Chapter 19: Summerween Fright
Art by Crash X Fusion: The kids just went from trick-or-treater to monster hunter status.
Trouble looms over the Mystery Shack gang while trick-or-treating: Willow acts as mediator between two friends on bad terms.Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Adaptational Backstory Change: "Them's the Breaks, Kid" reveals that Perry Porter was in the Oracle track at Hexside. Since that episode aired long after this chapter's publication, Perry is depicted as a bard here.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Willow's dads and Perry Porter debut before "Adventures in the Elements" rather than during the three episodes following it.
- Adaptation Name Change: Willow's fathers have different name than what were later confirmed: Gilbert and Harvey become Sullivan/Sully and Gilbert, respectively.
- An Arm and a Leg: Eda scares off the two trick-or-treaters Stan couldn't by letting her hands and head fall off.
- Bait-and-Switch: When it looks like Eda and Stan are about to engage in adult scenarios, a scene change shows them playing cards with Owlbert and Waddles.
- Battle Trophy: Gus claims Joke R. McPolka's shoes as a memento to his victory over the clowns.
- "Be Quiet!" Nudge: Luz elbows Soos so he'll stop talking about the clown sightings in front of Gus.
- Bitch Slap: Bo dishes one to Skara both to reject her apology and to challenge her to a duel at the semester exams.
- Blatant Lies: Eda claims she has no idea how Perry got his fear of clowns. A Flashback reveals she caused it.
- Blunt "Yes": Luz gives one when Mabel asks if she'd really eat Waddles.
- Brick Joke: Gus buys tangelos stating they mess with a clown's mind. When the kids use them, two clowns question whether it's an orange or a tangerine claiming it's messing with their minds.
- The Cameo:
- Bo's mother appears dropping her daughter and Willow off at Lambi's apartment.
- Elliot and Puffer are some of the students studying at Lambi's apartment with Willow and Bo.
- Toby Determined, Lazy Susan and Tad Strange appear as people giving King or Gideon candy as they're trick-or-treating.
- Chekhov's Gun: The tangelos Gus gets are used as weapons against the clowns.
- Continuity Nod: Luz uses the anxiety technique Amity taught her on Gus to calm him down.
- Cuteness Proximity: Like Mabel, Candy and Grenda's first reactions to seeing King are to gush over him.
- Damsel in Distress: Wendy gets captured by the clowns and used as bait for the others, doubling as Badass in Distress.
- A Day in the Limelight: Willow's time back in the Demon Realm provides her, Bo and Skara some development.
- Demoted to Extra: The Summerween Trickster still appears, but he is no longer the main antagonist and his role is much smaller. On the bright side, this means he was Spared by the Adaptation.
- Didn't Think This Through:
- Skara doesn't realize until after Willow tells her that she could've waited for Bo in the lobby of the apartment building instead of outside.
- Willow told Bo that she should have friends who won't abandon her. It didn't occur to her that Bo would take it to heart so quickly and coldly reject Skara's apology.
- Flashback Cut: We're treated to one where Perry acquired his fear of clowns because Eda scared him wearing a mask.
- Foreshadowing: Somhaim is mentioned by Gus as being similar to Halloween and Summerween.
- Given Name Reveal: Willow's fathers are known as Gilbert and Sullivan ("Sully", for short).
- Guilty Pleasures: Robbie's Dark Secret turns out to be him liking the BABBA song, "Disco Girl".
- Halloween Episode: The chapter occurs during the story's version of "Summerween".
- I Got a Rock: Dipper experiences and namedrops this trope.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Luz figures out that the "Good Witch Azura" can be found in both the Human and Demon Realms.
- Dipper still tries to ditch Mabel so he can hang out with Wendy at Tambry's Summerween party, a monster stops them, they make up and decide to go home.
- Internal Reveal:
- Luz learns the "Good Witch Azura" exists on Earth.
- Eda gets Stan up to date on the legal trouble surrounding Luz and her curse getting worse.
- Luz tells Gus about her episode with Piniet.
- Mabel learns about Amity along with Luz's crush from Gus, who later receives confirmation about it from Luz herself.
- I Want My Mommy!: Perry in the flashback and the two trick-or-treaters Stan fails to scare run crying to their mothers after being scared by Eda.
- Lampshade Hanging: After the clowns run off, Soos wonders if mimes are a seperate species from humans like them. Wendy tells him not to think about it.
- Luminescent Blush:
- Pacifica does this when Mabel hugs her.
- Willow gets one when she hears about Skara's cousin having "cloud 9 time".
- Skara also does this when Willow holds her hand leading her back to Lambi's apartment.
- Monster of the Week: The clowns.
- Multi-Part Episode: Part 2 of the "Gravity Falls Vacation" arc.
- Mythology Gag:
- Mabel's conversation with Luz about eating Waddles is the same one she has with Stan in "Land Before Swine".
- Gus saying he's more afraid of clowns and knows his fear is rational now is what Mabel said in the third segment of "Little Gift Shop of Horrors", "Clay Day".
- Named by the Adaptation: The unnamed pufferfish student from the abomination track is known as "Puffer" and the beast demon in the plant track is called "Batroc". Played With with Mary, the dark-skinned girl with purple hair and horns, who's dubbed "Lambi" which later turns out to be a nickname.
- Noodle Incident:
- Gus had visited Vanz's Dealership before coming to the Human Realm.
- Luz apparently crashed the previous annual Northwest Manor party.
- Out of Focus: This is the only part of the Reunion Falls 3-part arc where Amity, Blubs and Durland don't appear; the former's still mentioned.
- Pet the Dog: Feeling bad for unintentionally making things between Skara and Bo worse, Willow leads the crying Skara up to Lambi's apartment so she can stay there for the night.
- Point of Divergence: Regarding "Summerween", the Summerween Trickster isn't the main threat the Pines twins face due to the Clawthornes being wise to him. Aside from that, Dipper's the one who keeps a grappling hook on hand.
- Plot Allergy: It doesn't play any importance to the plot, but Robbie's allergy to rhubarb is what makes Wendy unintentionally abandon him due to the swelling.
- Precision F-Strike: Luz says "shit" and "hell" at different points while facing the clowns.
- Rhetorical Question Blunder: Luz and Mabel's conversation about Waddles being edible leads to this:Mabel: You wouldn't eat this cute widdle face, would you? (holds up Waddles to show how cute he is)Luz: Yes.
- The Reveal:
- Perry Porter was in the Bard track during his time at Hexside.
- Gus has met Vanz Ator and visited his shop, which is where he got the tangelos.
- Puffer was placed in the Construction track following the ghost infestation while Lambi was put in the Healing track.
- Clowns were once normal humans but when they had children, they evolved in their environment, born with rubber bones and stretching limbs.
- Rejected Apology: Bo refuses Skara's attempt to make up, instead challenging her to a witch's duel so they can settle things.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Everything about the clowns spouts this: their sightings all over the country reference the real life sightings in 2016 while the actions of John Wayne Grady are a reason clowns can't work children's birthday parties.
- Saying Too Much: Soos goes too far into the details of the clown sightings in front of Gus, earning a "Be Quiet!" Nudge from Luz.
- Sequel Hook:
- Bo challenges Skara to a witch's duel at the semester exams to settle things between them.
- Luz briefly shows signs of remembering the car crash her mother died in.
- Sexual Euphemism: Part of the reason Skara waited for Bo outside the apartment is because her cousin won't let her inside when she has guests over for "Cloud 9" time. She doesn't get it, but Willow blushes in understanding when she hears it.
- Shipper on Deck: Although Gus doesn't understand why Luz has feelings for Amity, he decides to support her.
- Ship Tease:
- Pacifica's reaction to Mabel hugging her implies she has feelings for her.
- After Bo rejects Skara's apology, Willow (feeling responsible) leads Skara to Lambi's apartment while holding her hand, making the Bard tracker blush.
- Shout-Out:
- Gilbert and Sullivan are named after the Victorian music duo of the same names.
- Dipper, Mabel and Waddles all dress up as Luke, Leia and Han. Robbie also refers to Dipper as "Dork Vader", leading to Wendy correcting him.
- In order to fend off clowns, Gus equips himself with tangelos, stating it messes with clowns' minds.
- The lead clown is named after the Joker, whose origin story is mentioned by Mabel and several actors who portrayed the Clown Prince are also listed. Some other clowns are named after Ronald McDonald.
- So Proud of You: Perry is proud his son conquered his fear of clowns, of which he couldn't do.
- Take That!: McPolka makes a jab at Zack Galifianaskis, who played the Joker in The LEGO Batman Movie.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The plot alternates between the group in Gravity Falls celebrating Summerween and Willow in the Boiling Isles.
- Wham Episode: Gus manages to face his fear of clowns and returns to the Boiling Isles, Bo challenges Skara to a witch's duel at the semester exams, Skara starts showing signs of developing a crush on Willow and Luz begins to remember the car crash.
