A Gravity Falls Goodbye
Today is finally here. Today is the day we take back the falls; the day Gravity Falls ends. For a two seasoned show it has taken a long time to get here but every episode has been building towards today’s series finale. In honor of the series finale, series creator Alex Hirsch, voice stars Jason Ritter (“Dipper”) and Kristen Schaal (“Mabel”) and composer Brad Joseph Breeck hosted a press event where they had a table read of the very first episode as well as a Q&A.
Breeck, Schaal [Mabel], Hirsch [Grunkle Stan], and Ritter [Dipper]
Although the show is coming to an end, it was not cancelled. Hirsch’s plan from the beginning was to have a finite show. It went as far back as his original pitch, “the craziest thing is that they let me do it,” he said. He had always envisioned the ending of the show, but that didn’t mean writing it was easy. “Endings are really difficult,” Hirsch explained. “Whether it’s the ending of a TV show, the last day of school, the ending of a job or a relationship, we don’t like endings. Endings are scary. I think finales are incredibly hard to write. I’d say the hardest thing to write in television is a pilot, and the second-hardest thing to write is a finale.”
These two have come a long way since the pilot.
Ritter and Schaal both addressed how they felt about their characters. Dipper, is a “full character,” as Ritter put it. “I feel like there are a lot of shows that can do an idea of a 12-year-old or something like that… But there was a lot of Dipper that was just me, so it felt perfectly suited to me.” Schaal also felt a kindred spirit towards her role, “Of all the characters I’ve played, Mabel is the most like me,” she said. “Every time I went into the booth, no matter what mood I was in, to record Mabel, as soon as I said the first line… it was just instant access to a well of joy — that I guess I always have but don’t have an excuse to tap into. Mabel, that was where she came from, and I would always leave in such a good mood.”
Of course, the question of whether or not Hirsch would return to the town Gravity Falls in the future was asked. “It’s weird, we do live in this strange age of repeats and retreads and re-quels and prequels, and anything people like enough to bring back they will bring back eventually,” Hirsch stated. “I mean, I do love these characters, and that’s part of why I didn’t want to continue [the show] forever. I love these characters enough that I wouldn’t want to take them to a place I didn’t believe in.”That being said, it’s not inconceivable that one day we may return to this world, because they are such rich characters, and with a little bit of time away from it, it’s possible there might be a special or something. Maybe, maybe not… But I think when people watch the final episode, they will see threads in that episode that one could imagine could potentially be addressed in some future form, whether that’s in a comic, whether that’s in a special, or whether that’s in something 100 years after I die and robots reconstruct the show and start remaking it themselves. Right now, I am content with where it is, but I can’t say what Future Alex might do, so we’ll just have to see.”
When asked where the characters would be in 20 years, Hirsch made sure to clarify, “That question has the assumption built into it that all these characters survive the finale. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the last episode.” This is beginning to sound like the conclusion will not be Mabel’s idea of a happy ending.
So here we are at the final day of summer for the Pine Twins. Many fans have been dreading the day the mystery of Gravity Falls would reach the end but none of them will deny that it has been a great adventure. With a video game [including additions in Disney Infinity], multiple books, tons of fan art, it is clear this show means a lot to a great many people of many ages. “I think no matter what we do, it’s going to be hard for fans, because they love the show. I’d say one thing to keep in mind is that I did this because I love the show… I’m so grateful for the fan community that does exist. I’m grateful for their fan work. Every time I see it, it makes me smile. So as long as they’re making it, I will be seeing it, and I will be appreciating it. I will be their fan now, if that’s any kind of consolation,” Hirsch added.
That leaves one final question, how will it end? How can the Pine Family hope to quash Bill Cipher’s reign?