The New Normal Episode 1.18 Para-New Normal Activity

It's Halloween season, and no one's bubbling with more anticipation than Bryan! Halloween means scary movies, picking out pumpkins with his celeb BFF Nicole Richie at the Paparazzi Patch, and most importantly: costumes! David suggests that the whole gang goes as a sports team, but Bryan, always the control freak when it comes to costumes, has already decided that they're all going as the infamous redneck family from "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo."

Goldie's in for a bit of a Halloween surprise when Shania's father, Clay, arrives at her apartment. Even though they're in the midst of a custody battle, Clay and Shania always spend Halloween together, and he'd hate to miss out on the tradition. Goldie melts when she sees Shania run into her father's arms and agrees to let him stay for Halloween.

Meanwhile, David is insistent on blazing his own trail and going as football player Tom Brady for Halloween instead of giving into Bryan's demands. He doesn't get why Bryan feels the need to always be so flamboyant on Halloween, and Bryan explains that it's the only time he feels like he can let his "freak flag fly" without others passing judgment. David understands, but still stands his ground and decides to go as Tom Brady and make his own decision on his Halloween costume for once.

The gang preps their Honey Boo Boo costumes, but after getting all dolled up as the young pageant princess herself, Shania starts to have her doubts. Dressing up as Honey Boo Boo seems like an endorsement for mocking a family that doesn't know any better because of their socioeconomic means. And that's not something she wants to be a part of. Goldie's again touched by Shania's maturity and tells her that she doesn't have to dress up as anything she doesn't want to be.

Shania instead suggests that they all dress up as Frankenstein, because really they're a Frankenstein family in a lot of ways; their mismatched parts, sewn together, make up an amazing family. Even Bryan can't argue with this, and they all don their appropriate Frankenstein outfits (except for David, who stands steadfastly by his Tom Brady costume.)

Just when the gang's about to leave for trick-or-treating, they're met with yet another surprise: Nana! While Goldie's at first upset to see her mother, Nana insists that she's never missed one of Shania's Halloweens and doesn't intend to start now. Later, Nana and Goldie share a warm moment when Goldie admits that she may always get upset with Nana, but it's only because she's there to get upset at. Really, Nana is the only person in Goldie and Shania's life who's been constant, and for that, Goldie is eternally grateful.

After spending some quality time with Shania trick-or-treating, Clay has a surprising announcement to make. He knows he hasn't been a great dad, and he wants to do better by Shania. He knows that the right thing for Shania is to be here in LA with her mom, and as such, he's decided to drop the custody case and move to Los Angeles!