2019 Geek-A-Long: Gravity Falls

Gravity falls is particularly near and dear to my heart. My daughter, Mabel, was named after one of the main characters, Mabel Pines.

I get asked all the time if Mabel is a family name and I usually say yes. It is — just, you know, not my family. But if I could choose someone for Mabel to look up to or emulate, my first choice is Mabel Pines. She knows who she is. She faces real challenges and overcomes them without compromising herself. It’s easy to see the show as just a silly kid’s cartoon, but if you pay attention to everything that’s going on, it gets dark and highly relatable as an adult, while still being appropriate to watch with a kid.

There’s something about Gravity Falls that stays with me. It only ran for two seasons, but was one of those shows that knew when to quit when it was ahead. It told its story to completion and didn’t drag it out after that. That’s not to say that they didn’t leave the audience wanting more. I regularly find myself just sort of zoning out thinking about what became of the pines twins. If I’m very lucky, one day they’ll do a follow up movie that catches up with the twins in college or something.

The show uses absurdity with abandon, which makes the dark themes behind the plot easy to swallow. Done differently, or done less well, and the show could be depressing. But, it gives an outlet to the watcher to deal with any parallels that the themes might have with your real life without having to be scared, sad, or angry. The main villain, Bill Cypher, who is pictured on the square, is not an anti-hero relatable antagonist like many of the villains are in shows that deal with the same types of themes. He is an insane inter-dimensional pyramid. He’s so fun to hate, and really, can you feel sad looking at a sentient pyramid in a top hat? No. You can’t. I love Bill, and I was hyped that he was the image Jac chose for the square. I recently got into embroidery, and Bill was one of my first pieces.

The show follows the Pines family through one summer of their lives, though it makes liberal use of flashbacks.

WARNING: THE NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS SERIES ENDING SPOILERS

The original Pines twins, Stanley and Stanford had an objectively terrible childhood. They were bullied by their father and their peers. They were close friends, but as they grew older, Stanford’s genius shone brighter and brighter, while Stanley remained crushingly mediocre. When Stanley was falsely accused of sabotaging Stanford’s science fair project, their father kicked him out of the house and he went on to a life of petty crime, homeless and alone. After his project was ruined in front of college recruiters, Stanford went to a crummy hometown back-up school, but eventually became a paranormal investigator. The twins reconnected as adults in Gravity Falls, a town with unprecedented supernatural activity, and after fighting with each other Stanford was trapped in an alternate dimension. Stanley assumed his brother’s identity and started going by “Ford”, founded the Mystery Shack, and used the money he earned running the unrepentant tourist trap to search for his brother.

Years later, (Stan)Ford finds himself involuntarily stuck watching his twin grand-niece and grand-nephew. Dipper and Mabel were sent to stay with their “Grunkle Stan” for the summer before they turn 13 while their parents are embroiled in a contentious divorce. Dipper is level headed, mature, and undeniably nerdy. Mabel is bubbly, impulsive, and a fantastic knitter, among other things. They take their family situation in stride and try to make the best of their summer. They face real world challenges, like the episode where Little Gideon guilt trips Mabel into dating him, even though he makes her uncomfortable. This was all before the #MeToo movement. I remember the first time I watched that episode and being deeply moved and impressed with how well the show handled portraying the social pressures placed on girls in that sort of situation, and that even though Mabel is self-assured and assertive, it didn’t protect her from Little Gideon, who was being predatory.

If you have kids in your life, watch this show with them. I can’t wait until my Mabel is just a little bit older, five or six, and we will watch this together. I think this is the type of show that will bring something different to the table every time you watch it, depending on where you are in your life. I imagine that Mabel and I will watch it through a few times together at least, before she goes off to college. There are things that she’ll get from it at 12 that are totally different from what she’ll get from it at six.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Gravity Falls pattern here. Instructions and charts for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to Instagram your squares at us @lattesandllamasyarn with the hashtag #geekalong! Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~Megan-Anne

“You can’t force someone to love you. The best you can do is strive to be someone worthy of loving.” – Dipper Pines

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