In the episode, Leslie (Amy Poehler) and Ben (Adam Scott) try to decide if Ben should continue his campaign manager career or return to Pawnee, Jerry (Jim O'Heir) has a heart attack, Tom (Aziz Ansari) comes up with a new business plan, and Ron (Nick Offerman) struggles in his relationship with Diane (Lucy Lawless).
In the Parks Department, Chris screens a movie, Death Canoe 4: Murder at Blood Lake, in honor of Halloween, and says that he intends to dress as his "greatest fear".
She is not in costume, though nearly everyone else is, including Tom as a ghost, Leslie as Rosie the Riveter, and Ann as Gabby Douglas.
[1] Leslie discusses her problems with Ben with Ann, who suggests they cheer up by scaring Tom, who has just left the movie screening to use the restroom.
While in the hospital, Jerry mentions that he is worried about the medical bills, but Leslie promises to make sure he has the future he had planned.
Tom attempts to sell some of his clothing, but a woman refuses to buy a jacket because her son would soon outgrow it.
This inspires Tom to create a new business: Rent-a-Swag, which rents expensive clothing to "teens, tweens, and everyone in between".
Leslie is disappointed by the low funds raised by the sale, projecting her own fears about her unstable future onto Jerry.
Within a week of the episode's original broadcast, a deleted scene was placed on the official Parks and Recreation website.
This gallery, titled "Halloween Costumes", is a series of seventeen stills from the three Halloween episodes of Parks and Recreation (Greg Pikitis in Season 2, Meet n Greet (Parks and Recreation) in Season 4, and this episode), showing multiple characters' costumes.
Donna's constant live-tweeting this episode is a reference to the actress Retta, whose own Twitter account is very popular online, and where she often reviews TV shows.
[9] Alan Sepinwall of HitFix called it a "very sweet, very funny episode", particularly mentioning the "beautiful climactic scene — another killer emotional moment from Amy Poehler".