Sure are a lot of stars out tonight.
Seriously, Gravity Falls? Soos being gay? I expect more from you.
Afficionado Afficionado Magazine
Yet another redundantly redundant gag from the place where Gravity Falls.
Winning and looks.
So, this scene tells us about Pacifica's family. They put her under tremendous pressure to be perfect. This means that Pacifica not only has no real friends, she has a bad relationship with her family as well. But, would she go so far as to go out of her way to spend more time with Mabel? Only time will tell. But until then, it's always fun to make theories.
Oh, I guess you could say we've got a little something.
How do Pacifica and Sergei not notice Franz popping out of Mabel's sleeve?
Sergei's gun
You may not have noticed, but Sergei had an actual gun, which fired a bullet, on screen. This is significant because this is a Disney show, and guns are a subject they would much rather avoid.
Big Henry
Much like Sergei's gun, this is a rare occurrence in a Disney show. Alex Hirsch just created a lovable hero, and then killed him, just to show that he could. Even the green men from Lefty didn't die on-screen, they disappeared in flashes of light. But this? Big Henry actually died on screen. And this means, nobody is safe. Dipper and Mabel will survive the series, but now Stan, Soos, Wendy and Waddles are all fair game.
Key
During the chase scene, the golf cart rushes past a castle wall. The wall, if illuminated, shows that the keyword for the Vigenere cipher is "WHATEVS".
The whole plot
After watching this episode, I came to the conclusion that its plot is similar to Fight Fighters. In both, a Pines is upstaged by their rival one too many times. But when they accidentally even the score, the rival challenges them to a fight of some kind. The Pines twin, knowing they can't succeed, finds a way to use a game to cheat. In the end, the two agree to tone down their rivalry.
I also think now that this episode is basically "part 1" of Northwest Mansion Mystery. Without the former, there is no way the latter should have happened the way it did. Pacifica softens up in this episode just enough to ask for the Pines family's help in NWMM.
in the car
A couple points to make here. First, Pacifica is sheltered. For someone of her prestige and social standing, eating in the car is totally un-heard of. Second, Dipper's reaction. He was looking out his window with his arms crossed. It seems like he was trying too hard to hate Pacifica. He was only thinking logically, because that's what he does. He thought, "If I was Mabel, I'd hate Pacifica enough to not even look at her. And I'm Mabel's brother, so I have to stand up for her." Mabel, on the other hand, saw Pacifica as a person and didn't care about Pacifica's hatred towards her. This also fits in with the shipping of Dipper x Pacifica. He was too embarrassed to consider dating her, or even look at her.
Pacifica's last speech
This showed the character development in Pacifica. She was polite and thanked the Pineses for the ride. She admitted to having fun. And she complimented Soos on his "W-neck." It was very nice that the writers found a happy medium between having Pacifica continue to hate Mabel, and completely giving up her old ways to become Mabel's best friend. As of this episode, the writers have nailed 4 endings in a row, dating back to last season. Well done!
Remember Big Henry
The credits cryptogram. Again, the keyword is WHATEVS.
OLD MAN SLEEPING ON THE GREEN, CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER WHAT HE'S SEEN
This is seen on the end card. Again, to decode this, use these ciphers: A1Z26, then Atbash, then Caesar -3. Of course, this cryptogram is referring to Old Man McGucket, and everything he's ever seen. More possible evidence that he's the author.
