Gravity Falls Review, Season 1, Episode 7: "Double Dipper"

Airdate:  August 10th, 2012

Clones, clones everywhere, and nary a drop of common sense!

Synopsis (Spoilers): Grunkle Stan has decided to make money by setting up a disco at the Mystery Shack. Dipper wants to impress Wendy, and configures a long, meticulous list that he will follow to the minute to try and date Wendy, but also has to work the ticket stand. Dipper and Mabel find a copy machine (which they intended to use to copy the party fliers) that copies humans. Dipper uses it to his advantage, and creates a clone, Tyrone. After the first one is a success, he decides to create many many more clones to perform his tasks so that Dipper 1 can try and get Wendy. The thing is, since they know that the original Dipper wants to date Wendy, they will not interfere or get jealous. Not helping his task is that Robbie, from the convince store incident, is also at the disco.

The tasks are accomplished, but Dipper winds up deviating from the original list. He meets Wendy outside of the bathroom, and realises that the list is pointless. The other Dipper's kidnap him and lock him in a closet. The original manages to escape, and manages to defeat them (sans Tyrone) with their only kryptonite; water. However, Dipper and Tyrone are too late to get to talk to Wendy, and wind up drinking soda up on the roof. The soda kills Tyrone, with his last words being toward Dipper to quit being scared around Wendy.

Meanwhile, Mabel is excited beyond belief about the party. While partying, she meets Grenda, a larger girl with a masculine voice, and Candy, a shier girl. The DJ (Soos) announces a contest to crown the best partier. Pacifica Northwest, the local popular girl (think Regina from Mean Girls), immediately claims ownership of the crown, mocking the Trio along the way. Mabel challenges Pacifica for the crown, and it is a contest that lasts all night. Pacifica wins the crown and goes back to her house, but Mabel, Candy, and Grenda take losing in stride, while partying all night long.

Review: This episode leans more into the Science Fiction genre of episodes, and is wonderful in it's science fiction-ness.

The aversion of the "jealous doppelganger/clone" cliche worked wonders for this episode. Instead, their anger is toward a central part of Dipper's personality: his adherence to order... or dismissal thereof. Dipper's decision to dismiss his organised behaviour proves fatal to his ideals. Only Tyrone takes his side, and he gives some of the best advice to the audience. He tells Dipper, and therefore the audience, to reject specifics in trying to ask somebody else. Given the target audience is primarily tweens (although many more teens and adults watch the show), this is a wonderful message. Also, while not to the level or Mabel and Dipper, Wendy gets a bit of character development. Hopefully, in future episodes, the show will flesh her out further and make her NOT an object for Dipper's affections. The science fiction fits in with the regular status of the show; it's very mysterious, and provides more awkwardness to the Shack. And it gave us "Paper Jam Dipper", one of the darkest, and yet funniest, scenes in the show thus far.

Again, Mabel gets a weaker plot then Dipper, but this is slightly more forgivable. While her previous plot was just pointless filler, this plot gives her some character development. In one episode, Mabel gains two new, devoted friends, alongside an enemy. While I don't hate Pacifica Northwest as much as others, she still is rather one note. Mabel's plot gave some funny moments ("Don't Start Un-believing", for example). It's not a bad plot, but it is still rather weaker then I would have preferred.

Still, the Dipper-focused plot is brilliant enough to give this an 8 score.

Favourite Scene: ANYTHING involving Paper-Jam Dipper.

Score: 8