One Last Time … ?Well, well, well. After Digikate kindly encouraged outright challenged me to

One Last Time … ?Well, well, well. After Digikate kindly encouraged outright challenged me to make my own Best of Gravity Falls list, I knew my time had come. I don’t know about you, but I am nowhere near through with this series. Mostly because I’m doing whatever small part I can on the writer’s staff for Gravity Falls: Deep Woods (a Gravity Falls fan-series!), but also because the fans won’t let it go. And why would we? Gravity Falls ended on such a supremely satisfying note, exactly when it should’ve ended. Oh, sure, it’s not like it’s perfect, but it feels like there’s virtually nothing worth being sour over– it was remarkably solid all the way through and went out on the top of its game. How could anybody not want more of that?… I suppose at some point we should face the reality that it really is done for good …And if there’s one way I know to get over something, it’s to rewatch it obsessively and make long Tumblr post about it. That’s the only way to really get it out of your system.So, in honour of DigiKate’s 1 year Youtube anniversary (and her Top 12 over here), this is the Top 10 Best Episodes of Gravity Falls, Spooptober style.This is gonna be a tough one.Honourable MentionsThe whole series, pretty much. There’s even cuts I made from the honourable mentions section, I’m dead serious.But I specifically wanted to talk about two of my favourite episodes that I just couldn’t justify putting high enough in my rankings to reach the list. Those episodes being:1. The Land Before SwineThis is one of the most solid season 1 episodes there are, and absolutely sold Stan and Mabel’s connection more than any other episode even partially focused on them. The comedy is pure Au, the pacing is seamless, and the dinosaur world lying underneath Gravity Falls? I still can’t place why, but something about the way it’s designed just captures my imagination.and2. Blendin’s GameEpisodes before this one solidified Soos as a great character, and a loving proxy to the Pines family, but the purpose of this episode, more than any other, is to show you how much he thinks of them as family– and it really works.There’s also that great moment with Dipper realizing the age difference between him and Wendy, so that’s a plus.But, with those aside, let’s get into the real list.#10. Gideon RisesDamn, what an ending! Action-packed, self-aware, sentimental– and to top it all off, one of the best cliffhangers/reveals all rolled into one? Season 1 came to a incredible conclusion, setting the stage not just for a return to form, but bigger, and just more intensely Gravity Falls-ian things to come.What can you say, but “Here we go.”#9. A Tale of Two StansWow, we’re starting off with two heavy-hitters, aren’t we?A Tale of Two Stans had huge shoes to fill. Coming in the wake of the show’s biggest reveal and a hiatus that gave fans time to build up expectations, it really had a lot to deliver. In fact, with the fandom’s biggest theory confirmed, there wasn’t just a few months worth of theories and headcanons, but two whole years’ worth of investment! And, for all that, it still managed to come through– that alone would be worth a spot.But it took us on an emotional journey spanning two entire lifetimes with finesse and that unbeatable Gravity Falls wit. What more could we have asked for?#8. Society of the Blind EyeCut out my eyes, and leave me blind …Okay, what’s the deal? Why … why does this feel so familiar? I’m not making a memory-gun joke, I mean why does the reveal of McGucket’s backstory seem so–Oh. Right. The Ice King.What’s funny about this is that normally if a story feels too reminiscent of another one– especially if the other came out first and maybe even pulled it off just a bit better– it would cheapen the one that came after, but somehow, that’s not so. In fact, if anything, the fact that this episode touches on the same feeling in a lot of the same ways enhances it. Maybe because the tragedy really shines through in both cases, so the trope hasn’t been done to death and both stories can still benefit from it in their own ways.This episode was straight blanchin’, dawgs.#7. Sock OperaRemember when Bill was a fun, possibly nonthreatening entity? This episode changed that. This was the first time Bill Cipher was a truly threatening villain, even downright unsettling when you feel how powerless Dipper is to stop him once he’s stolen his body.On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got an absolutely hilarious B-plot that ties it all together for a heartwarming ending between the twins. That’s a full emotional arc for an episode and ends up making this episode one of the best.#6. SummerweenReturning after the show’s first (but certainly not last) hiatus was Summerween. In a show with all manner of creepy, creative, and memorably weird creatures, the Summerween Trickster’s gotta rank as one of the greatest.Add to that a fitting Halloween story and the first time the theme of growing up was directly addressed, and you’ve got yourself one hell of an episode. Uh, mwhaha and all that.#5. Into the BunkerSometimes, an episode can be mind-blowing all the way through. But sometimes? An episode can be going one way up until a scene or moment that changes everything.This episode would already be awesome, even without that moment. If Scary-oke set a more intense, involved tone for the season, this episode elevated that darkness in absolutely threatening ways.But then? The mood shifts. Dipper and Wendy’s softer, more vulnerable scene on the log is a beautiful moment that resolves the perpetual crush trope used in countless T.V. shows in the most down-to-earth way possible. Coming off the intensity of the plot and the bunker, this is a gorgeous cool-down and truly well-earned moment. Well done.#4. Northwest Mansion Mystery Transforming a stereotype into a 3-dimensional character you really feel for not enough for you? How about developing a legitimately genuine friendship between two characters who’ve barely interacted? No? What if I threw in a solid story, a satisfying pay-off to the the shapeshifter’s little prophecy, rich, gorgeous colours, a funny B-plot, and an ominous bit of foreshadowing for the apocalypse? Yeah, that’s a lot of greatness packed into one package, but what did you expect? It’s the best of Gravity Falls!#3. DreamscaperersWhoa! You say. Dreamscaperers is this high on the list? Yes! Definitely! Absolutely!This episode always stood out to me in season 1 as being a cut above the rest. Not only is it our first encounter with one Mr. Cipher, who’s a memorable, hilarious, and interesting villain from the get-go, but it’s an episode that uses it’s creative setting to both hint at intriguing times in Stan’s life and provide a really heartwarming center to the episode.I also have to admit, it’s the little details that make me love this episode so much. Brad Breek’s acoustic background score to Stan’s flashback, the swing-set and seeing Ford in the background (one of the best pieces of evidence for our beloved Stan Twin theory at the time), or even moments with Zlyer and Craz that always crack me up.It’s a perfect blend of everything that made the first season so good, even before the plot really kicked us into high gear, and for that, I’ll always love it.#2. Weirdmageddon 1, 2, & 3I originally left this spot for Take Back the Falls only, but Escape from Reality would then have to bump something off the list and lead to a less interesting list. Obviously these would be on here.What can I say that hasn’t been said about one of the most satisfying finales I’ve ever seen? Well, maybe that it wasn’t perfect.Oh yeah. If I’m honest, I never liked the yellow and salmon colour scheme dominating a lot of this arc (Dipper and Mabel v.s. the Future’s salmon scenes included), and yes, the fact that Stan’s memories were restored so quickly does technically make his sacrifice a bit of a cheat.But even after I said that, neither of those things really take away from the astonishing creativity, pacing, art, and emotional arc that made this series of episodes so powerful and rewarding, do they?Those flaws are relatively minor, sure, but I think it really speaks to how impressively awesome the series finale is on the whole that nothing can really detract from the ride it takes you on, and in fact, makes all the rest all the more satisfying. And I mean holy crap was it satisfying. It captured a feeling I can’t describe, something I legitimately felt as a kid when fall came around and summer was truly over– bittersweet doesn’t cover it.But everything– from the lovecraftian horror to the big action scenes to the laughs to the resolution of character arcs– it … it was really something special, and nothing, not even its imperfections, can change that.#1. Not What He SeemsThis is without a doubt in my mind the best 22 minute episode of any television series I’ve watched. Sounds like an overstatement to get across my point, but I’m dead serious.See, an overstatement might be that it’s a perfect episode– but let me tell you, it feels like it.The experience of watching this episode for the first and even second time (with littlenightwing) are ones I won’t soon forget. I streamed this episode live the day it came out, and was actually reeling afterward. It’s the show’s greatest mystery solved, it’s the confirmation of the most compelling fan-theory out there, and it’s the visual, emotional, and thematic pay-off of everything thus far in a perfectly paced, constantly escalating, action-oriented package.Everything worked. Everything was dialed up to 11. If I didn’t 100% love the Weirdmageddon colours, the visuals in Not What He Seems? Stunning.Some of the best animation, writing, and musical design the series has to offer all working together to make up a masterpiece.It was even so good that for a moment there I was convinced Alex Hirsch anonymously planted the Stan Twin theory (in much the same way that he planted a fake “leaked” reveal of McGucket as the author) to get fans invested in this idea a full season before the big reveal. Of course, that’s not true, but it was such an incredible confirmation that it made me think it was possible. Even the going’s on in the fandom made this episode better– I really can’t think of too many episodes of T.V. that applies to.So, you wanna know the real reason we’ll never get over Gravity Falls? It’s accomplished so much, stumbled on so little, and made us feel like the Pines family was our own. We laughed, we chased after weird mysteries, and yeah, even cried. Here’s to getting to love it when we did. And here’s to never stopping.  -- source link

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