THERE! I FIXED THE...SHOW? - Roadside Attraction (Gravity Falls)
Like I said, this episode’s release does come in at a pretty bad time, for example, the episode before this, The Last Mabelcorn, emphasised how important it was that the gang stay in the Mystery Shack, and then all of a sudden they’re gallivanting off on a vacation? Hell, Ford doesn’t even appear at all in this episode. So my solution is to swap around the release schedule, perhaps in between The Love God and Northwest Mansion Mystery, right? actually, no. I think it could actually work within this release plan if they play their cards right. Why? By adding a subplot with Ford. This could be a great way of progressing the overarching plot along as opposed to diverting from it. But the question is, who could he share the subplot with? We can’t have Dipper, Mabel and Stan, since they’re on the road trip, so Soos, maybe? I’m suggesting this because he doesn’t really add much to the main road trip plot. In fact, they literally dump him in a corn field halfway through and we don’t see him again until the end credits, which, in spite of it being pretty funny, is a little disappointing considering Soos is probably my favorite character in the show. Plus, considering he already has great chemistry with Stan (whether romantic or platonic is your guess, in my opinion either one is correct), maybe that could carry over to him and Ford. But that leaves the question: what would this dynamic add to the story of the show? Well, what if Ford learns something from Soos’ more laid-back nature and manages to become a little less tense by the end of the episode. As for said ending…we will get back to that.
Next is the road trip plot, which may not be the worst plot on the show, considering we did get a third of an episode where the plot was just “pig smart, now laugh.”, but it is up there. I don’t like how they still have to focus on the Dipper and Wendy angle, since that’s a plot thread that should’ve been over and done with already, and setting him up with Candy? I mean, don’t get me wrong - I think Candy’s a very fun character, but she and Dipper don’t have a ton of chemistry. For this fix, I’m gonna make the most original and totally not at all overused observation a Gravity Falls could make, are ya ready? Here we go - what if we threw Pacifica into the mix? Maybe she gets sent there as punishment over the events of Northwest Mansion Mystery, which not only could be funny by giving her a whole “I would throw myself out the car window if it means getting out of this” vibe, but it could also align with her parents’ personalities. But I’m not gonna throw in the “Dipcifica” angle right away, what I’m gonna suggest is having Pacifica actually help Dipper at first as opposed to Stan, calling back to that amazing chemistry and character development they had in Northwest Mansion Mystery. But once that’s set up, where does the romance angle come in? Well, we could either A. replace Candy developing feelings for Dipper with Pacifica, B. don’t address it and save the real meat and potatoes of it all for the Weirdmaggeddon arc, or C. have it done in a more subtle manner. Maybe Pacifica never bluntly says she likes Dipper, but still wants to hang out in the mummy museum. We could even have that scene where every girl Dipper flirted with shows up and reject him, but instead of feeling rejected, what if she shows a bit of solidarity, saying something like “eh, don’t worry, you get used to it”, which again showcases more of that sweet, sweet character development, baybeeeeeeee.
My final fix here would be the ending. This is perhaps the biggest problem I had with the episode, where we see the Mystery Shack in disarray because of the tourist trap folk pranking Stan back. This would be a good payoff if it wasn’t in the final stretch of the series, with Ford, the rift and the looming threat of Bill. So, this is gonna be a pretty easy one. Upon seeing the madness, Dipper immediately goes to check in on Ford (and subsequently Soos) and check if the rift’s okay. It could even end on a pretty somber note as Ford assures Dipper that everything’s fine, and then after he leaves, we see the crack in the rift. This not only paints a perfect setup to the following episode, but also leaves on a dark omen with a familiar triangular shadow showing the audience that, no, everything is not fine.
So, with that said, how would the episode look now? Well, we start as we usually do - Stan, Dipper and Mabel are headed off on the road, with Candy, Grenda and a reluctant Pacifica joining while Soos holds down the fort and develops a friendship with Ford in a subplot. Mabel learns that Dipper’s still not over Wendy so he takes the opportunity to get over it and flirt with other girls. Only problem is he sucks at it, but with Pacifica’s help, he slowly gets better…until the scene where they all find out about Dipper’s scheme and leave. The episode continues pretty much the same way - they fight the spider, they patch everything up, and the shack is in shambles. But Dipper remembers “oh yeah, Ford’s in this episode” and goes to check in on the rift. Ford tells him that everything’s fine, but as shown by the crack in the rift, it really isn’t. And whaddya know, I think I fixed the episode. What do you think?
About the Author: JF the LOLZOR
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