Halloween is the fourth episode of season seven of Malcolm in the Middle and the second Halloween special.
Plot
Hal freaks out when Malcolm gives him the details of a grisly mass murder that occurred in the house years ago. Lois gets stuck working on Halloween and catches a shoplifter as everyone else at Lucky Aide throws a wild party. Reese and Dewey lose track of Jamie as they flee from an old man named Mr. Sheldon, after egging his house, while Lois gets arrested for kidnapping when she picks up the wrong child. Meanwhile, Jamie returns to the house and eats too much candy in the shaft, and he accidentally scares Hal and Malcolm, which causes Malcolm to jump out of the window.
Sypnosis
In a B-Story, Dewey confesses that he destroyed the kitchen oven and is worried that Lois will punish him. He's asking for Reese and Malcolm to cover for him. The two are sympathetic of Dewey's plight and talks to him about it. Reese mentions that he left a hole in the bathroom wall and Malcolm mentions that he broke Hal's camera. Lois comes in and tells Dewey that he's off the hook. She grabs Malcolm and Reese to punish them for the destruction of the oven, leaving him confused over what just happened.
Malcolm, Reese and Dewey are going on the annual scary tour guide in the neighborhood. The trio are later shocked when the driver in the tour hearse stops over at their own home and learn about a grisly murder that took place. This is enough to make Malcolm sick to his stomach.
The next day, Hal freaks out when Reese and Dewey tell him about the grisly murder that took place in their house. When he attempts to confront Lois about it, she points out that he always freaks out over the smallest things. She mentions that years ago, they passed up on the house that she wanted just because Hal had a problem with the defective doorbell. Hence, she got revenge on him by getting the house they currently live in and refuses to move out just because the boys heard rumors that it was a site of a murder. Lois admits she's stressed out because her boss has just called her into work at Lucky Aide, despite having asked for time off 8 months ago. She mentions that she complained to him over the phone against letting his wife and her co-worker, Mary Beth, take time off just because she is a Wiccan. Lois' boss was unmoved, mentioning that the Wiccan convention in the East Coast means a lot to Mary Beth and his in-laws. He mentions that he can't make her work just because Lois wanted time off on Halloween. Hal tries to reassure her that there will be other Halloweens for her to celebrate. Lois is insistent this is the only Halloween that she looks forward to because Jamie is still cute and she can dress him in costumes however she liked for a photograph. It had been a tradition for her to look forward to Halloween when all the boys were cute and on their best behaviors. Then every year after it, Lois avoids Halloween like the plague and prefers to work on that day. This is because every other Halloween ends with her picking up the boys at the police station after being arrested for their misbehavior and causing mischief in the neighborhood.
Before leaving for work, Lois informs Reese and Dewey that they're in charge of Jamie. She mentions that they need to being him to the Lucky Aide photography for pictures. Lois also warns Reese and Dewey to behave themselves and not cause any mischief in the neighborhood or else they'll be spending the night in jail.
During Trick-or-Treating, Reese and Dewey does misbehave by egging Mr. Sheldon. The old man retaliates by chasing after the two boys and causing them to run. In their attempt to escape from him, Reese and Dewey loses Jamie.
Lois gets stuck working on Halloween and catches a shoplifter as everyone else at Lucky Aide throws a wild party. When she complains about their lack of seriousness, Craig points out that Halloween is the only time they get to celebrate. However, she shoot him down and tells everyone that the party is over and they need to go back to work. Reese and Dewey appears with a child in a similar orange cat costume. Lois is later arresting for kidnapping as a mother points out that her daughter in the costume(removing the mask as proof).
At the house, Malcolm does extensive research over it's history and learns that the house wasn't part of a grisly murder. The house next door was actually the sight of the murder years ago, which the police reports confirmed and were bribed money to change the address. When Malcolm tells Hal this, he is relieved that their house isn't a murder scene. They're both unaware that Jamie is hiding in the crawlspace and they get scared over the noises. Hal later traces the noises back to him and takes Jamie out of the crawlspace.
Mr. Sheldon finds Reese and Dewey and pays the boys back for egging him by tricking them to jumping down a glue laced bed. He proceeds to get his revenge by throwing eggs at them. Despite Dewey's efforts to make Reese apologize to Mr. Sheldon, he abrasively refuses and continues to insult him.
Cast
- Jane Kaczmerek as Lois
- Bryan Cranston as Hal
- Christopher Kennedy Masterson as Francis
- Justin Berfield as Reese
- Erik Per Sullivan as Dewey
- Frankie Muniz as Malcolm
Guest Stars
Recurring
- David Anthony Higgins as Craig Feldspar
- James and Lukas Rodriguez as Jamie
Cameos
- Jack Axelrod as Mr. Sheldon
- Alex Weed as Karl
- Rob Elk as Devon
- Rose Abdoo as Margie
Trivia
- Second Halloween special. (Halloween Approximately)
- It is revealed that the family's house was the scene of a murder. Lois knew about it, but Hal didn't know until this episode.
- This is the fifth and final time Lois gets arrested during the series.
- One could notice Malcolm is wearing Francis' military sweater.
- Reese's antagonism towards old people came back to haunt him when Mr. Sheldon chased after him and Dewey.
- This episode establishes that Lois wanted time off on Halloween while her sons are still toddlers. This is because the boys were on their best behaviors and cute enough to dress them in costumes however she liked. Then every year after that, Lois prefers to work on Halloween and avoids celebrating it. This had to do with her boys will misbehave by causing trouble to get arrested by the police, which ends with her picking them up at the police station.
Quotes
- Dewey: I'm toast. Mom found out I'm the one who broke the oven.
- Malcolm: Aw, man. You're going down.
- Dewey: I know. So if you want me to take the fall for anything, I'd love to talk.
- Reese: I'm in, the hole in the bathroom wall.
- Malcolm: Me too, dad's camera.
- [Lois walks in the boys' bedroom]
- Lois: All right, Dewey, you're off the hook.
- [This confuses Dewey as Lois faces Malcolm and Reese in anger, causing the two boys to be confused]
- Lois:[grabbing Malcolm and Reese's arm] You two!!!
- [She talks Malcolm and Reese away to punish them]
- Dewey: You're supposed to wait until I've got my money
- Dewey (to Reese): Hey, you're right. The candy you steal off other kids really does taste better.
- Reese: I'm telling you, it's the fear.
- Lois: I cannot believe they called me into work. I requested Halloween off 8 months ago, and suddenly, Mary Beth becomes a Wiccan so she can take it as a religious holiday.
- Hal: There will be more Halloweens... barring some tragic event.
- Lois: But this is the good one, you know? There's such a tiny window where the kids are so sweet and adorable and you can dress them up however you want. Every year after that, Halloween's just another trip to the police station.
- Hal (whispering to Lois): You knew we were buying a death house and you didn't tell me?!
- Lois: I didn't tell you because I knew you'd have this reaction.
- Hal: Well, of course I'd have this reaction. I don't like murder. Maybe that's something you should know about me.
- Lois: Hal, it's always something with you. You passed on that one house because you thought the doorbell sounded gay. You can't have a perfect house.
- Hal: It would be nice to have a murderless one.
- Lois: Well, you should just drop it because there's nothing we can do about it. Death and mold are two things you can expect to find in any house and we are not moving!
- Hal: There's mold?!