster dies with candy corn Tears of Joy after Soos tells him he tastes good. See Freudian Excuse.
- Light Equals Hope: The Trickster's deadline was "before the last Jack-O-Melon is blown out". The kids rally after Dipper ends up dumping the candy, but townsfolk have begun blowing out their melon-lanterns. Grenda grabs the last one from Old Man McGuckett before he blows it out. But her gusty sigh of relief is enough to snuff the candle and count as blowing it out. The Trickster immediately looms out of the darkness ready to attack.
- Manly Tears: A biker dude sheds a Single Tear with a wistful smile on his face on seeing Dipper and Mabel's "Twins" dance.
- Masked Luchador: Soos dresses up as one.
- Memetic Mutation: Invoked in the credits reel, which has Waddles starring in LOLCats-esque pictures.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg:Mabel: With Candy's spirit, Grenda's strength, Dipper's brains, and...Soos, here!
- Naked People Are Funny: How Stan manages to finally scare the two bratty trick-or-treaters, albeit unintentionally. The boys ran into the shack demanding candy and caught Stan just as he was about to take a bath. Yeah, that would scare anyone. (A camera-angle switch shows he's still wearing boxers, but...)
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In his overzealous attempt to try and impress Wendy, Dipper throws the wheelbarrow of candy into some bushes without looking what was behind it. Turns out there was a cliff leading into a creek and all the candy winds up dumped into it. If that wasn't bad enough, the kids were just one candy short of getting their goal (which Mabel managed to acquire) and the Trickster comes calling soon after.
- Nightmare Face: When the Summerween Trickster takes off his mask, he reveals one made out of "loser candy".
- Nobody Here but Us Statues: While the the Trickster is searching the Summerween store for the kids, Dipper, Mabel, and Soos pretend to be costumes on display.
- No, You: Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland dressed as each other.Sheriff Blubs: You make a great me.
Deputy Durland: No, you make a great me. - One-Winged Angel: The Trickster bulks out and grows extra arms when he decides to kill the kids. After Soos runs him over, he reassembles himself into a more monstrous, spider-like form.
- Open-Fly Gag: While Zoos is trying to warn the kids about the Summerween Trickster, Dipper ruins the moment when he tells him his cape is stuck in his fly.
- Parrot Expo What: Happens twice in this episode. When Stan first mentions Summerween, Dipper replies, "Summer-what?", and when Soos first mentions the Summerween Trickster, Mabel replies, "Summer-what what?"
- Playing Sick: Dipper tries to fake being sick to get out of going trick-or-treating with his sister so he can go to Tambry's party, but Mabel doesn't seem phased by it and just tells him to tough it out.
- Plot Hole: The Trickster says the kids have until the last jack-o'-melon goes out to bring him the candy, but by the end of the episode, Stan's jack-o'-melon is still lit. Of course, you can't really expect someone named "the Trickster" to play fair.
- "Psycho" Strings: Play when the trick-or-treaters see Stan in just his boxers getting ready to take a shower.
- Race Against the Clock: The kids have until the last jack-o'-melon goes out to get 500 pieces of candy if they want to live.
- Red Herring: At the start of the episode, Soos is implied to be the Summerween Trickster. He tells the kids about the Trickster's existence, he's absent when the Trickster first appears, and then suddenly appears after the Trickster leaves. However, as the characters trick or treat, the Summerween Trickster ambushes them and Soos, proving that the Summerween Trickster is real.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: Mabel asks Dipper what's worse: Getting eaten by a monster, or going trick-or-treating? Dipper is about to go with the latter.
- Right Behind Me: As he talks to Wendy and Robbie who happened to be driving by, Dipper quickly ditches his costume and pretends to not care about trick-or-treating as he talks to them, saying he'll be at their party. After they leave, it cuts to behind Dipper to show a stunned Mabel, who had just come back from getting the last piece of candy, and apparently heard the whole conversation.
- Scary Flashlight Face: When Soos tells the twins about the Summerween Trickster.
- Screamer Prank: The trick-or-treaters inflict one on Stan.
- Security Cling: When the Trickster pokes at Candy while threatening the children, she clings to Dipper next to her in fright.
- Shout-Out:
- The Summerween Trickster's true form looks an awful lot like Noh-Face from Spirited Away.
- The music playing in the Summerween store is a clear pastiche on "Monster Mash."
- The manner in which Soos eats his way out of the Summersween Trickster bears more than a passing resemblance to a chestburster.
- The way Stan's hair sticks out from under his Dracula wig heavily resembles Grandpa Munster.
- Silent Treatment: After Mabel finds out that Dipper didn't care much about trick-or-treating, lied to her by pretending to be sick, and lost all the candy that almost got them all killed, she refuses to answer his quips he throws at her, and hardly even looks at him on the ride home.
- Simple Solution Won't Work:
- As noted below, Mabel believes the Trickster wouldn't accept them buying 500 pieces of candy, and given what a capricious creep he is the whole episode, she's probably right.
- If Soos was that determined to hear the noisy skeleton head, he could've just tried another one given it was one of several on the shelf. Instead, he breaks into a pack of batteries just to put some new ones in the one he tried already.
- Skewed Priorities: Dipper cares about looking cool and going to the Halloween party more than the fact that, if they don't collect enough candy, he and his friends will die.
- Smoke Out: The Pines and Soos are about to be escorted out of the Summerween Superstore by police, but Stan throws a smoke bomb in the cashier's face and they escape.
- Spirit of Halloween: The Summerween Trickster is the living embodiment of rejected Halloween candy.
- Spoof Aesop: According to Stan, Summerween is about families getting together to celebrate what really matters: PURE EVIL!
- Stalker Shot: When Dipper is throwing out the off-brand candy, we can see that someone's watching him outside; complete with creepy heavy breathing.
- Stating the Simple Solution: Dipper points out that they could just buy 500 pieces of candy instead of going house to house. Mabel replies that doing so would take the "trick-or-treat" out of "trick-or-treat or die", and therefore, the Trickster might not accept it.
- Symbolism: After learning Dipper's ulterior motive for trick-or-treating and narrowly escaping the Summerween Trickster, Mabel sustains an injury on her arm in the process. All the while, Dipper is sullen towards her. This reflects how there's hurt between the two twins. Later, when Dipper and Mabel have worked through their differing views on trick-or-treating (and the Trickster's been dealt with), Dipper puts a bandage on Mabel's injury, the latter of which is more receptive. This signifies how their conflict has started to heal.
- Think of the Censors!: The party flyer was originally supposed to read "Bottles will be spun"; after Alex Hirsch couldn't get it past Standards and Practices, it got changed to "Not S&P approved". note
- Toilet Paper Prank: Irritated that they only got lame scares from Stan instead of candy, the trick-or-treaters toilet paper the Mystery Shack.
- Too Dumb to Live:
- Dipper is being threatened with he, his sister and their friends being eaten alive by a huge, ferocious monster because of his own dismissive attitude towards Summerween... and is more concerned with making it to the party that Wendy is going to and not letting her know he's going Trick-or-Treating than, y'know, not being eaten.
- Even though they were just about to escape from the Summerween Trickster, Soos has to listen to the noisy skeleton head because he thinks it's just that funny. When the skeleton head is out of batteries, Soos puts new batteries in, and then activates the head. This catches the attention of the Summerween Trickster, who immediately eats Soos alive.
- Robbie eats a lollipop stick-first and has to go home sick. He's lucky he didn't choke to death on the spot.
- Too Old to Trick-or-Treat: Dipper and Mabel are excited to join in on Summerween, but when Wendy offhandedly makes a remark that implies he's too old for trick-or-treating, Dipper's whole outlook on the evening changes.
- Toxic Friend Influence: Or rather, toxic boyfriend influence. When Robbie ridicules Dipper for presumably going trick-or-treating for being too old for it, Wendy lines up with him to defend Dipper...as being too old for it obviously means he wouldn't go. Later, after the night is over, Wendy is told by Dipper he went trick-or-treating, and without Robbie around, she doesn't bat an eye at it.
- Visual Pun: Candy Chiu's costume is a peppermint candy."I am so sweet I could eat myself."
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Subverted. Gorney cannot be seen when the Trickster is hit by Soos' truck, but does reappear at the end when Soos eats the Trickster.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Mabel lays it hard on Dipper upon finding out that he lied to her and was more concerned about a party than saving them from the Summerween Trickster.
- Wild Teen Party: One is alluded to (but not shown) when Robbie and Wendy say that they are going to a party at Tambry's house while her parents are out of town. Wendy implies afterwards that the party wasn't actually all that wild.
