The Last Mabelcorn

"The Last Mabelcorn" is the 15th episode in the second season of Gravity Falls, and the thirty-fifth overall. It premiered on September 7, 2015.

Official overview
A new threat leads Mabel to venture into the enchanted realm of the unicorns. Meanwhile, Dipper learns an unexpected twist about the enigmatic Bill Cipher.

Synopsis
The episode starts at night, showing Dipper and Mabel sleeping in the attic. Ford is also sleeping in the basement, and begins to dream. In his dream, Ford is standing in a field of wheat, with a swing set, the ruined Stan-o-War, and the ruined Universe Portal in the background. Ford stares in shock as the wheat is flattened into the pattern of Bill Cipher.

Bill appears to Ford, calling him his "old pal." Bill says that he's been going around making deals and preparing for the "big day." Bill grabs a copy of the dimensional rift, warning Ford that he can't keep it safe forever. Bill throws the rift down to the ground, opening a red triangular portal in the sky and burning the wheat field.

Ford yells at Bill to leave his mind, telling him he has no dominion in the real world. Bill leaves through the portal, telling Ford that things can change. A series of cryptic images flash as Ford wakes up with a start, telling himself he has to warn his family.

In the morning, Dipper and Mabel try and find a board game to play, as Stan continues his pug trafficking scheme. Ford calls a family meeting, and Dipper and Mabel attend. Ford asks the twins if they know about Bill Cipher, to which the twins explain their last two encounters with him. Ford, slightly shocked, explains that Bill is growing in power. Luckily, he has a way to shield the Mystery Shack from Bill. To do so, he needs several magic ingredients, including unicorn hair.

Ford, looking through Journal 1, shows how unicorns reside in an enchanted glade, and that their hair can only be taken by the pure of heart. Mabel jumps at the opportunity, saying she loves unicorns, and she's probably the most pure of heart in the room. After no objections, Ford agrees to send Mabel on the quest, and gives her a crossbow and Journal 1 to help her. Mabel calls Candy, Grenda, and Wendy to help her out.

After Mabel leaves, Dipper asks Ford what the plan is to stop Bill. Ford escorts Dipper to the second level of the basement, where Ford has made a private study. No one, not even Stan, knows it exists. Ford tells Dipper that if Mabel can't get the unicorn hair, they'll have to block their minds from Bill instead. He shows Dipper a network of terminals, with a helmet connected to it.

Meanwhile, the girls continue their quest. Mabel, Candy, and Grenda are all excited to see a unicorn. Wendy doesn't believe in unicorns, and only agreed to come along to keep the kids from getting into any trouble. When the girls step into a magical area in the forest, Mabel consults Journal 1 and finds that to summon a unicorn, one must utter a deepest chant. After Grenda successfully does so, the glade rises up out of the ground, and the girls enter.

Inside, sitting on a rock, is the unicorn Celestabellebethabelle, apparently the last of her kind. Mabel steps forward and explains that she needs a piece of her hair to protect her family. Celestabellebethabelle examines Mabel's heart, and comes to the conclusion that she is not pure. The unicorn tells Mabel to come back when she is pure of heart. Distraught, Mabel realizes that Celestabellebethabelle was right, and that she has been "slacking off on the whole goodness department." Mabel decides to do a ton of good deeds to make up for it.

Meanwhile, Ford flicks the switch on the terminals and puts the helmet on Dipper. When Dipper asks Ford what Bill really is, Ford says no one knows for sure, but they do know that he is incredibly ancient, "older than our galaxy and far more twisted." Bill comes from an alternate dimension known as the Nightmare Realm, but he doesn't have a physical form on Earth. He is limited to interacting in people's mindscapes, but could use the dimensional rifts to open a portal straight to Earth. This is why Ford disabled the Universe Portal.

Ford tells Dipper the machine he's hooked up to is designed to scramble his thoughts to outside entities, so that they can't interact with his mindscape. The terminals show Dipper's thoughts as this process occurs. When Dipper asks Ford what his history with Bill is, Ford dodges the question and tells Dipper to focus on the machine for now.

A montage occurs as Mabel performs many good deeds throughout Gravity Falls, with sometimes unintentional results. Eventually, Mabel performs 1,000 good deeds, believing this will make her pure of heart in Celestabellebethabelle's eyes. However, the unicorn still says she is not pure of heart. She explains that doing good deeds to make yourself look better isn't pure at all, and that Mabel is literally a bad person. Mabel runs away, crying.

Outside the glade, Mabel is curled up into a ball. After the girls give Mabel an unsuccessful pep talk, Mabel tries to brainstorm good ideas to make her pure of heart. Wendy leads Candy and Grenda away from Mabel, and tells the girls that since getting the unicorn hair the nice way failed, they should now try it "the Wendy way", without Mabel's knowledge. Wendy then comes up with a plan to get Celestabellebethabelle's hair, and whispers it to Candy and Grenda.

Wendy, Candy, and Grenda break into a secret gnome tavern called Gnasty's, asking if anyone knows how to knock out a unicorn. A decrepit gnome in the back of the room tells them a bag of fairy dust will do a trick. He's willing to give the girls some, but he wants a bag of butterflies in return. The deal is done in secret since butterfly trafficking is illegal. The girls get the fairy dust from the gnome and give him the butterflies. The cops show up shortly afterwards and arrest him.

At night, Mabel is still outside the glade. Wendy, Candy, and Grenda sneak behind Mabel, throw fairy dust at Celestabellebethabelle, and knock her out. As Wendy gets a pair of scissors and prepares to cut a piece of unicorn hair, Mabel storms into the glade and yells at Wendy. Mabel takes the scissors, telling them what they're doing is wrong. The unicorn then wakes up, sees Mabel holding the scissors, and goes into a rage. She tells Mabel she will never be pure of heart as Mabel tries to explain herself.

Suddenly, two male unicorns appear from behind the forest and admonish "C-Beth" for pulling the pure-of-heart scam again. They explain to the girls that unicorns can't really see into your heart, and that C-Beth was lying. She tells every traveller they're not pure of heart to get humans to leave her alone. Mabel yells, saying that C-Beth is even worse of a person than she is. C-Beth admits that what the other unicorns are saying is true, but gloats in the girls' faces, telling them they can't do anything about it.

Mabel yells and punches C-Beth right in the nose. As the girls yell for a fight, C-Beth is more than willing to oblige. The two parties yell and run at each other, getting ready for an epic fight sequence.

As Dipper is hooked up to the machine, Ford is asleep at his desk. The machine shows that Dipper is thinking of using it on Ford to reveal what his past is with Bill. After a brief internal struggle, Dipper puts the helmet on Ford. Bill himself appears on the screen. Several images flash on the screen, including one showing a young Ford in his mindscape making a deal with Bill, calling him "a friend." Ford wakes from his sleep and stands up, staring at Dipper. His glasses are shining so that his pupils are obscured. He angrily tells Dipper he shouldn't have done that.

Ford takes the helmet off and throws it across the room, taking shades off of the walls. Posters and sculptures of Bill are revealed all over the walls, as if the room was a shrine to him. Dipper takes the rift and shields it from Ford, who begins walking towards Dipper and yells at him to give him the rift. Dipper frantically asks questions to Ford about his involvement with Bill, as he picks up a Memory Eraser and points it at Ford, prepared to wipe Bill out of Ford's mind. As Ford walks closer and closer, Dipper fires the Memory Eraser, the shot hitting Ford's glasses, bouncing across the room, and hitting the terminals, destroying them.

Ford picks up Dipper, telling him to calm down. His glasses stop shining, revealing he has normal pupils. Dipper apologizes for almost erasing Ford's mind, which Ford accepts. He reveals his backstory with Bill to Dipper, saying Bill tricked him when he was younger. Long ago, he had hit a roadblock in his investigation of Gravity Falls. He found ancient writing in a cave, incantations of summoning Bill. When Ford read them aloud and he went to sleep, Bill appeared in his mindscape. He lied to Ford, telling him that he chose one great mind a century to inspire. Bill subsequently made a deal with Ford. Bill would help Ford with his research, but Bill would have free access to Ford's mind.

At first, it seemed like Bill was helpful. Although McGucket was wary of him, the Universe Portal was completed with the guidance of Bill. But during the test run of the Portal, McGucket was accidentally transported through the Portal and found Bill's true colors. Ford confronted Bill, and Bill admitted he lied to him. He said the Portal would act as a gateway to the Nightmare Realm, so that Bill and his fellow demons could show Earth "how to party". Panicked, Ford shut down the portal for good, even though Bill said that wouldn't change anything.

Ford hid the instructions from his journals so no one could finish what Bill started. However, the dimensional rifts could be the next best thing for Bill to enter through. Once Bill gets his hands on the rift, it would mean the end of Gravity Falls and the world.

Back on the main floor of the Shack, Ford tells Dipper that there will be no more secrets between them. They both will do anything to stop Bill. Dipper realizes they have no way to Bill-proof themselves, as he broke the machine. Suddenly, Mabel and the girls appear, covered in various unicorn fluids. Mabel managed to get some unicorn hair and a treasure chest full of unicorn goodies. Ford is ecstatic, telling Mabel she is a good person. Mabel tears up and says thanks, but also says she realized that morality is relative. As if on cue, Stan runs into the room and takes the money from the treasure chest.

As the credits roll, Ford finishes the Bill-proof barrier. Anyone inside the Mystery Shack will be immune to Bill's mind tricks. Bill is revealed to be watching the Shack in the Nightmare Realm. He comes to the conclusion that if his next pawn won't be inside the Shack, it'll have to be outside it. His eye flashes between all the citizens of Gravity Falls as he searches for his next target.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Alex Hirsch


 * Directed by:
 * Matt Braly


 * Storyboarded by:
 * Matt Braly
 * Sabrina Cotugno
 * Miguel Puga
 * Vaughn Tada
 * Dana Terrace


 * With the Voice Talents of
 * Kristen Schaal as Mabel
 * Jason Ritter as Dipper
 * Alex Hirsch as Grunkle Stan
 * Linda Cardellini as Wendy
 * Sam Marin as Celestabellebethabelle
 * J.K. Simmons as Ford Pines
 * Carl Faruolo as Grenda
 * Niki Yang as Candy Chiu
 * Gregg Turkington as Toby Determined (uncredited)
 * Additional voices
 * Matt Chapman
 * Alex Hirsch as Bill, Gnomes and Young Fiddleford
 * Kari Wahlgren as Mabel's toy unicorn


 * Casting by:
 * Sara Jane Sherman

Character revelations

 * Ford's middle name is Filbrick, after his father.
 * Ford has a metal plate inside his head.
 * Mabel's first word (according to her) was "unicorn."
 * Stan can speak Spanish.
 * Mabel has been banned from a petting zoo for taping a traffic cone to a horse's head.
 * Wendy stopped believing in unicorns when she was five years old.
 * Bill is much older than anything in our universe.
 * Bill and Ford both designed the portal together.
 * Mabel loves unicorns.

Series continuity

 * Ford's Electron Carpet first seen in "Carpet Diem" returns.
 * The interdimensional rift revealed to be created by the portal in "Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons" appears.
 * Stan is seen pug trafficking, first mentioned in "The Stanchurian Candidate".
 * Dipper and Mabel recall their defeat of Bill in "Dreamscaperers" and "Sock Opera".
 * The door to Ford's private study from "Not What He Seems" appears.
 * Scenes from "Tourist Trapped", "Into the Bunker", and "Not What He Seems" appear in Dipper's thoughts.
 * Dipper still loves the song Disco Girl from "Dipper vs. Manliness".
 * One of Dipper's projected thoughts read "I miss Tyrone", who was the first Dipper clone from "Double Dipper."
 * Dipper's thought "Who stole the capers?" is pertaining to a book from The Sibling Brothers series called "The Case of the Caper-Case Caper" which he was seen reading in "Carpet Diem". Another book from the same series, "The Telltale Fable of the Unstable Table", can be seen in this episode on top of Dipper while he sleeps (implying he fell asleep while reading it).
 * Ford's initial trust of Bill could briefly be seen in one section of the Journal 3 entry seen in "Dreamscaperers", in which Ford fondly regards Bill as a friend before being scratched out and replaced by a warning not to trust him.
 * 618 appears on Stanford's chalkboard, as well as in ambigram form (written as 918).
 * Dipper still has feelings for Wendy or still thinks about her, despite the events in "Into the Bunker."

Trivia

 * Ford could possibly die at the age of 92 with a heart attack because in the flashback Bill says don't have a heart attack. You're not 92 yet.
 * When Dipper is hooked up to Project Mentum, there are several screens with this thoughts displayed, with each line repeating as it scrolls to the right:
 * 1st Screen:
 * Oh man, I can't believe I'm with the author!
 * Gosh, I hope no one was looking!
 * Maybe if I cross my legs, no one will notice!
 * Kinda kinda hungry, but could also not eat.
 * I should really try out the president's key sometime.
 * I could probably I could probably rob a bank.
 * I miss Tyrone!
 * That red bathing suit, man!
 * Phrases scrolling across 1st screen:
 * Is my fly down?
 * Disco Girl
 * Coming through
 * Wendy!
 * 2nd Screen:
 * Ugh, this is so hard! I've been here forever!
 * Eeeny meeny miney you.
 * Is Bill indestructible?
 * What's his secret?
 * Who stole the capers?
 * Why does he have to be so mysterious about Bill?
 * I can handle the truth!
 * 3rd Screen (same phrase for all 7 lines):
 * I wonder what Great Uncle Ford is thinking
 * 4th Screen (same phrase for all 7 lines):
 * Use the machine, it'll show you his thoughts!
 * 5th Screen (same phrase for all 7 lines):
 * Just a peek!
 * 6th Screen (same phrase for all 7 lines):
 * He wants your help he just doesn't know it
 * 7th Screen (the two phrases alternate lines):
 * Yes, you are!
 * Astute, I would say, good observation Dipper!
 * When Dipper puts the helmet on Stanford, his thoughts are projected in six lines, but they are not scrolling in the same pattern as with Dipper. They pull apart to reveal an image of Bill. The lines are:
 * I can't tell him, he's not ready.
 * The grand unified theory of weirdness.
 * I miss dimension 52.
 * I'm sorry Fiddleford
 * Crampelter
 * The people Bill shows are, in order:
 * Old Man McGucket; Candy; Pacifica Northwest; Tyler Cutebiker; Lazy Susan; Manly Dan; Robbie; Lolph; Dundgren; Sheriff Blubs; Deputy Durland; Toby Determined; Preston Northwest; Sprott; Blendin Blandin; Shandra Jimenez; Soos; Gorney; Tambry; Bud Gleeful; Grenda; Lee; Priscilla Northwest; Mr. Valentino; Mrs. Valentino; Wendy. [Once it reaches Wendy, the list repeats itself starting with Old Man McGucket and ending at Bud Gleeful before cutting to the end cryptogram page.]
 * Mabel's' good deed list includes: save snail, plant tree, make Stan smile, donate blood, guide ducks, bezazzle Nathan, tip Susan, old lady biz, massage Waddles, sponsor clown, water tulips, take out trash, wash Soos, scratch Waddles, polish Tyler's boots, abolish electoral college, clean gutter, polish shack floor, and mowed Dan's lawn. Later, after being rejected by the unicorn a second time, Mabel also writes down: sharpen Stan's pen, fill honey jar, knit Soos a scarf, and brush cat.

Cryptograms

 * The cryptogram in the episode's end page is 15-10 21-15-8-16-19-6'5 17-23-11-19 16-19 10-19-19-20-5 23 8-23-1-10, 22-19 5-3-6-19 4-9 13-10-9-1 1-16-15-21-16 5-15-20-19 25-9-3'6-19 9-10 which, when decoded using the Combined Cipher, reads: IN CIPHER'S GAME HE NEEDS A PAWN, BE SURE TO KNOW WHICH SIDE YOU'RE ON.
 * The cryptogram in the end credits is S UPYTYH DIP GAVO QETHI MCBK OHK XEXJB VRW YOUWCHIA VRSV OQ LRDIA, which, when decoded with the Vigenère key SCHMENDRICK, translates to A SIMPLE MAN WITH EAGER EARS MAY TRUST THE WHISPERS THAT HE HEARS. The key is found on a stump when Candy, Grenda, and Wendy enter the Gnome's tavern.


 * When Dipper is looking through The Cipher File under "Mind Scape" there is a cryptogram that reads " & ." Once decoded using the Author's symbol substitution cipher, it reads "BLACK & WHITE."
 * The Binary code displayed on the television screen does not decode into anything yet.
 * Codes on Stanford's chalkboard (separated by semicolon means they were written above each other):
 * think
 * liar
 * on; ap; es
 * nr
 * msd
 * __te; py
 * 6 1 345 12 89 10 11 1