Geekscape Roundtable: We Say Goodbye To ‘Gravity Falls’!
We can’t believe it’s over.
Gravity Falls lasted just 40 episodes over two and a half years, but its brevity and impact on the world of television will be talked about for some time.
We’ve got a few Gravity Falls fans as part of our ever-growing team at Geekscape, and after learning all about series composer Brad Breeck on Geekscape just a couple of weeks back, Natalie, Adam, and Yanks decided to share their thoughts on the now-concluded series.
Without further adieu, read on for our thoughts on the series and its finale, and let us know how you said goodbye to Dipper, Mabel, and friends.
Daniel Campozano
The End Is Nigh! The hour long final episode of Gravity Falls titled “Weirdmageddon Part 3: Take Back the Falls.” just aired after a three month break, and boy was it a good.
The episode features a cameo from pretty much every character that the Mystery Shack Gang has encountered. My favorite being the Ken/Ryu/Guile hybrid video game character come to life. With Old Man McGucket somewhat sane again, he hatches up a plan to face off against Bill. Of course in a true nostalgia fashion they build a robot similar to Power Rangers Megazord along with Power Rangers-esque battle music. I LOVED IT.
Throughout the episodes, Stan is hesitant to sacrifice his safety any more for his brother, Stanford. Ultimately his rage towards his brother boils over and costs the gang a chance to once and for get rid of Bill. After the twins set out to correct the mistake they are captured by Bill and used as bait to get Stanford to give up the secrets to releasing Bill from Gravity Falls in order to take over the world. After he agrees and Bill enters his mind, he finds himself in an empty space with a single door which leads to Grunkle Stan in his favorite recliner, trapping Bill and then Stanford mind wiping Grunkle Stan, thus erasing the trapped Bill.
At this point my daughter started to bawl, as the look on the twins’ and Soos’ face when Grunkle Stan doesn’t recognize anyone and you can hear the torment in their voices. In an attempt to jog his memory, Mabel goes over her Summer scrapbook and all of the memories they had over the Summer. Little by little Grunkle Stan remembers. After the town recovers, the time has come for the Pine Twins to go back home. Saying their heartfelt goodbyes, the Stan Twins decide to embark on their adventure and leave Gravity Falls as well. Soos’ now the new owner of the Mystery Shack, Old Man McGucket is now super rich after gaining his mind back and selling his patents, and the most hilarious and not so surprising is the Sheriff and his deputy finally admitting their love for each other. Before they board the bus, Wendy hands Dipper an envelope to open when he misses Gravity Falls. Once on the bus on their way home Dipper opens the envelope and sees a note signed by their friends and family, which finally brought that tear in my eyes. It was finally over, for now.
With an influx recently of low-brow cartoons, it was such a refreshing break to run into a show with such a smart concept. With such quirky mysteries and characters it was hard to not fall in love with the charm of the show. With Jason Ritter (Dipper), Kristen Schaal (Mabel) and Alex Hirsch (Grunkle Stan) having such a great dynamic as the main characters and funny one-liners. With such unique and hilarious funny characters sometimes voiced by celebrities of voice acting veterans.
Favorite character(s):
1. The Rainbow vomiting gnomes
2. Mermando
3. Multi Bear
4. Time Baby
5. Toby
One of the other things I loved and identified with right away was the quick musical numbers. In one of the earlier episodes, Dipper finds himself at odds with a multibear. After a tiring battle, they finally comes to an understanding when they both realize they have a penchant for 80’s pop song Disco Girl (very similar to Disco Queen by Abba). I so Identified with Dipper as being the only friend in my group of friends who has a soft spot for 70-80’s pop songs. After my daughter forced me to watch some episodes and seeing that particular one I was hooked on the show. Last week Jonathan London had the pleasure of interviewing the series musical composer Brad “Point” Breeck and he made an astute observation, if you don’t talk down to the kids you’re going to have a good show that can cross the generational barriers.
Gravity Falls, I feel, took that and made its own thing sort of like Adventure Time did with the heavy context episodes. Creator Alex Hirsch set out to do a show that can get the kids thinking and solving clues in the forms of text ciphers that would normally flash at the end of the episodes, but as the series progressed they progressively got harder and complex. After each viewing my daughter would go frame by frame where the cipher would appear and start to try and solve them (with the help of the internet). It reminded me of my childhood, watching Ghostwriter and having a black and white notebook writing down clues to help out the gang to catch the THABTOs. During a marathon of all the episodes Disney aired a “Between the Pines” special where creator Alex Hirsch went over some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of the show. One of the most surprising things I learned was that all of the secret clues and visuals in the episodes like random rainbow reflections in the Mystery shack signified the involvement of the “author”.
My Favorite episodes:
1. Summerween
2. Scary-oke
3. Dipper vs. Manliness
4. Boss Mabel
5. Dungeons, Dungeons & More Dungeons
It’s tough to see such a great show go away, but at least it was able to go out on its on terms and on a high note. Thanks Alex Hirsch, for a creating such an awesome show that helped solidify a bond between me and my daughter. It was also the first characters that my daughter and I cosplayed together as at our first NYCC, and the series will forever hold a special place in our hearts. Thanks Again, Alex.
Natalie Kipper
Wow, what a finale! Given the overall quality of Gravity Falls, I went in with high expectations but they were completely blown away. I am glad that they went with a 44 minute episode rather than the typical 20 or so minutes of runtime. That much action and development just couldn’t have been squeezed into the standard time slot. My favorite parts mostly centered around the Mystery Shack-turned-mech. The construction sequence showing all those side characters from previous episodes joining the twins and Old Man McGucket in transforming the Mystery Shack into a fighting machine hammered home a sense of nostalgia. And the actual giant robot fight? Holy crap! Brad Breeck’s musical score in that scene was particularly awesome. I will say that I totally saw the whole “Ford and Stan switching places” plan coming but the aftermath was still intense. I am not ashamed to say I cried at that point.
The ending with Dipper and Mabel boarding the bus, Dipper’s internal monologue, and Wendy’s letter was the perfect way to bring the series to a close. It felt like a farewell but Wendy’s “See you next Summer” provided a hopeful message to viewers. And while I don’t think there will be a sequel, I’m not sure I’d want one. It ended so cleanly. Why mess that up?
Adam Lemuz
It’s hard to believe that Gravity Falls is finally over. Premiering earlier this week, Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back the Falls is everything you expect to see from an episode from Gravity Falls, while also delivering a fun and satisfying ending. Everything in this episode was a joy to watch from start to finish. From big things like the gang building the giant shack robot, to the smaller moments with Mabel knitting everyone apocalypse sweaters, there’s always a sense of urgency throughout the episode, but that doesn’t stop them from sliding in jokes where they can.
One thing I’ve enjoyed throughout the whole series, including the finale, is the interaction between Dipper and Mabel, and the sibling bond they share. Coming from living with an older sibling for most of my life, I can very much relate to the twin’s relationship. No matter how much they disagree or get mad at each other, they always end up being there for each other in the end. Watching them work together to outwit Bill on his own playing field is an absolute pleasure to watch. While I do feel that the tear jerker moments could have been handled better, I will admit to getting a bit misty eyed during Stan’s sacrifice and Waddle’s fate. While I’d love to go into way more detail about how much I loved this finale, I’ll leave you to the others thoughts on the episode!
So, how much did you cry during this week’s finale? How will you move on from such an incredible series? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!