The Mirror

The Mirror is the twenty-third episode of Season 3 of The Amazing World of Gumball. It is the ninety-ninth episode overall.

Synopsis
Against Darwin's advice, Gumball refuses to forward a scary email, bringing down a curse on the whole family.

Plot
The episode starts with Gumball talking about Penny at the dinner table at home, and Darwin is not happy about Gumball not paying attention to him and says if he doesn't stop talking he will eat his own face. Gumball keeps talking the Darwin eventually was eating his own face. Then Gumball gets an e-mail, hoping it will be Penny and he rushes upstairs. But sadly discovers it is a chain letter from a guy named The Snatcher which says if he doesn't forward that e-mail to ten people he will have a curse. First he will lose his money then his friends and then his family. Then that night, he will show his face in the mirror and with his long, cold claws he will rip his spirit away from him. Gumball then wants to delete it but Darwin tells him to forward it. Gumball doesn't listen to him and deletes it anyway.

The next day at the school bus Gumball asks Darwin if he believes in Bigfoot, Darwin says that he does because there is a picture of him. Then Gumball asks him what does he think he eats, Darwin says sausages. Later in the schoolyard Gumball asks if Darwin believes in horoscopes Darwin then asks "what else do you think stars are for?" Gumball laughs and asks Darwin what does he think they are for, and he says to tell us about the future and make wishes. Later at the school cafeteria, Gumball asks Darwin if he believes in telepathy ,Darwin tells him how come Gumball doesn't believe in telepathy while he just read his mind, Gumball then laughs. Then his time comes to take his food Rocky tells him it will be five dollars. Gumball digs through his pocket but can't find his money ,Darwin asks if he lost all his money but Gumball says he did not. Gumball says that he found it only to pull out his underwear .Rocky then says that they can't eat the food if they can't pay. Then Gumball sits at the table and cuts his underwear in half to share with Darwin. Gumball then eats his own underwear. Darwin says that it is the curse and the Snatcher will take all of his money. Gumball then sees Carrie and asks her to tell Darwin that the Snatcher does not exist. Carrie is shocked and teleports away. And Darwin tells Gumball that even Carrie is afraid of the curse. Gumball says it might be because that they are eating underwear in public.

In Miss Simian's class, Gumball and Penny communicate to each other with gestures. Penny blows a kiss to Gumball, and he "catches" it and kisses it. Then he "crumples" it into a ball and swings an imaginary bat to it, making it fly back to Penny. Penny catches it and puts it into her heart then kisses it. She puts it on an imaginary arrow, then shoots at Gumball's heart. Gumball collapses on his desk, then he winks at Penny. They both laugh silently. Then Gumball whispers to Darwin to tell her that she is so cool she gives penguins brain freezes. Darwin passes the message to a bored Leslie, sitting in front of him. Leslie passes it to Banana Joe. Banana Joe then passes it to Carmen. Carmen finally delivers the message to Penny. But the message is delivered as "Gumball says you're fat". Everyone starts throwing their things at Gumball. Banana Joe is thrown like a boomerang, and makes Gumball face-plant on his desk.

Gumball and Darwin walk home dejectedly. Gumball admits to Darwin that he was right about the curse. Gumball then hopes that they're family is still there. They then walk into the house only to find it empty. They call for them but get no response and Darwin tells Gumball that he told him so. Gumball slaps him and says he is being hysterical. Darwin slaps him back and then they slap each other repeatedly. They stop, and Darwin says that they're doing it his way now they are gonna need help...magic help: Mrs. Jotunheim. While Mrs. Jotunheim is mixing some ingredients in a cauldron, Darwin suddenly pops up from behind her and says "Hi!". In surprise, she drops a bottle of ingredients into the cauldron and there is an explosion. She agrees to make them a potion to defend them against The Snatcher's curse but says that she'll also need assistance. After Gumball unintentionally causes another explosion, he goes looking for ingredients for Mrs. Jotunheim. Darwin then asks her who The Snatcher is. She tells him the story:

"There once was a young man, a mortal man who fell in love with a beautiful ghost after seeing her in the mirror. All he wanted was to kiss her just once. In the forbidden book, he found an incantation. It allowed the living to touch a ghost. The price for this: a cursed life. Now, his spirit floats in limbo, trapped behind mirrors. Everyday day, he's becoming more lonely, more angry, looking for someone to take his place"

A skeleton arm appears, and they get scared. It turns out to be Gumball bringing Mrs. Jotunheim her the requested ingredients. She then mixes the arm into her cauldron, and soon gives them a mug with a potion in it. She tells them to throw it at The Snatcher when he appears to them. Back at their house (it was already night), they move in cautiously. Then they hear the door open, and Anais, Richard and Nicole come in with food. Gumball (surprised by them) splashes the potion on Richard's face (who says it is tasty). Seeing that their family is still there, Darwin and Gumball are relieved and are convinced that The Snatcher is not real. But then The Snatcher reveals himself when he takes Anais, Nicole and Richard with him, emerging through mirrors/mirror-like surfaces. Carrie teleports to them with the Forbidden Book to help, and says that the book has the solution to stop The Snatcher. She reveals that The Snatcher is her father. Gumball tries to escape but The Snatcher tries to take him and attacks them. They take cover behind a couch where Carrie says that they need to summon him, expose him to the first light of dawn, then smash the forbidden book at him to break the spell.

After Darwin suggests using the Forbidden Book to defend themselves, Gumball takes the book and unwittingly sacrifices his youth to cast a spell to fast-forward to dawn. Darwin tries to make Gumball eternally beautiful but ends up losing his life. After this, Gumball sacrifices his body to revive Darwin. Then they head to the attic to summon The Snatcher in a big mirror there. Gumball conjures up The Snatcher, and they expose him to the dawn's light, forcing him back into the mirror. Then Carrie smashes the Forbidden Book at the mirror which frees Anais, Richard, Nicole and her dad.

Now free of the cursed, Carrie's father (Vladus Lovus Lokowitchki) reunites with his daughter. He and Carrie attempt to hug with each other, but her dad (being a mortal) goes through her and falls out of the indoor, killing himself. But then this makes Carrie's father a ghost, and they at last give each other a long embrace. The rest of the Wattersons arrive, and watch Carrie's reunion with her father with happiness. Then Gumball starts talking about his relationship with Penny, much to the chagrin of his family.

Main Characters

 * Gumball
 * Darwin
 * The Snatcher/Vladus
 * Carrie

Supporting Characters

 * Anais
 * Nicole
 * Richard

Minor Characters

 * Carrie's Mother (mentioned)
 * Mrs. Jötunheim
 * Rocky
 * Juke
 * Sarah
 * Tobias
 * 8-Bit Dog
 * Mushroom
 * Green Bear
 * William
 * Alan
 * Banana Joe
 * Idaho
 * Penny
 * Jamie
 * Leslie
 * Carmen
 * Teri
 * Masami
 * Anton

Trivia

 * This is the third holiday special, and the second Halloween episode. It is also the first special to have "The" in the title. The first two specials are  "Halloween" and "Christmas." This is also the second Halloween special to have Carrie as a main character.
 * This is the second episode that revolves around curses, the first one being "The Curse."
 * This episode aired on the same day as "The Man."
 * This episode reveals that the Snatcher is Carrie's father.
 * It is revealed that ghosts can be summoned by saying their name five times.
 * This is the third episode in which a character dies onscreen. The first was "The Recipe" and the second was "The Boss".

Continuity

 * This is the second time Carrie possesses Gumball's body, the first being "The Ghost."
 * Darwin shatters to pieces again, like he did in "The Bros."
 * The same (or similar) footage of the shopping channel from "The Laziest" is shown when Darwin switches on the TV.
 * This is the second time Penny transforms into a Medusa look-alike, the first time was in "The Bros."
 * This is the second time Darwin eats himself, the first time was in "The Procrastinators."
 * This is the second time Gumball turns into an old man, the first time was in "The Job."
 * When Gumball dances around Darwin, he makes the same (or a similar) face that he did while tapping Sussie's head in "The Voice."

Cultural References

 * The Wattersons being cursed by a scary email is a reference to a chain letter.
 * Carrie's book is bound in human flesh, a reference to the Necronomicon.
 * The Snatcher manifesting through the TV set is a reference to Samara from the film The Ring.

Goofs/Errors

 * Tobias' walking animation is recycled from Season 1 in the lunch room.
 * In one scene, on the bus, Penny is seen with her shell on.