Know Your Meme user Jack the Dipper's opinion of every "Gravity Falls" episode - 12/13/2014 (first edition)
[I do not consider these opinions "reviews". Please do not expect the quality associated with that term from them.]
Season 1:
1. Tourist Trapped (8/10): This is a solid introduction to the series. It has almost all the elements I like about the show, mainly the blend of humor and atmosphere. While I do find this episode kind of lacking in the humor department, there's some heavy atmosphere and mystery to make up for it. In fact, sometimes I find the show's humor to be trying too hard and I would appreciate if more episodes tried to be as reserved in it as this one. All of the main characters' personalities are well established, especially Dipper and Mabel as well as their relationship as siblings. It sets up the kind of town where I can accept that there are just gnome people wandering around the woods. I also like the cold open where Dipper's narration and the freeze frame before the theme song almost make it seem like a movie. This was the first episode I saw (the show was about 8 episodes in at the time) and I knew I was in for a ride.
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker (7/10): This episode has the humor the first episode was missing and it was very much welcome (my favorite joke being "HER AIM IS GETTIN' BETTER"). It has a good bit of atmosphere to go with it, especially on Scuttlebutt Island. It also further establishes Stan's personality and his relationship with the twins. There's nothing wrong with this episode, but to me it falls just short of the pilot.
3. Headhunters (7/10): This used to be one of my least favorite episodes, but upon further viewings I realized what I don't like about it most: the climax. It's a pretty lame climax to me, but everything leading up to it is fine. It has good humor and I enjoyed the twins' detective work as well as their interactions with the police. It also shows that Mabel has talent beyond random joke-spouting, which is fine in moderation but can easily become grating.
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel (9/10): I don't know if I can explain why this is my favorite episode and you're justified in disagreeing. It's just something about the writing, the subtle humor, and Mabel's "performance" this episode I just love. It's not the most exciting episode, but it feels so heavy like the plot and character development are moving forward. It's the least unlikable Gideon episode in the show. It is also the episode I realized I wanted to see more Wendy after her talk with Mabel. To many, I can see how this may be a throwaway episode, but I still really enjoyed it.
5. The Inconveniencing (7/10): On an unrelated note, this is probably my favorite Gravity Falls episode title. Anyway, other than an underwhelming climax (saved by Dipper's yiff dance), this is a pretty standard episode (scratch that, I just remembered Stan watching TV and Mabel's acid trip). This episode has good elements to it and some mediocre ones as well, namely Wendy's douchebag friends, of which I have a soft spot for Thompson, poor guy. In the end, it's definitely not a waste of an episode.
6. Dipper vs. Manliness (7/10): This is my idea of a middle of the road episode. It's not bad, but it's not great either. The most that comes out of it is Dipper learns more about himself and that being "manly" isn't all it's cracked up to be, which is not a bad moral. I don't find the subplot with Stan and Susan that important, but it didn't ruin the episode. My favorite scene is Dipper's badass ascent to the Multi-Bear's cave.
7. Double Dipper (8/10): This is one of the finest non-premiere/finale episodes the show has to offer. It has damn near everything I like in good episodes: good humor, character development (especially between Dipper and Wendy), and an atmospheric scene with Dipper and Tyrone on the roof (one of my favorites in the show). Whether they end up going out or not (they don't), this episode shows that Dipper and Wendy are going to be good friends over the summer. Mabel's new friends Candy and Grenda receive a proper introduction as well. Their quirky aspects are shown to an acceptable degree wherein later episodes they often become exploited (I miss Grenda's inside voice). It's no secret that Pacifica's a bitch, but some good jokes result from her presence (such as the plastic cup breaking from her high note). Oh yeah, there were a bunch of Dipper clones in this episode too. They were fun.
8. Irrational Treasure (7/10): This used to be another one of my least favorite episodes, not because of my usual "nothing happens" reason because plenty happens. It's just that I didn't find the plot that interesting. I've since come to find the episode okay. It's got some good humor and the twins being detectives again. I probably shouldn't complain when the show does what it advertises itself for. Plus, it felt good to shit on Pacifica at the end. Trembley's alright too.
9. The Time Traveler's Pig (9/10): I usually don't like time travel plots and the paradoxes that ensue, but this episode was so good I didn't care. I loved watching Dipper and Mabel relive the day, the sacrifice Dipper made for Mabel, and Mabel and Waddles being adorable. I also liked The scene at the end of the first day with Dipper wallowing in regret at the fair and Mabel trying to cheer him up with Dr. Waddles. Despite all the time travel shenanigans, this episode's premise is fairly simple but very effective.
10. Fight Fighters (8/10): Everything about this episode besides Rumble is pretty standard, but he is what pushes it into awesome territory. The animation on him, especially in the scene where he emerges from the arcade machine, is gimmicky but cool as all hell. I really have nothing else to say about it.
11. Little Dipper (5/10): This is where the show went to shit for a while. This is the epitome of a "nothing happens" episode. It's Gideon at his most obnoxious, Dipper and Mabel's petty fighting that didn't go anywhere worthwhile, and a severe lack of good jokes (Stan had some good lines though). The most I get out of it is a closer look at Gideon's fucked up family (just keep vacuuming). There's almost nothing salvageable out of this episode for me.
12. Summerween (5/10): Mr. Adequate Bar? More like Mr. Adequate Episode. This episode was lame as hell, and I expected better from a Halloween episode of this show. There are few good jokes and I just can't feel invested in what they're doing. It doesn't seem like the kids give a shit if they get eaten and neither did I. In theory and design, the Trickster could have been a lot cooler, but the reveal of who he was shattered any potential he had. The first time watching it, I actually thought that Soos killed the Trickster when he was run over and disintegrated. Then the episode could have focused on Dipper and Mabel's quarrel and something good may have come out of it. Anything good in this episode is overshadowed by the awful like the credits sequence. Jesus Christ, the credits sequence. Do kids today even know what LOLcats are? I bet they saw it and just thought "ooh, it's like those funny meme pictures on Twitter and Instagram!" This is a mediocre episode at best but an even worse Halloween special.
13. Boss Mabel (5/10): This was my least favorite episode for a long time, but maybe it was bitterness from this being the first new episode after a 4 month hiatus. This episode has slightly grown on me. In fact, I like how Dipper wants the Shack to have real exhibits (and another yiff dance is always welcome (I'm not a fucking furry, by the way; this is all just joking)). It's a love-hate relationship. The title character herself, Boss Mabel, is not bad in her own right, but this episode has plenty of shit to offer. On top of it being a "nothing happens" episode, this episode has a surplus of jokes falling flat. The "Stan Wrong Song" wasn't funny, the scene with the tourists as wallets wasn't funny, the Singing Salmon wasn't funny, and I have some nitpicks involving "Cash Wheel". On the puzzle that turns out to be “shut your yaps”, why isn’t there a space between “shut” and “your”? It’s not like it looked like another phrase and it turned out to be that as a joke. It should have just been two words. At the final puzzle, given the clue “May I blank have that?”, why would Stan guess “gimmee”? May I gimmee have that? And don’t get me started on “pabracadabra”. Finally, the Gremloblin was just dumb. He’s one of the least memorable creatures in Gravity Falls. I can’t even remember exactly what he looks like.
14. Bottomless Pit! (6/10): This is where the show started to emerge from the slump, but it wasn’t quite out yet. This episode treats the viewer to 3 separate segments of which none are particularly good. They’re not bad, but they don’t have that many good jokes or are all that interesting. My favorite story is “Trooth Ache” and not just because it’s the only one that’s canon. It has some classic Grunkle Stan moments. My next favorite is “Voice Over” with a few good moments (except Stan’s new voice and the “techno” “remix” of Dipper’s voice). Clocking in at the longest title, my least favorite is “Soos’ Really Great Pinball Story (Is That a Good Title? Do They Have to Be Puns or Whatever?)”. Even though it’s not canon, Soos even considering letting the twins die to keep a high score is pretty low even as a joke. Other than that, it’s just a lame segment much like the rest of this episode. It’s definitely a “nothing happens” episode considering 3 out of 4 (counting “Grunkle Stan Wins the Football Bowl”) segments aren’t canon and the Bottomless Pit leads directly where it started, but as far as those episodes go, this isn’t the worst. It’s at least a little entertaining in that it’s 5 different storylines (counting the main one), and it’s not completely devoid of good elements (it’s still pretty close).
15. The Deep End (7/10): This episode is more like it, and it reassured me that this is a show worth watching. Its strongest point for me is the humor. This episode has good joke on top of good joke, two of my favorites being when Dipper tells Soos to go home after he breaks into the pool at night and when Mr. Poolcheck swallows his whistle. It’s another Mabel crush episode, but I actually don’t mind Mermando despite Mabel’s shallow and immediate initial attraction to him. They both seem to get along and care about each other and, if not for the species division, they might have actually worked out. I can’t say that I like Mermando yet because I haven’t seen enough of him, but I can see him becoming a fan favorite in a return episode if he does something big. In addition, this episode has an exciting and fanservicey climax, more Dipper and Wendy bonding, and probably my favorite credits sequence with the kid with the heart of a champion in pool jail.
16. Carpet Diem (7/10): This episode is all over the place, and a lot of it is good and some of it is just passable. I like how Dipper and Mabel are at ends with each other for most of the episode, especially when Mabel off-screen yells at Dipper “I’ll kill you!” as the scene changes. Other funny moments I like are Waddles in Soos’s body, Soos and the lady Waddles met while in his body, everyone’s body switch-ups, Dipper letting a wolf chew on his leg instead of going back to Mabel’s sleepover, and Stan’s penis joke on children’s TV. It ends with a heartwarming scene in which Dipper and Mabel realize how much they like being together despite their fights, which was a big reason for me liking this episode.
17. Boyz Crazy (5/10): No. Bad episode. I know she’s probably a nice person, but Ariel Hirsch should just let her brother Alex make his show (the cryptogram implies this is what happened). Now, I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some good jokes here and there, but that’s neither here nor there. This episode, which is I guess supposed to be a satire, comes off as more of a tribute to boy bands with Mabel squealing all over them the whole time. In a rare turn of events, Candy and Grenda come off as more likable and sane than Mabel (plus, Candy’s one liners “I welcome you, death” and “we are criminals; we will cut you” are pretty funny). For what’s supposed to be a parody (I hope), Sev’ral Timez’ songs sound far too genuine and are not nearly clever enough, especially that awful “Mabel Girl” song. Dipper’s subplot doesn’t fare much better. Wendy and Robbie may be broken up (which is good), but Dipper was a major douche for trying to ask her to go bowling right after. I liked Dipper and Stan’s bonding though. Overall, this is without a doubt the worst choice of first episode for someone wanting to watch the show. It’s an embarrassment.
18. Land Before Swine (7/10): This episode focuses on the relationship between two pairs of characters who haven’t gotten much attention together: Mabel with Stan and Dipper with Soos (Wendy sits this one out). Mabel and Waddles are adorable together as always, Stan shows his softer side as well as his badass side, and Soos has some much needed redemption after a day and a summer of fuckups. He tries his hardest and deserves better luck. It also has good atmosphere in the underground cave and I like the lighting and suspense in the scene when Dipper develops the photos (and Soos’s funny nacho moment at the end of it).
19. Dreamscaperers (9/10): The atmosphere, the emotions, and the cliffhanger are real and heavy in this first part of the season finale. It introduces the funny, cool, and mysterious triangular demon Bill Cipher who makes sure we know he knows something we don’t (lots of things). The animation on him (especially in his summoning sequence), Stan’s mindscape, and the living room as they enter Stan’s mind are also stunning. I especially liked the scene in which memory Stan tells memory Soos about how Dipper reminded him of his younger self. Dipper’s misunderstanding may have come from the cliché of not hearing everything someone says, but the emotional turmoil that follows I feel is justified unlike some other petty conflicts in the show. Other favorite scenes of mine are when Bill’s exit scene when he says he’ll be watching them and the cliffhanger that left every fan hanging for the rest of the month (and then a whole fucking year for the next season). Two of the episodes weakest points are Xyler and Craz (ugh) and the climax (up until Bill’s exit scene), but they hardly tarnish what is an overall great episode.
20. Gideon Rises (9/10): This second part of the season finale ends with an even bigger cliffhanger and longer following hiatus than the first part. Despite this, I feel that the wait was more dire after “Dreamscaperers” because the future of the show was at stake. I thought it was a possibility that, since Gideon had taken over the Shack, the main characters would have to stay someplace else for the remainder of the series. For all I knew, the Mystery Shack may have been an exclusively Season 1 location. I may have doubted it and expected them to get it back in the next episode, but the concern was still there. It turned out that my worry was correct for the first part of this episode as it starts with them staying at Soos’s grandma’s house. The episode ends as satisfyingly as I could have hoped for in a season finale with Gideon being arrested and the crew regaining the Shack. It’s all the more satisfying when you think about the times Dipper was defeated in the episode (when his first plan with the gnomes backfired, the emotional and somber scene in which the twins are sent back home, and the final moment when Dipper almost walks away from the Gideon-bot after it takes Mabel (followed by an implausible yet awesome jumping through the eye sequence (BIG AIR BONUS))). It was also nice to see Mabel’s grappling hook come in life-saving handy. Seriously, I probably should have expected it, but I wasn’t thinking about it, and after that explosion as I was waiting to see how they survived, I saw that line going to the top of the screen and I just knew. After it seems like everything wraps up, a whole new wave of mystery and speculation is opened up by an intense and suspenseful scene where we see the inside of Stan’s vending machine, the portal he opens with the help of the 3 journals, but not quite what it does yet. I place this episode just above the first part for a few heavier scenes and not having two imaginary, older than high school looking douchebags weighing it down. Now that I think about it, the 2 parts basically stand on their own and all that connects them as a finale is the first part’s cliffhanger. Either way, they’re both substantially great episodes and the best note to leave on for a year’s wait (they still don’t excuse a wait that long, though).
Season 2:
1. Scary-oke (8/10): What a fucking ride this episode is. As for the cliffhanger, it doesn’t reveal what the portal is, but it doesn’t ignore it either. It’s a central element to the episode, but all that’s known about it now is that it’s important, it’s powerful, and it will take time and constant attention to finally ignite. This lets the episodes essentially carry on as usual. The cold open is intense and you know some serious shit is about to go down. That air of seriousness is the episode’s best quality to me. I like Agent Powers and Trigger and their interactions with Stan and Dipper, especially Dipper’s eagerness to show them the supernatural. I like the atmosphere of the scene in which Dipper raises the dead, the action of the scene in which the twins run away from the zombies (and Mabel kicking some ass too), but I especially like Stan’s badass scene defending the kids from the zombies. I also like how Stan doesn’t have to pretend to be oblivious to the town’s supernatural elements and the dynamic of him wanting to protect Dipper while Dipper still wants to explore (them both breaking their promises as they make them is pretty heavy). The episode still has a good deal of corny and lame, party-related shit and a karaoke number to finish off the zombies, and while these are hard to overlook (just look at the title), they don’t make it a bad episode. It’s a good opening and it sets the tone for the rest of the season. After that behemoth of a hiatus, it didn’t disappoint.
2. Into the Bunker (9/10): This follow-up as I call it to the first Season 2 episode has everything it had in it and more. Atmosphere, humor, character development, cool environments, a cool antagonist, mystery, revelations, an emotional near death experience, all that good shit. The highlight of it to me, however, is when Wendy comforts Dipper after hearing him say he loves her (and admitting she always knew) while saying they can still be good friends. That shit gives me chills like not much else can. To splurge on about this episode anymore would ruin its integrity, so I’ll just leave it at that.
3. The Golf War (6/10): This is a weird episode, and not necessarily the good kind of weird. Its main gimmick is that there’s little golf ball people that control the balls at a mini golf course… okay? I don’t know about this one. On one hand, it has some good jokes in it, especially in the first third (Mabel drops a sick burn on Pacifica’s punk ass), but on the other hand… ball people. There’s not much I can do with ball people. This is the kind of episode you realize how dumb it is when you watch it with people. The only thing I like that comes from them is the Big Henry scene (he’s probably dead, so probably R.I.P. unless he’s not; it is a kids’ show after all), but the thing I hate the most also comes from them: the credits sequence. Nothing about that song was clever or endearing. There is even less of an excuse for it than Sev’ral Timez. Purge this show of it. Remove Balls. There’s also Pacifica. She’s a bitch as usual, but I will say that, with that last scene, she isn’t completely irredeemable. Of all things, I also like the scene with Soos and Stan in the car alone. It was pretty unexpectedly funny. It’s an okay episode with good things about it, all things considered.
4. Sock Opera (7/10): This is a fun episode. Before it aired, I thought with the sock puppets that it would suck (mainly because I somehow thought the whole episode would be a puppet show), but I actually enjoyed it. It’s funny and cute enough, but Bipper is the clear star of this episode. That twist completely took me by surprise and I’m glad they never showed it in the previews (it was known Bill would be in the episode, but not like that). It’s actually sort of brilliant to make the episode seem like just a puppet show only to throw demonic possessions at you out of nowhere. I also like when Mabel apologizes to Dipper and calls him a dumb guy (like when she called Stan a dinosaur in the apology in “The Legend of the Gobblewonker”). Their relationship is again put to the test in a constructive way. Other than all this goodness, it’s still an episode about puppets after all. There’s a good bit of lameness amidst the cool parts, mostly Gabe (one letter sound away from the best word to describe him), but I still liked this episode a lot. You can’t go wrong with sock puppets getting blown the fuck out to “Ave Maria”.
5. Soos and the Real Girl (6/10): This is an episode for anime fans which I am not. I have nothing against anime or its fans; I just personally don’t care for it. That being said, Giffany wasn’t a half-bad character, but she doesn’t hold a candle to Rumble McSkirmish. The comparison of this episode to “Fight Fighters” is inevitable because they both rely heavily (though not wholly) on the gimmick of a pixelated character turned antagonist. They aren’t poorly done gimmicks, but it leaves little else to the episode to analyze, at least for me. When it comes down to it, the ratings I give for these episodes mostly come from how much I liked the gimmicks. Giffany just didn’t do it for me the same way Rumble did (no homo). I know that’s a bullshit way to judge an episode, but I’m a simple guy. I guess the rest of the episode is okay in its own right. There are some good jokes and all, but I don’t know how I feel about Melody yet. She needs more episodes to become a developed and likable character, but for now, she’s pretty stale. There’s hope for her at least, because I felt the same way about Soos at first and now I can’t imagine the show without him. I’ll leave it at that.
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors (6/10): This second 3-segmented episode of the show suffers from the same problems the first one did. However, despite it having the same rating as “Bottomless Pit!”, I like this one slightly better thanks to some better shorts and the ending. First, “Hands Off” was stupid. The funniest part was when Stan couldn’t catch the eggs thrown at him. “Abaconings” was better. I liked Neil deGrasse Tyson as smart Waddles okay. “Clay Day” was the best with the stop-motion animation and some of the better jokes of the episode. To quote Harry Claymore about this short, “That was the best part.” Of all things about that short, I think it’s funny how Mabel had to be carried to the mansion in that fucking clothes basket (plus her delivery of that one raspy “NO”). I also like the demented ending scene when Stan drugs the traveler, traps him in a Mystery Shack display, and neither of the twins let him out as Mabel fucks around with him by playing tic-tac-toe. What little shits.
7. Society of the Blind Eye (7/10): The most important thing this episode does is establish Old Man McGucket as a significant character, and after what is revealed about him, he deserves it. That memory scene of how he became insane was tops. This is one of those episodes that didn’t need to be full of jokes, but there were still some good ones mixed in with the atmosphere and suspense. The climax was weak until the part where McGucket knocks Blind Ivan’s ray gun out of his hand while not giving a fuck. All in all, this is a really good episode, just not quite an 8 to me.
8. Blendin’s Game (7/10): If there was ever the opposite of a “nothing happens” episode, this is it. The Globnar/future shit is crazy, Soos’s emotional problems are addressed, Dipper finds out how Wendy feels about his young ass having a crush on her, it’s all over the place. Not all of it works in its favor (a fucking time wish; get that wannabe “Fairly OddParents” shit out of here), but most of it does. It sets up an episode where you think it’s just going to be about the future and time travel, but it turns out to be more about Soos’s backstory, which is very good. I like how the twins rewarded Blendin Blandin after all they put him through. He’s an annoying character, but not unrelatable. I like Soos’s lesson at the end, but what ruins it is that stupid fucking time wish. First, like Blendin said, he could have literally wished for anything. Any world problem could have been solved right then but he chose to do what any cartoon normally does in a cutaway. Not only that, but he proved that he could wish for more than one thing by wishing for that infinite pizza slice. I hated things like that, but this is a great episode otherwise.
9. The Love God (5/10): Like any episode of this show, this one is not devoid of good and funny moments, such as Mabel offering to pay with a squirrel, Robbie’s parents, and Stan’s Hindenburg face of doom. With that being said, I’d like to shit all over the episode now. Every time Wendy’s friends are involved, douchebaggery is afoot. I can’t tell her to just hang out with Dipper and the rest at the Shack all day, but dammit, I wish she just would because there is nothing likable about any of her friends except Thompson and that’s just the sympathy factor. They poison every good character they come in contact with. Dipper turns into a dickbag of a tryhard and Mabel ruins their relationship and her confidence by trying to make them happy. I know it’s supposed to be a story arc of Dipper’s that he wants to be mature, but I hope in a future episode he realizes shit like what he does here isn’t cool and it’s okay just to be himself. Here’s another major thing I don’t understand: the reason Mabel doesn’t want to break Robbie and Tambry up is because she’s learned not to mess with people’s relationships, but it took doing exactly fucking that to get them to go out in the first place. But it’s all good because everyone can laugh at Thompson again. That’s all it takes for everyone to be friends again. Nevermind he’s the only one out of you all with a hint of personality (except Wendy). Oh, and there’s the waste of animation himself, the Love God. Nothing about him is charming or funny and I wouldn’t miss him if he never returned. I swear, 3 of these 5 points come from that balloon scene alone (especially when it first took off; they had some really clever wordplay there). Again, I don’t absolutely loathe the experience of watching this episode, but it is definitely a disappointment for the show I love to fail on this many levels.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 12/13/2014. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery (7/10): This was not the episode I expected at all. I used to have an automatic bullshit reaction to the name Northwest alone (insert low blow to Kanye's year old daughter here), and it's still justified except for Pacifica herself. I was agreeing with Alpha Dipper's cold remarks at the beginning, but unlike Robbie in the last episode, Pacifica is legitimately redeemed for me. She is actually ashamed of her shortcomings and overcame them in the end. Good for her, but I'm still not on board with Padippica unlike what seems like most of the fandom right now. Mabel and Candy were funny too, but Grenda ending up with that guy was predictable (I don't remember his name, I just saw the episode). Other than that, the suspense, atmosphere, and cold-bloodedness of the main plot, flashback, and that bomb-ass cliffhanger were all tops. Also, I just realized, this is the first Stan-less episode, which is a shame. A few disparaging, Grunky one-liners toward the Northwest family would have been the cherry atop this satisfying cake of a comeback episode.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 2/16/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
11. Not What He Seems (10/10): You know what, fuck it. I didn't think I'd give an episode a perfect 10, and this isn't to say this episode is perfect, but I'm not satisfied giving it any less than a 10. This is the most suspenseful episode by far, and with that climax, you'd think it's a season or even series finale. Sure, it leaves a lot of loose ends to be tied, but it does a damn good job of making me want more, which is the best quality any episode can have (unless it's a series finale and no spin-off show will be made). The journey leading up to the climax has some excitement and funny moments as well, but who that just watched it is even thinking about that right now? That ending scene and even the credits sequence (sure to become a favorite) made any skeptics whose opinions are even worth listening to realize that despite all the child-oriented, silly, and mediocre jokes and episodes this show has to offer, it is still a show worth taking seriously or at least strongly contemplating why you don't like it if you don't. It may be a show heavily-oriented on comedy, but that's not the series's main purpose. This show has a plan, an end goal, a statement, goddammit! I don't know where old Alex is going with it, but he's going somewhere and I can only hope that when it all comes to a close, it can be as glorious as this one episode, only I'd prefer all the loose ends to be tied (I don't expect them to be, though).
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 3/9/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
12. A Tale of Two Stans (9/10): Okay, I may have been a little generous with the previous episode's rating, but these two episodes are undoubtedly by me the best of the series so far, this one being the best (despite having a 9, suck my dick). Those 8 or so extra minutes to fill the commercial-free (why Disney allowed it, I don't know, and I don't know what they're going to do with reruns either) 30 minute time slot really went a long way to make this episode feel like a mini "Gravity Falls" movie, and a great one to boot. It explains almost everything about the basic premise of the show, Stan (now Stans), and the Shack, but not in an expository "this is what happened" way but in an entertaining, dramatic, and story-driven way. Not only are the important plot points explained, but several small and "insignificant" connections (to me at least, not to the more lore-crazy Dipperish fans, some of whom I've already seen say this episode was disappointing because they "already knew all this") are revealed, from Stan's tattoo (a burn scar) to Susan's lazy eye to the rap-blaring teens at the convenience store. Similar throwbacks were done in "Blendin's Game", but it's a lot cooler and more important-seeming in this episode, despite being essentially useless Easter eggs. Comedic highlights include the cheap products Stan tried to sell across the country, Soos's call to Wendy at the end, and Backupsmore University, but the most striking element of the episode to me is the parallel between the Stans' relationship and that between Dipper and Mabel, which is addressed and discussed by them at the end. The biggest concern I have with this episode is the name mix-up with Stanley and Stanford. Everyone's been calling them the other's name, but what now? Do we call them by their real names? The "new guy" is probably going to be referred to as Ford while the Grunkle is going to still be called simply Stan, but the real names are going to contradict old references to the both of them in which Stanley is called Stanford and vice versa. Anyway, that's just a name gripe and it doesn't tarnish this episode in the slightest. Now that we're all on the same page with the history of Grunkle Stan, his brother, and the Mystery Shack, I look forward to seeing Stanford's role in the show and how the series progresses from here.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 7/13/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons (7/10): Let me say first of all that this episode was the show's greatest when it comes to references, meta humor, and jabs at nerd culture and even the show's fanbase, but aside from all that it was pretty mediocre. It being a letdown isn't helped by the greatness of the two previous episodes. My biggest disappointment is that I'm not quite sure how the show is going to exist from here on an episode-to-episode basis, and this episode did little to explain. Are Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, Soos, and the rest of them still going to get wrapped up in mystery hunts and such shenanigans now that Ford is here? Is Stan still commercially running the Mystery Shack? Maybe, but it sure doesn't seem like it with him and Mabel obsessing over "Duck-tective", a concerning omen of the sort of lame stuff they'll be doing now that Stan wants to keep everyone away from Ford and the paranormal aspects of the town altogether (plus the town's wrecked, so that doesn't help). I'm also not thrilled about Dipper and Mabel drifting apart like this episode and the previous suggested they will. I'm still anxious to see where the show goes from here, but it currently lacks direction now that the previous overarching theme of "find the author" has been solved and no further goal has been established yet.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 8/3/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
14. The Stanchurian Candidate (6/10): I don't have that much to say about this episode except that it feels like a throwback to early season 1 episodes (specifically "Irrational Treasure" for obvious reasons) with the involvement of the various townspeople of Gravity Falls, which is something I've missed from the more recent episodes. Gideon made his grand return this episode, but I found it underwhelming and Bud isn't quite the character either. I swear, their only appearances that I liked were their first in "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" (the season 1 finale episodes are good, but no thanks to them). The episode was pretty standard otherwise. I do wish Stanford were more directly involved in the show now (aside from a mind control tie, a cool idea that they could have done a lot more with), but I understand that he can't while mostly confined to the basement.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 8/25/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
15. The Last Mabelcorn (8/10): Oh man, indeed. This started as an average, mediocre filler episode mostly spent on the subplot with Mabel and the unicorn (with admittedly some good jokes and some pretty cool scenery), but the obvious area where this episode truly shines is the climax and backstory about Ford and Bill. The backstory in which Ford and Bill were friends and partners would have been heavy and shocking on its own, but the climax where Dipper first learns all this, doesn't know whether to trust him, and is tempted to erase his memory is particularly tense. I felt for Dipper, because he and I had only recently acquired a "friend" (cartoons can't be friends) in Ford, only to have him turn out to be a minion of Bill (or so we both briefly thought). After all this madness transpired, the unicorn subplot actually serves a purpose as both a welcome comic relief and useful plot device. And I'll be honest, it was pretty cool and unexpected of Mabel to deck the unicorn right in the fuckin' snout. One more thing, although he didn't directly do anything this episode, out of "Dreamscaperers" and "Sock Opera", this was the appearance of Bill that seemed most sinister and intimidating to me, with help from that red, jelly-like dimension that appears behind him.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 9/8/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
16. Roadside Attraction (9/10): Let me tell you, nothing grinds my shit harder than trying to catch up on an episode as good as this one with the online streaming video player constantly buffering. It felt like it took forever before I could see if Candip would pull through at the ending scene. I'm not big into shipping, but I've always thought Candy was the best fit for Dipper if he can't have Wendy (they're both far better ships than Pacifica; shit, I'll take Pinecest over Padippica). 12-year-old boners aside, this episode was a grand slam, and instantly one of my most memorable in the series, up there with "Time Traveler's Pig", "Into the Bunker", "Double Dipper", and "Hand That Rocks the Mabel". The comedy was seemingly non-stop (quite a few verbal utterances of mine indicating humor, which is rare), the locations and scenery were neato as hell, it was the best Candy and Grenda episode of the show ever (beating out their debuts "Double Dipper"), and I just love a good road trip, even one just around the state to a few other tourist traps. I was a little disappointed Candip didn't happen, but it's probably best for the show. At least Dipper and Stan "The Red Pill" Pines are starting to repair their relationship since Ford showed up. Overall, this is what all Gravity Falls episodes should aspire to be. If the next episode is as crazier than this one as Alex says it is, I don't know what to expect. This is Jack the Dopper signing off.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 9/22/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
17. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future (9/10): I thought I had problems with the Internet watching the last episode. This time, it went fine right up until the last 5 minutes (when Ford woke up). It wouldn't load in time enough for me to watch it before I had class so I had to actually go to class in the middle of the episode's climax. All I was thinking about sitting there in my desk for an hour was getting back to my room and finishing the episode. It was a heartbreaking and universe-breaking emotional roller coaster of an episode and probably the most I've felt during any episode. All I could think about was how disappointed and sad Dipper was making Mabel, especially when Ford started talking about making Dipper his apprentice. Most of the time I relate more to Dipper, but I empathized with Mabel in this episode. I myself am scared of the future and always have been. I won't go into any details, but I'm sure we all are to some extent. While Mabel doesn't want summer to end, I don't want this show to end, but unless Alex pulls some major twist on us, it looks like they're both going to soon. Unlike many surprises on the show, I wasn't shocked that Blendin turned out to be Bill. In fact, when I saw Mabel sitting down in the forest, all I could think was "okay, where's Bill?". Aside from all the important stuff, the scenes with Dipper and Ford were cool (especially the magnet guns) and the scene at Gravity Falls High was accurate and relatable. As for the humor, I'm sure there was some in there I'm forgetting, but that was the last thing on my mind this episode. It looks like the show is almost over, but I just hope that in the last few episodes, once Weirdmageddon is resolved, they can nicely wrap up everything in the show that needs wrapping up. I personally want a 3rd season, but not if that means going back in time and redoing the summer or something like that. Summer ends, but I wish it didn't have to.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 10/13/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
18. Weirdmageddon Part 1 (9/10): No one shape should have all that power. He was charming when confined to the mindscape, but now in the physical world, he's destroying all I hold dear on the show (in a coolly-animated way, though). I hope Time Baby comes back after those 1,000 years and kicks his ass like Wendy did to Gideon (I really liked Wendy this episode). It would be a deus ex machina, but I don't see how this whole mess is going to be resolved without one. I'd talk more about how I felt about certain aspects of the episode like the other ones, but honestly the whole time I was just thinking "oh God, what's going to happen?" and "how are they going to get out of this?" and "what's going to happen after the apocalypse?" (because, real talk, this apocalypse is just not happening on a kids' show; once it's done, it's right back to the heartbreaking situation of Dipper and Mabel and likely the end of the series). I don't understand how Bill isn't just ripping their dimension a new asshole. I mean, he is, but he's not doing nearly as much as he could. Is he actually not that powerful or is he just being lazy? Do the immediate surroundings of Gravity Falls not see what's going on? And what does he want with Mabel? More specifically, what's inside that bubble (before we were rudely interrupted by a "to be continued" message)? Does anyone remember when the biggest mystery was what's behind the vending machine? I'm sort of with Mabel from "A Tale of Two Stans" in that I miss the simpler times on the show, but from the first episode, it was clear some intense shit was coming from the distance, so I'll be simultaneously strapped in and on the edge of my seat until Mr. Hirsch's Wild Ride continues next time.
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 10/27/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
19. Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality (7/10): So I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to catch this episode live on TV this time (streaming was never really an option with my shitty Internet), and of all the "special" episodes (the "Weirdmageddon" saga, the season premieres, the season 1 finale episodes, and "Not What He Seems" and "A Tale of Two Stans") I have to say this was the most lackluster by far, a real disappointment for the series's penultimate episode ("Escape From Quality", am I right?). It wasn't devoid of good scenes and elements, such as the flashback scenes, the characters' temptations to stay in the bubble (holy fuck, the Wendip tease), Bill being somehow trapped in Gravity Falls, and Stan and everyone else hiding out at the Shack, but most of it was just Mabel being a stubborn and unreasonable cunt. I'm with Dipper on replacing him with that douchebag Dippy Fresh. Are you fucking serious, Mabel? I kind of understand why she was being like that, but I still don't like it. That's not to say that I like Mabel any less now. There's not a character I like who hasn't made stupid or terrible decisions before. I'm just glad Dipper and Mabel reconciled in the end, and I feel they both understand each other better now. While there was some legit stuff in there about fantasy vs. reality, most of it was overshadowed by (and this is my biggest problem with the episode) the uninspired, boring-ass world of Mabeland. It's like the Xyler and Craz parts holding back "Dreamscaperers" except they're the whole fucking world instead of the cool setting of Stan's mindscape. It's the sort of stuff that should only be reserved for throwaway Mabel jokes, some of which knock it out of the park like the Smile Dip trip. This episode is a definite contrast to the first part to say the least. I will say that Xyler and Craz were better in this episode than they were in "Dreamscaperers" though, especially that speech in the credits. I'm really split on this. While I don't think it's a bad episode, I have an even harder time calling it a good episode, especially for the second to last. However, I do feel there's enough good and important stuff in it to drag it up to a 7, and that's being really generous. All I can say is I'm ready for Team Shack to kick some triangle ass in the series finale, but more importantly I'm hoping for as much closure as possible with so many characters and open ends, especially the newly introduced Ford and the seemingly forgotten McGucket (Where is he? He was a really big deal for a while there. Is he done? I hope not.) Well staff, you have 44 minutes to close off this hell of a show. It better go out with a much bigger bang than this episode. I don't expect every mystery to be solved, but I just want these characters I've come to know and love to get a proper conclusion at the end of such a short series. HERE'S TO ONE LAST HIATUS!
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 11/23/2015. IT WILL BE UPDATED AS EPISODES AIR.]
20. Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls (9/10): I'm writing this a couple of days after watching it (I haven't worked up the strength to rewatch it yet), but let me just say that, although the sadness of this show's end was inevitable, they went out in the most satisfying way I could have hoped for, but more on that later. For as good as it is, I have a few issues. This episode, although dramatic, thrilling, and action-packed, really makes you suspend your disbelief, much like the rest of Weirdmageddon and the show in general at times. Though I like the setup at the beginning of all the characters hiding out in the Shack, how are we supposed to believe that they went out and collected all those parts and managed to build the Shacktron (quite the feat on its own) all while remaining unnoticed by the Eye-Bats? Bill himself, for as powerful as they always say he is, really doesn't show it this episode. He's still an intimidating and cool villain (more than he's ever been), but are we really saying that he can be stunned by pulling or spraying his eye out? Does an almighty demon with limitless power over the physical realm have a video game boss-like weak spot? That chase scene with Dipper and Mabel seemed really pointless as well. Couldn't Bill just telekinetically lift them into his grasp, what with his supposed infinite control of everything? But my biggest issue, and the one I've seen complained about the most, is how quickly Stan regains his memory (or the fact that he regains it at all, that there was no real sacrifice, etc.). Sure I'm glad that he did, but for the sadness of his temporary memory loss to be most effective, they really should have waited a little longer and not make the process so sudden. The scenes that follow, however, show me why they might not have had time to bring his memory back in the best way. The last scenes of this episode are all any dedicated fan of the show are going to be thinking about after their first viewing and probably future ones (unless they would still be thinking about the scene in Stan's mind, which is understandable). Everyone's story is wrapped up nicely and it's really the best way they could have ended the summer. What this episode did really well as the last one was the callbacks to past episodes, from all the characters in the Shack to the closing scenes to the credits themselves. The real kicker for me, though, was Dipper's narration at the end, like in parts of "Tourist Trapped". I like how that episode started the show like a movie and I like how this episode made it end like a movie. For as much I've had to say critically about this episode and different parts of the whole show, it's not always about things logically adding up or all the paranormal elements making sense. This show at heart is an emotional journey about great characters, and that's what kept me watching, not the humor (though still mostly good) or the mysteries and paranormality (though still mostly good too). When it was announced that season 2 would be the last, at first I thought the show was cut off way too short (I still do a little), but this episode made me realize that this way the show can be the best representation of summer (and still be plausible with how many things happen) and I have great appreciation for that artistic decision. They could have milked the show for all its worth like a "SpongeBob" or, perhaps more fittingly, a "Phineas and Ferb". I didn't want it to end, but it had to, but that doesn't mean I have to dread its ending or that it can't hold a special place in my memory. Besides, the feeling of wanting more is the best quality that anything can have. The cherry on top of the end of this episode, and the series, is the short live action shot of the Bill statue in the woods with Brad Breeck's familiar, eerie musical goodness. Not only is it stylistically interesting, but it's also clever in that, if Hirsch ever comes back to the show for any continuation (which is not out of the question), it could foreshadow Bill's return, possibly through the statue itself. After all, Stan regained the memories that were erased from his mind. Who's to say Bill can't come back? For the thematic premise of this show, there wasn't a better final shot they could have done. For all its ups and downs (much like a typical summer itself), I'm certainly glad I let this show into my heart and I will definitely come back to it for years to come (much like the town of Gravity Falls itself).
[THE LIST UP TO THIS POINT WAS POSTED ON 2/17/2016.]