#I just. need to rewatch this a dozen times to really unpack his character it's just. wow.

[earl-grey-crow]

I feel like alice might've wanted to kick the pond in the shins but how do you kick an eldritch pond in the shins

[friendlycybird]

1x01 - Tourist Trapped - Rewatch

So, I actually watched this episode, and the next couple? With a friend before I got access to Gravity Falls on my own terms. Which means this is actually my third time watching it. I think this time I’ll be paying closer attention then I was either of the two previous, as I’m doing this little liveblog writeup thing. 

May include references all the way up to the end of the series. Be warned, this gets LONG. 

Here we go. 

Do we ever see the family in the first couple shots of this show again? I don’t recognize them as later used background characters? 

The golf cart spins when it goes over a rock. I never noticed that before. It’s like something out of Mario Kart. That’s hilarious. 

I kinda love the themesong. I had a whole revelation about the show based on the footprint-inside-a-bigger-footprint moment at one point. I still think of it as something of a Thesis Statement for the show as a whole. Let me know if you want me to expound on that at all. 

Only Mabel could possibly be excited by splinters and getting chewed on by a goat. 

Okay but, in hindsight, WTF was the whole putting on a mask and scaring Dipper thing about, Stan? We know he knows, possibly better then anyone at this point, about the weirdness of Gravity Falls. We also know from a later episode that a lot of his early cruelty toward Dipper was an effort to “toughen him up” ...so was the mask some kind of misguided attempt to gage Dipper’s fear response to the unknown/truly weird (or something similarly related) or was it Stan just legitimately being a dumbass? 

...I kinda feel like there’s a lot to unpack in Mabel’s early Boy Crazy emphasis on Crazy behavior that they flash through here. I guess you could say it really just boils down to her trying too hard? Maybe. I don’t think I’m gonna think too much about it right now but it might be fun to have a conversation about later. (I do think I’ll keep my eye out for other instances of Mabel trying to hard in general though.) 

Side note - 4 minutes in and I’m at 350+ words on this...um. These are all gonna be really long, aren’t they? 

Soos and Wendy’s introductions are hilarious, and for Soos, we get a key trait of his right away. He’s remarkably well-adjusted despite generally being treated like shit. Wendy’s introduction, on the other hand, starts with a trait I keep forgetting about her, laziness. Which really gets overshadowed later on by how badass she actually is. 

“My misquito bites spelled out ‘Beware’“ ...okay that would actually be really creepy though? 

Okay but. I can’t help but wonder. Do you think Dipper ever tells Stan he found the journal while doing chores for him? 

Okay so. The damage to the “Property Of” page. Deliberate or just wear damage? Weigh in! 

Also it kinda blows my mind that this scene has the first, however vague, reference to Bill. “...before HE finds it.” 

Dipper talking about the authors mysterious disappearance stands out to me for some reason, but maybe more relevant is how Mabel just completely...like it doesn’t seem she disbelieves Dipper at this point, but she clearly doesn’t take anything he’s saying seriously. More on this later, I think. 

 Now, here’s something weird. The description of zombies from the journal in this episode doesn’t seem to match the zombies we actually see much later in the show. The description implies intelligence, whereas the zombies we eventually meet (with the exception of the briefly turned Soos) seem much more like classic, mindless fare. Is there an explanation, or is this a goof? 

...Stan being confused by mishearing “Zombie” as “Crombie” and saying “You’re loosing your mind” really stands out to me. I feel like there are threads to pull on there concerning Stan’s actual mental state at this point...but that might be too much for a silly little throw away line. 

“How many brains did you see him eat?” ...god I Love Soos.

I have always loved the whole bit with Dipper opening the page in the journal to Gnomes when he means to open it to zombies, given. You know. I think that moment/the upcoming reveal is what convinced me I *could* like this show in the first place. 

“You know what the book said about Gravity Falls. Trust no one.” 

“What about me, why can’t you trust me?”

...this...this is their problem for the entire series, isn’t it? Like. In a nutshell. That’s the major conflict between Dipper and Mabel throughout. 

The whole Rock that looks like a face Q&A bit is achingly familiar to be as a Customer Service employee...explaining really basic stuff to people is *hard*

“I need to borrow the golf cart so I can save my sister from a zombie!” 

What. What exactly does Wendy think is going on here? Does she think he’s playing some kind of game? Does she just genuinely not care at this point? There’s no way she believes him...

Soos arming Dipper with a shovel “for the zombie” and a baseball bat “in case you come across a pinata” is the perfect kind of like...playing support while being utterly ridiculous that Soos is best at. 

Hey. Here’s a question. What happened to the OLD Gnome Queen? 

and so we have the first moment that I recognize from seeing in gif form all over tumblr for years. The gnome puking rainbows. I love recognizing these moments. I think I’ll number them as we go. So this is #1

Hey Dipper. If someone in the vehicle is even remotely worried about being chased, maybe the best response to hearing somewhat thunderous footsteps behind you *isn’t* slamming on the breaks? Just a thought. 

...so did Stan actually get distracted by “the worlds most distracting object” or was that part of the show? 

So you know how the zombie/gnome misdirect made me think I’d like the show? ...the...fucking...leafblower resoloution? Made me think I *wouldn’t* like the show. Just. Pushes the boundary of the flavors of weirdness I can take. 

So, has anyone tackled the question of what was going through Stan’s mind when he offered them stuff from the gift shop? I feel like it’s kinda...like...they seemed dismissive of him as they were coming in? And it was just...he wants them to like him? Is it that simple? ...does he somehow realize they’ve officially been exposed to the weirdness at this point and is trying to endear himself/the shack to them in a bid to keep them safe? ...hehe, playing with Stans motivations for little stuff is fun. Fun enough to keep me overthinking for dozens of episodes to come. 

Oh hey, I totally forgot we see the secret vending machine door at the end of the first episode! Wow. ...so after that little moment I’m curious...how many people went into this show not trusting Stan as far as they could throw him? Tell me stories of your early opinions!