The Scam

"The Scam" is the thirty-ninth episode of Season 4 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the 163rd episode overall.

Synopsis
Carrie backs up Gumball's story about a monster, and the students want to hire them as ghost exterminators for Halloween candy.

Plot
It is Halloween, and to celebrate, Miss Simian is hosting a Halloween-themed show and tell for her students. The event seems rather dull until Gumball's turn; for his presentation, he tells his class a Halloween story about Gargaroth, a hideous monster who initally demanded a princess' hand in marriage, to which the king agreed, but the princess was so disgusted by Gargaroth's appearance that she left him at the altar; saddened, Gargaroth began eating everyone around him until he was banished to the underworld and all mentions of his name were forbidden, for it would allow him to re-enter the mortal realm.

As Gumball tells the story, he repeadedly mentions "Gargaroth," which terrifies the other students. The class begins to panic once Sarah's head begins to levitate and all sorts of paranormal activities occur, causing the whole class (except Gumball and Darwin) to flee in terror. Once everyone has left, Carrie is revealed to be the one behind the activities and that it was their idea as they intend to scam the whole school for Halloween candy. Darwin initially refuses to have any part in the scam, until Gumball tells him that participating in it will allow him to be close to Carrie (whom Darwin has a crush on).

Masquerading as ghost exterminators, Gumball and Darwin begin convincing the school that it is haunted by Gargaroth, with Carrie causing paranormal activities to support their claims. The trio is successful in scamming the school and gain more and more candy in the process. Once they leave, however, the floor begins to crack and the sky begins to glow red. At the Wattersons' house, Gumball, Darwin and Carrie are about to eat the candy they "earned." But as Carrie asks if Darwin is willing to lend her his body so she can eat, Gumball notices that there is something wrong with their school.

As they arrive at the scene, Mr. Small tells them that Gargaroth has taken over the school. The trio is shocked to know that the monster is real and the story is true. Despite that, however, they decide to do what they can to get rid of him.

Gargaroth rises from the underworld and attacks the trio. They make few attempts to fight him, all of which fail. Carrie realizes that the only way to get rid of him is to satisfy his hunger and convinces Gumball to give Gargaroth all their candy; if he consumes it all, he will explode. Gumball reluctantly agrees but does not want to give it all up, so he secretly keeps a leftover lollipop for himself, meaning that Gargaroth will stay. Carrie then makes one last attempt to get rid of him. She selflessly sacrifices herself for the sake of her friends and her school by becoming Gargaroth's bride, much to Darwin's horror. As Gargaroth is about to claim Carrie, Gumball grudgingly feeds him the last candy he had, causing Gargaroth to explode and the school to turn back to normal. The trio are then hailed as heroes.

Darwin then tries to ask Carrie out, but is too shy to do so properly. However, Carrie is willing to spend some time with him and asks if he wants to get an ice cream together. Before she can receive her answer, Gumball pulls his brother away, ending the episode.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * Carrie

Supporting Characters

 * Gargaroth

Minor Characters

 * Miss Simian
 * Idaho
 * Tobias
 * Banana Joe
 * Tina
 * Leslie
 * Masami
 * Sarah
 * Bobert
 * Anton
 * Carmen
 * Alan
 * Sussie
 * Principal Brown
 * Coach
 * Hot Dog Guy
 * Billy
 * Eggheads
 * Juke
 * Rocky
 * Mr. Small
 * Green Bear
 * Mr. Corneille
 * Hexagon Lady
 * Orange Guard
 * Gary
 * Melted Cheese Guy
 * Jeff
 * Neck Beard
 * Harold
 * Jackie
 * Shooting Star
 * Cowboy
 * Construction Men
 * Hobo
 * Mrs. Fitzgerald
 * Mr. Pepperoni
 * Siciliana

Trivia

 * This episode was aired during Season 5's run. However, it is part of Season 4.
 * This episode aired in multiple countries before it aired in the U.S.
 * Gumball's dislike of raisins reflects Jacob Hopkins' dislike of raisins.

Continuity

 * This is the show's second Halloween episode, the first was "Halloween."
 * This is also the second episode that hints at romantic feelings between Carrie and Darwin.
 * Tina's witch hat and Banana Joe's vampire outfit from "Halloween" are reused.

Cultural References

 * Idaho's opening song has lyrics taken directly from a scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
 * At the beginning of the episode, students dress up in various costumes. Among them are Gumball as Beetlejuice from the eponymous movie; Sarah as the Moon from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask; Leslie as Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors; and Anton as Gene Simmons of KISS.
 * When Darwin is fantasizing about dancing with Carrie, he sings a part of "Lovin You" by Minnie Riperton.
 * Gumball and Darwin's Gargaroth-hunting costumes, the method in which they go about fighting Gargaroth, and the theme music that plays throughout the episode are references to the film Ghostbusters.
 * Gargaroth resembles Hermaeus Mora from The Elder Scrolls franchise.

Goofs/Errors

 * Sussie is shown to be one of the students scared by Carrie's trick, but she is nowhere to be seen in wide shots of the classroom.
 * When Gumball "wraps" his body around Darwin, Gumball loses his Halloween costume.
 * The kids lose their Halloween costumes in the second half of the episode for inexplicable reasons.