The blog of Logan Tyler Smith

Review written by Logan Tyler Smith This is probably the most overtly “mysterious” episode of the show I’ve seen so far as a fresh-eyed viewer (and not just for the “ducktective” gag). This episode follows a “murder mystery” of a wax doll of Grunkle Stan (there are other wax figures of different historical/fictional people) being ‘murdered’ (his wax head is removed from the body) and Dipper and Mabel trying to figure out who the murderer is.  This episode is great for the murder mystery of course; it hits all the beats of that genre pretty well. But when the episode takes a turn and gets to the supernatural roots that have plagued Gravity Falls from the beginning...it cements its greatness.  Mabel’s voice actress Kristen Schall is great as always, but this episode has the delightfully posh addition (guest star?) of John Oliver as a wax sculpture of Sherlock Holmes (did I mention the wax statues were cursed?). Ultimately, the characters use their wits to outwit these freaks of nature. 

Review written by Logan Tyler Smith This episode involves the characters (that is, Dipper and Mabel) deciding to take a picture of a creature the town’s “old cook” starts to rave about on a fishing trip. This leads to the duo abandoning Grunkle Stan to be all alone fishing while they and their friend/coworker Soos try to take the monster’s picture in exchange for award money (did I mention there was a contest?).  The episode seems to have individual themes of its own; the main villain (SPOILER ALERT: an old man in a makeshift robot loch ness suit [the “gobblewonker”, if you will]) has a flaw that directly translates to the (gr)uncle the duo abandoned to get a picture of this similarly broken man.  Beyond some potential secrets set up in the first episode (a mysterious vending machine seemingly tacked on at the end) we still do not know much of where the story is going. This is not to say the episode is filler (it’s still as funny as the rest of the show has been so far) but I’m sure it

Review written by Logan Tyler Smith The basis of this episode is pretty simple; it’s the first episode introducing us to the world of the characters. One thing that stands out is how well it truly does that for me, an outsider to this show that has established a rabid cult following.  The characters are introduced with crystal-clear personalities; Dipper, Soos, Grunkle Stan, and Wendy all have specific traits that define them. One stand-out I haven’t mentioned is Dipper’s twin sister Mabel, who’s voice actress is given material to work with that is so great it goes beyond saying.  The main plot of the first episode establishes the characters' situation right away; Dipper and Mabel are spending the summer with Grunkle (great uncle portmanteau) Stan. When “boy crazy” Mabel seemingly gets an undead boyfriend (also Dipper finds a book that may be important later in the series), it seems like the plot is going in one direction...only to completely unearth it with a reveal that seems to