gravity falls spoilers

abaikgirl:

Ok but I need to scream about this some more.

After Stan has his memory wiped he is so calm and sweet and innocent. He’s like a big kid who’s just happy to tag along with these kind strangers who say they know him and want to help him remember who he is. At first I thought this was way out of character for the abrasive, loud and rude Grunkle Stan we know and love but then rewatching it I realize it’s the opposite. 

What we saw in these moments is Stan’s core. He has no facade, no need to be defensive or put up a front because he doesn’t remember all those things that made him want to put on a face in the first place. All that’s left is the core of who he is: which is a big old softie who is sweet and kind and eager to be loved. We can see this by how he treats Mabel, who in that moment is a stranger but he’s just happy to see such a happy face and immediately asks for her name and takes her hands into his because he doesn’t know who she is but he wants to know because he’s so open and kind.

It’s such a heartbreaking scene because he doesn’t remember his family but at the same time it gives us interesting insight to Stan’s true character and personality. 

abaikgirl:

Ok but I need to scream about this some more.

After Stan has his memory wiped he is so calm and sweet and innocent. He’s like a big kid who’s just happy to tag along with these kind strangers who say they know him and want to help him remember who he is. At first I thought this was way out of character for the abrasive, loud and rude Grunkle Stan we know and love but then rewatching it I realize it’s the opposite. 

What we saw in these moments is Stan’s core. He has no facade, no need to be defensive or put up a front because he doesn’t remember all those things that made him want to put on a face in the first place. All that’s left is the core of who he is: which is a big old softie who is sweet and kind and eager to be loved. We can see this by how he treats Mabel, who in that moment is a stranger but he’s just happy to see such a happy face and immediately asks for her name and takes her hands into his because he doesn’t know who she is but he wants to know because he’s so open and kind.

It’s such a heartbreaking scene because he doesn’t remember his family but at the same time it gives us interesting insight to Stan’s true character and personality. 

marypsue:

Thing I Liked About The Finale, #17: so a good portion of the Stans’ conflict comes from the fact that they have radically different priorities. When they’re calling each other ‘selfish’ in AToTS, neither of them are actually wrong – they’ve just got wildly different definitions of what’s an acceptable selfishness. For Stan, it’s looking out for your people, your family, to the exclusion of others. For Ford, it’s putting the greater good first, to the exclusion of yourself and even those you care about, if necessary.

Which is why it’s so important that the finale puts them in the roles that it does. They didn’t just switch clothes; their entire positioning as characters, the things they value most, are reversed, with Ford willing to give up any chance of defeating Bill to guarantee Dipper and Mabel’s safety, and Stan putting himself not only at risk, but into a situation he knows he won’t walk away from, to stop Bill and keep not only his family, but everyone safe. There would have been nothing surprising about Stan putting the world on the line for his family, or Ford sacrificing himself for the world. But the reason the reconciliation worked, for me, was that each of them were put in a position where they were forced to understand where the other was coming from, to accept that what the other valued had just as much merit as what they thought was most important. And each of them ended up seeing something they admired, something they found good or noble or worthwhile, in the other. And the best part was that they managed it while keeping true to the essence of who these characters are.

marypsue:

Thing I Liked About The Finale, #17: so a good portion of the Stans’ conflict comes from the fact that they have radically different priorities. When they’re calling each other ‘selfish’ in AToTS, neither of them are actually wrong – they’ve just got wildly different definitions of what’s an acceptable selfishness. For Stan, it’s looking out for your people, your family, to the exclusion of others. For Ford, it’s putting the greater good first, to the exclusion of yourself and even those you care about, if necessary.

Which is why it’s so important that the finale puts them in the roles that it does. They didn’t just switch clothes; their entire positioning as characters, the things they value most, are reversed, with Ford willing to give up any chance of defeating Bill to guarantee Dipper and Mabel’s safety, and Stan putting himself not only at risk, but into a situation he knows he won’t walk away from, to stop Bill and keep not only his family, but everyone safe. There would have been nothing surprising about Stan putting the world on the line for his family, or Ford sacrificing himself for the world. But the reason the reconciliation worked, for me, was that each of them were put in a position where they were forced to understand where the other was coming from, to accept that what the other valued had just as much merit as what they thought was most important. And each of them ended up seeing something they admired, something they found good or noble or worthwhile, in the other. And the best part was that they managed it while keeping true to the essence of who these characters are.