History TearJerker / GravityFalls

* Grunkle Stan's situation [[TragicDream becomes even more tragic]] given the fact that he had gotten himself banned from New Jersey, his own home. Even if by some miracle he had managed to get out of destitution and made the money to get his parents' approval and forgiveness, his own mistakes means that he cannot ever come back home without the risk of being arrested.

** There's a worse alternative. The only person we hear say Stan's father cared for him was, well, Stan. It's very possible Stan's father was ''always'' an uncaring jerk... and Stan's explanation was nothing more than a rationalization for his dad's behavior. "He was trying to toughen me up" is a ''much'' easier pill to swallow than "he never cared about me."

* How Stanley's face changes from joyful hope to disappointment and anger when his brother asks him if he remembers their old treasure-hunting plans, only to be told to get on a boat, sail as far away as he can, and bury the journal where no one will ever find it. Stan's furious that he was only called to be Ford's ErrandBoy.

* How Stanley's face changes from joyful hope to disappointment and anger when his brother asks him if he remembers their old treasure-hunting plans, then tells him to ''sail away and never come back''.

** What started the situation in the first place. Stan refused to cooperate with the plan, [[JerkassHasAPoint blaming Ford for the whole mess and refusing to help him solve it.]] When Ford asks him for a chance to make it right, Stan agrees under the condition of Ford thanking him for bringing him back to their dimension after thirty years. It's very heartbreaking to know that in spite of Stan spending three ''decades'' working tirelessly to save his brother and Ford spending weeks in the Mystery Shack, he never once thanked Stan for his sacrifice and still views him as "the selfish jerk" who ruined everything just by ''being there''. Even sadder is that Stan has to ''blackmail'' Ford with TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt to actually get him to ''do'' it... and even ''then'' his gratitude's half-hearted.
* After the Zodiac plan backfires, Ford decides upon an alternative: let Bill into his mind. There's only one problem: due to the metal plate in his skull, they cannot use the memory gun to erase Bill for good because Ford's memories ''can't'' be erased... but it ''will'' work on Stan. But Bill wants ''Ford'' for his knowledge of how to bring the weirdness barrier (which is keeping him locked in Gravity Falls) down, and Ford is nearly willing to give in to save Dipper and Mabel. So what do they decide to do? TwinSwitch. Stan takes Ford's place, tricks Bill into entering his mind, and lets Ford [[HeroicSacrifice wipe his mind]].

** So, what was the payoff to those "Stan on fire" foreshadowing bits throughout the series? His mindscape burning away due to the memory gun.

* Stan's line "Guess I was good for something after all." For approximately ''forty years,'' Stan has felt like his life and existence is meaningless. But, as he fades from existence, he realizes he was perhaps one of the most important people to ever live. He sacrificed ''everything'' to save the universe and his family. He's so happy he doesn't even care that, in a few seconds, he won't remember any of it.

** Not only that, he had to—even if it ''was'' for a short time—live through what Stan suffered for ''three decades'': believing he'd killed his brother by his own hand, and no way to know if he'd ''ever'' see him again.

** Ford kneeling down and tearfully [[FinalFirstHug hugging his brother]]. Keep in mind, the first thing Stan did when Ford returned was try to hug him. Stan had wanted that hug from the moment he reunited with Ford, and probably the thirty years beforehand, and when he finally got it he didn't even know who Ford was.

*** To add to this, Stan's repeated desperate line when he's being held up by the fed: "I have to ''be there'' when it happens!" Keep in mind that at this point he feels all will go as planned with the machine and his brother will return... he is just that obsessed with being the first person his brother sees upon arrival, to welcome him back and possibly beg his forgiveness for their past troubles.

** Stan's interest in the SadClown portrait from "The Hand That Rocks The Mabel" falls into CerebusRetcon for two reasons: Stan had overheard his principal ''actually call him a clown'' and hammered down with BrutalHonesty about Stan's bleak future, and Stan's spontaneous dark response about life in the "Bottomless Pit!" short, "Trooth Ache", happened while he, Dipper, and Mabel was watching a ''[[TrollingCreator certain someone]]'' juggling and riding a unicycle on the television. Although Stan doesn't admit it, it's safe to assume that he liked the portrait because he relates to it—he feels as if ''he's the SadClown.''

** Which makes everything worse when Ford confronts Stan about it later that night and accuses him of deliberately sabotaging it in order to force him to live out a childish dream he'd long outgrown. When their father overhears what Stan did, he (believing he'd deliberately sabotaged the project as well) is ''furious,'' hypocritically claiming that all he did was “lie, cheat, and ride on your brother’s coattails!” while he himself saw Ford as the family’s [[MealTicket “ticket outta this dump”!]] he wouldn't be allowed back into their home until he made up for the money they would’ve gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and worked as a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. This continually failed, leaving him with only about a peso to his name.

** Even worse, there's hints that the machine breaking might not have been Stan's fault at all, but ''Bill’s'' (Stan never directly touched it, for one, and even though it smoked, sparked and slowed for a second, it was still running when he scurried off). Bill claimed in a Reddit AMA that “Stanley made enough mistakes without my help”, but considering he'd gained full access to Blendin’s body and time tape near the end of the series (and the hidden “Blendin was here” message near the boards leading to the hidden boat in the cave), it's possible he was manipulating them from the beginning, and when he realized the sibling’s relationship was a threat to his plan to manipulate Ford, he hid in the gym using the suit’s camouflage, subtly manipulated Stan to go to there so he'd leave behind the toffee peanut bag and seemingly incriminate himself, and tampered with the machine himself to ensure that Ford would believe Stan did it and distance himself from him, leaving him ripe for manipulating down the line.

** Which makes everything worse when Ford confronts Stan about it later that night and accuses him of deliberately sabotaging it in order to force him to live out a childish dream he'd long outgrown. When their father overhears what Stan did, he (believing he'd deliberately sabotaged the project as well) is ''furious'' hypocritically claiming that “all you do is lie, cheat, and ride on your brother’s coattails!” while saying that Ford was the family’s [[MealTicket “ticket outta this dump”!]] he wouldn't be allowed back into their home until he made up for the money they would’ve gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and worked as a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. This continually failed, leaving him with only about a peso to his name.

** Even worse, there's hints that the machine breaking ''might not have been Stan's fault at all,'' even if Bill claimed in an AMA that it was (Stan never directly touched it, for one, and even though it smoked, sparked and slowed for a second, it was still running when he scurried off). Considering Bill had gained full access to Blendin’s body and time tape near the end of the series (and the hidden “Blendin was here” message near the boards leading to the hidden boat in the cave) it's possible he was manipulating them from the beginning, and when he realized the sibling’s relationship was a threat to his plan to manipulate Ford, he hid in the gym using the suit’s camouflage, subtly manipulated Stan to go to there so he'd leave behind the toffee peanut bag and seemingly incriminate himself, and tampered with the machine himself to ensure that Ford would believe Stan did it and distance himself from him, leaving him ripe for manipulating down the line.

** And Stan overhears the ''entire conversation''. As the principal unknowingly trash-talks him, Stan slumps down and huddles against the door, crushed emotionally as none of his family try to defend him.
* Stanford created a perpetual motion machine for the science fair for an opportunity to go to his dream college, and Stan ended up accidentally breaking it by angrily pounding on the table that it was being displayed on. It’s made clear that Stan didn't do it intentionally or even ''want'' to break it- just a horrible moment where, when he saw the thing that symbolized everything he was afraid of (Ford leaving him behind for better things, his status as the “dumb clown” seemingly destined to live a mediocre life working a dead-end job in a dead-end town, the end of his childhood dream of treasure hunting), he projected his feelings onto it, lost control and snapped out of misplaced anger. This made Stanford lose a college scholarship, and ruined his chances to go to his dream school. In response, the Pines family disowned him, claiming that he wouldn't be allowed back into their home until he made up for the money they would have gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and worked as a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. This continually failed, leaving him with only about a peso to his name.
** Stanley was thrown out of his home. This is sad enough, but consider that he ''hadn't even graduated high school at this point.'' Given that the Stans birthday is on June 15th, Stan was only ''seventeen'' at this event. His parents not only kicked their son out of his home, which is already awful, but he really ''was'' still a child at that point.
** Even worse, there's hints that the machine breaking might not have been Stan's fault at all, but the manipulations of Bill to ensure that the bitter and isolated Ford would be ripe for manipulating.

* The fact that Stanford thought Stanley intentionally sabotaged the machine and cost Ford his dream school because he thought Stan cared more about his treasure hunting idea than what his brother actually wanted. Ford's so upset that he refused to believe that it was an accident nor intervenes when their dad kicks Stanley out.

* The general decline in the Stans' relationship is one of the sadder things to watch in the show as it is ''very'' realistically portrayed. They were inseparable as children, then fell out completely near the end of high school after Stanley accidentally destroyed Stanford's perpetual motion device in a fit of frustration. Rather than giving the cathartic reunion that the audience wants (and Mabel awkwardly expresses a desire for by suggesting that the Stans "hug it out"), the episode ends with Stanley and Stanford still on horrible terms and with no sign that this is likely to improve.

-->'''Filbrick:''' All you ever do is lie and cheat right on your brother's coattails. Well this time you cost our family potential millions! And until you make us a fortune, you aren't welcome in this household.
* The fact that, in spite of not attending the college of his choice, Stanford still got everything he had initially wanted (hell, he states he didn't even mind working harder, and got a sizable grant anyway) effectively making his anger at Grunkle Stan completely unnecessary and pointless. The fact that he actually holds on to this point even when it's shown that his spiral into being a mystery obsessed hermit is his own fault is at the same time infuriating and depressing.

* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley were brought to the principal's office with their parents - but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this impresses his father (something the adult Stan outright says wasn't an easy thing to do). When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, the principal’s completely [[BluntHonesty honest:]]

** And Stan overhears the ''entire conversation''. As the principal unknowingly trash-talks him, Stan slumps down and huddles against the door, crushed emotionally and almost on the verge of tears.

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with Creator/AlexHirsch’s [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]
** Even worse is Mabel's increasingly desperate insisting that the whole thing is just one big, horrible misunderstanding -- which it ''is'', but it doesn't detract from the fact that Stan has been lying to and being manipulative around the children, keeping secrets that he knows Dipper is interested in from him and endangering them though stealing toxic waste from the government and bringing it into the property whilst they were asleep. Even knowing Stan's real intentions, it's not hard to understand why Soos and Dipper aren't willing to believe in him, and there's no time for him to give them a proper explanation about what he's trying to gain from the portal too, leading to a pitched struggle between people who all genuinely care about each other at heart, but Stan's lies and deceit have turned those bonds sour.

** In retrospect, Stan's comment about Dipper and Mabel: "It's unnatural for siblings to get along as well as you do." Does this imply that Stan was not a good friend to his brother before he disappeared? Worse; "A Tale of Two Stans" shows that they got along famously as kids, but one accident and several years of mutual bitterness completely destroyed whatever friendship they had before. It's as if Stan has forgotten what a good sibling relationship is supposed to look like.

* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley were brought to the principal's office with their parents - but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this makes his father, a man the adult Stan describes as “tough as a cinder block, and not easily impressed.” When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, the principal dismissively responds with:

** And unbeknownst to any of them, Stanley overhears the ''entire conversation'' and just sits huddled against the door, crushed emotionally and almost on the verge of tears.
* Stanford created a perpetual motion machine for the science fair for an opportunity to go to his dream college, and Stan ended up accidentally breaking it by angrily pounding on the table that it was being displayed on. It’s made clear that Stan didn't do it intentionally or even ''want'' to break it- just a horrible moment where, when Stan saw the thing that symbolized everything he was afraid of (Ford leaving him behind for better things, his status as the “dumb clown” seemingly destined to a mediocre life in a dead-end job in a dead-end town, the end of his childhood dream of treasure hunting), he projected his feelings onto it, lost control and snapped out of misplaced anger. This made Stanford lose a college scholarship, and ruined his chances to go to his dream school. In response, the Pines family disowned him, claiming that he wouldn't be allowed back into their home until he made up for the money they would have gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and worked as a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. This continually failed, leaving him with only about a peso to his name.

* When Stanley and Stanford were kids, they used be bullied by a boy named Crampelter and his friends. Stan used to be harassed for being weak (as depicted in a memory in "Dreamscaperers"), and Ford was bullied for his intellect and having six fingers on each hand.
* In their senior year of high school, Stanford and Stanley were brought to the principal's office with their parents but Stanley's told to wait outside. Stanford is told by the principal that he's a genius, his future's bright, and that the admissions team of his dream college is coming to look at his latest experiment, and this makes his not easily impressed father proud. When their mother asks about ''Stanley's'' chances of success, however, the principal dismissively responds with:
--> That clown? At this rate he'll be lucky to graduate high school. Look, there's a saltwater taffy store on the dock. And somebody's gotta get paid to scrape the barnacles off of it. Stanford's goin' places. But hey, look on the bright side: at least you'll have one son here in New Jersey forever.

* Stanford created a perpetual motion machine for the science fair for an opportunity to go to his dream college, and Stan ended up accidentally breaking it by angrily pounding on the table that it was displayed on -- not even intentionally or wanting to break the machine, just letting his understandable frustrations out at the sight of the thing that symbolised his brother leaving him forever and proof that he was 'going places' whereas Stan couldn't follow because he was 'too dumb'. This made Stanford lose a college scholarship, and ruined his chances to go to his dream school. In response, the Pines family disowned him, claiming that he wouldn't be allowed back into their home until he made up for the money they would have gained. As a result, Stanley was left homeless, and worked as a traveling SnakeOilSalesman just to survive. This continually failed, leaving him with only about a peso to his name.
** Stanley was thrown out of his home. This is sad enough, but consider that he hadn't even graduated high school at this point. Given that his birthday is in June, Stan was only seventeen at this event. His parents not only kicked their son out of his home, which is already awful, but he really ''was'' still a child at that point.
** Even worse, in hindsight the machine breaking might not have been Stan's fault at all.

-->'''Dipper:''' Ha Ha! [[IncrediblyLamePun Miner Hole!]] [[TemptingFate I wonder what cute silly things are going on down there.]]

* First off, there's a lot of things about this episode that has massive amounts of TearJerker moments that make earlier gags and one-off moments HarsherInHindsight or {{Funny Aneurysm Moment}}s, to the point you could say a non-canon tagline for the episode is "[[CerebusRetcon it's not funny anymore]]." Good luck looking at almost anything involving Stan, or [[WhamEpisode watching the show at all]] [[TheEndingChangesEverything without feeling sad inside after this...]]

** A FunnyAneurysmMoment variant, but while at first glance Stan's initial shock at seeing his wax counterpart and his later overemotional reaction to its "death" in "Headhunters" just seems like the hammy and hilarious outburst of a narcissistic old man, the reveal that Stan has a twin brother who he's been separated from for the past three decades makes it much more tragic. Especially if you take into account that Stan may have been using the wax version of himself as a substitute for his brother...

* In a meta way, the fact we don't get the original theme song one last time. This is the last episode of the series and all we hear is the [[NightmareFuel terrifying "Weirdmageddon" version]] and the (to be fair, pretty awesome) rock cover playing during the battle between [[HumongousMecha Shacktron]] vs. Bill's Henchmaniacs.
** Luckily, the original theme was implemented into the "Between the Pines" special that aired one week earlier. So even though we didn't get it in the main series, at least that makes up for it.

* The first thing Stanford does after walking out of the portal is [[ArmorPiercingSlap punch his elated twin brother in the face.]]

* Because the walkie-talkies were still on, Mabel overhears Dipper accepting Ford's offer to be his apprentice, meaning that after everything else that's gone wrong that day, she'll also be leaving Gravity Falls alone. From Mabel's perspective, Dipper's choosing sharing an adventure with the man he's known for all of a couple weeks at most over sharing a childhood with her. Dipper's efforts at letting her down gently when he gets back to the Shack doesn't help, and she ends up running out into the forest alone in tears, which is just the opening Bill needs. Even after Not What He Seems, Creator/KristenSchaal [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct just can]] ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct not]]'' [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct catch a break.]]

* Mabel having to say goodbye to Waddles because her parents won't let her bring him back to California. Come ''ON'', guys! Hasn’t Creator/KristenSchaal [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct suffered enough?]] Even Waddles himself doesn't want Mabel to leave him too, and even tries pulling at her skirt in an attempt to stop her from leaving. Thankfully, Stan decides to make Waddles go with Mabel anyway, declaring that if he had to deal with Waddles the whole summer, it's the parents' turn.

* Because the walkie-talkies were still on, Mabel overhears Dipper accepting Ford's offer to be his apprentice, meaning that after everything else that's gone wrong that day, she'll also be leaving Gravity Falls alone. From Mabel's perspective, Dipper's choosing sharing an adventure with the man he's known for all of a couple weeks at most over sharing a childhood with her. Dipper's efforts at letting her down gently when he gets back to the Shack doesn't help, and she ends up running out into the forest alone in tears, which is just the opening Bill needs. Even after Not Who He Seems, Creator/KristenSchaal [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct just can]] ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct not]]'' [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct catch a break.]]

* Because the walkie-talkies were still on, Mabel overhears Dipper accepting Ford's offer to be his apprentice, meaning that after everything else that's gone wrong that day, she'll also be leaving Gravity Falls alone. From Mabel's perspective, Dipper's choosing sharing an adventure with the man he's known for all of a couple weeks at most over sharing a childhood with her. Dipper's efforts at letting her down gently when he gets back to the Shack doesn't help, and she ends up running out into the forest alone in tears, which is just the opening Bill needs. Creator/KristenSchaal [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct just can]] ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct not]]'' [[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct catch a break this season.]]

* Mabel having to say goodbye to Waddles because her parents won't let her bring him back to California. Waddles himself doesn't want Mabel to leave him too, and even tries pulling at her skirt in an attempt to stop her from leaving. Thankfully, Stan decides to make Waddles go with Mabel anyway, declaring that if he had to deal with Waddles the whole summer, it's the parents' turn.

* Because the walkie-talkies were still on, Mabel overhears Dipper accepting Ford's offer to be his apprentice, meaning that after everything else that's gone wrong that day, she'll also be leaving Gravity Falls alone. From Mabel's perspective, Dipper's choosing sharing an adventure with the man he's known for all of a couple weeks at most over sharing a childhood with her. Dipper's efforts at letting her down gently when he gets back to the Shack doesn't help, and she ends up running out into the forest alone in tears, which is just the opening Bill needs.

** When she says to Dipper, "[[HeelRealization You were right about me all along.]] I ''am'' just another link in the world's worst chain," her voice actually cracks, as if she's doing all she can to hold back from crying.

*** She seals this off by stating that she didn't realize until now that this one was going to be her last one. As if she's finally accepted that her brother is never going to trick or treat with her ever again. The cherry on top? Creator/KristenSchaal’s ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct acting.]]'' ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Wow...]]''

*** She seals off this by stating that she didn't realize until now that this one was going to be her last one. As if she's finally accepted that her brother is never going to trick or treat with her ever again. The cherry on top? Creator/KristenSchaal’s ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct acting.]]'' ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Wow...]]''

*** She seals off this by stating that she didn't realize until now that this one was going to be her last one. As if she's finally accepted that her brother is never going to trick or treat with her ever again. The cherry on top? Kristen Schaal’s ''[[SugarWiki/SheReallyCanAct acting.]]'' ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Wow...]]''

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with Alex Hirsch’s [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]

** Dipper's complete and utter ''disgust'' and ''outrage'' at the whole thing is particularly hard to watch. [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct Jason Ritter was on his A-game during those scenes.]]

** That little crack in Kristen Schaal’s voice when Mabel says "I want to believe you..." is such a jarring contrast from her normally bright, loud voice.

** "Grunkle Stan... I trust you."

*** She seals off this by stating that she didn't realize until now that this one was going to be her last one. As if she's finally accepted that her brother is never going to trick or treat with her ever again. ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Wow...]]''

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with Creator/Alex Hirsch’s [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]

** Dipper's complete and utter ''disgust'' and ''outrage'' at the whole thing is particularly hard to watch. Creator/Jason Ritter [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct was on his A-game during those scenes.]]

** That little crack in Mabel's voice when she says "I want to believe you..." is such a jarring contrast from her normally bright, loud voice.

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with [[Creator/Alex Hirsch Alex Hirsch’s]] [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with Creator/Alex Hirsch’s [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]

** "Don't press that button." Knowing what Stan has to lose upon rewatch, coupled with Creator/Alex Hitsch's [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct brilliant acting.]]