Dark Qiviut

>scroll glides away

>Twi nervously wishes Spike was up, 'cause she can't gallop after it and retrieve it *sarcasm*

>Dash jealous that she doesn't have an assistant doing whatever she wants
>Scoots eagerly asks what she can do
>Dash hoofs her finished apple to discard
>Scoots giddly gets rid of it

Maybe it's me being colored by their portrayals now, but Dash and Scoots sounded…immature here.

*turns on Owl's Well*

Damn, episode, you're really laying Spike's status on really thickly (and forced) here.

FIM, leave the hammering to carpenters.

For a long time, I called Boast Busters the worst written S1 episode. Now I wonder if Owl's Well's is worse.

These are preliminary lists, but as of now, here's my top 13 episodes of GF. Note that every list is subject to change:

1. Not What He Seems
2. Weirdmageddon (Part 2 is my fav of the trilogy)
3. Revenge of the Gid (Gideon Rises preferred)
4. Blendin's Game
5. Northwest Mansion Mystery
6. Land Before Swine
7. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future
8. Society of the Blind Eye
9. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel
10. The Time Traveler's Pig
11. The Last Mabelcorn
12. Headhunters
13. Sock Opera

And bottom-5 (only the first three are bad episodes):

1. The Love God
2. Roadside Attraction
3. Boyz Crazy
4. Soos and the Real Girl
5. Irrational Treasure

As for the ordered lists, from best to worst for S1:

S2:

Altogether:

You know what's the worst part of Gravity Falls?

Figuring out your list of best episodes, best characters, and best moments. This is gonna be super-hard! D:

After sleeping on GF all night, I know my top moment of both Season 2 and the series: McGucket learning about his past life in Society. Why this one?

1. Because it carries major implications of Gravity Falls's society. It begins to explain what might've caused everyone in the town to act so cynical, yet so colorful simultaneously. Beneath everyone's bravado is a place full of mysteries that one society watched over to make sure no one knew about it except a spare few. The memory-erasing gun can cause many people to get brain damage or go insane. What if some there were becoming that? Did multiple usage of the gun on them cause this, or something else?
2. It changed Gravity Falls's status quo permanently. When he relearned his past, the show's direction really took off. McGucket began to become more and more saner, and he relearned how he lived. Pacifica took on a brand-new direction for the NW family. Ford returned. Cipher. The gun. Everything about his past became connected with the show's overarching plot. It's the most important moment of the show.

GF finale, Part 3 spoilers:

Gravity Falls tells the story it wants to tell, and it finished off with an epic finale. I laughed. I cheered. And, yes, I started to shed a tear or two at one point. Hilarious and emotional. A story of two twins coming to town, staying with Stan, and solving the town's greatest mysteries.

I won't post much tonight, and I won't post spoilers until later (and probably post a blog about my thoughts on GF as a whole). But Weirdmageddon is an amazing series finale, and Gravity Falls as a whole deserves all the accolades it gets.

Grades:

1. Tourist Trapped: A-
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker: C+
3. Headhunters: A
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel: A
5. The Inconceiving: C+
6. Dipper Vs. Manliness: A-
7. Double Dipper: B
8. Irrational Treasure: C
9. The Time Traveler's Pig: A
10. Fight Fighters: A
11. Little Dipper: B-
12. Summerween: A
13. Boss Mabel: C+
14. Bottomless Pit!: B-
15. The Deep End: B-
16. Carpet Diem: A-
17. Boyz Crazy: D+
18. Land Before Swine: A+
19. Revenge of the Gid: A+
    1. Dreamscaperers: A
    2. Gideon Rises: A+

--

1. Scary-oke: B
2. Into the Bunker: A
3. The Golf War: B+
4. Sock Opera: A
5. Soos and the Real Girl: C-
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors: C+
7. Society of the Blind Eye: A
8. Blendin's Game: A+
9. The Love God: F
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery: A+
11. Not What He Seems: A+
12. A Tale of Two Stans: A-
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: B+
14. The Stanchurian Candidate: B-
15. The Last Mabelcorn: A
16. Roadside Attraction: D
17. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future: A+
18. Weirdmageddon: A+
    1. Part 1 — The Weirdpocalypse: A
    2. Part 2 — Escape From Reality: A+
    3. Part 3 — Take Back the Falls: A+

Now, the grand finale!

Part 2 finished!

After the controversy I heard about this episode, there's one thing I have to say.

What controversy?

This two-parter is about Mabel running away from reality. Throughout the series, she lived a life as a kid, because she sees the good in everyone and believes they deserve a benefit of the doubt. However, she's been involved in so many negative moments that it becomes harder and harder for her to live in them. The pain of living in GF knowing the failures of getting a boyfriend that she'll shoot the memories out of her? Why? Because she was so guilty that she doesn't want to live with that pain.

But that pain isn't only with her boyfriend attempts. Beneath her cheerful exterior is a fear waiting to sprout out and take over her consciousness. Wendy telling her that high school can be a pain in the ass and that her two closest friends won't be here for their birthday party crushed her. The fear of growing up began to take over. And that fear really hit full throttle after Dipper suddenly announced that he planned to stay with Ford. As I wrote in a previous status, she's so afraid of growing up, because she's afraid of the unknown. She doesn't know how she'll live as an adult, or whether she'll see her friends and family again. Dipper staying behind broke her heart and churned a fake smile that can only be masked by Bill's utopic world of her mind.

The way GF approached Mabel's fear of growing up is so tasteful that I can't describe it. Wherever she goes, Cipher's fantasyland manipulates her even more and multiplies her fears. Dipper tried calling her out a few times, but each time that happened, Mabel only plugged her ears more. Phobias aren't bound by logic, and Mabel's is crippling. The episode acknowledges how she cant hide away forever…but it also does a wonderful job validating them. Calling her out for her selfishness doesn't work. Why? Because doing so completely undercuts her valid fear. In fact, it only strengthens her phobia and forces her to live in more denial. No one receives another's words and tone the same way, and Mabel's is at her lowest point. If you're going to help her conquer her fear, look at it in her shoes and help turn her fear into something more hopeful. Even though reality sucks sometimes, Mabel and Dipper love each other and know they can face their fears together. Rather than call her out for denying reality, Dipper accepts it and shows her the fuller picture of their memories. Dipper's decision to support her and help her face her fears as a team is very heartwarming and mature.

Escape from Reality is not only my second-favorite GF episode. It's probably one of the best episodes I've ever seen in any cartoon, period. Amazingly done!

Grades:

1. Tourist Trapped: A-
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker: C+
3. Headhunters: A
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel: A
5. The Inconceiving: C+
6. Dipper Vs. Manliness: A-
7. Double Dipper: B
8. Irrational Treasure: C
9. The Time Traveler's Pig: A
10. Fight Fighters: A
11. Little Dipper: B-
12. Summerween: A
13. Boss Mabel: C+
14. Bottomless Pit!: B-
15. The Deep End: B-
16. Carpet Diem: A-
17. Boyz Crazy: D+
18. Land Before Swine: A+
19. Revenge of the Gid: A+
    1. Dreamscaperers: A
    2. Gideon Rises: A+

--

1. Scary-oke: B
2. Into the Bunker: A
3. The Golf War: B+
4. Sock Opera: A
5. Soos and the Real Girl: C-
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors: C+
7. Society of the Blind Eye: A
8. Blendin's Game: A+
9. The Love God: F
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery: A+
11. Not What He Seems: A+
12. A Tale of Two Stans: A-
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: B+
14. The Stanchurian Candidate: B-
15. The Last Mabelcorn: A
16. Roadside Attraction: D
17. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future: A+
18. Weirdmageddon: N/A
    1. Part 1 — The Weirdpocalypse: A
    2. Part 2 — Escape From Reality: A+

Mabeland's prosecutors put Dipper on trial and used examples of Dipper's and Mabel's hardships against them. The more you think about how fantasyland is created and how it masks reality, the more horrific it is.

>now in Mabeland

Quote

Dip: Annnnnd this is worse than the apocalypse.

LOL!

--

Bill is right. His world created for Mabel's mega-diabolical. He's taking absolute advantage of her insecurities, fears, fantasies, and their fractured relationship. She's so afraid of life ahead of her that she'll rather hide away from it than face it.

Reminds me of this Digimon episode almost 19 years ago…

Part 1 over!

If there's one problem Part 1 has, Gideon's change of heart occurs too fast. He was so obsessed with her for so long that he'd do anything to get her. Dipper convinced him to change his ways, because he found out he was frightened of Bill and forced him to look at it in her shoes. But it all occurred in about two to three minutes.

Aside from that, an easy A! The entire episode is amazingly done, from the threatening action to the Godly humor. Weirdmageddon allows the writers to get away with forms of logic they couldn't prior. Becoming birds, anime characters, alien crustaceans, live-action versions of themselves (LMAO!), low-poly CGI, silent-film characters (with the title card to boot ). The journals may be destroyed, but Bill ain't done yet.

Wendy, Soos, and Dip are out to find Mabel and rescue her.

Part 2 now!

Grades:

1. Tourist Trapped: A-
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker: C+
3. Headhunters: A
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel: A
5. The Inconceiving: C+
6. Dipper Vs. Manliness: A-
7. Double Dipper: B
8. Irrational Treasure: C
9. The Time Traveler's Pig: A
10. Fight Fighters: A
11. Little Dipper: B-
12. Summerween: A
13. Boss Mabel: C+
14. Bottomless Pit!: B-
15. The Deep End: B-
16. Carpet Diem: A-
17. Boyz Crazy: D+
18. Land Before Swine: A+
19. Revenge of the Gid: A+
    1. Dreamscaperers: A
    2. Gideon Rises: A+

--

1. Scary-oke: B
2. Into the Bunker: A
3. The Golf War: B+
4. Sock Opera: A
5. Soos and the Real Girl: C-
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors: C+
7. Society of the Blind Eye: A
8. Blendin's Game: A+
9. The Love God: F
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery: A+
11. Not What He Seems: A+
12. A Tale of Two Stans: A-
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: B+
14. The Stanchurian Candidate: B-
15. The Last Mabelcorn: A
16. Roadside Attraction: D
17. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future: A+
18. Weirdmageddon: N/A
    1. Part 1 — The Weirdpocalypse: A

GIDEON, YOU PSYCHO!!

1/3 of Weirdmaggedon, Part 1 over!

--

>Bill warps Mr. Northwest's face

I'll see THAT in my nightmares! D:

--

Gideon's right! Bill's insane!

Finished Vs. the Future! Full of action backed by emotion and character.

Dipper's arc continues to evolve, but Ford's does, too. Even though he's not as intellectual with the technology as Ford, it doesn't mean he won't try. When Ford was about to die, he won't leave him behind. He accomplishes a feat not even Ford does: down an alien droid and then defeat backup.

Mabel's arc catapults through the thought of having to grow up. High school is coming, and the harsh realities of them (so many people relate to Wendy!) scares her. Candy and Grenda having to leave GF near the end of the month also makes her realize that childhood won't last forever. But she doesn't it to end. She loves being a child, but as seen from earlier in the series (i.e., Summerween), she's scared of what'll happen when she becomes too old to do activities she loved as a kid. She's so scared of what lies in the future and doesn't want to leave Gravity Falls. She fears adulthood, because she doesn't know what'll happen to her friends and family as they all get older. Stan nears 70, and who knows how much time he has left. And can you blame her for taking Dipper's sudden declaration of staying back at Gravity Falls to be Ford's apprentice so hard? They're so close, and she doesn't want to be left alone. If Dipper leaves Mabel behind, it comes across as if she's saying goodbye to him.

Stan has some of his best lines in the show:

Quote

Ah, nobody likes gettin' older. But just because you're growing doesn't mean you have to grow up, you know? I mean, look at me. I'm pushin' seventy and I still eat ice cream for dinner.

Quote

Hey, at least whatever happens after this summer, you'll still have your brother along with you through thick and thin. Not everyone can say that, you know.

And don't forget this hilarious gem:

Quote

Mabel: Why aren't they singing about following their dreams? TV taught me that high school was like some sort of musical.

LMAO!! XD

Overall, a masterpiece to perfectly set up Weirdmaggedon!

Grades:

1. Tourist Trapped: A-
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker: C+
3. Headhunters: A
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel: A
5. The Inconceiving: C+
6. Dipper Vs. Manliness: A-
7. Double Dipper: B
8. Irrational Treasure: C
9. The Time Traveler's Pig: A
10. Fight Fighters: A
11. Little Dipper: B-
12. Summerween: A
13. Boss Mabel: C+
14. Bottomless Pit!: B-
15. The Deep End: B-
16. Carpet Diem: A-
17. Boyz Crazy: D+
18. Land Before Swine: A+
19. Revenge of the Gid: A+
    1. Dreamscaperers: A
    2. Gideon Rises: A+

--

1. Scary-oke: B
2. Into the Bunker: A
3. The Golf War: B+
4. Sock Opera: A
5. Soos and the Real Girl: C-
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors: C+
7. Society of the Blind Eye: A
8. Blendin's Game: A+
9. The Love God: F
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery: A+
11. Not What He Seems: A+
12. A Tale of Two Stans: A-
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: B+
14. The Stanchurian Candidate: B-
15. The Last Mabelcorn: A
16. Roadside Attraction: D
17. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future: A+

P.S.: Like Revenge of the Gid, Weirdmaggedon will be graded both individually and as a whole.

Oh, no!

Holy…shit!

Quote

Mabel: Why aren't they singing about following their dreams? TV taught me that high school was like some sort of musical.

>tfw Gravity Falls plugs in a High School Musical reference.

LMFAO! XD

>Ford sets his face on fire to "shave" his own beard

XD

Rather than mourn RA's lost potential, moving forward to Vs. the Future!

Roadside Attraction done. The episode's moral is to not treat a girl's feelings towards you as a means to an end. On its own, it's fine. Unfortunately, its execution is the episode's fatal flaw. How? To go over the reasons one by one.

1. The episode brings up his crush on Wendy way too late in the season (and the series). After Wendy softly rejected his crush, he wasn't only okay with it, but grew into a stronger human being more emotionally, as well. His behavior really matured since then, one of the best in Northwest Mansion Mystery. He acted like he moved on. To bring it up this late in the show is really poor timing and feels more like regression than progression.
2. Dipper wasn't written to be an asshole. Throughout the trip, he worried about how they felt if they found out he flirted with other girls on the trip in order be more self-confident in communicating with girls as a whole. Dipper's really insecure of himself and will try anything to feel more responsible, including accepting awful womanizing advice from Stan. Unlike Time Traveler's Pig, Fight Fighters, and Boyz Crazy, he doesn't need to learn a hard lesson to set himself back in line. We're seeing this episode in Dipper's perspective for the majority of the episode, so we're seeing the conflict in his POV. So, when all four girls argued and put him into the proverbial corner, you can't help but feel really bad for him.
3. All three girls he met and conversed conveniently converged at once while he was on his date with Candy. If only one girl came into the scene, then the outcome might come off a little more organically. But when all four girls converge (one of 'em calling him out for not calling her, even though she only met him yesterday *shiver*), it implicates that the writers only want to really punish him. Rather than believing he deserved the outcome, the tone becomes mean-spirited.
4. The way the episode teaches it is very hypocritical. For the first time, Dipper now feels what it's like to be written as a prize. What I wrote about the setup previously remains. But as a whole, there are four major problems here:
   1. The "prize" aspect doesn't come up at all when he converses with the other three girls. He's more worried about their feelings than his own. Therefore, this part of the episode's moral is a non-sequitur.
   2. Candy's sudden crush on Dipper is revealed to both Mab and Grenda first. Dipper has no idea about it until Candy's friends play matchmaker and then gets his space invaded by her. Grenda and Mabel's guessing game of their future nephew or niece as they watched them enter the attraction was creepy in a bad way.
   3. His conversation after all four girls left her was this:

      Quote

      Dipper *panting*: Girls! There you are.

      Mabel: Betrayer!

      Candy: Oh, you. What do you want?

      Dipper: I need your help.

      Candy: With what, some sick jealousy trap?

      That was the extent of the entire second half of their conflict, andt doesn't come up again until the resolution. Any emotional weight that the A-plot might have is lost when there's no expansion to the emotional side of the conflict, and bringing it up again at the end comes across as wanting to settle it before credits roll.

   4. Candy's manizing of Dipper was not only not called out, but also written to be in the right. Dipper was treated wholly in the wrong and had to learn the lesson all the way through, from his guilt that lasted through handing Candy a pamphlet to apologize to her to Candy using his fear of the spider creature as a half-assed excuse to "break up" with him. Candy advances on a boy who doesn't welcome them, yet this part of the conflict is treated as his fault, because he was too nervous to say "no," yet the episode contrively drops that in favor of the "be-more-comfy-around-girls" angle established from earlier. If he also treated her emotions as a means to an end, that'd be much more different.
      
      Women's feelings shouldn't be treated as a means to an end. Likewise, it's just as wrong to treat men's feelings the same, too. Toying with their emotions is wrong. When you don't apply this moral equally, you implicate that it's okay for one side to do it, but not the other. Rather than teaching a valuable moral about real feelings for the other primary gender, the moral comes off as sexist and damaging to both girls and boys alike.

That's really unfortunate, because there were some good parts of the plot. Chemistry between Stan and Dipper was really organic. The hijinks by Stan and the kids on the other Oregonian tourist traps were hilarious. The credits (Soos being accidentally left behind in the maize maze) was funny. Candy's plan to escape Darlene was crazy and clever. Dipper's unrequited crush on Wendy finally ends, and he comes out more confident.

How I wish a sorrily-executed moral and setup didn't ruin it.

Grades:

1. Tourist Trapped: A-
2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker: C+
3. Headhunters: A
4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel: A
5. The Inconceiving: C+
6. Dipper Vs. Manliness: A-
7. Double Dipper: B
8. Irrational Treasure: C
9. The Time Traveler's Pig: A
10. Fight Fighters: A
11. Little Dipper: B-
12. Summerween: A
13. Boss Mabel: C+
14. Bottomless Pit!: B-
15. The Deep End: B-
16. Carpet Diem: A-
17. Boyz Crazy: D+
18. Land Before Swine: A+
19. Revenge of the Gid: A+
    1. Dreamscaperers: A
    2. Gideon Rises: A+

--

1. Scary-oke: B
2. Into the Bunker: A
3. The Golf War: B+
4. Sock Opera: A
5. Soos and the Real Girl: C-
6. Little Gift Shop of Horrors: C+
7. Society of the Blind Eye: A
8. Blendin's Game: A+
9. The Love God: F
10. Northwest Mansion Mystery: A+
11. Not What He Seems: A+
12. A Tale of Two Stans: A-
13. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons: B+
14. The Stanchurian Candidate: B-
15. The Last Mabelcorn: A
16. Roadside Attraction: D