‘Gravity Falls’ Fan Theories

Tumblr userdarkpoisonousloveThe shapeshifter shows Dipper the last form he will take. This form matches the one he uses when turning to wood in "Northwest Mansion Mystery." This suggests Dipper was meant to die in this shape. However, he found a way to change that outcome. He looked beneath the surface and worked to understand Pacifica.

Dipper and Pacifica start off fighting. As they get to know each other, they understand each other. Dipper being nice to Pacifica changes the ending. This action makes Pacifica open the gate and save Dipper's life.

Mrs. Gleeful appears little. When she does show up, she looks traumatized. Redditor/u/Joe_Kerr_99Gideon's power might cause this. They suggest, "After Gideon found Journal 2 and the Magic Amulet, Gideon's mother learned about it, and Gideon used the Amulet to mess with her mind."

This explains her constant fear. At one point, she said, "Just keep vacuuming," showing she is scarred by what happened with her son and trained to obey him.

WhileGravity FallsGravity Falls has a good ending. Grunkle Stan getting his memories back so fast seems strange. A YouTube video bythe Film TheoristsHe suggests Bill is likely still alive in Stan's mind, controlling him while he sleeps. Hints appear in the show, but the third journal offers the main clue:

The memory-ray's effects can be undone by showing important past images and people. Stan recovered fast because they started healing while the erasure was fresh—less than an hour after contact.

If the ray undoes effects when Stan regains memories, does that mean Bill is still inside him? The video shows other hidden clues, like Bill's backward message and the scavenger hunt for the real Bill statue. Stan and Bill share spooky similarities throughout the show. These hints prove Bill and Stan are still connected; Bill is not gone. So, though the show ended, there is more to the story.

At the show's end, Bill ends Time Baby and all the time travelers. This seems bad, but Redditor/u/ForeignCodPoses an interesting theory. In "The Time Traveler's Pig," Dipper and Mabel end up in the future where Time Baby destroys the world. Taking Time Baby out of the equation means Bill might have stopped the world's end without knowing it.

Redditor writes, "In Weirdmaggedon, Bill [ends] Time Baby. Bill saves the future, whether on purpose or not. I suspect it was intentional."

Ford erases Stan's memories and types "Stanley Pines" into the machine. Redditor /u/ToxicDragon200This user points out Stan likely only loses memories tied to that name. Stan used many names; with Mabel and Dipper, he was Stanford Pines and Grunkle Stan. Thus, memories of recent events return faster because they aren't his Stanley Pines memories.

They write, "The first memory Stan got back was Waddles. He was living as Stanford Pines, or Grunkle Stan, at that time."

Stan always presses five buttons when he types the code on the vending machine. In "Dreamscapers," Stan enters a different code. This could be a continuity error, Tumblr user anistarroseThis user suggests Stan tricks Bill. Stan creates false, fake memories, scattering them like red herrings in his mind, especially about codes and passwords.

Stan knows he can imagine anything. What if he alters his memories? This user points out Stan uses his mind to deceive Bill in the finale. Who knows what else he can do?

The "Bottomless Pit!" seems like filler, but what if it has more? Redditor /u/LapisUniverseThis user thinks the pit is not truly bottomless. They believe it is a wormhole to another dimension. They theorize, "Ford made the bottomless pit experiment. It might be a wormhole leading to a timeline where Bill does not take over."

Ford likes impossible experiments. He could have made this odd wormhole. This theory suggests events after entering the pit happen in a dimension slightly different from before.

At the show's end, characters must step on the cipher matching their symbol. Redditor /u/AydoreThis user suggests Stan's interference is not the only thing stopping Bill. What if the characters' symbols are wrong? Specifically, Dipper and Wendy's symbols. They think Wendy should have been the pine tree, making Dipper the ice.

Wendy is outdoorsy; her family are lumberjacks. A pine tree fits her well, especially since she and Dipper switch hats at the end. For Dipper, it is more subtle. He carries ice on the show, and being cool matters to his character development. They suggest:

Ice shows someone stays cool under pressure. Wendy fits this description, yet she said she feels very stressed in "Society of the Blind Eye." Becoming cool under pressure shaped Dipper's character arc.

Bill is powerful, but he likely cannot wipe out Time Baby and all time travelers easily. Redditor/u/avanish2004Suggests they only end up in that specific time, not every timeline. Someone must exist to fix time travel errors.

The writing states, "In the final episode, Bill uses his dimensional powers to destroy the universal baby and the time guys, so does he destroy them from the entire timeline? Not likely... These creatures could time travel again and again until they defeat him."

After "Sock Opera," Dipper seems free from Bill. Redditor/u/launchingdronestrikeSomeone ending a deal with Bill makes it clear. They either state, "the deal's off," or, like Ford, they put a metal plate in their head. Dipper never clearly tells Bill the deal is off, so what stops him from possessing Dipper after that?

This Redditor uses the bookDipper and Mabel's Guide to Mystery and Nonstop FunReading the book closely shows Bill likely possesses Dipper while he sleeps. Dipper writes on one page Bill writes on later. Bill needs a body to use in the human world, so he could not write in a book without Dipper: "During the pages, it starts with Dipper explaining Morse code, then falling asleep. While he sleeps, Bill Cipher writes two pages of his own in the book. Then Dipper wakes up."

Redditor/u/Crazy-CeezTheorizes thatGravity FallsGravity Falls never reaches a conclusion. When Dipper, Soos, and Wendy enter Mabel's reality bubble, they enter a different reality. Bill made many reality bubbles. The theory suggests defeating Bill means they are in a bubble, making it a fake reality: "Bill states that the bubble is his most elaborate trap, so what if them convincing Mabel to get out of the bubble with them and them defeating Bill was just a fake reality in the bubble?"

If the end is real, why does Bill let bad things happen to him? He controls time and space, yet he loses so easily. Maybe he never loses.

Mushrooms have red with white spots in manyGravity FallsThese look like normal cartoon mushrooms, but they are a specific mushroom type linked to fantasy elements. Redditor/u/IsCaptainKiddAnAdultBelieves the weirdness in Gravity Falls relates to the large number of mushrooms. They write:

These red mushrooms, amanita muscaria, are linked to gnomes and fairies in pop culture. Amanitas possess psychoactive properties, causing intense spiritual experiences and euphoria.

The town's strangeness stems from the mushrooms. Fungal colonies happen in Oregon; thus, all these red mushrooms in the show might be intentional.

Redditor/u/boi7778This user theorizes Stan and Ford do not switch places. Bill enters Ford's mind instead of Stan's. A metal plate stops Bill from entering freely, trapping him in Ford's mind where Stan's memories are gone, though not all of Bill's.

They write, "They never changed places. This is why he remembered his identity so fast; it was never erased."

Redditor/u/emery-is-lemonyThis user proposed an "it was all a dream" theory with real evidence. They suggest Dipper has cancer throughout the show. He uses Gravity Falls as escape from reality. They suggest, "All the town's oddities are Dipper seeing his challenges. Cancer, lacking friends, losing Mabel—the list continues."

Characters represent different things in Dipper's mind. He imagines a happy Mabel because she watches her brother get sick in real life. He creates Ford because Ford is who he wants to be. Bill is the cancer itself. When Dipper is possessed by Bill on the show, that shows him accepting his fate. They state, "At the end, Dipper [perishes]. Though sad... He moves past Gravity Falls. He leaves his fantasies about this strange town."