December 15, 2015
Hello, blog readers, it's Neil. Since the end of my senior year of high school/beginning of the summer of 2015, I have been going to a variety of wikis on Wikia, a hub for making wikis on literally any subject and posting blog posts on those wikis about my opinions on those topics. Obviously, it's not every wiki in existence, just the ones for things I like- in particular, the ones for my favorite shows on Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Fox, FX, and Netflix; my favorite comic book companies, characters, and comic book-based media; my favorite books from my youth; my favorite Lego themes; my favorite YouTube channels, personalities, and Let's Players; my favorite film franchises and animation studios; and my favorite video game franchises. I wish it were a lot more simple than it is.
For starters, I never expected it to take as long as it is taking. I intended to be finished by the end of the summer, but by the end of July, I realized that the pattern I made to decide what I would focus on doing that day, with different ways of doing this being some of the options, wasn't enough to get all of the blogs done by the end of the summer. I tried doing them whenever I wasn't doing something else or had another obligation, which my parents don't entirely understand. Because they are not me, they cannot understand how important it is to me that I put as much else on hold as I can to finish these wiki-blogs. As of this writing, I have thirteen left, and a few more than that to simply post minor information about myself on in case I don't have a strong enough opinion about whatever the wiki's topic is to write my heart out about it. Over the past few months, I've done a little over a hundred posts, one on each wiki that has a community blog. Not all of them have one, which makes things both easier and harder in different ways. Due to some people thinking that Wikia is only in it for the money and doesn't care about the fans, they made an offshoot called the Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance, which is made for mostly Nintendo wikis and has a handful of non-Nintendo wikis partnered with them as well, such as a Digimon wiki, a Halo wiki, and even a Simpsons wiki. While disagreeing with the idea that Wikia wants to NEGATIVELY exploit fandom for profit (though I do think that some of their ideas, like trying to get every fandom with a wiki on it to make their own meals themed to whatever the meal's creator is a fan of, border on the saccharine in terms of internet fangirl gushing, though probably not as bad as fangirls on Tumblr), I still intend to use Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance in conjunction with Wikia because of how their wikis on Nintendo games are more fleshed out than Wikia's wikis on Nintendo games. There are many wikis I'm considering more strongly than others for a variety of reasons.
Some I'm considering because they're underdeveloped and are in need of much more information on their given subjects. An underdeveloped wiki would be easier to climb up the social ladder on than a more developed one and be easier to gain an administrator title on. One wiki that falls into this category is the Adult Swim wiki, the wiki for the programming brand occupying Cartoon Network during nighttime hours known for its off-color and experimental adult-oriented animated programming, which is severely lacking for information on its newer shows, such as Rick and Morty, its most popular show these days and considered by many to be the best show ever produced for the network. Another is the wiki for BoJack Horseman, the iconic Netflix animated dark comedy about the sad life of an anthropomorphic horse that used to be famous and his attempts and failures at getting back into the limelight and feeling cared for by others again. The next one is for Clone High, a short-lived animated series from the early 2000s that was created by two content creators I like, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, that has gained a cult following since its premature cancellation, about a high school in an underground government base full of teenage clones of historical figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, and JFK, all of which are either nothing like the people they're clones of or exemplify nothing but their worst qualities. The one after that is the Cow And Chicken Wiki, a wiki for a Cartoon Network show from the 90s about, well, a cartoon cow and chicken. There are also ones for Dark Horse Comics, the third largest comic book publisher in America, and one for film adaptations of its original works. Then there's the one for Disney XD, the more animation-friendly-nowadays spinoff of Disney Channel, which is severely lacking for information on shows like Gravity Falls, Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, and Wander Over Yonder, five of the best family-oriented animated programs currently on TV (in the case of Gravity Falls and Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil, I use the term "family" loosely). Then comes the Fox Animation Wiki, a wiki about the Fox network's Sunday night lineup, which isn't very active anymore due to Animation Domination somewhat falling apart in the past few years, with The Cleveland Show being cancelled, American Dad moving to TBS, and live-action shows thrown into the mix. In spite of the wiki's general irrelevance, I think that information on all of the animated sitcoms ever produced by 20th Century Fox is still worth sharing on that wiki. I may also consider circulating the wiki for Johnny Bravo, the classic Cartoon Network show about a woman-crazy blonde Elvis. Then there is the wiki for Universal Parks And Resorts and their chain of parks, which I would want to share information on. Then there's one for The Mighty B, a late-2000s Nick cartoon co-created by Amy Poehler, who I've gained more faith in after hearing her voice Joy in Disney/Pixar's Inside Out. I didn't like the show for a little while, but I decided to give it another chance recently thanks to her involvement. Another is the wiki for Nickelodeon, the kids' network and brand with which I have a varied but mostly positive history with the programming of. Many of the wikis for its shows on its "Category:Shows with wikis" page have gone mysteriously missing, and I hope to fix this.
Then there are the wikis that people have actually responded to me on. These would be prime candidates for spending time on because I know that these wikis have active users willing to give me feedback. I deliberately make it hard to respond because of how I disable comments on most of my posts out of fear of generating controversy and being flamed. It's good to know that there are at least a few people willing to help me out on the wikis. People on the Ben 10 wikis have responded positively to things I have had to say, and liked my idea for original stories based on the show centered around one alien from each of the ten original alien species from the first incarnation of the franchise fighting various villains outside of the town of Bellwood, the primary setting of the three sequel series. People on the BoJack Horseman Wiki have responded to my blog post there, saying that they are working on my primary complaint, that the wiki is underdeveloped, and trying to make the wiki more complete. I also received a response on my blog post on The Boondocks Wiki, the wiki for the very-off-color comedy show on Adult Swim based on the comic strip of the same name that was one of the hardest inside looks at African-American culture ever created, centered around ten-year-old nationalist Huey Freeman, his impressionable eight-year-old younger brother Riley Freeman, and their legal guardian grandfather, or "granddad" and former civil rights activist (sort of) Robert Freeman. It advised that I try to shorten the blog post, which I would if I were to choose that as my main wiki. It was fairly long because of how it was a large ramble about how the racial themes of the show and how they affect me both positively and negatively, as someone who benefits from white privilege immensely living in a culture that makes it more of a negative stigma every day. I also received a response on the Dragon Ball Wiki, the wiki for the iconic anime series about Goku and the Z-Fighters, also recommending spacing paragraphs, which I think may have been done for me, given that when something is posted to the community blog on one of these wikis, it becomes anyone's to edit. I also received one on the fanon (meaning for fan-made spinoff stories) wiki for DreamWorks Animation, the popular Hollywood animation studio that made Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How To Train Your Dragon, and many other animated film franchises, though I don't remember what it was about in particular. Then there was the one for The Lego Movie, which called into question my claim that the movie was not all in the kids' imagination, but it was still good to hear. A variety of people responded to my post on The Mighty B wiki, implying that it may not be as desolate as once believed. People also responded to my blog post on the 6teen wiki, a Canadian animated teen sitcom about teens at a mall, something of a deconstructive parody of the teen dramedy genre. The people on the wiki were happy to see another fan, and they should be. I also received a response to my post on the Sonic The Hedgehog Wiki, liking the story of my history with the Sonic video game franchise but expressing confusion at the reference to one of the many Sonic theme songs at the beginning of the post, thinking it was supposed to mean more than just a joke. There were also a few on the South Park Fanon Wiki, praising my idea for a dramedy reimagining of the life of the New Kid from the show's Stick Of Truth video game, even though it had been done before in many other fan fiction formats, but the difference with this one is its more deconstructive take. There was also a response I received on the Image Comics Wiki, the wiki for the fourth largest comic publisher in America, responding to my lament that not many works of their's were being adapted into other media outside of The Walking Dead, and saying that more adaptations can and should be expected in the near-future. Then there was one on the SpongeBob wiki, which didn't say much, though it seemed to express mild awkwardness at how I felt about the current direction of the cartoon. There was also one on the fanon wiki for Cartoon Network's Steven Universe, their most popular and critically-acclaimed show as of right now, centered around an optimistic and fairly effeminate twelve-year-old boy, his single dad, and the three alien women that live with them, who use pseudo-magical powers to fight various evils. It seemed to praise my ideas of a prequel centered around Ruby and Sapphire, the two Gems that make up the character Garnet (the Gem characters can fuse into larger, more powerful Gem characters, and Garnet is a character that spends more time as a fusion than as two separate Gems), one about a teenage Steven traveling through space with the Gems, and one about them chasing Uncle Grandpa, a character from another Cartoon Network show, through the multiverse and trying to stop his plans to ruin the lives of other Cartoon Network characters as a response to the slightly-controversial crossover between the two shows, given the VASTLY different audiences and story purposes between the two shows. They did think that I shouldn't try too hard to build the wiki's content up, seeing as how a smaller wiki is easier to manage, and the very large and busy canon wiki for Steven Universe can get hectic at times. My point exactly for trying to find an underdeveloped wiki to work on. There was also a message I received on the Toonami wiki, the block that used to be on Cartoon Network for airing shows for a teenage audience (never stopped me from watching it well before I could handle most of its shows) until its end in 2008 and revival in 2012 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on Saturday nights, where it now airs uncut anime and revivals of action-oriented Cartoon Network shows from the past that have gained pretty decent adult cult followings, such as Samurai Jack. Someone said something about the reason why I disabled comments was because I was new, but it was really because I went on a rant about old Cartoon Network vs. new Cartoon Network and didn't want to get flamed... because I was new. I also wrote one on the TV Hub, the section of Wikia that its most popular TV show-themed wikis are showcased on, and people found humor in my comical post on comparing different kinds of television programming to different food groups. Then there was one on the wiki for We Bare Bears, my favorite Cartoon Network show currently airing. It's a lighthearted and generally feel-good show about three cartoon bears- a grizzly bear, a panda bear, and a polar bear- living in San Francisco and trying to make human friends. It was the only wiki that I noticed that had a direct link to the section of its forum for new users to introduce themselves, and while it didn't happen right away, I was welcomed on that wiki in a very open fashion. The last one is a wiki that is not on Wikia, but I included anyway- the big one, Wikipedia. I liked the way they welcome new users, which is why I included it on the list of wikis I consider using regularly more than all of the rest.
Then there are the wikis I included because of the decision-making pattern I use for decisions like this that only makes sense to me. The first one that was selected as a result of that formula is Kim Possible, the mid-2000s Disney cartoon about a secret agent teenage girl, her clumsy best-friend-that-eventually-becomes-her-boyfriend, and his pet naked mole rat. Then the pattern chose Adventure Time, Cartoon Network's modern classic about a preteen boy and his elastic talking dog living in a trippy, post-apocalyptic fantasy land. The next fandom of mine that the pattern chose was Kirby, Nintendo's video game series about a pink puffball creature with a vacuum-mouth that uses the abilities of anything and anyone he eats to save his home of Dream Land from the corrupt rule of King Dedede, an obese penguin king with similar abilities to Kirby and a part-wood-part-metal drill hammer. Then there was the wiki for American Dragon: Jake Long, a mid-2000s Disney cartoon about a New York City teen with the ability to turn into a dragon. Then there was the wiki for the Lego brand, which I have a strong history with. After that came the wiki for Animorphs, the book series about five teenagers given the ability to turn into any animal they touch by a dying alien war prince to fight a secret invasion by parasitic alien slugs wanting to take over the brains of all sentient creatures in the known universe. Many gray areas are created by the fact that the alien slugs need to live in a host body to survive, and questions about the ethics of war and the definitions of "good guy" and "bad guy" are deliberately distorted. I also included the Lifestyle Hub on that pattern-made list, the hub wiki gathering all of the wikis without a book series, comic series, movie series, TV series, video game series, or music artist at their center. Then I included the one for Archer, FX's animated action-black-comedy about a narcissistic and airheaded James Bond-style "secret" agent and those he works with. Then there's the one for Making Fiends, a cartoon series about a gleefully-ignorant blue girl under the belief that a misanthropic green girl that makes monsters called "fiends" that she uses to keep the people of the town the show is set in under a constant feeling of terror is her best friend, completely unaware of how much the green girl detests her and often narrowly avoiding serious bodily harm from the fiends. I then managed to select the wiki for Attack On Titan, the popular anime about the military force in a post-apocalyptic society protecting the remnants of humanity from a race of giants called Titans. The pattern then selected the wiki for Marvel Movies, which collects information on all films based on Marvel Comics, and now collects information on TV series based on them due to their rise in popularity and relation to Marvel's movies. Then came the wiki for Batman: The Brave And The Bold, a Silver Age Of Comics-inspired late 2000s-early 2010s show about Batman teaming up with various other DC Comics superheroes. The wikis for The Mighty B and Ben 10 were included in this pattern. Then the wiki for Mortal Kombat, the iconic fighting video game series, was included in the pattern. The last wiki was the Blue Sky Studios Wiki, the wiki for the animation studio that made Ice Age, Rio, and the recent Peanuts movie.
I am also planning on including wikis for things that have shared fandoms with Kim Possible in the final list that will decide what wiki(s) I'm going to focus on the most and what thing I'll center my pop culture life around for the foreseeable future. Thanks to Disney Channel's Lilo And Stitch: The Series, the TV series spinoff of the Disney movie about a Hawaiian eight-year-old girl and her pet alien, having crossovers with multiple other Disney animated TV series, namely Kim Possible, American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, and Recess, Kim Possible is indirectly connected to all of them, so that's why I decided to make them all major contenders. The creators of Kim Possible, Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, have worked on many of Disney's straight-to-video-and-DVD movies in the 90s, so I decided to tie that back to the main Disney wiki and include that under the umbrella as well. They worked on Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command, an animated TV series spinoff of Disney/Pixar's Toy Story movies centered around the fictional character Buzz Lightyear and his travels in space rather than Andy's action figure of him that comes to life along with all of the other toys when humans aren't around, so I'll include that show as well. A few years after Kim Possible ended, that duo went to work on Nickelodeon's TV spinoff of DreamWorks' Monsters Vs. Aliens, so the wiki for that will be included as well. The director of Kim Possible's second and third seasons, Steve Loter, is widely considered to have defined the show's tone at its best, so other things he's worked on will have their wikis laid out as options on my final list as well. Those shows include, in addition to many of the things already listed, Brandy And Mr. Whiskers, a mid-2000s Disney cartoon about a socialite dog and an ex-con rabbit that get stranded together in the Amazon rainforest; Ren And Stimpy, the Nickelodeon cartoon about the Odd Couple style relationship between a short-tempered chihuahua and a simple-minded fat cat; Duckman, a USA animated series from the 90s about a cynical businessman duck; and Kevin Smith's Clerks: The Animated Series, a very short-lived animated spinoff of Kevin Smith's 90s comedy film Clerks.
I also felt like throwing in Gravity Falls, the critically-acclaimed Disney animated series about two twin siblings discovering supernatural occurrences in a small Oregon town during the summer before they turn thirteen. It is the show I think about the most for fan fiction nowadays, most likely because of similarities between the protagonist Dipper Pines and myself I notice, the in-depth storyline leaving much open to fan interpretation, and, probably the main draw for me to write fan fiction about it, the show is set over the course of the summer of 2012, yet didn't stop airing after that summer ended. It has sporadically aired episodes since then, and the series finale is due out on Martin Luther King Day 2016, President's Day 2016, or the first day of spring 2016, with a book meant to contain all of the loose ends due out summer 2016 and a revival/sequel project expected to be released sometime in 2017. I selected one of the real-life days on which one of the episodes aired (the one that aired on August 24, 2015) and decided to make that the starting point of my series. Dipper Pines and his twin sister, best friend, and platonic love interest Mabel Pines are sixteen in my series rather than twelve/thirteen like they are in the actual show. In this series of mine, the twins have been living in Gravity Falls ever since they moved back there to spend their teen years there as their parents' thirteenth birthday present for them and as a reward for saving the world from Bill Cipher and Weirdmageddon at the end of the summer of 2012. Now that knowledge of the supernatural has spread around the world in my series, the twins, their great-uncles Stan and Ford, their man-child friend Soos Ramirez, their now-a-high-school-senior friend and Dipper's first pubescent crush but now just a close friend Wendy Corduroy, and enemies-turned-friends Robbie Valentino, Pacifica Northwest, Gideon Gleeful, and Toby Determined are all regarded as heroes due to their involvement in saving the world, and now fight supernatural evil together. The characters each go through new arcs. Dipper struggles with feeling like the only sane one among his new group of friends meant to be a boy mirror to Mabel and her friends Candy and Grenda and with his crushes on his six closest female friends outside of Mabel that all like him back as well, making it hard for Dipper to ask one out without hurting someone else's feelings, as he cares a little too much about not hurting people's feelings even when it's unavoidable- Pacifica, Candy, Lindy, who is a younger cousin of Wendy's that I made up, and Emma Sue, Nichole, and Kari, the names I gave to three girls that Dipper met on a road trip in the summer of 2012 but he had spurned due to an awkward situation on that road trip, who have now all moved to Gravity Falls and have come to an understanding with Dipper over that awkward situation and really like Dipper now. Mabel takes a hard look at whether or not she's good enough of a sister to Dipper, fears that the fact that things have always come easier for her than Dipper has resulted in Dipper having low self-worth, and wonders how she can keep him close without feeling overly dependent on him. Stan and Ford deal with getting old and deal with having the darker elements of their past come back to haunt them. Soos is now a married man and loving dad, but is forced to question his worth as a parent when his deadbeat dad comes back into his life. Wendy struggles with potentially being attracted to Dipper now that he's older and whether or not such an attraction is healthy. Robbie weighs his distaste for authority and desire to dismantle most of the government against the safety and trust of Wendy and his girlfriend Tambry, the only two people he truly cares about. Pacifica tries to be a better person than the rest of the Northwest family but is afraid she's doomed to just become, to quote the show, "another link in the world's worst chain." Gideon goes through a similar struggle, and starts a new job as a psychic debunker, the exact opposite of what he was in the actual show. Toby tries to use his fame to become cooler than he ever was before. Even Bill Cipher goes through his own dramatic arc, and struggles with both family issues and his desire to bring a new Weirdmageddon to another dimension that may be held back by his potential addiction to Dimension 46'\, the setting of Gravity Falls. And in my series, Dipper and Mabel's parents are based off of Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls, and Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, which shares many fans with Gravity Falls due to similar people working on them and similar characters. Basing their parents off of real people is my way of adding deconstructive satire on what a creator will do to keep their creations from falling victim to bad fan ideas, leading to a war between fictionalized versions of people that work on Gravity Falls and the shows it shares many fans with and fans that want the right to interpret the things they like as they choose, with the Gravity Falls characters caught in the middle. This big fan fiction idea, coupled with the fact that I shared my opinions on the show ending just as I was getting into it on a fan discussion on the Gravity Falls Wiki, all contribute to why I will make Gravity Falls part of my final decision-making list.
There are still more wikis I may make a part of my list, and depending on the final amount of wikis on the list, I may add a wiki if it ends up being an odd number not ending in 5 or is the number 83, because I use the number 498 to make decisions in this area, and 83 is a factor of 498. Even numbers, numbers ending in 5, and numbers that are factors of your choice number are much easier to manage than plain old odd numbers. The wiki that I chose for such a situation is the Rick And Morty Wiki, the wiki for the critically-acclaimed Adult Swim show about a grandfather/grandson duo traveling through time, space, and the multiverse in hilariously horrifying adventures. I chose this wiki because of how it's my favorite of the few wikis on Wikia to not have a Community Blog, making me feel as if it wasn't given a fair chance for another user to respond to my presence on it. None of the wikis on Nintendo Independent Wiki Alliance have Community Blogs, but I'm OK with that because of the different website. Rick And Morty is my favorite of the blog-free Wikia wikis for things I like because of how series co-creator Dan Harmon has Asperger's Syndrome and I feel that both of the title characters are supposed to have it as well, along with the fact that it's the first Adult Swim show to provide a large amount of emotional depth alongside surreal and discomforting humor the half-network is known for. And Mr. Meeseeks. Definitely another reason to include the show on my Top Wikis List if I get an odd number that is difficult to work with.
Yes, this is beyond complicated on purpose. I do this because I don't want to leave anything up to chance or appear to be a bandwagon fan of anything. It would be much easier if I simply looked at everything, picked something, and said "I like this", but that doesn't feel entirely fulfilling to me. People like me like things that keep you thinking in patterns almost forever. Fortunately, this can't last much longer. I only have a few more wikis to post blog posts on, and a few more than that to post basic information to, followed by one final post on the main Wikia hub wiki, and then I'll make my final pattern to decide what will be my main fandom, which is the fandom I'll use the wiki for and talk with people about on TV Tropes, a casual wiki for analyzing character and story tropes within various media formats (character archetypes, common plot devices, etc.), make the favorite thing of the character most directly based off of myself in my original series that is a speculative fiction/dramedy reimagining of certain aspects of my life, and focus my post-Christmas shirt budget on, as I have held off putting anything on my Christmas list besides money this year in order to work this out easier. Thanks to the concept of "friendly fandoms" introduced to me on TV Tropes, which is a term used for fans of one thing that often get along with fans of another thing for some reason or are fans of both of those things, I'll also try to engage in the online wiki fan communities of at least some of the friendly fandoms of whatever my main fandom is. At this point, this quest has not benefited anyone but me, and "benefit" may be something of a stretch as well, given that I've limited interaction with my friends in order to get this done. But once it's all done, it will benefit others, such as the internet friends I may make through this endeavor (hoping they're not catfish, a term used for people who use fake personas on the internet or aren't even real people at all and are just computer viruses). Fandom is a cruel mistress that will make you do things you otherwise never would, but it is a unifying force that keeps me happy in a world so cold, which is my main motivation for finding the perfect one in such a complicated manner, and I'm positive that I'll be at a better place once it's all done. Thank you for reading, and see you next blog post.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Neil Rush CMT Blog- December 8, 2015- Gravity Falls "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality" Review, Analysis, and Speculation
December 8, 2015
Hello, blogosphere, this is Neil. After a little more than a month, I can finally write my review of "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality", the penultimate episode of Gravity Falls Season 2, and to an extent, the series as a whole, because after this, one last hour-long (44-minute-long) special will conclude the series when it airs in either the end of December or in early 2016. There are multiple good and bad things about this. On one hand, it's disappointing to see the show end just as I'm getting into it. On another, it makes sense, seeing as how the show has reached its natural end. It's the end of the summer, end of the world, end of Dipper and Mabel's childhood, and aliens have been introduced into the plot, which Alex Hirsch once compared to talking to God (allegedly), so I don't think that they can go any higher without going into really contrived territory. Some ideas that fans have considered were making the show about traveling through time, space, or the multiverse to try to stop Bill's plans before they can happen; and another was about Dipper and Ford studying new paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific things together, almost like a slightly more family-friendly version of Rick and Morty, the show made by Alex's friend Justin Roiland and that he may do more for after the end of Gravity Falls. However, I think that no matter how spectacular an idea for Season 3 may sound on paper, it won't be a good idea in practice. The story has reached its natural end, and attempting to drag the story out and make it do more than it was meant to could ruin its good name. Alex Hirsch knows what's best for his show, and even if it means disappointing his fans, they'd be more disappointed if he looked like a sellout. As long as they can tie up as many loose ends as forty-four minutes will allow while also providing a satisfying, emotional, and optimistic conclusion, I'll be happy with the end. Gravity Falls had a good run, but its end is for the best. Now, without further delay, I shall review Gravity Falls Episode 219 "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality."
Despite how it was advertised, Bill was not in this episode much. His only two scenes can be described as one, that's how little he appeared. Bill prepares to spread Weirdmageddon past Gravity Falls, only to learn that Weirdmageddon is confined to Gravity Falls by a mystical dome surrounding the town. This is one of the few times we see Bill mad, leading him to say this meme-starter- "Can anyone please tell me why in spite of our INFINITE POWER, we can't get past the borders of this STUPID HICK TOWN?!?!?!?!?!" Bill thinks that Ford may have something to do with it, and considers removing him from the statue-backscratcher state Bill put him in. It's not nearly enough Bill as expected, but at least the main story makes up for it.
Dipper, Soos, and Wendy go into Mabel's prison bubble and find a bizarre world full of things Mabel liked from throughout the series called "Mabelland". They think Mabel is being held against her will there and find her at the top of the tallest tower, only to learn that she has made herself the mayor of Mabelland and loves it there, as it is a perfect place in which nothing bad happens to her and she can have whatever she wants. Still feeling angry at Dipper for expressing a consideration to leave her and become Ford's apprentice, she tells everyone that she made "a backup Dipper with a more supportive attitude"- an idealized clone of Dipper stylized after Kid Vid from the late-80s-early-90s Saturday morning Burger King Kids Club commercials named Dippy-Fresh. He speaks in stereotypical 90s skater talk, and his favorite things are skateboarding, supporting Mabel, and giving high-fives after anything he says. Dipper hates Dippy-Fresh upon seeing him (and how could he not? How would you feel if your sister not only replaced you because she's too emotionally immature to handle when you disagree with her and when you want to follow your dreams that just happen to be away from her, but this replacement of you is a total choad?) and even says "You're dead to me, Soos." when Soos's always-positive attitude makes him too dumb-nice to know better than to high-five Dippy-Fresh. Dipper, Soos, and Wendy try to convince Mabel to come back to reality, but Mabel gives Wendy and Soos fantasies to make them happy and forget their problems- a monster truck with Wendy's friends in it wanting to duct-tape the high school's principal to the high school's ceiling, and an idealized imagining of Soos's dad that looks like a luchador willing to play catch with Soos (given how the story of Soos and his dad is that of an absentee-deadbeat-dad story, I found this to be almost cruel of the writers). Mabel says that it shouldn't matter if it's not real as long as her friends and family are happy, but Dipper doesn't want to fall for Bill's tricks and refuses to look when Mabel tries to conjure up a happy fantasy for him. Dipper sits by a baby-giggling lake and a singing stuffed animal tree in Mabelland, disgusted with the horror-show outside the bubble and the fake, girly happiness inside it, until Wendy comes up to him, seemingly bored with hanging out with her friends. Wendy tells Dipper that he's so much smarter than everyone else in town, and that if he were fifteen, he'd be the perfect boyfriend for her. She says that in this bubble world, you can have anything you want, including being any age you want, and outstretches her hand, offering Dipper the ability to turn fifteen. Dipper almost happily accepts, having wanted a decent way to date Wendy ever since the beginning of summer (or at least since E105 "The Inconveniencing"), but seeing Wendy wink like the shapeshifter in the form of Wendy at it did in E202 "Into The Bunker" reminds Dipper that this is not the real Wendy, which she most certainly isn't. She's a creation of Bill's and the bubble world's, and falls apart as soon as Dipper rejects her. The stuffed animal tree's face briefly turns demonic and says "You shouldn't have done that, Dipper..!" before going back to its normal cheery state. Dipper now decides that he needs to try even harder than before to bring Mabel back to the real world. Upon hearing the real world be mentioned, the citizens of Mabelland all freak out upon hearing the one rule of the place be broken- mentioning reality. Mabel is so infuriated that she takes hers and Dipper's argument to court in Mabelland. The judge is Judge Kitty-Kitty-Meow-Meow-Face-Schwartzstein, an anthropomorphic pink cat guest-voiced by Jon Stewart, Alex Hirsch's comedic idol, doing his Southern judge voice. He gets distracted by yarn and has a tendency to hairball, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his job. The case is that of Fantasy V. Reality. If Dipper, representing Reality, wins, Mabel will return to the real world with him. If Mabel, representing Fantasy, wins, Dipper will be removed from Mabelland and replaced permanently with "town darling" Dippy-Fresh. Xyler and Craz (voiced by John Roberts, known for voicing Linda on Bob's Burgers, another show Kristen Schaal is on, and Greg Cipes, the voice of Beast Boy on Teen Titans, Kevin E. Levin on Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and Ben 10: Omniverse, and Michelangelo on the current Nickelodeon incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), two guys inspired by 80s Saturday morning cartoon characters that were two dream guys Mabel thought of in E119 "Dreamscapers", are the prosecution in the case. They share with the court audience how reality has wronged their client Mabel and the defense Dipper in the past, citing an event from second grade picture day in which one of the other kids at their school stuck gum in Mabel's hair before she could take her picture and humiliated her, and an event from fourth grade Valentine's Day in which Dipper didn't get any valentines because of his dorky status among most of the other students. Dipper, in the present, says that those two events were in the past and shouldn't matter anymore, but Xyler and Craz tell Dipper that it's not any better now, with the heartbreak experienced by Wendy officially friend-zoning him at the end of E202 "Into The Bunker", the apocalyptic disaster of the previous episode, and the promise he broke at the end of E217 "Dipper And Mabel Vs. The Future", all serving as reasons why they think that Dipper should either give in and embrace fantasy or leave Mabelland without further offense. In spite of Xyler and Craz's confidence in their case, Dipper is allowed to present his case because Judge Kitty (I'll just call him that for brevity's sake) is curious to what he has to say, as "us cats are known for being particularly curious". Dipper says that even though life is hard, you can't ignore the real world just because of some bad things, and that there's still good in the world as well. Those bad situations from Dipper and Mabel's childhood mentioned earlier were made better by Dipper and Mabel's sibling love for one another. The bad picture day was made better by Dipper giving Mabel a razor to shave the part of her hair that had gum stuck in it, and the bad Valentine's Day was made better by Mabel taking all of the valentines she received, gluing them all together into one big one that reads "For My Favorite Brother", and sliding it under the door to the janitor's closet where Dipper was sitting and crying. Dipper reminds Mabel that they've been there for each other through everything, and the book of memories that showed the bad memories now showed the good memories from throughout the show, such as when Dipper put a band-aid on Mabel's scratched elbow in E112 "Summerween", their sock-puppet-fist-bump at the end of E204 "Sock Opera", and Dipper and Mabel saving one another from Gideon back when he was still the main villain and certain death at the end of E120 "Gideon Rises", not to mention the countless other times they show how much they love each other. Dipper admits that he's been living a fantasy for the past few days as well, thinking he'd want to spend his teenage years in a stuffy underground lab with Ford, and that he will never abandon Mabel for anything and is proud to return back to California at the end of the summer with her. Dipper offers Mabel one of their trademark "awkward sibling hugs", and Mabel instead asks for a "sincere sibling hug". The sibling hug breaks the spell of delirium the bubble world has over Mabel, and all of the cute characters of Mabelland turn into creepy monsters, including Judge Kitty. As they say, curiosity killed the cat. Dipper, Soos, Wendy, and Mabel escape Mabelland as it crumbles around them on Giant Waddles, and once they've made it to the edge of the town, Mabel takes a spare giant knitting needle and pops the bubble, returning them to Weirdmageddon-scarred Gravity Falls, and shrinking Waddles back down to normal size (Waddles somehow got into the bubble with Mabel and was grown to giant size, and he doesn't turn into one of Bill's monsters from inside Mabelland? Whatever.). Mabel says that she's no longer unable to emotionally handle Dipper being away from her, and that if he really wants to, he can stay in Gravity Falls as Ford's apprentice, but Dipper says that he won't want to miss out on Mabel's awkward teen years. The four of them return to the Mystery Shack and prepare to fight something inside, but instead come across Grunkle Stan, Celestebellebethebelle the unicorn from E215 "The Last Mabelcorn", the gnomes, the Manotaurs and the Multi-Bear from E106 "Dipper Vs. Manliness", the gnomes, Candy and Grenda in warpaint, Pacifica, Old Man McGucket, and Sheriff Blubs, who have all banded together as the last remaining Gravity Falls citizens and fantasy creatures besides Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy that haven't been turned into statues by Bill's eye-bats and made a part of Bill's giant throne, and possibly preparing for a last stand against him. In the credits scene, Xyler and Craz, because they're a little more than products of the bubble and have existed in the Mindscape before as well, escape the remains of the bubble and witness the destruction of Weirdmageddon firsthand. They even quote Jean-Paul Sartre without knowing the emotions behind the quote- "Jean-Paul Sartre postulated that every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance." "Totally righteous, bro!" "I know!" One of the end-of-episode codes says that Xyler and Craz went on to run the legal department at a major children's television network, probably the Gravity Falls in-universe parody of Disney XD. Too bad they couldn't go further and actually show the two of them at the network, but they probably couldn't directly make fun of Disney XD, even if it's not necessarily a biting-the-hand-that-feeds-them critique.
The involvement of Jon Stewart is an interesting bit of Alex Hirsch trivia. Hirsch has been quoted as saying that Stewart is his hero and has been the voice of reason in his head since his teens. Stewart in return has praised Gravity Falls on The Daily Show back during the mid-2010s, saying he enjoys the show's mystery element, sharp, multi-layered humor that is both silly enough for kids and intelligent enough for adults, and genuine heart, exemplified by its progressive depiction of sibling relationships as not bad just for the sake of it, equal appeal to boys and girls, and its stressing the importance of family and its broad definition. E208 "Blendin's Game" must've struck a nerve with him in particular because of its revelation that Soos had an absentee deadbeat father, a situation somewhat similar to Stewart's strained relationship with his father. Stewart has mentioned enjoying watching the show with his kids and imitating Grunkle Stan in a humorous fashion for them (Stewart and Stan's similar square heads and large chins help with this effect). He even named their most recent family dog "Dipper" after Gravity Falls's protagonist. Jon has often jokingly pestered Kirsten Schaal, one of his contributors and the voice of Mabel, for secrets about the show back when they were still working on The Daily Show together, but, of course, she's bound by oath to not reveal anything other than "Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" In September 2013, shortly after Season 1 of Gravity Falls had ended, and Jon Stewart had come back from being away from The Daily Show for three months to direct his first film, Rosewater, and correspondent John Oliver had taken over hosting duties for the summer of 2013, paving the way for his HBO show Last Week Tonight, which is basically The Daily Show on steroids, Alex Hirsch was in the studio audience of an episode of The Daily Show, and after the filming had ended, one of the ushers pulled Alex aside to meet Jon. They then had a fifteen-minute conversation involving them gushing over each others' shows. If some of the more trolling-prone Gravity Falls fans were there, they'd probably try to measure whether Jon was Alex's hero or man-crush. Alex wanted nothing more than for Jon to guest-star on Gravity Falls at some point, more than any of the show's other guest-stars, and he said that he chose the role of Judge Kitty for him because as the voice of reason for so long in his head, Alex said that he should be the voice of reason in Mabel's head as well. Except he's not. Judge Kitty is a representation of Mabel's emotional baggage keeping her from growing up, the farthest thing possible from a voice of reason, and while he was a funny character, I don't think that the intentions in Alex's head matched what actually happened in the show. And to me, Jon Stewart isn't so much a voice of reason so much as he is "a voice occasionally worth considering", but that's something to go further into somewhere else.
This episode was pretty good. I wish there would've been more Bill, but that may have taken away from the desired emotional aspect of this episode. Dippy-Fresh was one of the funniest characters of Season 2 for all of the wrong reasons. I was admittedly pretty freaked out when Wendy seemingly was going to allow Dipper to become a teenager so that they could date without age difference, and still wonder if Dipper would've done it had either the creature pretending to be Wendy not winked and gave away her disguise or if there was some way not involving the bubble and involving the real Wendy in a way she would actually want for Dipper to be aged up and become her boyfriend. It was actually pretty sweet to see moments from Dipper and Mabel's childhood involving them making things better for one another. I do somewhat think that Dipper and Mabel's end-of-episode reconciliation was somewhat unearned, feeling that there should've been more tension as a result of Dipper learning that Mabel gave Bill the bubble he needed to cause Weirdmageddon. With the show nearly over, I feel that it wouldn't kill Alex to try to have Mabel realize that her need for comfort in life is bad and genuinely overcome it, rather than just teaching her how to reaccept reality. And yet, I think that they may have done this because the show could come off as too cynical if the writers try too hard to make Mabel feel guilty and ashamed of herself. That hasn't stopped them from doing it with Dipper, however, so it is a tricky situation.
Even with only one forty-four minute special left, there are still many questions to be asked. How will it all end? Will Ford be unfrozen? Will the town turn out OK? Will a major character death occur with genuine emotional weight, and not just the death of the mayor? Will Disney XD allow said death to happen to an under-18 character? Does Gompers the goat play into things at all? Will Dipper and Pacifica fall in love, or will that ship finally sink? Who's more evil, Bill or Time Baby? Will Dipper and Mabel ever return to Gravity Falls? And what is Alex Hirsch, exactly? Is he an idealist in cynic's clothing, a cynic in idealist's clothing, or is he a fourth dimensional being using Disney Television Animation to force his twisted will on humanity? OK, that last Alex Hirsch question is not a legitimate one, but all of the others are. I think the most important question, however, is did Gravity Falls leave a lasting impact? Um, yes. Isn't the proof obvious? I'm making a blog for a technical school almost entirely centered around it. It is one of the most popular shows ever produced at Disney Television Animation, generating an audience of kids, teens, adults, and internet dwellers, many who use their own love of the show to become internet celebrities themselves, such as YouTube channel makers Vailskbaum94 and Douglas Mackrel, who hosts a web series called The Royal Order Of The Holy Mackerel, both a pun on his last name and a reference to a secret society that Stan is often implied to be a part of in the show. It uses near-perfect storytelling to effectively blend humor, adventure, weirdness, a little creepiness (which becomes A LOT in Season 2), and genuine heart. It also shows probably the most empowering depiction of a brother-sister relationship and proves that brothers and sisters can be the best of friends. While not the most fun show currently being made at Disney Television Animation (that title I give to Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil), I definitely find it to be the smartest, creepiest in an innovative way, and most mature. It will be sad to see it go, but all good things must come to an end at some point. And Alex Hirsch has implied that he may do some form of revival of the program in 2017 at the earliest. Whether this will be through an hour-long special, a miniseries, or an actual Legend-Of-Korra-style sequel series remains to be seen, but we have not yet seen the last of the Pines family, the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, or any of the creepy, mysterious, and cool things Dimension 46'\ has to offer.
While not as good as it possibly could've been for my personal views of the cast's characterization, this was still a very good clip show-esque episode to air before the original series of Gravity Falls gives its final bow on either Martin Luther King Day 2016, President's Day 2016, or the first day of spring 2016. I give this episode an 8/10. Thanks for reading, and see you next week with something that will more than likely not be a Gravity Falls review.
Hello, blogosphere, this is Neil. After a little more than a month, I can finally write my review of "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality", the penultimate episode of Gravity Falls Season 2, and to an extent, the series as a whole, because after this, one last hour-long (44-minute-long) special will conclude the series when it airs in either the end of December or in early 2016. There are multiple good and bad things about this. On one hand, it's disappointing to see the show end just as I'm getting into it. On another, it makes sense, seeing as how the show has reached its natural end. It's the end of the summer, end of the world, end of Dipper and Mabel's childhood, and aliens have been introduced into the plot, which Alex Hirsch once compared to talking to God (allegedly), so I don't think that they can go any higher without going into really contrived territory. Some ideas that fans have considered were making the show about traveling through time, space, or the multiverse to try to stop Bill's plans before they can happen; and another was about Dipper and Ford studying new paranormal, supernatural, and pseudoscientific things together, almost like a slightly more family-friendly version of Rick and Morty, the show made by Alex's friend Justin Roiland and that he may do more for after the end of Gravity Falls. However, I think that no matter how spectacular an idea for Season 3 may sound on paper, it won't be a good idea in practice. The story has reached its natural end, and attempting to drag the story out and make it do more than it was meant to could ruin its good name. Alex Hirsch knows what's best for his show, and even if it means disappointing his fans, they'd be more disappointed if he looked like a sellout. As long as they can tie up as many loose ends as forty-four minutes will allow while also providing a satisfying, emotional, and optimistic conclusion, I'll be happy with the end. Gravity Falls had a good run, but its end is for the best. Now, without further delay, I shall review Gravity Falls Episode 219 "Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality."
Despite how it was advertised, Bill was not in this episode much. His only two scenes can be described as one, that's how little he appeared. Bill prepares to spread Weirdmageddon past Gravity Falls, only to learn that Weirdmageddon is confined to Gravity Falls by a mystical dome surrounding the town. This is one of the few times we see Bill mad, leading him to say this meme-starter- "Can anyone please tell me why in spite of our INFINITE POWER, we can't get past the borders of this STUPID HICK TOWN?!?!?!?!?!" Bill thinks that Ford may have something to do with it, and considers removing him from the statue-backscratcher state Bill put him in. It's not nearly enough Bill as expected, but at least the main story makes up for it.
Dipper, Soos, and Wendy go into Mabel's prison bubble and find a bizarre world full of things Mabel liked from throughout the series called "Mabelland". They think Mabel is being held against her will there and find her at the top of the tallest tower, only to learn that she has made herself the mayor of Mabelland and loves it there, as it is a perfect place in which nothing bad happens to her and she can have whatever she wants. Still feeling angry at Dipper for expressing a consideration to leave her and become Ford's apprentice, she tells everyone that she made "a backup Dipper with a more supportive attitude"- an idealized clone of Dipper stylized after Kid Vid from the late-80s-early-90s Saturday morning Burger King Kids Club commercials named Dippy-Fresh. He speaks in stereotypical 90s skater talk, and his favorite things are skateboarding, supporting Mabel, and giving high-fives after anything he says. Dipper hates Dippy-Fresh upon seeing him (and how could he not? How would you feel if your sister not only replaced you because she's too emotionally immature to handle when you disagree with her and when you want to follow your dreams that just happen to be away from her, but this replacement of you is a total choad?) and even says "You're dead to me, Soos." when Soos's always-positive attitude makes him too dumb-nice to know better than to high-five Dippy-Fresh. Dipper, Soos, and Wendy try to convince Mabel to come back to reality, but Mabel gives Wendy and Soos fantasies to make them happy and forget their problems- a monster truck with Wendy's friends in it wanting to duct-tape the high school's principal to the high school's ceiling, and an idealized imagining of Soos's dad that looks like a luchador willing to play catch with Soos (given how the story of Soos and his dad is that of an absentee-deadbeat-dad story, I found this to be almost cruel of the writers). Mabel says that it shouldn't matter if it's not real as long as her friends and family are happy, but Dipper doesn't want to fall for Bill's tricks and refuses to look when Mabel tries to conjure up a happy fantasy for him. Dipper sits by a baby-giggling lake and a singing stuffed animal tree in Mabelland, disgusted with the horror-show outside the bubble and the fake, girly happiness inside it, until Wendy comes up to him, seemingly bored with hanging out with her friends. Wendy tells Dipper that he's so much smarter than everyone else in town, and that if he were fifteen, he'd be the perfect boyfriend for her. She says that in this bubble world, you can have anything you want, including being any age you want, and outstretches her hand, offering Dipper the ability to turn fifteen. Dipper almost happily accepts, having wanted a decent way to date Wendy ever since the beginning of summer (or at least since E105 "The Inconveniencing"), but seeing Wendy wink like the shapeshifter in the form of Wendy at it did in E202 "Into The Bunker" reminds Dipper that this is not the real Wendy, which she most certainly isn't. She's a creation of Bill's and the bubble world's, and falls apart as soon as Dipper rejects her. The stuffed animal tree's face briefly turns demonic and says "You shouldn't have done that, Dipper..!" before going back to its normal cheery state. Dipper now decides that he needs to try even harder than before to bring Mabel back to the real world. Upon hearing the real world be mentioned, the citizens of Mabelland all freak out upon hearing the one rule of the place be broken- mentioning reality. Mabel is so infuriated that she takes hers and Dipper's argument to court in Mabelland. The judge is Judge Kitty-Kitty-Meow-Meow-Face-Schwartzstein, an anthropomorphic pink cat guest-voiced by Jon Stewart, Alex Hirsch's comedic idol, doing his Southern judge voice. He gets distracted by yarn and has a tendency to hairball, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his job. The case is that of Fantasy V. Reality. If Dipper, representing Reality, wins, Mabel will return to the real world with him. If Mabel, representing Fantasy, wins, Dipper will be removed from Mabelland and replaced permanently with "town darling" Dippy-Fresh. Xyler and Craz (voiced by John Roberts, known for voicing Linda on Bob's Burgers, another show Kristen Schaal is on, and Greg Cipes, the voice of Beast Boy on Teen Titans, Kevin E. Levin on Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, and Ben 10: Omniverse, and Michelangelo on the current Nickelodeon incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), two guys inspired by 80s Saturday morning cartoon characters that were two dream guys Mabel thought of in E119 "Dreamscapers", are the prosecution in the case. They share with the court audience how reality has wronged their client Mabel and the defense Dipper in the past, citing an event from second grade picture day in which one of the other kids at their school stuck gum in Mabel's hair before she could take her picture and humiliated her, and an event from fourth grade Valentine's Day in which Dipper didn't get any valentines because of his dorky status among most of the other students. Dipper, in the present, says that those two events were in the past and shouldn't matter anymore, but Xyler and Craz tell Dipper that it's not any better now, with the heartbreak experienced by Wendy officially friend-zoning him at the end of E202 "Into The Bunker", the apocalyptic disaster of the previous episode, and the promise he broke at the end of E217 "Dipper And Mabel Vs. The Future", all serving as reasons why they think that Dipper should either give in and embrace fantasy or leave Mabelland without further offense. In spite of Xyler and Craz's confidence in their case, Dipper is allowed to present his case because Judge Kitty (I'll just call him that for brevity's sake) is curious to what he has to say, as "us cats are known for being particularly curious". Dipper says that even though life is hard, you can't ignore the real world just because of some bad things, and that there's still good in the world as well. Those bad situations from Dipper and Mabel's childhood mentioned earlier were made better by Dipper and Mabel's sibling love for one another. The bad picture day was made better by Dipper giving Mabel a razor to shave the part of her hair that had gum stuck in it, and the bad Valentine's Day was made better by Mabel taking all of the valentines she received, gluing them all together into one big one that reads "For My Favorite Brother", and sliding it under the door to the janitor's closet where Dipper was sitting and crying. Dipper reminds Mabel that they've been there for each other through everything, and the book of memories that showed the bad memories now showed the good memories from throughout the show, such as when Dipper put a band-aid on Mabel's scratched elbow in E112 "Summerween", their sock-puppet-fist-bump at the end of E204 "Sock Opera", and Dipper and Mabel saving one another from Gideon back when he was still the main villain and certain death at the end of E120 "Gideon Rises", not to mention the countless other times they show how much they love each other. Dipper admits that he's been living a fantasy for the past few days as well, thinking he'd want to spend his teenage years in a stuffy underground lab with Ford, and that he will never abandon Mabel for anything and is proud to return back to California at the end of the summer with her. Dipper offers Mabel one of their trademark "awkward sibling hugs", and Mabel instead asks for a "sincere sibling hug". The sibling hug breaks the spell of delirium the bubble world has over Mabel, and all of the cute characters of Mabelland turn into creepy monsters, including Judge Kitty. As they say, curiosity killed the cat. Dipper, Soos, Wendy, and Mabel escape Mabelland as it crumbles around them on Giant Waddles, and once they've made it to the edge of the town, Mabel takes a spare giant knitting needle and pops the bubble, returning them to Weirdmageddon-scarred Gravity Falls, and shrinking Waddles back down to normal size (Waddles somehow got into the bubble with Mabel and was grown to giant size, and he doesn't turn into one of Bill's monsters from inside Mabelland? Whatever.). Mabel says that she's no longer unable to emotionally handle Dipper being away from her, and that if he really wants to, he can stay in Gravity Falls as Ford's apprentice, but Dipper says that he won't want to miss out on Mabel's awkward teen years. The four of them return to the Mystery Shack and prepare to fight something inside, but instead come across Grunkle Stan, Celestebellebethebelle the unicorn from E215 "The Last Mabelcorn", the gnomes, the Manotaurs and the Multi-Bear from E106 "Dipper Vs. Manliness", the gnomes, Candy and Grenda in warpaint, Pacifica, Old Man McGucket, and Sheriff Blubs, who have all banded together as the last remaining Gravity Falls citizens and fantasy creatures besides Dipper, Mabel, Soos, and Wendy that haven't been turned into statues by Bill's eye-bats and made a part of Bill's giant throne, and possibly preparing for a last stand against him. In the credits scene, Xyler and Craz, because they're a little more than products of the bubble and have existed in the Mindscape before as well, escape the remains of the bubble and witness the destruction of Weirdmageddon firsthand. They even quote Jean-Paul Sartre without knowing the emotions behind the quote- "Jean-Paul Sartre postulated that every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance." "Totally righteous, bro!" "I know!" One of the end-of-episode codes says that Xyler and Craz went on to run the legal department at a major children's television network, probably the Gravity Falls in-universe parody of Disney XD. Too bad they couldn't go further and actually show the two of them at the network, but they probably couldn't directly make fun of Disney XD, even if it's not necessarily a biting-the-hand-that-feeds-them critique.
The involvement of Jon Stewart is an interesting bit of Alex Hirsch trivia. Hirsch has been quoted as saying that Stewart is his hero and has been the voice of reason in his head since his teens. Stewart in return has praised Gravity Falls on The Daily Show back during the mid-2010s, saying he enjoys the show's mystery element, sharp, multi-layered humor that is both silly enough for kids and intelligent enough for adults, and genuine heart, exemplified by its progressive depiction of sibling relationships as not bad just for the sake of it, equal appeal to boys and girls, and its stressing the importance of family and its broad definition. E208 "Blendin's Game" must've struck a nerve with him in particular because of its revelation that Soos had an absentee deadbeat father, a situation somewhat similar to Stewart's strained relationship with his father. Stewart has mentioned enjoying watching the show with his kids and imitating Grunkle Stan in a humorous fashion for them (Stewart and Stan's similar square heads and large chins help with this effect). He even named their most recent family dog "Dipper" after Gravity Falls's protagonist. Jon has often jokingly pestered Kirsten Schaal, one of his contributors and the voice of Mabel, for secrets about the show back when they were still working on The Daily Show together, but, of course, she's bound by oath to not reveal anything other than "Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" In September 2013, shortly after Season 1 of Gravity Falls had ended, and Jon Stewart had come back from being away from The Daily Show for three months to direct his first film, Rosewater, and correspondent John Oliver had taken over hosting duties for the summer of 2013, paving the way for his HBO show Last Week Tonight, which is basically The Daily Show on steroids, Alex Hirsch was in the studio audience of an episode of The Daily Show, and after the filming had ended, one of the ushers pulled Alex aside to meet Jon. They then had a fifteen-minute conversation involving them gushing over each others' shows. If some of the more trolling-prone Gravity Falls fans were there, they'd probably try to measure whether Jon was Alex's hero or man-crush. Alex wanted nothing more than for Jon to guest-star on Gravity Falls at some point, more than any of the show's other guest-stars, and he said that he chose the role of Judge Kitty for him because as the voice of reason for so long in his head, Alex said that he should be the voice of reason in Mabel's head as well. Except he's not. Judge Kitty is a representation of Mabel's emotional baggage keeping her from growing up, the farthest thing possible from a voice of reason, and while he was a funny character, I don't think that the intentions in Alex's head matched what actually happened in the show. And to me, Jon Stewart isn't so much a voice of reason so much as he is "a voice occasionally worth considering", but that's something to go further into somewhere else.
This episode was pretty good. I wish there would've been more Bill, but that may have taken away from the desired emotional aspect of this episode. Dippy-Fresh was one of the funniest characters of Season 2 for all of the wrong reasons. I was admittedly pretty freaked out when Wendy seemingly was going to allow Dipper to become a teenager so that they could date without age difference, and still wonder if Dipper would've done it had either the creature pretending to be Wendy not winked and gave away her disguise or if there was some way not involving the bubble and involving the real Wendy in a way she would actually want for Dipper to be aged up and become her boyfriend. It was actually pretty sweet to see moments from Dipper and Mabel's childhood involving them making things better for one another. I do somewhat think that Dipper and Mabel's end-of-episode reconciliation was somewhat unearned, feeling that there should've been more tension as a result of Dipper learning that Mabel gave Bill the bubble he needed to cause Weirdmageddon. With the show nearly over, I feel that it wouldn't kill Alex to try to have Mabel realize that her need for comfort in life is bad and genuinely overcome it, rather than just teaching her how to reaccept reality. And yet, I think that they may have done this because the show could come off as too cynical if the writers try too hard to make Mabel feel guilty and ashamed of herself. That hasn't stopped them from doing it with Dipper, however, so it is a tricky situation.
Even with only one forty-four minute special left, there are still many questions to be asked. How will it all end? Will Ford be unfrozen? Will the town turn out OK? Will a major character death occur with genuine emotional weight, and not just the death of the mayor? Will Disney XD allow said death to happen to an under-18 character? Does Gompers the goat play into things at all? Will Dipper and Pacifica fall in love, or will that ship finally sink? Who's more evil, Bill or Time Baby? Will Dipper and Mabel ever return to Gravity Falls? And what is Alex Hirsch, exactly? Is he an idealist in cynic's clothing, a cynic in idealist's clothing, or is he a fourth dimensional being using Disney Television Animation to force his twisted will on humanity? OK, that last Alex Hirsch question is not a legitimate one, but all of the others are. I think the most important question, however, is did Gravity Falls leave a lasting impact? Um, yes. Isn't the proof obvious? I'm making a blog for a technical school almost entirely centered around it. It is one of the most popular shows ever produced at Disney Television Animation, generating an audience of kids, teens, adults, and internet dwellers, many who use their own love of the show to become internet celebrities themselves, such as YouTube channel makers Vailskbaum94 and Douglas Mackrel, who hosts a web series called The Royal Order Of The Holy Mackerel, both a pun on his last name and a reference to a secret society that Stan is often implied to be a part of in the show. It uses near-perfect storytelling to effectively blend humor, adventure, weirdness, a little creepiness (which becomes A LOT in Season 2), and genuine heart. It also shows probably the most empowering depiction of a brother-sister relationship and proves that brothers and sisters can be the best of friends. While not the most fun show currently being made at Disney Television Animation (that title I give to Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil), I definitely find it to be the smartest, creepiest in an innovative way, and most mature. It will be sad to see it go, but all good things must come to an end at some point. And Alex Hirsch has implied that he may do some form of revival of the program in 2017 at the earliest. Whether this will be through an hour-long special, a miniseries, or an actual Legend-Of-Korra-style sequel series remains to be seen, but we have not yet seen the last of the Pines family, the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon, or any of the creepy, mysterious, and cool things Dimension 46'\ has to offer.
While not as good as it possibly could've been for my personal views of the cast's characterization, this was still a very good clip show-esque episode to air before the original series of Gravity Falls gives its final bow on either Martin Luther King Day 2016, President's Day 2016, or the first day of spring 2016. I give this episode an 8/10. Thanks for reading, and see you next week with something that will more than likely not be a Gravity Falls review.
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