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"Not What He Seems"[1] is the eleventh episode in the second season of Gravity Falls, and the 31st episode overall. It is set to premiere on March 9, 2015.

Official overview

After government agents take Stan into custody, Dipper and Mabel question how much they really know about their Grunkle Stan.[1]

Synopsis

S2e11 reflecting

Stan struggles to keep his secret.

As Stan is hit with a water balloon, Dipper and Mabel come up to him, ready to honor him as "not just [their] great uncle, the greatest uncle." While flattered, Stan struggles to tell his niece and nephew of a secret he has been keeping, but opts to hold off on informing them. He takes to pacing in solemn reflection of his situation, when he notices that he has several red dots on him and has been targeted by government agents.

S2e11 gift shop clear

Government agents capture the Shack.

A special op proceeds to tackle him, and Agent Trigger comes up behind him to signal others to secure the Mystery Shack. Worried and perplexed, Dipper and Mabel inquire what is happening, before they notice Agents Powers and Trigger, whom they thought had been eaten by zombies. The agents clear up their situation to the children and proceed to put Stan in their car, sending him away to be interrogated about suspicious activity.

Credits

  • Written by
  • Directed by
  • Storyboarded by

Production notes

See also: List of allusions and List of goofs.

Character revelations

  • As a child, Stan excelled academically, earning the grade of "A+" in nearly every subject. However, he was weak physically, as evidenced by a "D-" in physical education
  • Stan has stolen nuclear waste, which he used to fuel up the universe portal.[2]
  • The U.S. government has tracked numerous illegal activities regarding Stan, including activities relating to the Mystery Shack (as shown by the deed being on the board of evidence). It is shown that he has been spied on for a long time.

Series continuity

  • Numerous prior episodes have alluded to the events of this one:
    • cryptogram at the end of the opening sequence states that "Stan is not what he seems."
    • Bill Cipher references the onset of "something big" in "Dreamscaperers" and "Sock Opera." In the former episode, he tells Gideon Gleeful that he has been working on something, and describes "a darkness [approaching]. A day will come when everything you [Pines] care about will change."
    • "Into the Bunker" reveals that the Author predicted a catastrophic event and prepared enough supplies to last him several decades.
    • In "Northwest Mansion Mystery," Old Man McGucket's calculations suggest an impending apocalyptic event occurring in less than a day, and Agents Powers and Trigger reference picking up a reading. Bill's return is also foreshadowed, and the cryptogram from the theme song is repeated in the end credits.
  • Stan's altercation with Will E. Badger in his attempt to steal him from "Soos and the Real Girl" has been noted by the agents.
  • Stan's failed self-made vacuum brand from "Dreamscaperers" is referenced.
  • The nuclear waste used to power the Universe portal from "Society of the Blind Eye" is mentioned to have been stolen by Stan.
  • Stan continues to sport the bandaged wound he first acquired in "Society of the Blind Eye," which was consecutively seen in "Blendin's Game" and "The Love God."
  • Agent Powers and Trigger's survival of the zombie attack in "Scary-oke" is mentioned.
  • It's possible this episode will begin the morning after "Northwest Manor," since according to the laptop, the cataclysm is happening in less than a day.

Trivia

Cryptograms

  • In the code on the countdown website, the cryptogram "GRQ'W FRSB WKDW IORSSB" can be seen, which decodes to "DON'T COPY THAT FLOPPY". This seems to be a request to not duplicate the countdown website's code, as it refers to an anti-piracy PSA.[3]

Gallery

Click here to view the image gallery for Not What He Seems.
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Site navigation

V - E - H - D Gravity Falls episodes
Season one 1. Tourist Trapped | 2. The Legend of the Gobblewonker | 3. Headhunters | 4. The Hand That Rocks the Mabel | 5. The Inconveniencing | 6. Dipper vs. Manliness | 7. Double Dipper | 8. Irrational Treasure | 9. The Time Traveler's Pig | 10. Fight Fighters | 11. Little Dipper | 12. Summerween | 13. Boss Mabel | 14. Bottomless Pit! | 15. The Deep End | 16. Carpet Diem | 17. Boyz Crazy | 18. Land Before Swine | 19. Dreamscaperers | 20. Gideon Rises
Season two 21. Scary-oke | 22. Into the Bunker | 23. The Golf War | 24. Sock Opera | 25. Soos and the Real Girl | 26. Little Gift Shop of Horrors | 27. Society of the Blind Eye | 28. Blendin's Game | 29. The Love God | 30. Northwest Mansion Mystery | 31. Not What He Seems | 32. A Tale of Two Stans | 33. Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons | 34. The Stanchurian Candidate | 35. The Last Mabelcorn | 36. Roadside Attraction | 37. Dipper and Mabel vs. the Future | 38. Weirdmageddon Part 1 | 39. Weirdmageddon 2: Escape From Reality | 40-41. Weirdmageddon 3: Take Back The Falls
Animated shorts Candy Monster | Stan's Tattoo | Mailbox | Lefty | Tooth | The Hide-Behind | Mabel's Guide to Dating | Mabel's Guide to Stickers | Mabel's Guide to Fashion | Mabel's Guide to Color | Mabel's Guide to Art | Fixin' It with Soos: Golf Cart | Fixin' It with Soos: Cuckoo Clock | TV Shorts 1 | TV Shorts 2 | Mabel's Scrapbook: Heist Movie | Mabel's Scrapbook: Petting Zoo
Lists Allusions | Cryptograms | Goofs | International versions
Related Media Unaired pilot | Next Time On Trailer | Creature in the Closet | Creepy Letters from Lil' Gideon | Gravity Falls Journal 3 Infomercial | Gravity Falls: Six Strange Tales | Gravity Falls: Even Stranger | The Mystery in Gravity Falls | "Old Man" McGucket's Conspiracy Corner Marathon | Between the Pines | Soos' Stan Fiction | Soos Cast | Gravity Falls – Tug-n’-Talk Shmebulock | One Crazy Summer: A Look Back at Gravity Falls | Call Me Mabel
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