I've already said these things over on Tumblr, but I think the conversation will be better over here... Spoiler: SPOILERS GALORE Did Ford treat McGucket like this? By which I mean, so manipulatively? Faking emergencies to get him to show up faster and trashing all the other people in his life? Were those eyes the only difference he could see between Ford and Ciford, sometimes? Fidds didn’t get out in time. Here’s hoping Dipper will. Dipper didn’t face down the security bot by “focus(ing) on your intellect”, he did it by focusing on the family member in danger. He did it the way Stanley would have. But Ford can’t imagine great things being done except by someone who’s like himself. He even seems to downplay McGucket’s contributions, however sorry he may be. Ford has got some huge-ass blinders made of ego and even knowing that Bill used them to lead him around by the nose doesn't seem to have diminished them any. See also: The journal additions. It’s not a coincidence that the page he used as an example, the gnomes’ leaf-blower weakness, was actually discovered by Mabel. Dipper doesn’t bring it up because why would he? The younger twins have always been a unit, to him it’s obvious that the additions include Mabel’s input, and he doesn’t see that Ford doesn’t see that. Dipper is worlds more thoughtful when contemplating a career away from his twin than Ford was. He’s actually put thought into how they’ll keep in touch, rather than just flippantly making it her problem (”Well, then you’d better visit me!”) This is probably because he actually prioritizes having her in his life. I think if she hadn’t already suffered so many disappointments that day, and if Dipper were half-decent at breaking news, Mabel might actually have been okay with it. Or at least not distressed to the point of Sweater Town. Bets on whether Ford blames Mabel for being fooled, when he finds out what happens, rather than understanding that this is exactly why keeping people out of the loop on which things are and are not world-endingly dangerous is a terrible idea? tl;dr: Stanford, I love you, but you are such a jerk.
Spoiler I was legitimately expecting dipper to answer "Mabel" when Ford said that, as a throwback to "Dipper would" in the sock puppet episode. It would have probably clashed with the mood of the episode tho Dipper telling Ford about how awesome Mabel is needs to be a thing that happens on the show Considering Bill's thing with dreams+Mabel being unconscious rn, I wouldn't be surprised if the next ep happened at least partially inside her head. In which case, her emotional wellbeing would probably be a thing. Wouldn't it be awesome awful if her her imagination powers (how they beat him in Stan's dream) failed her right now because she's upset? I think I've read somewhere that there'd be flashbacks to Dipper and Mabel's lives before the summer this season, so the next ep could also be that Or it could be both or something else i dunno
Spoiler: reply Exploring another character's mindscape would be really cool. Even though in this case it would also be really sad.
Oh my god Spoiler: ffs Ford I would much like to shake this guy by his coat lapels until his teeth rattle and he gets it through his skull that THIS IS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T TALK TO PEOPLE. THERE WAS NO REASON TO HIDE THE RIFT THING, AND SO MABEL HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF COURSE NOT. Also, Ford, you DO realize that it's only due to Mabel that you made it through the portal? And that the Shack was safe? And like a billion other things that Mabel and Dipper did together to save the world? Maybe you don't want to call her a suffocating useless sibling holding Dipper back.
Spoiler he's projecting himself onto Dipper so of course he see's Mabel as a suffocating and holding him back, because he saw Stanley as suffocating an holding him back. My one disappointment with the last couple episodes is that we've seen a lot of Dipper and Ford bonding, but pretty much zero Stanley and Mabel bonding. Which I guess is to somewhat be expected since Mabel and Stanley are going through their own growing older angst and already have a good relationship while Stanford just showed up. But there's still some time before the end, I think. Things look bad now but I'm hopeful that the day will be saved by all four of them.
Spoiler: Response to Bel's spoiler *raises hand* Whether it's because of the hat itself or because it exposes his birthmark, no way it doesn't mean something.
Spoiler: a fact Blendin is there next to Mabel. Blendin and his time travel thingy. I suspect that this will come into play in the next episode.
here have three spoiler boxes filled with blather Spoiler: character musings, part 1: finding balance Stan has an underdeveloped sense of his worth as an individual and sees himself as half of a broken set. Ford has an overdeveloped ego and sees himself as a Super Special Genius who doesn't need anyone. They are both unbalanced. They are both unhealthy. Dipper wants to grow up too fast, Mabel wants to stay a kid forever. They are both unbalanced and unhealthy. But that's old news. Most recently this conflict has manifested with Dipper wanting to take a “shortcut” to his dream career as a paranormal researcher by accepting the apprenticeship with Ford, and Mabel wanting to stop time rather than face an intimidating future. Dipper and Mabel’s challenge is to avoid the unhealthy extremes manifested by their uncles and maintain a healthy, balanced relationship with room for both individuality and togetherness. And save the world while they're at it! Spoiler: character musings, part 2: contrasting priorities Stan is an amoral cynic who loves his family from the depths of his soul. He would do anything for a select few people (Ford, Dipper, Mabel, Soos) and doesn't seem to care very much about anyone else. He risked the destruction of the entire world for his brother’s sake. Ford is a solitary, self-absorbed intellectual who cares about the big picture; bringing knowledge to humanity, protecting the universe. He would go to great lengths for what he sees as the greater good, even prioritizing the protection of the rift over his own life in D&MvtF. He has few close relationships in his life and often has difficulty connecting on an emotional level even with people he cares about. Once again, both are out of balance. (I like both characters and see flaws and things to admire in both of them. To be totally honest, though, when I look at them from this perspective I kind of sympathize more with Ford. I respect Stan’s motives, but ultimately it seems self-evident to me that, objectively speaking, risking the entire universe to help one person is wrong. This seems to be an unpopular opinion in the fandom at large. People cite this action as a heartwarming display of Stan’s loyalty and love. The magnitude of the risk Stan took is just another reason why Ford ought to be grateful, why he shouldn’t be angry. I would probably be more disturbed if he weren’t angry. I guess the emotional pull of a character devoting his life to finding his missing brother is pretty powerful, and the threat to the universe is more abstract, so it's harder for people to care about. Idek, y'all. I can preach and moralize all night, but at the end of the day, I don't know whether I would risk the universe to save a loved one or not. It's hard to even imagine. It would be a horrible agonizing decision. Intellectually, I believe that prioritizing the universe is the right choice, but emotionally... ouch. And there, I suppose, lies a major point of contrast between the Stan twins.) Spoiler: BONUS: dumb pun If Dipper winds up doing this apprenticeship thing, and later someone asks him where he went to school, he can just say, “I went to Stanford” and people will be impressed.
I don't think this part is a spoiler anymore, so: Was he even aware of/did he even seriously believe the scale of the threat? The "complete global destruction!!!!!" stuff was written in UV ink, which he didn't know about until Scary-oke, at which point he'd already given Journal Three back to Dipper (after photocopying, which would not have duplicated the UV stuff.) And I think, though I'm not sure, that the actual consequences were spelled out on the Journal Three pages. Which leaves Stan with a bunch of rambling about a non-specific danger... from the guy who, last he saw, was so paranoid he turned the anatomical skeleton away before he'd talk. He probably figured it was about the gravity anomalies or something. I'd probably be okay with that level of risk too. Now, would he still have done it if he had known? Probably. He's that devoted. So I'm not sure how much this matters, except that... Spoiler: Okay, THIS part is a spoiler ...thematically (I know he wasn't in control of who had which journal when while he was gone. He DID make the warning label the most difficult thing about the portal to find, though!) it also fits with the "Ford doesn't tell people about the real danger, feels like he's being so careful while actually fucking everything up" that was so dramatically demonstrated in this latest ep.
Yeah, that's a fair point. It makes sense that he wouldn't believe it under the circumstances. I agree with that. He never showed any concern or regret over the risk once he learned that it was real (assuming he believes it is. If he didn't believe what Ford said while the man was visibly out of his mind, he might also not believe what Ford wrote during that time). ...hum. Now the whole idea that Stan knowingly risked the universe seems a bit dubious. But we still think he's the kind of guy who would. It still kind of bugs me that Stan is often praised for that. His dedication is admirable but it rises to frightening extremes. Ford was so angry that Stan ignored his warnings... I wonder if it's occurred to him that Stan may not have seen them. Spoiler: in regards to that spoiler Also an interesting point. I never understood why Ford wrote such a vitally important warning in invisible ink. As established, he certainly wasn't in his right mind at the time, so that might help explain it.
Warning: Hella racist and also I didn't know where else to put this but goddammit I could never get that tune out of my head once I made the connection.
Spoiler: next episode mini preview; warning for what looks like exposed muscle/flesh Bill characterizes his dimension as "decaying". I guess that tells us his motive for invading ours. Why's he all fleshy though. That is not how you do organic three-dimensional existence, Bill. Cut it out.
I found this meta on tumblr and this bit confuses me: ...like... is that not true? Everything the OP is describing as a bogus rationalization seems to me to actually be true. I'd ask them for clarification, but they don't seem to have an open ask box. (tbh I'm also not sure what they mean about Ford "using" McGucket. I'm not saying Ford 100% did right by McGucket, but that phrasing doesn't totally make sense to me. Honestly most things related to Ford make my brain hurt lately. He's so controversial now, and the more commentary I read the fuzzier and more uncertain my own understanding of him becomes. I really want to like him, and I'm a little worried that I might have an unfair bias in his favor.)
As someone who's 100% on the "Ford needs to get over himself" train, I'm confused by that post too. Honestly, the fandom's insistence that McGucket is 100% blameless in everything forever has bugged me ever since SotBE. I posted some meta a while ago about how, y'know, he did still build giant homicidal robots when the people in his life didn't do what he wanted them to, and there's only so much you can let someone off the hook for their brain being fried when they fried it themselves- and kept frying it when it was obvious they were becoming dangerous to those around them ("I hit another car in town today..." Well, maybe at least STOP DRIVING then?) Now, the more we've found out about what working with Ford in those days must have been like, the more sympathy I've been feeling... and we are talking about the place where nuance goes to die, here. I can see the part where McGucket would not have been this badly off if he'd done virtually anything else at all getting lost.
With all the fandom panicking that Gravity Falls is going to end a full season early, I feel like they're kinda forgetting that a) Bill is an omnipotent God that knows everyone and everything and can bend fate to his advantage and b) what about the Time Baby and now the aliens. Like, there's too much for it to be neatly concluded in four episodes (give or take a 75 minute or so TV movie). The series is said to end at the end of the summer, but Gravity Falls has always been what I like to call a "gotcha!" show. Wouldn't be surprised if there were time shenanigans or what was meant was the series ending on the last day of astrological summer, or both!
I'm thinking that the Weirdmaggedon will have long term effects, just in the kinds of environment without even starting on cultural shifts, so maybe future seasons will deal with that!
