The Stanchurian Candidate

"The Stanchurian Candidate" is the 14th episode in the second season of Gravity Falls, and the thirty-fourth overall. It premiered on August 24, 2015.

Official overview
When Grunkle Stan decides to run for mayor, Dipper and Mabel have their work cut out for them trying to turn their gaffe-prone uncle into the perfect candidate.

Synopsis
The episode begins with Stan waking up with a back pain and putting and wearing his slippers, which are filled with milk. He finds a note written by Mabel saying that she had no other place to put her milk. He then goes to the kitchen and switches on the light but the bulb explodes. Stan then finds an empty light bulb box with a note from Dipper, saying that he used all the lights to make a planetarium suit for Soos.

Stan immediately visits a grocery store to buy a new light bulb pack. Robbie, Lee, Nate and Tambry show up behind him but change their mind, saying there's an old person in front of them and making fun of Stan. Stan retaliates by declaring he was going to shoplift most of the light bulbs. However, the cashier hears this and calls security. Stan takes out his smoke bomb and tries to disappear, but the bomb is expired. Stan arrives home with bruises, and luckily, the light bulb pack.

Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught, as Ford has already replaced the bulb with one of his own invention. Infuriated, Stan sits down to watch TV. The local news reports that Mayor Befufftlefumpter has died, and there will be a meeting to decide the candidates that afternoon.

In the town hall, everyone has gathered. Sheriff Blubs reveals the requirements to run for mayor: you must be able to cast a shadow, count to ten, and throw your hat into the provided hoop. Bud Gleeful throws his hat into the ring, to the shock of the townspeople. He begins to speak, believing his victory is assured, until Stan throws his own hat in, challenging Bud. Dipper and Mabel don't think Stan could run against Bud for mayor.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Jeff Rowe
 * Josh Weinstein
 * Alex Hirsch


 * Directed by:
 * Matt Braly


 * Storyboarded by:
 * Sabrina Cotugno
 * Dana Terrace
 * Luke Weber


 * Additional Written Material by:
 * Michael Rianda


 * With the Voice Talents of
 * Kristen Schaal as Mabel
 * Jason Ritter as Dipper
 * Alex Hirsch as Grunkle Stan and Soos
 * Cecil Baldwin as Tad Strange
 * Jennifer Coolidge as Lazy Susan
 * Keith Ferguson as Deputy Durland
 * Linda Cardellini as Wendy
 * John DiMaggio as Manly Dan
 * Will Forte as Cute Biker
 * Georgia Gillespie as Girl with Bow
 * Stephen Root as Bud Gleeful
 * Thurop Van Orman as Li'l Gideon
 * T.J. Miller as Robbie Valentino
 * J.K. Simmons as Ford
 * Gregg Turkington as Toby Determined
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Sheriff Blubs
 * Niki Yang as Candy


 * Additional Voices:
 * Dee Bradley Baker
 * Matt Chapman
 * Alex Hirsch
 * Kevin Michael Richardson as Ghost-Eyes
 * Kari Wahlgren as Shandra Jimenez
 * Casting by:
 * Sara Jane Sherman

Character revelations

 * Mayor Befufftlefumpter's full name is Eustace "Huckabone" Befufflefumpter.
 * Gideon kept a page from either Journal 2 or Journal 3.
 * Tyler's full name is Tyler Cutebiker.
 * Some of the crimes Stan Pines has committed include snacks evasion, pickpocketing, woodpecker baiting, impersonating a dentist, general indecency, golf cart theft, bingo fraud, and telling overlong jokes, among others.

Series continuity

 * Robbie and Tambry continue their relationship first established in "The Love God."
 * The death of Mayor Befufftlefumpter was first referenced in a cryptogram found in Dipper's and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop Fun!.
 * Gideon's imprisonment in adult prison from "Gideon Rises" is mentioned.
 * Stan references his true identity as an unnamed grifter first revealed in "Not What He Seems."
 * Journal 2's entries on the Mystic amulet from "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" and the Blood Rain from "Little Dipper" make an appearance.
 * Bud's distaste for the supernatural from "Society of the Blind Eye" is referenced.
 * The Manliness Tester from "Dipper vs. Manliness" reappears.
 * Gideon's infatuation with Mabel from "The Hand That Rocks the Mabel" returns.
 * Stan's attempts at teaching a bear to drive seen in "Bottomless Pit!" are referenced.

Trivia

 * The plot for this episode was accidentally given away by both the iTunes and YouTube releases of "A Tale of Two Stans." This error was later fixed.
 * The Watch Disney XD release had a similar error. It said "Grunkle Stan decides to run for mayor," which would be the Watch Disney XD description for this episode, but it appeared on the Watch Disney XD stream for "A Tale of Two Stans." It was later changed to match the plot of "A Tale of Two Stans."
 * In anticipation for the episode, a Twitter account (@StanPines4Mayor) was created for Stan's platform.
 * In addition, a website created.
 * When reciting an incantation to possess his father, the spell is something intelligible. When played backwards you can hear he's actually saying, "Spooky evil spells! Evil spells! Spooky evil spells! Spooky evil spells! Spooky evil spells!"
 * Stanford says that the tie was originally conceived of for a different candidate: "A long time ago, I designed a prototype for Ronald Reagan's masters".

Cryptograms

 * The cryptogram in the end credits is CWZSQVQBEWZSQVQBEWZSQVQMPHKD'MZ!, which, when decoded with the Vigenère key WORKINIT, translates to GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT'EM! The key can be seen in the upper left corner of a newspaper.
 * The cryptogram in the episode's end page is 22-19 1-23-6-25 9-18 1-16-9-11 25-9-3 22-19-12-15-4-4-12-19/22-15-17 8-6-9-22-12-19-11-5 21-23-10 5-4-23-6-4 9-3-4 1-15-20-20-12-19 which, when decoded using the Combined Cipher, reads: BE WARY OF WHOM YOU BELITTLE, BIG PROBLEMS CAN START OUT WIDDLE.

Стэньчжурский кандидат