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| Being afraid gives anyone the ability to shoulder the weight 240+ lb men. |
The day before Halloween, Homer finishes up decorating his house for the holiday ("Everscream Terrors"), a top notch effort of spooky sights. Upon learning his skeletons have melted, though, he and the family take a quick trip to the temp Halloween store managed by Apu. Three temp workers attempt to give Homer a backdoor deal under the condition he doesn't tell "Señor Squishee", but Homer, unaware of who that really is, immediately tells Apu about his great deal. Apu quickly fires his three "helpers", who immediately note to a leaving Homer that he's going to be sorry for getting them fired.
That night, Homer takes Bart and Lisa to a Krusty-sponsored Halloween event. Lisa in particular is hyped for it, however the sights, sounds and terrors of the event are too real for Lisa to deal with and despite everyone including Lisa knowing the scares aren't real, Lisa breaks down in terror.
On Halloween day, Bart's buccaneer costume is forcibly limited at school. Also limited is Lisa, who can't even look at Halloween decorations without freaking out now. As such, Marge forces Homer to take down Everscream Terrors to save Lisa's sensibilities, but as Homer refuses the two notice that Lisa has recovered "Tailee", a soft toy from Lisa's past that she uses as an emotional crutch that her parents had hoped she moved on from. Knowing Lisa's back on Tailee, Homer relents and takes down his showcase, further disappointing Bart.
To try and make up for things, Marge tries to take Bart trick-or-treating at a fancy neighborhood but are denied entrance. Marge tries to take Bart on last-second trick-or-treating around their neighborhood but everyone closes up shop. Now that it's late enough, "Adult Halloween" begins, where adults in skimpy costumes walk around town and be drunk and vulgar, right in front of Bart who is aware - if nothing else - that his Halloween is ruined.
Meanwhile, Homer attempts to have a regular, quiet night with his emotionally fragile daughter. However, he's visited by the three men whom he got fired the other day. Realizing their intent, Homer attempts to lock down the house without alarming Lisa, but fails as the three find a way to enter the house. Homer tries to make a break for the Flanders' place but Lisa heads back to retrieve Tailee. Homer runs back to get her but the two are confronted by the men, and they're forced to flee into the attic.
As Lisa completely shuts down from the fright, Homer tries to reassure her that, yeah, he's scared too but being afraid doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to think at the same time. Comforted by her father's words, Lisa recovers and helps Homer come up with a plan to draw attention to the house - using various fireworks and decorations from Homer's other holiday extravaganzas. Homer quickly sets up a makeshift firework display, but its too windy to light up a match for any period of time. Lisa nobly offers the flammable Tailee to provide a consistent fire, and with it Homer sets off the fireworks, drawing everyone from Adult Halloween - including the police, to his house. The three men are quickly arrested, and with Lisa having overcome her fears, Everscream Terrors is back on, much to the delight of Bart. In the credits, Maggie discovers a burnt-up Tailee, but its suddenly restores itself, carrying on its terrifying legacy with the second Simpson daughter.
Quick Review
This was a pretty decent episode. The main storyline with Lisa and Homer was pretty good and had many good jokes and bits. Bart's sidestory was significantly less funny, and the "Adult Halloween" bit was a major miss, bringing the episode down. Still, the episode didn't suffer too much from many of the things that often plague modern Simpsons (even the referencing was limited to just Halloween costumes), making for an overall enjoyable experience.
Final Score: 7.4
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