Gravity Falls

Have I missed an episode? Who the heck is Gideon?

But his breakdown-by-tickling was hilarous to watch, especially Stan's bemused reaction to what looks like a genuine, full-blown, hysterical Villainous Breakdown. Even Azula didn't have it so bad.

edited 29th Jul '15 2:47:13 PM by TheHandle

Gideon debuted in "The Hand that Rocks the Mabel" Episode 4 I believe.

If you missed Gideon, I assume you missed The Hand That Rocks The Mabel.

Hanzo'd

edited 29th Jul '15 2:49:20 PM by ConstipatedWaffle

That's kind of a big episode to be missing. I would go back and see it now.

I would watch the whole series now, but a man's gotta sleep.

BTW, shit just went Miyazaki up in Gravity Falls. The Candy That Walks! And, OMG, lolpig! Why isn't that its own meme? [looks it up] NO! I WANT ACTUAL PIGLETS, NOT GUINEA PIGS, THOSE AREN'T PIGS AT ALL! WHYYYY DOESN'T REALITY IMITATE FICTION!!!!?????

Welcome to GF fandom, Handle. That didn't take long.

It's also possible you did see The Hand That Rocks the Mabel and forgot. There's a lot of episodes between there and Little Dipper.

That happened to me. By the time we saw Gideon for the second time, I'd forgotten who he was because I'd just sort of written him off as a Creature of the Week villain the first time 'round.

edited 29th Jul '15 3:30:10 PM by TobiasDrake

No, no, I definitely would have rememebred the creepiest date on children's television. Gideon's infatuation is Cringe C Omedy at its finest. I think about my past blunders in that department and SIGH. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH. Well, it's good to see that story form the hit-upon's POV.

As for joining the fandom, what can I say, you ocme highly recommended, from both the Steven Universe fandom and my very own little brother. Hehe, what a scamp he is~!

I found Mabel irritating at first, but now she's feeling more and more like a Pinkie Pie that behaves like an actual, mostly-sane person. And doesn't have Rule of Funny physics-breaking powers.

"What, you got, like, a Word Calendar of the Day, or something?"

PIGGIES!

edited 29th Jul '15 4:04:26 PM by TheHandle

Now don't fall too deep into the bottomless pit that is the Gravity Falls fandom, or else you'll end up constantly re-watching episodes with a pencil in one hand, a finger on the pause/rewind button, and a very large scrap of paper.

*deftly sweeps cipher cheat sheet under the couch*

Good morning, Gruncle CaveFord!

edited 29th Jul '15 5:22:59 PM by HextarVigar

Ha! That's far too much work!

Also, I now sound more and more like Gruncle Stan in my head! When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade, don't burn life's house down (with the lemons), but call them yellow oranges and sell them at twice the price! A-ha ha, suckers!

Help! His character voice is contagious!

edited 29th Jul '15 5:22:21 PM by TheHandle

That's why I like writing lines for him in my fan fic thing. He's an entertaining mental voice.

He is GOLD!

"That seems like the sort of thing a responsible parent wouldn't want you doing. Good thing I'm an uncle!"

Oh yeah, that reminds me (somehow). I still find the way they (Handle don't look at this) defeat Bill in Dreamscaperers absolute genious. Heh. I didn't expect the Bottomless Pit to come back.

My BFF and I are rewatching the series now, in fact. Not just for clues, but because we want to see how different the show is now that we know Stan's history. Some things we've noted:

• There are a lot of times when you can see Stan mourning his brother. In Carpet Diem, after swiping the glasses from the experiment room, we see him mournfully staring at them later in the episode. In Scary-oke, he chastises Dipper about how the supernatural is dangerous and his crazy obsession is only going to get him killed, but he doesn't look at Dipper; he looks up wistfully, the way people do when they speak to a lost loved one, making it clear he's actually talking to Ford. And, of course, there's Brainscaperers, where we arrive inside Stan's mind and the first thing we see is the swingset from the stinger of Not What He Seems, with one broken swing.
• The kids, as well as much of the audience, thoroughly misjudged Stan in the beginning - which is what the second episode was entirely about, playing on expectations that Stan was just a money-grubbing cheat and everything was a trick of ploy. That all he really wanted was a fishing trip with his family is MUCH more apparent now, and heartbreaking.
• In the episode with the copier, Stan seems entirely unaware of the thing's magical properties. He claims to have fixed it up, and we see that he's mostly holding it together with duct tape. He also takes no precautions with the body-changing rug. In retrospect, it's obvious that Stan has no idea what these things are; they're experiments from Ford and McGucket's partnership that Stan mistook for just household objects when he started living in the house.
• The fact that Stan is NOT, like, a retired monster hunter or supernatural detective makes the scene where he beats the shit out of a bunch of zombies to protect his family in Scary-oke much more badass. This isn't his life, he's just a cheat and a thug, but he's a cheat and a thug who is absolutely dedicated to protecting his family from anything that would do them harm, even when he has no idea what's going on.
• Also from Scary-oke, there's a moment where Stan talks to himself about Dipper in Ford's secret basement. He mentions that Dipper reminds him of himself, but as he does, he tenderly brushes his hand along the six-fingered symbol on the Journal; indicating he's not really thinking of himself when he looks at Dipper.
• Mabel has hilariously been a chip off Stan's block since her Establishing Character Moment, creepily watching the target of her affections read a "Will you go out with me?" letter that only has Yes options. "I rigged it!"

edited 30th Jul '15 7:55:37 AM by TobiasDrake

Really? Cause I thought most of the stuff that happened made him look surprisingly lame.

I can totally accept what happened. In Sock Opera, he does air quotes when talking about them "defeating" him, which might seem like he's just saving face, but if you watch Dreamscaperers again, their victory in the physical confrontation does ring hollow.

They won when Mabel knocked the trapdoor down the Bottomless Pit, that much is undeniable, and like Mabel taking advantage of Dipper's physical weaknesses in Sock Opera, it was a clever manipulation of circumstances to pull off a victory.

But when it actually comes to blows and Dipper teaches Mabel and Soos how to control the mindspace and turn the tide against Bill, they manage to gain the upper hand, they're forcing Bill out of Stan's head, and then suddenly Bill just decides he's done and turns off the universe. The fight abruptly ends because Bill decided it will, and then he delivers his ominous prophecy and departs.

The implication that Bill could have just switched off the battle at any time harshly undercuts Dipper, Mabel, and Soos's achievements in overpowering him and forcing him out of Stan's mind, and implies that he let them win or, at least, didn't care enough to give it 100% - which is possible, given that by that point, he'd already lost what he came here for, and the actual fight was just clean-up.

Notably, in Sock Opera, Bill could easily have prevented Dipper from finding out what he's planning by just taking his body and jumping off the roof, but never did. Dipper, Mabel, and Soos are all symbols on his mysterious wheel, and their continued existence may be important.

edited 30th Jul '15 9:53:32 AM by TobiasDrake

Fair points, but it belies the fact that given his powers there really is no reason he should have "lost", especially in Dreamscappers where he is in his natural environment apparently. There seems to be no reason why he couldn't just rip the information out of Stan, or at least kick everyone else out of Stan's mind. If there are reasons then maybe Bill isn't really that powerful and thus less of a threat, or maybe not but either way the scenario not only undermines the success of the heroes, but undermines the threat of the villain.

I've always felt that Bill has been at his most threatening when he is not on screen. As soon as he shows up all of the mystery and dread surrounding him immediately evaporates and he becomes just some Triangle shaped asshole doing an obnoxious David Lynch impression. His "loses" do not really do anything to dissuade that opinion.

I still feel that Bill isn't the big bad. Something about him feels like he's just a part of something bigger than him. More dangerous than him.

Mabel is obviously the Big Bad.

I honestly see Dipper having a Face–Heel Turn later on.

That sounds pretty logical.

edited 30th Jul '15 11:09:13 AM by ScottPilgrim2013

Not necessarily a Face–Heel Turn, but I am expecting the conflict between Stan and Ford to grow and ultimately divide Mabel and Dipper to take sides, with Mabel on Stan's side and Dipper on Ford's.

EDIT: Another thing I noticed: in Dreamscaperers, When Stan is relating the story of his father having him learn to box, you can totally see Ford with his nose in a book on the bleachers during the flashback.

edited 30th Jul '15 11:03:26 AM by TobiasDrake

What if Bill's plan involves turning Dipper evil?

Wasn't that scene one of the cornerstones of the that theory?