"Nearly Almost Dead but not Quite!"
A Good Enough Picture MXMLMLMXML
While that may look like a Roman numeral, it's actually a joke. This number is nonsensical.
Man, these movies are a lot less scary when you've actually fought real zombies.
Obviously, referring to the last episode.
Ahh. My face is being eaten a lot.
That's all we'll ever be.
I know this is obvious, but I want to point it out anyway. The entire lesson of this episode deals with crushes and how to cope with them. It's a very mature moral to put into any TV show, much less one meant for kids. But I admire Alex and his team for that very reason. If you look closely, every episode has a moral. They just don't tell you it's in there half the time.
Binary code
If you look closely, on the page opposite the Hiding Place page, there's a binary message. Decoded, it says "Put all six pieces together!" Our best guess at the time was: this could be referring to the cards hidden in the credits.
I've been wanting to go adventuring with you guys.
This seemingly insignificant quote is significant. From the clues dropped between seasons, Alex is making Wendy more of a part of the storyline as a concession to the fans. This quote perfectly bridges the gap and shows that this is exactly what's going to happen.
Allow me to put on my skepticals.
While this is an intelligent and well thought-out joke, it also dropped a major hint about Mabel and Dipper's relationship. They can tell when the other is lying to them, mistaken, or even lying to themselves. It's not hard to see why, considering Alex's comment in his AMA. Dipper and Mabel have known each other forever, so they can pretty much read each other's minds. Dipper can tell when Mabel's got something to get off her chest, and Mabel can see right through Dipper with her skepticals.
Yeah, ladder shoes. I'll get Soos to draw up a prototype.
You may not have heard this line because it was said in the background, while Wendy was climbing the tree. It's obviously important because anything in Gravity Falls that the writers try to hide or disguise is important. Just shows more of Soos' smarts.
My dad used to make me compete in these lumberjack games...
We see more of Wendy's character here. She's been toughened up by being the only girl in a house full of men.
Secrets in the Bunker
Weapons cabinet
Why is the author keeping weapons down here? To protect himself from the shape shifter or his other inventions? To defend himself from the dangers of the portal? Or to save himself from the nuclear disaster he anticipated?
Key
The key to the Key Vigenere cipher in this episode is shown on a barrel on the right side of the bunker. It is "Shifter."
1982 calendar
The author anticipated a nuclear disaster on July 4, 1982. Sound familiar? That's the date circled in the secret room in Carpet Diem. According to a blog, that was the date of nuclear testing in Russia. These two events are obviously connected. Here is a link to that blog: http://gravity-falls-conspiracies.tumblr.com/post/52954802368/wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey
boxes
There were boxes of supplies in the bunker. The earliest one seen said 1985 on the side. If the author came down here in 1982 that means the box would have been emptied in 1985. By that logic, the boxes last until 2070, or 88 years later. Now, the author is probably a grown man, so he would be over 100 years old by the time the supplies ran out. This many supplies would only be necessary if the author could live that long...and there's a theory that McGucket is about 150 years old. OLDMANMCGKNOWS.
