Summerween

"Summerween" is the 12th episode, and the first Halloween special in Season 1 of Gravity Falls. It debuted on October 5, 2012.

Overview
It’s Gravity Falls’ version of Halloween that takes place 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 the night’s end or else he will eat them.

Synopsis
Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Grunkle Stan drive to the Summerween Superstore to prepare for Summerween. Stan explains that the locals wanted to celebrate Halloween twice a year, so they created Summerween, a Halloween in the middle of Summer. Soos finds punny cackling skulls in the store and he keeps turning them on, much to his amusement. Mabel and Dipper are trashing the store in a wheelbarrow, while Grunkle Stan gets some material for scaring trick-or-treaters. The cashier calls security due to the disturbance they're making, so Grunkle Stan throws a smoke bomb at the cashier and runs away with the gang, paying for the things with "Stan Bucks," Stan's poorly drawn counterfeit money.

Dipper and Mabel are planning out Summerween when Soos tells Dipper and Mabel about the Summerween Trickster. If the children do not enjoy their candy, the Summerween Trickster eats them alive. However, Dipper begins throwing out candy that he deems as trashy "loser candy" that Stan had bought to hand out, unaware that the Summerween Trickster is watching him from afar.

The doorbell rings and Dipper goes to get it. Dipper is surprised to find Wendy and Robbie at the door. When Robbie asks Dipper if he is going trick or treating, Wendy tells him that Dipper isn't because trick or treating is for kids. Dipper reluctantly agrees with her. Wendy invites Dipper to Tambry's Summerween party, and Dipper says he will go. However, Mabel has invited Grenda and Candy to go trick or treating. Dipper fakes being sick so he can go to Tambry's party. However, the doorbell rings again, and this time it's the Summerween Trickster. Dipper mistakes him for a normal trick-or-treater, says he is too old for trick-or-treating, and slams the door on him. The Trickster knocks on the door again, but Dipper slams it in his face, getting the Trickster angry. Mabel scolds Dipper and opens the door again. The Summerween Trickster now breaks into the Mystery Shack and tells him, Mabel, Grenda and Candy that if they don't deliver 500 pieces of candy to him by the time all the Jack O' Melons in town go out, he'll eat them, proving that he will keep his promise by eating a random trick-or-treater named Gorney who arrives at the shack.

They head over to Lazy Susan's house to trick-or-treat. Because Dipper refused to get dressed up, they only get one piece of candy each, and he receives none. So, Mabel decides to dress Dipper up and act cute whenever they go to houses, which greatly increases their candy yield. Eventually they end up with 499 candy pieces, and Mabel decides to go get the last piece with everyone but Dipper while Soos goes and gets his truck so they can deliver the candy. Unfortunately, Wendy and Robbie arrive in their van and Dipper takes off his Summerween costume and pushes the supply of candy behind a bush.

When Dipper says he will be there soon, Wendy and Robbie take off in his van and Mabel discovers why he faked being sick earlier. It doesn't get any better, the candy has fallen off a cliff behind the bush and into a river because Dipper had not been paying attention, and everyone begins blowing out the candles in their Jack O' Melons. Dipper, Mabel, Grenda and Candy manage to stop Old Man McGucket from blowing out his Jack O' Melon, but when they breathe a sigh of relief, the Jack O' Melon goes out. The Summerween Trickster then arrives.

Meanwhile, Grunkle Stan is having a difficult time trying to scare two kids. He even has Waddles burst out of his chest in an attempt to scare them, but the kids are not scared due to watching horror movies ever since they were two years old. The kids scare Grunkle Stan with a 'screamer video', and Stan runs back in the Mystery Shack in disgrace.

Soon, the Summerween Trickster tries to eat Dipper and Mabel, but out of nowhere, Soos drives his truck straight through the monster, smashing him to pieces. The kids get into the truck, but Mabel gives Dipper the cold shoulder for not wanting to trick-or-treat with her.

Unfortunately, the Summerween Trickster comes back to life as his pieces re-assemble, and he pursues the truck. Dipper, Mabel, Grenda, Candy, and Soos hide in the Summerween store, and Mabel reveals she was upset with Dipper because she was worried this will be the last time they'll trick or treat.

They are almost in the clear when Soos turns on a cackling skull that he was playing with earlier and the Summerween Trickster finds them. The Summerween Trickster reveals to be an amalgamation of pieces of "loser candy" no one wanted and tossed in the dump. It eats Soos and then tries to eat Dipper and Mabel. However, Soos eats the monster from the inside out, and the Trickster collapses. The Summerween Trickster then confesses that all he wanted was someone to enjoy his candy, and he starts crying tears of candy corn as Soos happily eats him.

Grunkle Stan finally manages to scare the two kids after they accidentally see him half-naked in his bathroom, and the kids drop their huge sacks of candy while running away. Dipper, Mabel, Soos, Grenda, and Candy finally get back to the Mystery Shack and find Wendy back early from the party. Dipper confesses to Wendy that he was trick or treating, but she replies that the party was lame because Robbie ate a lollipop stick-first and had to go home early. In the end, everyone watches TV eating their candy. Grunkle Stan explains that Summerween isn't about candy or scaring, but a night to celebrate pure evil. After some maniacal laughter, Soos confesses, "I ate a man alive tonight" and everyone glances strangely at him.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Zach Paez
 * Alex Hirsch
 * Michael Rianda


 * Directed by:
 * John Aoshima


 * Storyboards by:
 * Matthew Braly
 * Neal F. Graf
 * Alfonso Ramirez Ramos


 * With the Voice Talents of:
 * Kristen Schaal - Mabel Pines
 * Jason Ritter - Dipper Pines
 * Alex Hirsch - Grunkle Stan and Soos
 * Jeff Bennett - Summerween Trickster
 * TJ Miller - Robbie
 * Linda Cardellini - Wendy
 * Gregg Turkington - Toby Determined
 * Carl Faruolo - Grenda
 * Niki Yang - Candy Chiu
 * Keith Ferguson - Deputy Durland
 * Jennifer Coolidge - Lazy Susan
 * Kevin Michael Richardson - Sheriff Blubs
 * Grey DeLisle - Gorney


 * Additional Voices:
 * Dee Bradley Baker - Waddles
 * Grey DeLisle - Summerween worker
 * John DiMaggio - Manly Dan
 * Alex Hirsch - Old Man McGucket
 * Leo DeNar - Screamer video on Soldier Kid's phone
 * Joshua Rush - Soldier kid
 * Casting By:
 * Sara Goldberg

Production notes

 * See also: List of allusions and List of goofs. 

Trivia

 * Viewership: This episode was viewed by 3.478 million people on its premiere night.
 * The Summerween Trickster can be seen among the pictures in the theme song, albeit with an apparent orange skin color.
 * This episode takes place on Friday June 22, 2012 as seen on Stan's calendar.
 * Candy's photo of the Trickster has the equivalent of the English term, "awesome" in Korean on it, according to Niki Yang.
 * Despite the agreement Robbie and Dipper made to secretly hate each other in "Fight Fighters," Robbie still outwardly insults Dipper near the start of the episode.
 * Stan's car, when he gets to the Summerween Store, says El Diablo on the side, which means "The Devil".
 * In the part when the kids battle the Summerween Trickster, Dipper's shield has a pyramid with an eye on it.
 * In the credits, Mabel decides to take pictures of Waddles in his boss costume with humorous captions, similar to the style of the meme LOLCats, with 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton playing in the background.
 * After Soos bursts out of the Summerween Trickster the piece of the Trickster he is eating is in the shape of a heart.

Series Continuity

 * The "Explosion Muffin" that Robbie spray painted on the water tower appears once again.
 * The 90s teenagers that caused Pa and Ma's death are shown again as contributing factors to the creation of the Summerween Trickster.
 * Robbie and Wendy are still dating after Robbie is seen asking her out in "The Time Traveler's Pig."

Cryptogram

 * During the end credits, the cryptogram says "YILFTSG GL BLF YB SLNVDLIP: GSV XZMWB." Once translated it reads: "BROUGHT TO YOU BY HOMEWORK: THE CANDY." Homework: the Candy is one of the brands in the Mystery Shack's bowl of "loser candy."