YMMV / Gravity Falls S2 E20 "Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls"

• Ass Pull: No real explanation is given as to why the llama represents Pacifica. She just happened to be wearing a sweater that had a llama on it. Even Wendy was given a reason as to how she was intrinsically connected to the ice. Granted, you could argue it represents her character growth, as Pacifica accepted the sweater as a gift from Mabel, but the fact that the sweater happens to have a llama on it still has nothing to do with anything. The connection was briefly foreshadowed by the llama painting in "Northwest Mansion Mystery", but even that is rather easy to miss, and it otherwise isn't a motif associated with the character.
• Cry for the Devil: While he's done more than enough to deserve it, it's hard not to feel a bit bad for Bill as he meets his final fate. His conceited, smart guy persona completely crumbles, and he becomes genuinely, truly terrified.
• He's Just Hiding: The possibility that Bill survived the deletion immediately became a point of discussion. The two theories are:
  • The Axolotl listened to his incantation, and he was reincarnated into a different being.
  • Stanley's memory being brought back also brought Bill back, and he is now secretly living inside of Stan's head.
• I Knew It!:
  • The Zodiac Wheel finally appears, and its intention is confirmed to be destroying Bill.
  • Each symbol on the Wheel representing a different character. Who each symbol represented had been correctly guessed as well, with varying degrees of certainty.
• Like You Would Really Do It: If you stop and really think about it, there is simply no way the show is going to end with Stan never getting his memory back. Doesn't stop the scene from being any less heartbreaking though.
• Moral Event Horizon: Bill definitely shows who he truly is when he blackmails Ford by threatening to kill the children if he does not comply.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: After previous episodes earned Ford a lot of hatred from fans due to his disregard for both Stanley and Mabel's feelings, this episode truly made Ford well-liked by the fans where not only is he willing to do anything to keep Dipper and Mabel safe but also realize just how much of a jerk he's been to Stanley. It ultimately makes Ford's realization that he "killed" Stan all the more sympathetic.
• Signature Scene: Bill singing "We'll Meet Again." It lasts for ten seconds, and has no significant impact on the episode whatsoever. However, it quickly became one of Bill's most iconic moments in the entire show, even inspiring people to make their own full length Bill Cipher song covers. For the Gravity Falls ten-year-anniversary, Alex Hirsch even made his own full length cover with Bill and other characters.
• Spoiled by the Format: The Zodiac Wheel obviously is not going to work, as we're not even halfway through the episode.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • No one, not even Mabel herself found out that she is the one who gave the Rift to Bill in the first place, losing a potential Character Development for the Pines family for their shared role in starting the apocalypse. Bill never even taunts her about it or tries to use it as a means to turn the rest of the group against her, which seems like it would've been a better way to disrupt the Zodiac circle than the rather petty fight between between Ford and Stan. This is however finally addressed in the comics.
  • Ford never genuinely thanked Stanley for all he had done, only a half-hearted one. By the time they reconcile, this concept is dropped altogether.
  • Considering his blatant disregard for Mabel's feelings when offering his apprenticeship to Dipper, you would think that Ford would apologize to Mabel for it. Instead, the apprenticeship idea is all but abandoned unless you consider him doing it offscreen during the one week time.
  • Stan's amnesia lasted all of 15 minutes. In fact, he pretty much regained his memories without indication of an amnesia in the first place. (Hirsch mentions on the DVD commentary that he considered drawing it out, and an entire epilogue episode was considered, but it was just too sad—"You didn't want to watch it. It was miserable.")
  • The revelation that the ten symbols constantly seen throughout the series are part of a ritual to vanquish Bill becomes an Anti-Climax when Stan and Ford get into a fight and ruin the ritual before Bill captures everyone the symbols represent, forcing the Pines to defeat Bill through different means. Some argue this was a brilliant subversion of expectations (aided by Alex Hirsch already being an infamous Trolling Creator), while others find it a cop-out.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: The Northwests losing their money actually upset some people, though this is more because that it also affects Pacifica. Others though are quick to point out the Mrs. Northwest's line about the pony means Pacifica won't be homeless or anything.

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