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the-orion-scribe · 1 year

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In Defence of Escape from Reality

Reddit version

Not long ago, there was a discussion thread on the r/GravityFalls subreddit on which is the “worst episode” of Gravity Falls. Now, to put my two cents on this question, personally, I have no strong hatred for any of the episodes, including Roadside Attraction – the fandom’s most riled episode like how Fly is very lowly-regarded in Breaking Bad. For me, Roadside Attraction lowers the stakes and brings us outside of Gravity Falls for a while before what is to come. My favourite part of that episode is Dipper trying to be more confident of himself, even if I agree perhaps the flirting subplot is rather unnecessary. Still, it's a nice break from all the rather momentous episodes, and improves the relationship between Stan and Dipper.

I would actually argue that the preceding episode The Last Mabelcorn is actually the episode that’s out of place, given it was intended to be a space for a low-stakes Wendy-centric story the writers never managed to crack. But that would be another discussion for another time.

I’m deeply amused, nevertheless, when Escape from Reality is mentioned as the worst. Now, before my rewatch, I only had a ‘meh’ impression of that episode. But after rewatching the episode to verify those claims, I now have a newfound appreciation for the episode. In fact, I will personally rate it above its preceding episode – Weirdmageddon 1: Xpcveaoqfoxso.

There are some ‘problems’ the critic of the episode has highlighted, notably how the episode “cuts entirely the rythm [sic] and the tension and rythm [sic] of the entire finale” and shows “the lack of character of development of Mabel Pines” who is “NEVER held accountable for anything she did during Weirdmaggedon”. To check through these claims, I decided to rewatch the Weirdmageddon arc – from Dipper and Mabel vs the Future to the finale, before forming my own conclusion. And I say, the rewatches gave me deeper insights which I think plenty of us overlooked.

Let’s start with Dipper and Mabel vs the Future. I must watch from here, otherwise, the rest of it wouldn’t make much sense given Gravity Falls is a continuity-based cartoon.

It's a fantastic penultimate episode from start to end (I call it penultimate before WMG). Goofy at the start like many of the Gravity Falls episodes, and we explore both the siblings’ arcs. One with Dipper and Ford to find the adhesive to seal the rift in the UFO, and Mabel trying to prepare for their 13th birthday party at the end of the summer.

Mabel's subplot really hits the feels. I still recall how it hits me when a holiday is ending. And while the episode starts off with optimism, Mabel soon realises the harsh realities of growing up. And she also realises her summer friends (Grenda and Candy) won't be with her to celebrate their birthday and see them off. This gradually crushes and peels off the positive ideal Mabel holds, and thus she realises that the future after the summer is not what she wishes to face.

Stan comes in, and offers encouragement that Dipper would be by her side. And that scene, likely overlooked by many, hits hard too, especially when he said “not everyone can say that”, referring to his falling out with his twin Ford (and even Stan realising he would be out of the Shack soon, even if he hasn’t said that aloud). And then when she heard Dipper's willingness to take Ford's apprenticeship, that one hope she held was gone and broke the straw on the camel’s back.

So why am I reviewing all of these? We need this context to understand what happens after. There are claims, especially from Mabel’s critics, that Mabel knew about the nature of the rift and just willingly handed it over. However, from the episode, Mabel only has a vague idea that whatever Dipper and Ford plan to do is to “save the world or whatever”. And Ford keeps the rift when Mabel comes in to check on her brother. So she's unlikely to link that to whatever Ford and Dipper were planning to do to save the world. In fact, neither told her about the rift, even in the previous episodes. Ford even stated in Journal 3 that it’s something he must keep a secret.

At the end of the episode, Mabel is in her most vulnerable emotional state – the world is falling apart around her, especially the prospect she has to face the hard future alone. And she fears that history will repeat itself, her deep-seated fear, established since A Tale of Two Stans, that she and Dipper would grow apart quickly and become hostile like the Stans. The twins have been each other’s source of strength, and they still have more time to mature and grow together. It is unimaginable for her, just at the age of 12, to be separated from her twin for a long time.

And the Bill-possessed Blendin arrives. I also note critics saying she should have known better and not trusted him given “he tried to kill her and her brother not long ago”. Let me reiterate that, since the end of Blendin’s Game, the twins and Blendin are on better terms, given the twins decide to exercise mercy on him and let him go. Anyway, even then, she does not know that it’s Bill Cipher she’s talking to, and in that extremely vulnerable emotional state, she’s in no position to think anywhere close to rationally. Blendin offers her a tantalising offer that seems to address her problems.

We need to relook this scene from Mabel’s perspective. Bill only shows her in a holograph the object Mabel has to pass over to him and dismisses its significance as “a little gizmo (that) he (Ford) won't even know it's missing." So in short, no, she doesn't know what she’s handing over and what she’s in for. Bill is exploiting her emotional weaknesses to get the rift. Swayed by Bill’s persuasion, Mabel thinks the rift is some ‘small gadget’ that will somehow grant her ‘a little more summer’, not a permanent loop without end. And she also thought he was Blendin, someone whom she thinks she could trust, and with the goggles, it’s hard to tell Blendin was being possessed.

The last we know about Mabel is that she got knocked out when it all started. So that brings me on to Escape from Reality.

But let me also do a quick review of WMG1. It’s not bad, though rather slow. It sets the stakes well, but takes some substantial time just for Dipper to figure out what he must do. But it’s indeed distressing for him, who just lost his mentor and the three journals and he is unable to figure out what he should do. A major plus for this episode, nevertheless, is Wendy being more involved and being his guide (wendip fans rejoice) and we also get to see Gideon’s transformation for the better to turn against Bill.

Escape from Reality is wonderful. In fact, this episode is an important turning point – a friend even commented this is “the emotional and thematic climax of the series”. I agree it might be a little jarring in tone, since we were “shoved” into a “sugarcoat land”. But I welcome variety, and actually if you realise, Mabeland is a juxtaposition of the dark and surrealistic nature of Bill's world with Mabel’s worldview. It’s not as clear compared to the previous episode, but you still get peeks of Bill’s touches of what seemed to be an ideal fantasy world. Mabeland’s lack of rules sounds exactly like Bill's "join me" sales pitch to Ford in the subsequent episode. As he claimed: "I'LL REMAKE A FUN WORLD, A BETTER WORLD! NO MORE RESTRICTIONS, NO MORE LAWS!"

I agree with Bill that he has created “the most diabolical trap” he's ever created. It’s a gilded cage, designed to fulfil Mabel’s wants and desires. As it is a prison, the ultimate purpose of everything in Mabeland is to prevent Mabel from leaving by keeping her trapped inside what is essentially a waking dream. Really, Mabeland was just a massive, literalized Sweater Town. Bill believes the bubble to be inescapable because he knows that he would not be able to escape it, and because these “mortal meatsacks” are so inferior, there's no way they could be capable of something he isn't.

Let me also address some pieces of criticism, that Mabel “admits she knows she is in a fake world, she sees what's going on in Gravity Falls multiple times but doesn't even react or show concern”, and instead, she throws all of Dipper's unconditional love and support for her back in his face by not just creating Dippy Fresh, but also sending him to a trial where he will get kicked out into the apocalypse if he doesn't convince her to come out by giving up the apprenticeship. She shows absolutely no remorse over anything she did and very less admits it, and acts as if she had nothing to do with it.”

First off, there's nothing in the episode that shows Mabel is fully aware of what's happening outside. Remember, I said Mabel was knocked out when it all started. She said to Dipper: “But then I woke up in a place that gives me exactly what I wanted: an endless summer where we'll never have to grow up!” And it seems, as Dipper suspected, that Mabel was entranced and hypnotised by all the magic, almost completely caught up in the delusion. She’s not at all aware of what’s happening outside, and Dipper hasn’t so far told Mabel what’s going on.

Bill exploited Mabel's deep-seated insecurities and crafted the fantasy in such a way so that Mabel would remain trapped in her fantasy forever. Indeed, the prison is pretty diabolical and insane like Bill himself, and Bill even said it would take “a will of titanium” to break out. The depiction of Mabeland really expresses the depth of Mabel's almost pathological fear and denial, showing a very underlooked side of Mabel that really paints a terrifying picture of how broken deep down she was. It's easy to brush off the surface of the world as Mabel's selfish denial for growing up and wanting to keep things as they are, but it also can be looked at someone who is wanting to be seen and fit in, in a world that is continuing to no longer care for her way of life.

I admit Mabel's biggest personality deficiencies are her lack of will and self-awareness. When Mabel woke up in the bubble, she would have still been in the same mindset she had at the end of Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future – that her brother was leaving her forever. Mabel's mental state in that episode and leading up to it really paints that picture; a child who's losing grip and control of the reality she was so accustomed to, and without anyone there willing to take the time to stop and listen and help guide her, finally snapped.

Mabeland was her last attempt to maintain the reality she was so used to, to try and let go of the impending reality of truth. An unhealthy way of dealing with it, but the product of the mental state Mabel had fallen into. What Mabel wanted more than anything in the world at that moment was for her brother to be there and comfort her, just as he always has been up to this point. So, that's what Mabeland tried to give her – Dippy Fresh, the fandom’s most hated character. But he turned out to be a twisted fun-house-mirror reflection that's more like a male version of Mabel herself than it is like the real Dipper. I’m sure that Mabel knew this was not her real brother, but it's the closest she was going to get to him during that time of deep emotional vulnerability.

There's also two top Mabel-moments here. Actually three. I think this is actually one of the greatest episodes centering on Mabel. First, Mabel, in her good nature, actually offered to share the fantasy with Dipper and the rest when they first arrived, when she’s not yet aware of the darker side of her world. Second, when Dipper is about to be banished for mentioning the real world, Mabel doesn't want to throw him out right away and is willing to listen to what her brother has to say through the trial.

Dipper: Are you really gonna let them banish me?!

Mabel: No! Of course not; that’s my brother, guys! There’s gotta be another way.

So no, sending him to a trial is not for him to be kicked out into the apocalypse, but offers Dipper a chance to plead his case.

Sure, the court is rigged. But remember this whole thing is crafted by Bill, and Mabel holds an illusion she has control over their world. Mabeland tries to throw out Dipper’s case, but Dipper then shows her there's a better way to get through it than denial, and that's with help from people who care about her. While Mabel raised two past examples of them being bullied, Dipper also shows how the two stayed together thick and thin throughout their childhood. These memories showed that they both work together to better themselves, which, again, furthers the fact that they are co-dependent. “It's how we've gotten through our whole lives.”

The courtroom scene played out extremely well, incorporating a ton of symbolism in regards to the duo's respective individual thoughts. It's touching to see Dipper reminisce about the past with Mabel only to convince her that the future may not be as grim as she perceives it – a precedent laid out by most of the Mabel-centric episodes that forward this very scene. Dipper, her own brother, has always been the only person who could ground Mabel in reality and pull her out of Mabeland, for better or worse. Mabel, on the other hand, knows how to get her brother to take himself less seriously and chill out a little bit by acting intentionally dumb and goofy. The “yin and yang” Wendy mused to Dipper back in WMG1.

Seeing Dipper's love for his sister brings her back from the abyss is really heartwarming. Their sibling bond wins over, and Mabel accepts to return to reality out of her own will. If Mabel is that selfish as what some haters claim, she would have rejected leaving no matter what Dipper tells her. Mabel isn’t a rational thinker, and Dipper must be the one to lay out his case that convinces her. Dipper is the only one who can get through her and understand and address her insecurities. I find it unrealistic and out of character to expect Mabel to just snap out of it herself. I know Mabel is flawed. But the most important thing is, she still chose to go back to the real world with Dipper.

I like to think that what in the end made Mabel wanna face reality was not Dipper saying he'd go back home with her, but hearing him say he understood her fear; admitting he too was scared of growing up. Perhaps hearing her own brother admit that was what she needed to hear; that she was not alone in her fear and that Dipper understood it too.

I'm not sure if it's an intended parallel, but the bond between twins (later Stan and Ford) is what eventually leads to Bill's demise. Like how the cementation of the twins’ bond (sincere sibling hug) eventually ended the fantasy. (In fact, tbh I’m going crazy over this part – it’s a neat development from ‘awkward sibling hug’ from the first episode).

“Aw, man, I never noticed how bright this place is, ugh! Have I actually been listening to the same song for an entire week?”

It was when the spell breaks that Mabel fully snaps out of her trance and has further clarity of what’s going on. As the whole thing unravels as a nightmare, Mabel actually helps them out by summoning giant Waddles and they break out.

And after they emerge into the real world, it is Mabel's first proper look into what's actually happening, and horror sets in.

It’s also of note that as they emerge from the bubble, Mabel says to Dipper that she wouldn’t “get into her brother’s way” if he chooses to take Ford’s apprenticeship. Nevertheless, Dipper decides to stick with his sister when he recognises the cost if he were to take it up.

Actually, Dipper was already hesitant about the offer at the start in the UFO. After that, given the adrenaline of rescuing his Grunkle and overcoming another obstacle (facing without fear), to him it seemed like a rational decision that he can step up to be Ford's assistant, albeit shortsighted. He was riding the high of rescuing Ford and didn't think about how this would hurt Mabel, Grunkle Stan and his parents. And when Mabel ran away and he joined Ford, Dipper also had second thoughts about the decision and started to think with his heart.

I don’t think it’s realistic at all that Dipper should really take up the apprenticeship since he realises the serious implications if he takes it up. The turning point for Dipper's character arc is the realisation that he needs his sister in his life, too. The fact that he attained Ford's approval and consequently the right to be his apprentice himself is undeniable, though in terms of being a human being, that's where he needs her. I personally believe that Dipper would have fully changed his mind right then and there even if things were to go as planned.

Even at this point, I don't know why anyone expects Mabel to take responsibility for causing WMG there and then. I think her being imprisoned in her own bubble is already a sufficient consequence of what she has done. Plus, neither Dipper nor Ford has not blamed Mabel at all since he thought the rift might just accidentally broke. Neither witness what Mabel has done, or even aware what Mabel actually did. As far as they knew the rift must have broken accidentally “The rift must have cracked inside her backpack.”

At this point, it's not a time to play the blame game, as their main focus is to take down Bill. I would think perhaps beyond WMG, and when the Pines discussed what happened, would only Mabel be able to piece together what has actually happened. Mabel’s recognition of what she has done would only be clear after the series.

I decided to wrap this review off with my view on WMG3 and I say… This hits really quite hard. Even for an hour-long, it goes through a roller-coaster of emotions. Excitement, anticipation, dread, sadness and also nostalgia at the end.

Despite their best efforts, the Pines' lives were again on a thread, and Stan's sacrifice really packed a punch. I was also relooking to note the swap between Stan and Ford. What's also rather emotional is Stan and Ford discussing how their siblinghood had deteriorated, and how and why their grandnephews are still able to work together. From all of these riveting experiences of the summer, they've both grown tremendously, so much so as we, the audience, to have absolute certainty that they'll not turn out like the older duo. I note Mabel still plays her role in her story, rallying and encouraging the people to stand up to Bill, and also her grappling hook skills to help the groups navigate the Fearamid.

I still support the decision for Stan to recover enough to be able to send off the kids at the end of the summer. The goodbyes at the end are really deeply emotional. The finale really wraps up the show in a tiny neat bow, ending many of the characters' arcs in the most satisfying way. Of course, it’s not exactly the end, since the twins still have a lot of growing up to do, but the story ended on a very high and promising note.

This is my entire review of the entire WMG arc from Dipper and Mabel vs the Future to the finale. It’s something that I’ve put off for a long time even though I know the episodes are fantastic. And I’m glad actually that post calls me to review this rather underrated episode.

I conclude that much criticism of Escape from Reality is rather baseless, overblown and overexaggerated and stems from the person’s own biasedness toward Mabel. Thanks to them, Escape from Reality has now become one of my favourite episodes of the show (I’m sorry, but Tourist Trapped and Weirdmageddon 3 still take the top spots). I can understand some of the animosity especially if you think the episode doesn’t fit the general tone of the arc. But when the episode is viewed as a whole now I think it plays great – and really is the culmination of Dipper and Mabel's siblinghood. The priority is settling the twins’ problems before the real shit goes down in WMG3. Also all the callbacks, big and little, are great.

If you haven’t rewatched the entire WMG arc, I suggest doing it and judging for yourselves. I understand everyone has their own preferences and opinion when it comes to characters in media, but hate or harm towards a fictional character, or anyone else, is never acceptable. It is important to remember that fictional characters are not real people and should not be the subject of hate or harassment.

Drops microphone and leaves

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