The town of Gravity Falls loves halloween so much they've created a copy of the holiday in June, Summerween. When Dipper finds out Wendy and Robby are going to a party, he decides he no longer wants to go trick or treating with Mabel. But Dipper's lack of Summerween spirit brings the wrath of the Summerween Trickster on him. He, Mabel, and their friends, are tasked with gathering five hundred pieces of candy before the last jack'o'melon goes out, or the Summerween Trickester will eat them.
The Review
Gravity Falls continues to be the most imaginative animated show on American TV. Not only has a lot of thought gone into creating the world these characters live in, but the show staff also managed to create a villain in a comedy show that is legitimately threatening.
Part of what helps is that the Summerween Trickster has a great design. There's a Burton/Batman vibe to him, so it's little surprise that they cast Jeff Bennet, the voice of the Scarecrow from The New Batman Adventures. A veteran actor like Bennet gives the Summerween Trickster the necessary gravitas and class. It also helps that he's no stranger to playing non-human creatures.
If I had to say one bad thing about this episode, is that I'm afraid the ongoing plot thread of Dipper wanting to be more mature might wear old. It all depends on how they approach it. If we get too many episodes where the message is, "Being young isn't so bad" then I'm afraid the theme might run stale. However, the team behind Gravity Falls have shown that they aren't afraid of being creative. So my worries are tempered by my trust that Gravity Falls will continue to surprise me.
Dipper's motivations are a bit skewed. I can understand that he wants to be cool, and go to the party Wendy is at. But it seems to me that even the biggest killjoy would chose trick or treating to save their life, over going to a party.
I wouldn't consider this my favorite episode, however like all Gravity Falls episodes to this point, it is a great episode. The reveal of the Summerween Trickster's true identity at the end was as clever as all the reveals from past episodes.
It also helps that Mabel's friends make a return for the first time in a while. This series has the necessary expanded cast, it would definitely help if we got more episodes like this where side and background characters get more of a focus.
The Grade
While there were some elements of this episode that I felt could become problematic in the future, they did not impact the grade of the episode itself. So I give Summerween...
4/5
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