Northwest Mansion Mystery

"Northwest Mansion Mystery," also listed as "Northwest Mansion Noir," is the tenth episode in the second season of Gravity Falls, and the 30th episode overall.

It premiered on February 16, 2015.

Official overview
Pacifica enlists Dipper’s help to rid the Northwest Mansion of a ghost before he wreaks havoc on her fancy party. Nathan Fillion (ABC's "Castle") reprises his role as Pacifica's father, Preston Northwest.

Synopsis
The Northwests are having a practice dinner for their annual party taking place the following day. Pacifica approaches her parents, wearing her formal dress, and her mother promptly scolds her, stating that "the theme is sea-foam green, not lake-foam green." She demands that Pacifica go change her clothes and when Pacifica makes an objection her father rings a bell. She stops talking and agrees to go change when suddenly various objects around the manor start floating and attacking her and her parents. The three duck under the table for cover, and a newspaper falls by Preston Northwest, showing Dipper fighting a giant bat with a police Taser, and Preston says he thinks he's found the perfect person to help with the Northwests' ghost problem.

Later, Dipper prepares for a marathon of Ghost Harassers at the Mystery Shack when Mabel, Candy, and Grenda interrupt him to watch the news coverage of the Northwests' party. Afterwards, all three girls express interest in going to the party and say how much they envy Pacifica. There's a knock on the door, and as Dipper gets up to go open it, he tells the girls that Pacifica isn't worth envying, as "she's the worst." He insists that this isn't just jealousy, and that he would gladly say this to her face. He opens the door to see Pacifica, who says that she needs his help. True to his word, he tells Pacifica that she's the worst and then slams the door in her face. Pacifica knocks again, and Dipper answers. She insists that she doesn't want to be there either, but that she needs his help. She explains that her family is having a party that night and that they need Dipper to stop the ghost. Dipper expresses no interest, pointing out how she has been cruel to him and Mabel in the past.

Mabel then runs to the open door, greets Pacifica and then pulls Dipper aside. She pleads him to help with the ghost problem, as it is an opportunity for her go to the party, which is their "dream." Dipper reluctantly agrees, and he returns to Pacifica, telling her that he will help if she gives him three invitations to her family's party. Pacifica begrudgingly hands him three invitations, which he accepts with a grin. Mabel then instructs Grenda and Candy to find the glue gun, as they will be making dresses.

The five arrive at the Northwest Manor, and Mabel awes over how fancy everything in the mansion is, even going as far to touch the face of one of the butlers, amazed by the family's "fancy man." She and her friends grab a gift basket (which is full of live quails) and happily run off as Mr. and Mrs. Northwest approach Dipper and Pacifica. Preston speaks to Dipper, happy to see him and asking if he is sure that he can help fix their "problem." Dipper assures him that he can, and Nathaniel is glad to hear it. As Dipper looks around the mansion, Preston subtly whispers to his daughter, asking if Dipper is going to be wearing his current attire, and she tells her father that she will take care of it.

Pacifica gets Dipper changed into a tuxedo and helps him tie his bow tie. Dipper asks her "who [her family] thinks [they're] impressing" with all the pageantry. Pacifica answers that "everyone," stating that "high standards are what make the Northwest family great." Dipper fiddles with a tassel on one of the portraits of Pacifica's answers as she walks away, and Dipper smugly replies that he "thought it was lying about founding the town." Pacifica sharply tells him to stop touching the tassel.

Meanwhile, Grenda finds the guest list for the party and calls Mabel and Candy over to look. They look through the book, noticing Marius von Fundshauser, an attractive young baron from Austria. Mabel expresses her interest in Marius, but Grenda suggests that he might be out of their league. Candy agrees, and the three decide to make a deal that none of them will flirt with Marius. They all agree and then they start laughing nervously.

Pacifica has brought Dipper to the room with the most ghostly activity. Dipper examines the journal, stating that the Northwests' ghost is probably only a "category one" on a ten-category scale. Dipper looks at a picture of a lumberjack above the fireplace. Lightning strikes, and when the light fades, the picture is empty. He tries to get Pacifica's attention, but she screams. He turns to see her staring in horror at the taxidermy animal heads mounted on the wall, which are now oozing blood. They begin chanting "ancient sins" in a deep voice, and items start floating in the air. Pacifica asks Dipper what is going on, and Dipper, having realized what is going on, tells her that the ghost is a category ten. The animals continue to chant and Pacifica grabs Dipper by the shoulder and begins to shake him, asking him what they should do. Dipper assures her that things can't get any worse, and suddenly the flames in the fireplace grow large again. The two hide under a table, and a skeleton emerges from the fire place and grows flesh, revealing itself to be a lumberjack with a flaming hair and beard. The ghost states that he "[smells] a Northwest," and Pacifica tells Dipper to "read through [his] dumb book" to find a solution. Dipper consults his Journal for guidance, but the only advice he can find under the section on category ten ghosts is "pray for mercy." The table then floats up, revealing them. The ghost spots the two, and they scream.

Back at the party, the Northwest's butler opens the main doors to let the first of the party guests arrive. Preston greets the group, consisting of "duchesses, sultans, and sportsman... And, reclusive one hundred and two year-old mayor of Gravity Falls, Mayor Befufftlefumpter."

Soon after, Marius arrives, and Grenda stops Mabel (who is basically about to throw herself at him) from getting to Marius, reminding her that they made a truce. Candy agrees, and then asks Grenda to go get them "some fancy napkins." After Grenda has left, Candy tells Mabel that she is not sure she can keep the truce, as Marius is "too adorable." Mabel agrees, but wonders how they can woo him. Candy suggests they flirt as a team, and when Mabel asks about Grenda, Candy expresses that she loves Grenda, but that her aggressive flirting style might scare him off.

Meanwhile, Grenda tells a young man that he has something on his shirt. He looks at his shirt and she flicks his nose, laughing and then angrily calling him a loser for being gullible.

Elsewhere, Pacifica and Dipper run through the courtyard and back into the manor, all in an attempt to escape the ghost. While skimming the Journal as they flee, Dipper realizes that a category ten ghost can be defeated by entrapping it within a silver mirror. He spots a silver mirror in a room, and runs for it but Pacifica stops him, saying that if he runs into the room that he will track mud onto her parents' favorite carpet pattern. Almost not believing what he's hearing, Dipper insists that he go in, but Pacifica firmly states that they cannot. Dipper angrily asks Pacifica why she is so afraid of her parents, but she insists that he wouldn't understand. Dipper tries to get in the room and Pacifica tries to restrain him and the two end up falling back into another room.

They end up in a dark room filled with old objects draped in sheets and stored away. Dipper wonders where they are, and Pacifica tells him that she never knew this room existed. She happily states that the ghost doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight, but as she says this, the ghost emerges from a painting behind her and attacks her. Dipper spots a silver mirror that has been knocked over onto the floor, picks it up and points it at the ghost, trapping it before it can get to Pacifica. The force pushes Pacifica and Dipper out of the window and down a hill. They recover and Pacifica asks if Dipper caught the ghost. He looks at the mirror to find that the ghost has been trapped. Pacifica hugs him in gratitude, only to soon separate in awkwardness once she realizes just what it is she's doing.

After Dipper is congratulated by Pacifica's parents, he gets ready to depart. Pacifica asks why he isn't going to stay since he's at "the world's best party," playfully calling him "dummy." Dipper insists that he needs to exorcise the ghost and cockily walks away, walking straight into a pillar in the process. He and Pacifica laugh and then he departs. As he walks away, Dipper happily states that Pacifica isn't as bad as he thought she was. Then he hears the ghost begin to laugh from inside the mirror. He looks at the ghost, asking him why he is so smug, and the ghost says that Dipper reminds him of himself one hundred fifty years ago. The ghost then tells Dipper his story:

When he was alive, the ghost was of one of a group of lumberjacks who were previously promised attendance to the Northwests' yearly parties in exchange for their help with building Northwest Manor. After years of hard work and sacrifice the mansion was finished, but the Northwests broke their promise, locked the townspeople out of their party, and he was subsequently killed in a mudslide that was a result of the construction. Cursing the Northwest family with his dying breath, the lumberjack swore to return in one hundred fifty years and exact vengeance on them unless they keep their promise. A curse that Nathaniel Northwest heard, wrote down, and has since been passed down through the Northwest family until now.

When Dipper discovers this, he angrily confronts the Northwests, accusing them of manipulating him to catch the ghost so they could escape justice, and choosing to endanger everyone rather than break the curse themselves, despite knowing exactly how to do so. Preston points out his high status, saying that the elite who were attending his party would not attend if they were forced to mingle with common folk. Outraged, Dipper states that he was right about the Northwests all along and then accuses Pacifica as being just as bad as her parents, saying that she's "just another link in the world's worst chain." Pacifica she tries to explain herself but her father rings his bell and she stops. He tells Dipper to enjoy the party, as it will be the last time he and his "kind" ever attend. Dipper then leaves angrily to dispose of the ghost.

Outside, Dipper is reading from his Journal to perform an exorcism on the ghost. The ghost tries to reason with Dipper and though Dipper expresses his sympathy, he explains that his sister is attending the party so he can't let the ghost go free. The ghost concedes and makes one last request, asking Dipper if he would let him see the trees one final time. Dipper agrees, and holds up the mirror towards the trees. The ghost begins to laugh and the metal of the mirror becomes hot. Stunned by the sudden, intense heat, Dipper drops the mirror, shattering it and freeing the ghost, who then flies off to the mansion.

Back at the party, Mabel and Candy commence their plan to win over Marius. Mabel begins flirting with Marius, but after accidentally mistaking his Austrian heritage for Australian, she has Candy tag herself out. Candy pays Marius a complement and Mabel then chimes in. The two begin arguing about whose turn it is, and Marius awkwardly walks away. Grenda then approaches, having seen the entire display, and demands to know why they were breaking the truce. Candy and Mabel explain that Grenda's flirting can come off as overly aggressive. Grenda, highly offended, grabs Marius' attention, tells him he has something on his shirt, and then flicks his nose when he looks down. The three girls then angrily walk away from each other, leaving Marius alone, touching his nose and blushing.

Elsewhere, Preston is with the rest of the guests, preparing to make a toast when suddenly all of the glasses shatter. The ghost appears, stating that he shall have his revenge and Mayor Befufftlefumpter happily greets the ghost, who he thinks is the Grim Reaper, saying that he had been wondering when he would arrive. The ghost cuts him off, striking him with a beam of some sort of magic that turns him into wood. The wooden mayor falls to his side in his wheelchair and the guests are thrown into a panic.

The ghost brings the taxidermy animals to life, and the animals chase the party-goers as the ghost turns them all into wood. Dipper rushes back to the mansion; he opens the door to find a man crawling towards the exit, holding a hand out to Dipper as he begs for help, and then turning into wood. Dipper yelps in fright and upon hearing the ghost say that the only way to break the curse is for a Northwest to open the gates to the townsfolk, realizes that he must find Pacifica. Dipper returns to the hidden room where they had trapped the ghost earlier that night, where he finds Pacifica sitting alone, flicking a flashlight on and off. He quickly explains that the ghost escaped and is turning everyone into wood and that "he just started rhyming, for some reason." Dipper grabs her hand to lead her away, saying that he needs her help, but she pushes him away. She tells him that she now knows why the room is hidden away, and she shows him portraits of her ancestors committing bad deeds, explaining that the room is "a painted record of every horrible thing that [her] family's ever done." Upset that she lied to Dipper because she was too afraid to disobey her parents, she says that he was right about her being "just another link in the world's worst chain." A guilty Dipper apologizes and assures her that she that she doesn't have to be like her parents and that it's not too late to change. They are interrupted by the ghost, however, who shouts that it is in fact, too late.

Dipper and Pacifica run back to the main room, where they see that all of the party guests, including Mabel and her friends, have been turned into wood. Dipper grabs a silver, reflective surface to attempt to trap the ghost again, but he is struck by the ghost's magic and turned into wood (as he turns into wood he makes the same posture as what the Shape Shifter in "Into the Bunker" predicted that his "final form" would be).

Pacifica becomes enraged at this and yells to the ghost that she will open the gates if he will turn everyone back to normal. The ghost agrees but just as Pacifica is about to pull the lever to open the gates, her parents emerge from a trap door. Having heard what Pacifica said to the ghost, he tells her not to open the gates, as they "have a reputation to uphold," then and tells her to get into the "panic room" with her mother, the butler and him. Pacifica hesitates, and her father starts ringing the bell to make her get in. After looking at Dipper and struggling to disobey her parents, she opens the gate, causing the townsfolk to flood in. Pleased that Pacifica upheld her ancestors' promise, the ghost restores the people to normal and leaves peacefully, touched by Pacifica's kindness.

As the townsfolk enter the mansion they begin the celebrate, causing havoc in the process, and a horrified Preston objects, trying to calm them down.

Meanwhile, Grenda, Candy and Mabel, who have recovered, all apologize to each other and make up with a hug. Marius then interrupts, asking to talk to Grenda. He tells her that he can't stop thinking about her, and that he admires her bold and daring personality. He asks Grenda if he can give her his phone number, and Grenda, stating that she doesn't have a phone, happily tells him that he can write his number on her face. Mabel and Candy stare on at the spectacle, equal parts happy and shocked. Candy says that she is going to be bridesmaid at the future wedding, and Mabel quickly adds that she will be "co-bridesmaid."

Afterwards, Dipper and Pacifica are seen standing together enjoying each other's company. Dipper states that if her parents are mad at her after the party (seeing as how it is now much more exciting), then they're idiots. Pacifica tells him to enjoy it while it lasts, as her parents will probably make sure that this doesn't happen the following year. Seeing that she is disappointed, Dipper cheers Pacifica up by pointing out that they are standing on her parent's favorite carpet pattern with their muddy shoes. Pacifica stomps her feet on the carpet to make it muddier, and she and Dipper start laughing and throwing things on the carpet to make it dirties. Now happy, Pacifica tells him that she needs to go and find someone to clean up their mess.

Once Pacifica has left, Dipper is approached by Old Man McGucket, who seems to be back to his old, crazy self when suddenly he grabs Dipper by the arm and pulls him aside. McGucket quickly becomes serious, putting on his glasses and he explains to Dipper that he has repaired the laptop and believes that something big is going to happen soon, suggesting that it may be "the end times." Dipper sighs, not wanting to have to deal with this after what he has just been through. He tells McGucket that they will talk about it tomorrow, and that they should just enjoy the party in the meantime. Dipper walks away, leaving McGucket alone and worried.

McGucket pulls out the laptop and opens it to reveal a countdown on the screen, now with roughly twenty one hours and thirty minutes left to go. Behind him we see that the tapestry on the wall depicts people bowing down to what appears to be Bill Cipher.

In the end credits we see a couple, two of the original guests that Preston let in earlier, walk into a coat closet to share an intimate moment. They close the door, and the man says, "You can drop the act, Trigger." They take off their disguises, revealing that they are inf act Agent Trigger and Agent Powers, the two FBI agents from "Scary-oke" who had come to Gravity Falls to investigate the anomalies that had been detected there. Powers asks Trigger for his phone, but Trigger states that he doesn't have it. Powers insists that he gave Trigger the phone, and the two proceed to argue like a married couple. Suddenly the door opens and Tambry walks in. Seeing Powers and Trigger, who is still wearing a dress, she appears to be unfazed, stating that she's "not even gonna ask," and leaves.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Mark Rizzo
 * Jeff Rowe
 * Alex Hirsch
 * Directed by:
 * Matt Braly
 * Storyboarded by:
 * Emmy Cicierega
 * Alonso Ramirez Ramos
 * Vaughn Tada
 * Luke Weber
 * With the Voice Talents of:
 * Kristen Schaal as Mabel Pines
 * Jason Ritter as Dipper Pines
 * Brad Abrell as Agent Trigger
 * Jackie Buscarino as Pacifica Northwest
 * Matt Chapman as Marius von Fundshauser
 * Jennifer Coolidge as Lazy Susan
 * Jessica DiCicco as Tambry
 * Carl Faruolo as Grenda
 * Keith Ferguson as Deputy Durland
 * Nathan Fillion as Preston Northwest
 * Will Forte as Tyler
 * Nick Offerman as Agent Powers
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Sheriff Blubs and the Ghost of Northwest Manor
 * Gregg Turkington as Toby Determined
 * Niki Yang as Candy Chiu
 * Additional Voices:
 * Alex Hirsch as Old Man McGucket and Mayor Befufftlefumpter
 * as Soos Ramirez and Stan Pines (credits only)
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as the Basketball Player
 * Kari Wahlgren as Mrs. Northwest
 * John DiMaggio as Manly Dan (uncredited)
 * Casting by:
 * Sara Jane Sherman

Character revelations

 * Pacifica is afraid of her parents. This is because they're revealed to be very controlling of what she does, making sure that she's in line with their standards.
 * Preston is referred to by name for the first time.
 * Pacifica's middle name is Elise.
 * Pacifica was once crowned "Miss Gravity Falls."
 * Dipper and Pacifica have formed a friendship as of this episode.
 * The Northwest family has a secret history of fraudulence and deception, besides the town founder conspiracy, possibly including a connection to Bill Cipher.
 * Grenda does not have a phone.
 * Dipper is now known as a sense of authority and is now taken seriously by the town unlike in "Headhunters" and "Dipper vs. Manliness" where he is mocked by the town and by the police.

Series continuity

 * Since the defeat of the Blind Eye Society in "Society of the Blind Eye," the citizens of Gravity Falls finally begin to notice the paranormal activity in their town, as Dipper's defeat of a Giant Vampire Bat makes the headlines of the Gravity Falls Gossiper.
 * Dipper mentions the Northwest family's false claims of being descendants of the town's founder, as revealed in "Irrational Treasure."
 * Dipper uses a blacklight to read  Journal 3' s invisible ink first discovered in "Scary-oke."
 * The town's mayor is clearly dying, alluding to a cryptogram found in Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun!
 * During the ghost's attack, Dipper is frozen in a form foretold to be his last by the Shape Shifter in "Into the Bunker."
 * Robbie and Tambry continue their relationship first established in "The Love God."
 * Grenda charms Austrian royalty, hinting at the possibility of her marrying rich as revealed in a cryptogram from Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun!
 * McGucket attempts to meet with Dipper regarding his recovered memories, as a followup to the things he learned and subsequent goal to rebuild his life in "Society of the Blind Eye."
 * The laptop from "Into the Bunker" reappears, having been fixed by McGucket since the events of "Society of the Blind Eye."
 * Agent Powers and Agent Trigger discuss more readings from the Universe portal they began tracking in "Scary-oke."
 * The episode's ending cryptogram reiterates the cryptogram hidden within the show's title sequence.
 * Moreover, it also foreshadows the title of the next episode.
 * The giant vampire bat which Dipper was fighting in the newspaper image is a reference to one of the creatures shown in Journal #3 in the first episode.
 * McGucket warns Dipper of "the end times." This may have been hinted in "Into the Bunker" when the gang discovers supplies for an upcoming disaster in the Author's bunker.

Trivia

 * A painting of a llama in the secret room of the Northwest Mansion is briefly shown. Whether or not this is related to the Llama symbol on the Cipher Wheel remains questionable.
 * This is the first episode to use a shortened version of the theme song.
 * This is the first episode to be listed with two different titles.
 * According to Alex Hirsch, this episode was never supposed to be named Northwest Mansion Noir.
 * In addition, the second name of the episode, Northwest Mansion Noir, was later changed to the regular Northwest Mansion Mystery name on the Watch Disney XD website, after the mistake.
 * For one shot while Grenda is telling Marius he has something on his shirt, he actually does. It appears to be some yellow substance, possibly cheese or mustard.
 * Neither Stan Pines nor Soos Ramirez appears in this episode, although Alex Hirsch is credited for voicing both.
 * This is the first full-length episode in which Stan does not appear.
 * Originally Soos was meant to appear in some form, but was left out due to time constraints.
 * The timer on the laptop shows 21 hours to disaster, referencing the respective number of days between this episode and the next.
 * Throughout the episode Pacifica begins dropping her regular speech pattern, which has always been present in previous episodes, further showing character development.
 * The design for Pacifica's formal wear includes red gloves to symbolize the blood on her family's hands.
 * During the interrupted exorcism, Dipper utters the phrase "Ain't afraida noghostus," a reference to the line "I ain't afraid o' no ghosts!" from the Ghostbusters theme.

Cryptograms

 * The end credits cipher reads, "PYOL YS QH LLFDJW: UAH DNCVFW ZTCKW XKGWFFWW KNLLMRP? WISAGCXJ AR WKVISW! DPX WSDUKXR: LLH UBFO." When using the Vigenère cipher, it translates to "NEXT UP ON UTBAHC: DID ALIENS WRITE THE CONSTITUTION? CRAWDADS IN TIARAS! AND FLORIDA: THE SHOW."
 * Keyword: CURSED, found on every other window on the top floor of the Northwest mansion.
 * The page section at the end of the episode says, "5-4-23-10-15-5-10-9-4-1-16-23-4-16-19-5-19-19-11-5 5-4-23-10-15-5-10-9-4-1-16-23-4-16-19-5-19-19-11-5 5-4-23-10-15-5-10-9-4-1-16-23-4-16-19-5-19-19-11-5," which translates to "STANISNOTWHATHESEEMS STANISNOTWHATHESEEMS STANISNOTWHATHESEEMS," when put though the combined cipher.

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