Chapter 138: Closing the Rift
Art by Crash X Fusion: Will destiny be fulfilled this time? Let's find out.
The Pines twins, their friends and allies take on Bill in order to save everyone. Meanwhile, the survivors in the Nightmare Realm come across some complications.Tropes that appear in this Chapter:
- Adaptational Badass: Manny Noceda has become one after spending likely Luz's entire life trapped in the Nightmare Realm, being equipped with armor and power gloves that can help him protect himself and others from the realm's forces.
- Adaptation Deviation:
- To "Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls"; Preston is the one who ruins the zodiac plan, Dipper's symbol is the Big Dipper since he never sports the pine tree hat, McGucket is replaced with Camila as the representative of the glasses symbol, the Heartless are the ones who surround the townsfolk, the rift doesn't close upon Bill's destruction but when the Ex-Bots place a bomb on it, Bill's petrified body gets crushed by a boulder, and Stan's memory getting restored seems like it's gonna take a bit longer.
- To "The Legend of the Gobblewonker"; Mabel dragged Dipper into looking for the Gobblewonker, interrupting his quality fishing time with Stan.
- Adaptation Expansion: The beginning flashbacks explain how Ford got the metal plate in his head, which was mentioned in Gravity Falls: Journal 3.
- And This Is for...: As Stan proceeds to beat up Bill within his mind, he dedicates each hit to the people Bill hurt.Stan: [sucker-punches Bill] Hurts, doesn't it? Well, that's for scarring my niece! [He then kicks Bill.] And that's for tricking my nephew! And this- [He punches Bill some more, making his eyeball cough up blood.] -is for all the pain and misery you've caused for not just my brother, but everyone that you've come across! You made one fatal mistake, and that's messing with my family!
- Badass Longcoat: As their present to Dipper, Mabel's friends made him a blue jacket with the words 'Will of Dipper' stitched on the back surrounded by flames.
- Big Damn Kiss:
- After Masha comes out, Clara promises that they'll figure out where their relationship will go from there, sealing that promise with their first kiss.
- Mabel and Pacifica have their second kiss since they got together (and their first since they reunited) and Dipper pecks Candy on the cheek.
- Blubs and Durland kiss upon reuniting with each other.
- Body Horror: After being punished by Bill, Preston was left with his body mangled and a few lost eyes. Bill further adds on to this by blasting Preston with an intense magic blast that burns his entire body until it's left a charred mess, then consumed by darkness energy.
- Bookends: After using Ford's portal to bring him back to the Human Realm and nearly ending the world, Stan finds saving the world from Bill to be a damn good conclusion to his Story Arc for the season.
- Call-Back:
- While telling Clara how they concluded they're non-binary, Masha recounts their talk with Vee and how she said basilisks can change genders.
- The way Preston is turned into a Heartless mirrors how Nicole became one: having his body destroyed until he became consumed by the darkness.
- When Angel mentions her experience with closing dimensional rifts, we see a flashback of Ex-Bots setting up bombs during Mewni's ravaging, which are interconnected with Star and Ludo's reactions to the attack.
- The Cameo:
- Luz and Willow are seen on Gus P's sweater.
- Mary, Mosely, and Bud appear when the Shacktron makes its way to the Fearamid.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Steam Punk uses Ford's de-pretrification gun that McGucket mentioned the previous day to save everyone that was captured and brought to the Fearamid.
- Camila's glasses, which had already been the key to bringing her back to life, now symbolize what would've been her role in defeating Bill Cipher.
- Coming-Out Story: Masha comes out to Clara as non-binary, having felt uncomfortable being referred to as female but after meeting Vee and learning of her capability to change her gender, being male didn't suit them any better. As such, they've come to see themself as neither gender.
- Continuity Nod:
- While talking with Bigfoot, Camila brings up when he met Amity.
- Masha brings up how she stopped using her birth name 'Marsha' prior to leaving Gatesfield.
- Camila and Abigail put off talking about the latter being outed and having an attraction to the former in the previous chapter.
- After being un-petrified, Robbie declares that the experience was worse than the monster clowns.
- Preston is shown in bad shape after Bill punished him for failing to keep Camila and Dipper imprisoned.
- Mabel remembers how McGucket got his memories back and suggests exposing Stan to images of his past to remind him of who he is.
- While trying to jog Stan's memory;
- Wendy brings up how they first met and how Stan took her under his wing.
- Soos mentions how he married the Old Goldy statue in Las Vegas.
- Soos is called a gerbil man again.
- Dead Guy on Display: Following the attack on Mewni, Bill had the remains of Omnitraxus Prime and Letmek put up on pikes and crosses as a reminder of his power.
- Death Glare: Dipper narrows his eyes at Ford to convey one for what occurred before Weirdmageddon began.
- Double Entendre: Upon seeing Zanthar about to tackle the Shacktron, Nora says "Oh, that thing looks big."
- Dramatic Irony: While talking with Gus P, Camila says it's better that Luz hasn't come to Earth yet and she's safer in the Demon Realm until Weirdmageddon is over. As a reminder, Luz had just learned Belos plans to posses her on the Day of Unity and is trying to stop the Draining Spell...
- The Dreaded: Chernabog. Being the entity that influenced Bill at one point, he acknowledges it as being far stronger than him. And when the beast starts to come through the interdimensional rift, everyone from mortal to demon is left frozen in fear at the sight of him.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Unlike canon, the exact moment when Stan comes up with the Twin Switch is shown.Ford: I have to take responsibility for this, Stan. It's because of me Weirdmageddon happened all because I was selfish. I'm the one that let Dipper down as a guardian. He adores you, Stan. And I knew that what he wanted more than anything else was for me to be you. But I just couldn't do that...
Stan: [gets his idea] Maybe you can... - Extremely Short Timespan: Weirdmageddon takes place over the course of three days max.
- Family of Choice: As Soos talks with the amnesiac Stan, he admits that he sees Stan as his father and Dipper as his little brother after working at the Shack for 10 years.
- Fate Worse than Death:
- Preston suffers the fate of the Heartless when his body is consumed by the darkness. After Angel engages her plan to close the rift, it sucks up all of Bill's minions and the Heartless including Preston, trapping him in the Nightmare Realm.
- Manny has been trapped in the Nightmare Realm for 14 years while everyone was thinking he was dead.
- Forced Dance Partner: Not wanting to be left out while everyone else is dancing during the Surprise Party, Wendy drags Steam Punk out onto the dance floor to share a dance with her. Ahthough Steam's surprised at first, he goes along with it not long after.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Stan and Mabel make it clear to Ford that he's not part of their family after he decided to abandon Dipper and they're all only tolerating him because he knows how to defeat Bill.
- Glomp: Besides Wendy doing this to her family upon reuniting: Pacifica does it to Priscilla, Vee to her family and Poolcheck, Nora to Gus G, and Abigail to Rudo and Dana.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Per Nora's request, Steam Punk makes her a katana which can emit electricity. Sadly, she doesn't even get to use it during the rescue mission and if she did, we don't get to see it.
- Hope Spot: All 10 representatives of the zodiac are gathered together and ready to use its power to defeat Bill... only for a mutilated Preston to show up and burn the zodiac to a crisp, giving Bill enough time to catch up to the group.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Rachel officially qualifies for believing Angel is a hero. In her defense, she doesn't know just how much of a monster Angel really is.
- I Will Only Slow You Down: To buy Manny and their squad time to escape from the Heartless, Aqua tells Manny to keep going without her since only her keyblade could stop the Heartless.
- I'll Kill You!: During a private talk with Dipper before the resistance begins their assault, Stan jokes that he'll kill Ford as payback for what he tried to do to Dipper once they save him from Bill.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- The zodiac is ruined before it can be used against Bill, Stan and Ford switch places to defeat Bill, and Stan ultimately loses his memory in the process, with Weirdmageddon being brought to an end.
- Buff Frog still became a father with a litter of tadpoles, and they've already grown their legs and are able to talk.
- Stan put Waddles outside and he got kidnapped by a pterodactyl, putting him and Mabel at odds until he saved her pig.
- Jerkass Realization: Ford takes the time to think about his actions over the last 30 years and comes to see how much he screwed up in pushing his family away and building the portal for Bill in the first place.
- Laser-Guided Karma: While Bill still gets erased, his body is also destroyed to ensure he can never truly return.
- Stan punches Ford as revenge for taking the agents' job offer and trying to leave Dipper behind.
- Preston's final punishment for selling out his species and preventing the Pines family and their allies from defeating Bill is being turned into a Heartless for his actions.
- Logical Weakness: Steam Punk figures that powerful lights can eradicate the Heartless the Shacktron is forced to fight, but it only weakens them.
- Meaningful Appearance: The sweater Nora receives from Mabel has a music note on it, referencing Gus G's love of music.
- Meaningful Gift: One previous Father's Day, Dipper gave Stan a homemade card that said "Happy Grunkle's Day" which he turns out to have kept and Dipper finds among Stan's belongings that Soos has been keeping at his house. Dipper tries to invoke a a last-ditch Chekhov's Gun by using the card to jog Stan's memories, but it doesn't work.
- Multi-Part Episode: Part 3 and the finale of the Weirdmageddon arc.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Stan feels this way for going against Ford's warnings and using the portal to bring him home which led to the creation of the interdimensional rift, his arrest, Dipper and Mabel being put in danger, and Weirdmageddon happening.
- Likewise, Ford comes to see that he should've listened to Lilith's advice and not turned his back on his family, as now his grand-niece and nephew have to be the ones to stop Bill instead of him fixing his own mistakes.
- Mythology Gag:
- Ford's meeting with Jheselbraum the Unswering originates from Journal 3, and he mentions having a "Wanted!" Poster in The Multiverse, which was brought up in the Gravity Falls: Lost Legends story, "Don't Dimension It".
- Weirdmageddon takes place over the course of three days, which is how long Dipper survived for until he reunited with Wendy in "Weirdmageddon".
- Gus P. and Perry's reunion happens the same way as it did in "Watching and Dreaming".
- Soos tells Stan that before he saw him as his father, he pictured his birth father as a having the face of a wrestler, a fact that was seen in "Escape from Reality".
- Ford tells Stan about their childhood dreams of sailing the world and how their original falling out happened, both of which were seen in "A Tale of Two Stans".
- No Body Left Behind: To guarantee Bill will never return, Rocky destroys his stone body.
- No-Sell: Steam Punk rigs hi-beam lights into the Shacktron to destroy the Heartless, as they're shadow creatures and would be weak to bright light. Sadly, they just weaken the Heartless for a brief period before they come right back.
- Noodle Incident:
- Wendy once dared Soos to eat one of the Eye-Bats Stan kept displayed in a jar in the Mystery Shack.
- Stan crashed his car into the Gravity Falls High gym on Soos' graduation day.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Of sorts. Prior to her leaving Gravity Falls, Mabel left behind a large stock of wool in the Mystery Shack that was so well hidden, the agents never even found them. Good thing too, because she was able to use them to make sweaters for everyone in the resistance.
- Offscreen Teleportation: By the time the agents remember to arrest Angel after Weirdmageddon ends, she's already gone causing Agent Brown to scramble together a search for her and the Archangels.
- Oh, Crap!: Dipper and Mabel upon seeing the resistance surrounded by Heartless, while everyone is shocked that the shadow beings survived being blasted by hi-resolution lights.
- Pet the Dog: Stan went to Soos' graduation. He was late and he crashed his car into the gym, but it was still sweet of him to attend.
- Power Fist: At some point in time, Manny had acquired specialized gloves with arcane runes carved into them. These gloves give him the ability to create shields.
- Precious Photo: Right before Stan's mind is completely erased, he spots and holds a framed pucture of him with Dipper as a toddler.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Dennis, whom Ludo assumed died on Mewni when the Ex-Bots invaded, and Manny, who was thought to be dead before the series even started, are both alive and aiding the refugees of Mewni.
- The Reveal:
- Mabel kept a large surplus of wool to make sweaters hidden in the Mystery Shack which the government agents couldn't find when they searched the place.
- Hekapoo and Dennis are still alive in the Nightmare Realm. Other prisoners include Buff Frog and his tadpoles, Foolduke, Ruberiot, Slime Monster, Princess Spiderbite, Rock Johansen, and Higgs.
- Lord Dominator got imprisoned in the Nightmare Realm as did Aqua, who's been there for almost a decade.
- Catfish and Gill were turned into Heartless after being captured.
- According to Bill, the Heartless originate from the Nightmare Realm.
- The being with yellow eyes is Chernabog, who seems to be trapped in the Nightmare Realm and is the one who influenced Bill.
- When the Ex-Bots attacked Mewni, Angel used interdimensional bombs to close the rifts bringing the planet into the Nightmare Realm. She's also responsible for Mewni getting sucked into the Nightmare Realm since it led to a hole between dimensions being opened.
- Stan attended Soos' high school graduation but ended up crashing his car into the gym.
- Manny didn't die in the Department A explosion; he was sent to the Nightmare Realm.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Preston stops the heroes' initial final attempt to stop Bill to regain the mind demon's favor. Bill's way of thanking Preston? Burning his body so badly, he turns into a Heartless.Stan: Heartless? Well, that's fitting for him.
- Rousing Speech: In order to boost everyone's spirits, Tyler encourages the townspeople to be ready to rebuild in the aftermath of Weirdmageddon.Tyler: Hey now, everyone. I know we've been hit hard. Harder than we've ever been hit before. But… we haven't lost everything and we can rebuild from this. And we will. I can promise you that.
- Sand In My Eyes: After Dipper gave Stan his Grunkle's Day card, he passes his crying off as him getting formaldehyde in his eye.
- Sequel Hook: Details for what Manny was up to in the Nightmare Realm during the last 14 years, people buying the idea that Angel's a hero, the citizens of Gravity Falls rebuilding their town, and Stan regaining his memory are things that will carry into the final chapter and the next book.
- Ship Tease: As Vee hugs Poolcheck, he sees Nora embracing her son and they share a smile, happy to see the other's alright.
- Shout-Out:
- Nu Shooz' "I Can't Wait" is played by Steam Punk during the Pines Twins' birthday party.
- Some of the new prisoners in Nightmare Mewni are Lord Dominator and Aqua.
- Chernabog turns out to be the Greater-Scope Villain whom Bill is forced to serve and is presumably the being Sara warned Willow of.
- So Proud of You: Stan tells Dipper that no matter how things end once Bill is stopped, he's proud of the man he's growing to be and that he's not one of the numerous mistakes he made in his life.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Manny Noceda, previously believed to have died under different circumstances, is not only alive but was actually trapped in another realm all this time.
- Surprise Party: The morning after their reunion and staying at the Mystery Shack, Dipper and Mabel head downstairs to find the resistance throwing them an early 13th birthday party before they fight Bill since they don't know what'll happen come their actual birthday.
- Taken for Granite: Mewmans and monsters alike all throughout Mewni have been petrified, populating all the villages within it.
- Talk to the Fist: Stan slugs Ford as payback for trying to abandon his grand-nephew.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: While the Pines and their allies fight against Bill's forces, Aqua is seen battling the remaining Heartless on Mewni.
- The Un-Reveal:
- How did Aqua get trapped in the Nightmare Realm?
- What happened to Powers and Trigger after they were captured by the Heartless?
- Were Mary and Mosely erased from existence after the rift was closed?
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After closing the rift, Angel suddenly vanishes while the agents are watching the rift close, costing them another chance to arrest her.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Angel paints herself as such, at least to Rachel who believes she saved the world from Weirdmageddon.
- Wait Here: Before the rescue teams infiltrates the Fearamid, Abigail and Nora tell Clara and Masha to stay in the Shacktron so they won't be put in even greater danger and task Rocky with keeping them safe. They don't account for Bill discovering the Shacktron's Achilles' Heel, putting them at risk.
- Wham Episode: Weirdmageddon is over, Bill has lost, the identity of the Beast with yellow eyes is revealed, the Pines family begin helping Stan regain his memory, and Manny turns up alive and trapped on Mewni along with the rest of its refugees, one of which is Dennis Avarius.
- Wham Line:
- As Bill is getting erased, he gives his canonical backwards message, except instead of invoking the Axolotl, he calls out for CHERNABOG!
- As Dipper begins to cry fearing that his adoptive father's memories are gone forever, Stan asks Mason to stop crying. This gives the Pines family hope that Stan isn't truly gone.
- Aqua refers to the Captain by his real name, Manny.
- Wham Shot:
- Everyone at the Fearamid is confused by how the rift's still open despite Bill being erased. They look outside and become terrified to see Chernabog holding the rift open as he gives everyone from mortal to demon a cruel smile.
- Accompanying Aqua's Wham Line is Manny removing his helmet, thus confirming he's alive and fighting for the refugees of Mewni!
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Preston destroys the zodiac, and Bill repays him by burning him alive and turning his corpse into a Shadow.
