Lumberjack's curse
And so I said with final breath,
150 years I'll return from death
And if the gate's still closed to town
Wealthy blood will stain the ground
150 years
According to the lumberjack's tale, the Northwests told them that building their mansion would be a "service to the town" in 1862. But according to Toby Determined in Irrational Treasure, Gravity Falls was not founded until 1863. So, when did Quentin Trembley found the town? He was kicked out of office in 1841. So we can place a definite date of between 1841 and 1862.
I'm sorry! They made me! I should've told you but...
You've got something... on your shirt!
OK, where did that actual stain on Marius's shirt come from? It wasn't there a few seconds ago.
Dipper cheers up Pacifica
Somehow... this scene is perfect. It's got a huge reveal, a tender moment between two former enemies, both of them admitting they were wrong, and a great lesson about controlling your own destiny.
This episode also made me realize something. The episodes can be grouped together. S1 E1-7 are mostly creating the world of Gravity Falls. S1 E8-16 & 18 are about expanding the world that they've created. And S1 E17,19 & 20 are major secrets episodes, to set up for the second season. S2 E1-4 are about welcoming you back to Gravity Falls and reminding you who the characters are and what they're all about. S2 E5-6 are filler episodes, designed to give you a better understanding of the world in which the series takes place. And S2 E7-10 are about revisiting past storylines and enemies, and rectifying the situation. In each of these episodes, the Pines take a previous enemy (McGucket (as the Gobblewonker), Blendin, Robbie, and Pacifica) and turn them into a friend.
Someone heeeeeelp!!!!!
That pose look familiar? Yeah. It's the exact same pose that the shapeshifter said would be Dipper's last. However, I wouldn't be surprised if this is NOT what the shapeshifter had in mind. If I know Alex, he's probably trolling us by making us THINK this is what the shapeshifter was talking about.
Get in, get in!
When the townsfolk are running into the Northwest mansion, you can faintly see in the background a head that looks like it belongs to Soos. This would explain why Soos was not in the episode at all. Another theory for this is that Soos is working on the portal with Stan.
But seriously, I'd better go find someone to clean this up.
Dipper was in a better mood at this party than we've seen him in the entire rest of the series. Not even Wendy could make him feel better, and not even the apocalypse could break his mood. Have fun interpreting this, Dipacifica shippers. I am simply an objective observer, but you can look at this any way you want.
...and I think somethin' terrible is comin'. The apocalypse! The end times!
The apocalypse has been hinted at a lot lately, most notably in Boyz Crazy when Stan kept saying it was coming soon. It's also mentioned in Dipper and Mabel's Guide to the Unexplained, when it says "The end of the world is closer than the end of the summer." But there's a huge problem. The mailbox from the short of the same name said the end of the world would be in 3012. I have four possible explanations.
1. The mailbox was lying or mistaken, or Dipper misread the letter.
2. Stan and McGucket are mistaken.
3. Something will happen in the next episode to prevent the apocalypse.
4. In Christian theology, there is a 7-year tribulation period followed by 1,000 years of peace on earth before the world ends. Could the "tribulation" for Gravity Falls have begun in 2005?
Now, what are the details of the apocalypse? I am not even going to try to answer that question. Except for the obvious reveal that the episode will involve Bill and the portal. This episode felt like Dreamscaperers: there was a major cliffhanger at the end of the episode, which led up to an episode with more secrets and an even bigger cliffhanger.
Cryptograms
The key Vigenere cipher says: "Next up on UTBAHC: 'Did aliens write the Constitution?' 'Crawdads in tiaras' and 'Florida: the show.'" The keyword is CURSED, which is seen on every other window from one of the outside shots of Northwest Manor.
The end card is, of course, written in the A1Z26, to atbash, to Caesar cipher set three letters back. The message, which is repeated three times, is "STANISNOTWHATHESEEMS." Take this apart and you get "Stan is not what he seems." As of this writing, the next episode is not out yet, so I can't tell you what the phrase means. All I can tell you is that it's been popping up everywhere in this episode.
