1x12 Summerween

[8.0/10] So much to enjoy about this one. I love the central premise of the monster here. A “Summerween Trickster” who taunts kids who don’t embody the Summerween spirit is a good riff on Krampus-like figures. But with all the kids disdaining the existence of “loser candy” like licorice and circus peanuts and saltwater taffy, there’s something brilliant about the Trickster actually being a vengeful spirit comprised of all the discarded candies from the bottom of the bucket that the youngins don’t want anymore. It adds some poetry to the whole thing. At the same time, I like that Soos’ willingness to enjoy such disregarded candies is both what kills the Trickster when he’s about to devour our heroes, but also what gives him peace and joy in his final moments, since someone’s actually enjoying his corpus. It’s a ridiculous way to take things, but also a clever and hilarious one.

The central emotional conflict of the episode works too. The struggle of whether to be a cool teen who goes to parties or a fun kid who goes Trick or Treating on Halloween is a relatable one, and as in the time travel episode, Dipper ultimately choosing to validate his sister’s feelings over his affections for Wendy is heartening. His attempt to play down Halloween, until he gives in for the good of the group, and ultimately apologizes for hurting Mabel’s feelings, works well too.

I will say, as relatable as these conflicts are, the core issues Dipper deals with on an episode-to-episode basis are getting kind of repetitive. “Dipper tries to be grown up but embraces still being a kid.” And “Dipper chases after Wendy but neglects his sister” are already familiar story shapes, and we’re only eleven episodes into the series. I’d like to see things branch out a bit.

The humor continues to be fantastic, though. I died laughing at the “loser candies”, especially “Mr. Adequate-Bar” Soos finding the hacky mechanical novelty skeletons so humorous that they’re an irresistible “voice of a generation” was its own kind of treat. And the trappings of Summerween itself were just funny, from Lazy Susan’s costume descriptions to the very concept of a “jack-o-melon”.

Stan’s subplot was great as well. Him trying to freak out trick-or-treaters, only to discover that they’re already jaded when it comes to scares thanks to modern horror movies, is a fun way to go. The fact that internet video jump scares freak him out adds a fun twist to things. And I got a big kick out of the resolution, where the scariest thing of all turns out to be the sight of an old man in his underwear.

Overall, this episode should be a perennial Halloween classic, with a unique spin on the old preteen trick-or-treating dilemma, and cool twists in almost all of its storylines.