If you’re new to the blog or just want to revisit from the beginning, click HERE to read the review for “Tourist Trapped”.
Previously on Gravity Falls:
Dipper and Mabel Pines are sent to Gravity Falls to spend the summer with their Grunkle Stan, who runs a tourist trap called the Mystery Shack. Dipper finds a journal in which the enigmatic Author has chronicled some of the unusual happenings and inhabitants of the town, and he vows to follow in his (or her) footsteps to unravel Gravity Falls’ mysteries while bonding with his wild sister and cranky Grunkle.
Grunkle Stan is throwing a free(ish) party for teens at the Mystery Shack and he, Soos, Wendy, Dipper and Mabel are putting up decorations, though Dipper and Mabel are mostly fooling around with silly string the way Tom Hanks does in Big. Stan breaks it up by making them go copy some flyers ; he recently repaired the machine upstairs which saves them a trip to the copier store. Of course, being Stan, it looks like it’s held together with tape and glue and could fall apart at any moment, but Dipper tries it out and accidentally copies his arm. Then this happens.
Dipper throws some cola on the living arm which causes it to melt and disintegrate. Confronted with the realization that the copy machine can copy living things, Mabel reacts the way you’d expect.
On the night of the party, Stan gives everyone assignments – Soos is acting as DJ, and Mabel and Wendy will work the ticket booth outside. Mabel really wants to make new friends at the party, however, and Dipper volunteers so he can spend some time with Wendy. Upstairs, Mabel teases him for his ulterior motives, but Dipper has a plan devised so that the evening goes perfectly for him. We learn from Mabel though that Dipper tends to overthink his plans and create lists that micromanage every detail. Most of the time they never work, but Dipper is confident his new one – which takes about a minute to unfold from his pocket – will make Wendy swoon in his arms.
The party is soon in full swing and we learn that Grunkle Stan not only makes kids pay to enter, but also if they want to leave.
This chamber has no windows and no doors that swing open on credit, which offers you this chilling challenge – to find a way out!!
Dipper tries initiating a conversation based on his twenty steps, but it goes about as awkwardly as you can imagine. Mabel, meanwhile, is having fun while dressed like she’s ready to party like it’s 1999. On the sidelines she bumps into two girls, the inventive Candy (Niki Yang) and the puberty-stricken Grenda (Carl Faruolo), and they immediately strike up a friendship. She also meets local rich girl Pacifica Northwest (Jackie Buscarino) and – wait, don’t tell me. Blonde, popular, and spoiled beyond all bitchiness?
(sigh) There are times I wish I wasn’t always right…
After Pacifica belittles Candy and Grenda, Mabel challenges her for the Party Crown – whoever gets the most applause at the end of the night for partying the hardest will be crowned the Party Queen by Soos. In a rather refreshing turn, Mabel remains her optimistic sweet self even when facing the full force of Pacifica’s cattiness. Her hard partying invites more people in and Wendy decides to sneak away from the booth to join the dancing. Dipper attempts to follow her, but Grunkle Stan catches him in the act and reminds him via tape recorder that he promised not to leave the booth all night. Dipper laments that there isn’t two of him…and seeing the flyers on the wall gives him an idea.
Somehow Dipper manages to ditch the booth for a few minutes (I’m guessing he waited for things to quiet down) and lies on top of the copier. He succeeds in cloning himself completely; the only differences between them is that Clone Dipper is paler and his cap is missing the pine tree symbol. Real Dipper marks his hat with a #2 and decides to give him the name he always wanted for himself, Tyrone (which is what I’ll also be referring to him for the rest of the review). They settle on Tyrone selling tickets while Dipper continues the plan and asks Wendy to dance…but not before assuring each other that Tyrone won’t turn on him like clones do in the movies.
Dipper finally joins Wendy but unfortunately Robbie is there also and he’s ready to charm Wendy with his sick guitar skills. Dipper and Tyrone contact each other and realize this plan calls for more clones – Dipper #3 will get Robbie out of the Shack by stealing his bike, but they decide to make one more clone on the off-chance Robbie catches him…which leads to the agonizing birth of Paper-Jam Dipper.
“WHY WAS I BORN, CREATOR? DOES MY HORRIFYING APPEARANCE PLEASE YOU??”
Ugh, I need something to take our minds off humanoid DoodleBob…take it away, Mabel!
During the song, Dippers #3 & 4 steal Robbie’s bike, leaving Wendy free for a dance. Mabel tries to get Dipper to forget the list and just go for it, but he chickens out at the last second. He and Tyrone panic over every microscopic thing that could go wrong and resort to making at least ten more clones and an even longer list of things to do in order to ensure the night goes as planned.
The clones distract Soos and Stan while setting the mood and Dipper goes downstairs to meet Wendy, only to find she’s chilling in the hall instead of out on the dance floor like he anticipated. Wendy makes some small talk and Dipper discovers he’s having a good time despite not following the list. They both start bonding over being “freaks” in their younger years – Wendy being the tallest out of all her siblings and Dipper having a birthmark shaped like the Big Dipper that he constantly hides beneath his hat – hence his nickname. While Wendy goes to the bathroom, the clones confront Dipper for not going through with the plan. When Dipper suggests they don’t need the plan to get Wendy to like him, they mutiny and lock him in a closet (though they were nice enough to leave him a coloring book and some snacks). Of course, not a minute passes before the clones start fighting with each other over who dances with Wendy. In that time Dipper succeeds in breaking out and the battle comes to a head just outside the dance. When Dipper fails to pass himself off as Dipper #7, he fights back with a party popper which sets off the sprinklers and destroys all the clones, even Paper Jam Dipper (it’s better this way).
Only Tyrone managed to avoid the water, and he and Dipper noogie each other for supremacy until they see Robbie has returned and is making Wendy laugh. Sufficiently bummed that they blew it, they both go up on the roof and watch the stars. Tyrone admits that though the chances of being with Wendy are slim, Dipper came the closest when he wasn’t following the list and was being himself. All of their worrying got them nowhere. They both share some soda, but Tyrone realizes what he’s done too late to save himself. As he slowly melts, he tells Dipper to remember what they’ve talked about.
Back at the party, everything seems to be going in Mabel’s favor, but Pacifica’s glower power and bribing Old Man McGucket with a dollar for extra applause wins her the Party Crown. She steals everyone away except for Grenda and Candy, who are thrilled that Mabel stood up for them and invite themselves over for a sleep-over (which is a bit much, but Mabel’s happy she has friends so who am I to argue?) Outside, Dipper watches them dance together before ripping up the list and going in.
“Double Dipper” is another good episode. It plays out how you’d expect a story about clones would, but the fun lies in how it knows when to subvert itself. I like how the clones are copies of Dipper in his personality and faults, not just image, and that they would know exactly what he would do next. They’re not evil, they’re just as terrified of rejection as he is, and what they do is more out of well-intentioned extremity and desire for Wendy’s approval than anything malicious towards the original Dipper. It’s also a great way of showing that we can get in our own way of having a good time or following through with something (literally in this case). I get overcome with social anxiety every once in a while (a blogger who avoids the outside world? Surely I speak voodoo!) and when I was younger I’d have to memorize things I would say or do in a normal situation, so I can see where Dipper is coming from. I can also side with Mabel as in the past I’ve made tons of lists detailing things that didn’t even matter and found I’ve worried over nothing. Speaking of, the side plot with her at the party may not have much bearing on the plot apart from introducing Candy, Grenda and Pacifica, but it’s pretty enjoyable mostly due to how little Mabel lets Pacifica get to her. That changes by the next episode, but until then she made it look so easy…oh, and Soos and Stan are on their A-game as always.
And the Internet Went:
MOOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR…..
End Credits Craziness: Soos trying out every noise on the keyboard.
Callbacks: Wendy brings up the convenience store when reintroducing Dipper to Robbie…which he seems to have no recollection of. Teenage sarcasm, repression, or could it be something else…?
Crowning Line of Hilawesomeness: “Right, like I’m gonna fall for that…” says Grunkle Stan before diving after the dollar on a string one of the clones is baiting him with. Also Soos going after a laser pointer dot is something that has to be seen to be believed.
Mabel SWatch (Sweater Watch): Stormy gray with a lightning bolt while decorating, but spends the party in a baggy fuschia sweater.
Dear Princess Celestabelleabethabelle: …just read what I said about being our own worst enemies in the sum-up. What am I, a parrot?
Where’s that wacky triangle at?
Elsewhere…for now…
Next up, what could be better than treasure hunting? How about treasure hunting with Mabel? It’s “Irrational Treasure”. See you then!
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Up On The Shelf 