History Recap / GravityFallsS1E4TheHandThatRocksTheMabel

** Well, little brother, but still. After seeing how miserable Mabel is with Gideon, Dipper decides to help her by breaking it off for her. [[NotGoodWithRejection It]] [[MurderTheHypotenuse doesn't]] [[{{Yandere}} go]] [[VillainousBreakdown well]].

* NiceToTheWaiter: The aversion of this trope is the first hint that Gideon is not a NiceGuy.

'''Gideon:''' That's a lie. And I'm gonna make sure you ''never'' lie to me again.

* DoggedNiceGuy: Gideon is the creepy kind, masquerading as the sympathetic kind. He comes off as friendly at first, and his crush on Mabel seems cute and harmless, but his refusal to take "no" for an answer, habit of repeatedly asking her out even when she's made it clear she's not interested, and big, public gestures that make it hard for her to refuse him are all ''huge'' red flags. He exposes himself as a full-blown {{Yandere}} by the episode's end.

* TheExitIsThatWay: [[DiscussedTrope Soos expects this]] when Stan storms out of the room. He's disappointed when it turns out Stan did ''not'' walk into a closet.

* TiredAfterTheSong: After Gideon finishes his song, he’s sweating and gasping for breath, and he needs to take a drink from a water bottle.

* TheExitIsThatWay: Soos expects this when Stan storms out of the room. He's disappointed when it turns out Stan did ''not'' walk into a closet.

An alleged psychic called Li'l Gideon has come to town and Soos, Dipper, and Mabel go to see his show against Grunkle Stan's wishes. The psychic turns out to be a little kid who fails to demonstrate any actual powers in his show (besides making the twins and Soos stand up inadvertently), leaving Dipper unimpressed. Li'l Gideon and Mabel start hanging out, and soon Gideon is asking Mabel out for a real date. Mabel is reluctant, wanting to remain friends, but agrees to one date so her new friend won't be sad. She keeps getting pressured into more dates and becomes increasingly distressed by her inability to return to just being friends until Dipper offers to break things off with Gideon for her. Dipper breaks the news to Gideon, who claims not to be upset. Later, Li'l Gideon lures Dipper into a trap and reveals that his lucky bolo tie amulet grants him supernatural powers. He tries to eliminate Dipper, whom he sees as being in the way of him and Mabel being together. Mabel arrives just in time to save her brother, smashing Gideon's power source. Li'l Gideon vows revenge and leaves. As the Pines family mock Gideon, confident he can't do anything to harm them, the child is plotting against while poring through a book--one exactly like Dipper's journal, but marked 2.

-->'''Gideon's Dad''': Fair enough. [''cheerfully walks away without pressing the issue'']

-->'''Gideon''': I can buy and sell you, dad!

-->'''Gideon's Dad'': Fair enough. [''cheerfully walks away without pressing the issue'']

* SuicidalSadisticChoice: ''Very'' narrowly subverted. After the reveal that Gideon's an AxCrazy Yandere, Dipper is faced either with letting Gideon kill him, or giving in and imploring that she date him. Of course, he's going to pursue Mabel either way, but Dipper has a good conscience and knows that the right thing to do is continue to try and rebuff Gideon on Mabel's behalf, even if it costs him his life...[[DefiantToTheEnd which he does]], right up until Mabel shows up and successfully tricks Gideon.

* SuicidalSadisticChoice: ''Very'' narrowly subverted. After the reveal that Gideon's an AxCrazy Yandere, Dipper is faced either with letting Gideon kill him, or giving in and imploring that she date him. Of course, he's going to pursue Mabel either way, but Dipper has a good conscience and knows that the right thing to do is continue to try and rebuff Gideon on Mabel's behalf, even if it costs him his life...[[DefiantToTheEnd which he does]], right up until Mabel shows up and successfully tricks Gideon

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Dipper spends the whole episode telling Mabel that she needs to reject supposedly PhonyPsychic Gideon. The problem isn't that he's wrong, but Gideon turns out to be a NotSoPhonyPsychic and would've killed Dipper had Mabel not intervened. When Mabel tries to reject Gideon in a soft but brutally honest way, it causes Gideon to clutch onto his amulet, causing Dipper to be squeezed in the psychic aura Gideon has him in. Dipper (whose life is in the hands of Gideon) [[AintTooProudToBeg forgoes all his advice to Mabel this whole episode and advises Mabel to not be brutally honest with him]].

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Dipper spends the whole episode telling Mabel that she needs to reject supposedly PhonyPsychic Gideon. The problem isn't that he's wrong, but Gideon turns out to be a NotSoPhonyPsychic and would've killed Dipper had Mabel not intervened. When Mabel tries to reject Gideon in a soft but brutally honest, it causes Gideon to clutch onto his amulet, causing Dipper to be squeezed in the psychic aura Gideon has him in. Dipper (whose life is the hands of Gideon) [[AintTooProudToBeg forgoes all his advice to Mabel this whole episode and advises Mabel to not be brutally honest with him]].

* DartboardOfHate: A photograph of Stan riddled with darts hangs in Li'l Gideon's house. Gideon's dad has to hastily take it down when he's negotiating with Stan and realises it's still there.

* RunningGag: The episode's credits cryptogram reads "FDUOD, ZKB ZROW BRY FDOO PH?" When decoded, it reads, "CARLA, WHY WONT [''sic''] YOU CALL ME?", possibly referencing the elderly lady at Gideon's show who was upset that her children never phoned her.