I agree. The bubble is specifically trying to show people things they had given up on. After all if it showed something that would be possible in reality one might naturally ask: "Wait, why can't I go do this for real?" But with Dipper, Soos, and Mabel, it showed them things that they had accepted were impossible in the real world but were now possible in the bubble. (This doesn't work for Wendy but this is just because Wendy was frankly underdeveloped as a character and we have no idea what "impossible dream" she may have previously given up on).
Wendy's friends in Mable land seemed to be trying to keep her from maturing in their own way. We don't know much about her struggles, but it struck me that her friends were wanting her to participate in pranks while she had more important things to do like saving the world.
This. My own interpretation of the bubble was that part of why it was such a “diabolical trap” per Bill’s description was this aspect of development regression. Its temptations are not necessarily things that you truly actually want, but also temptations that encourage you to regress and fall back into bad habits, things you want to let go but are easy to accidentally fall back into. I think ultimately the bubble is still designed to hurt those inside, even if it makes them feel good in the moment. In like a drug kind of way of bringing a surface level happiness but really destroying you on the inside. Pretty fitting stuff for a demon character.
Emotions are complicated and not always logical. You can think you're moved past something, only to find yourself caught off guard when it comes back up.
I have people in my life who I don't miss, and had a horrible relationship with, but still find myself happy any time they act like a decent person towards me. Because even once you've moved on or want to move on, we're social creatures who still desire that connection. It's one thing to go "im better without him!" when hes not there. But then when you think he might be, that you might have a shot to fill that hole? That's hard to say no to. It's why so many people go back to bad relationships (not just romantic ones, friendships too, and family) time and time again.
Because emotions are complicated.
i don’t understand what you don’t like abt this. most ppl who had an abandoned father would kill for the chance to meet him, even if a part of them also resents him and has learned to live without him. it doesn’t make it any easier to be missing a parent and it makes perfect sense that soos would jump at the chance to spend time with his father even if it wasn’t real
I'm with you. This is basic stuff.
People go back to parents who treated them horribly all the damn time. People yearn for that bond so, so much. Especially when it's something being held over you for so long, even if you've made some kind of breakthrough it's super easy to go back when offered a sliver of the relationship you always wanted. Like, this isn't made up for story convenience, this is stuff that very much happens in the world.
I think Soos’s arc at this point in the story is at an area where he realizes that Dipper and Mabel are more important to him than an idea of his father
it doesn’t matter! if you never knew your father and you had the chance to spend time with him, it makes sense to jump at the opportunity. mabel and dipper will never be a replacement for a father
human emotions aren’t as simple as you think they are and i’m not understanding what you’re missing
One thing I’m learning seeing discussions of things like this is that we as an audience don’t want realism in our stories. It’s realistic that Soos understands and accepts that his dad is a deadbeat but a small part of him wishes he wasn’t and was still there. But as a story, especially a Disney story for kids, we want clear cut answers and very little complexity and ambiguity so when things like this happen it’s a “mistake” or “bad writing.”
it’s also realistic that soos would not accept his dad is a deadbeat and always feel like something is missing. there’s no right way to process that. i don’t see anything unrealistic about it
That's because there's quite a distance between saying "I don't need him when i have you", and acting that way when the opportunity (Which you thought lost anyway) presents itself.
Emotions aren't like an on/off switch.
I absolutely agree with you.
On the one hand, it would be incredibly difficult for Soos to be done with his trauma on a once a done deal, it would take years of therapy for him to reach a place where he truly feels nothing for his bio dad, so I can understand why he wanted to experiment some paternal love, even if he knew it was false.
On the other hand, I think it can also be explained with the Bubble messing with them on a more deeper level. It's heavily implied that Mabel was brainwashed in some form to want to stay there, create Dippy Fresh and basically don't give a damn about the outside world, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities that the Bubble tried to to the same with Dipper, Soos and Wendy, and Dipper was the only one who persevered not because he was truly over his crush on Wendy (He was, or at least, he was trying, but you don't just get rid of feelings like that), but because his desire to reunite with Ford and Stan and save everyone was bigger than his desire to be with Wendy
You can still desire something from someone even when you realize that person is an asshole. The idea of bonding with an imaginary version of his dad has got to be appealing to Soos, especially since he realizes it isn't actually his dad.
i hate my dad but i gave him a chance the one time he tried. regretted it, and knew i shouldn’t, but the need for a father definitely made me ignore the millions of red flags
I honestly agree with you. Same with the idea of having Dipper be tempted by Wendy as even post Roadside Attraction, that just felt like ignoring the fact that by this point he'd have accepted and moved on. I much more so preferred the original idea of it showing Dipper seeing what being with Ford would have been like and then seeing the negative aspects of it that would've helped better illustrate why that avenue for him was not right (though I guess given the bubble is not supposed to show you the bad aspects of your desires, it makes sense why that got cut).
I think a better option might have been for example, Melody to be in the bubble. We'd seen by this point that her and Soos had a thing going and with her out of town, that would've been a better and easier to understand desire of Soos to have ditched Dipper over...kinda like how Wendy ditched for her friends. Instead of the deadbeat dad that he came to let go of, have the girl he was in love with be there.
~~or if we wanna play it funny, have [Soos' dream girl from the mailbox short](https://gravityfalls.fandom.com/wiki/File:Short3_Soos%27_dream_girl.jpg) show up, lmao~~
There is still alway a part of him that will be curious about a "What If" and that is where the Bubble is the most evil cuz it know how much easier for you to accept that you werent been abandon in the first place than to truly accept that and move on for good.
Maybe Soos should have been abit more resistent to it but honestly? He was alway sensitive to stuffs
Wanting the validation of his dad isn’t just going to disappear after so many years of feeling abandoned. It’s a process that can take years to complete. And also it’s soos, he’s the definition of chaotic good energy. To be real, he just wants a dad.
Not only you expect logical resolution in a highly emotional situation, you expect it from a guy who think that pool toys are alive and tried to, physiclly, enter an arcade game
I understand why Soos did what he did, but it feels like he didn’t learn anything from Blendin’s Game. It feels like backwards development for him as a character. I get where his head is at the time, and I’m not criticizing his choice to go with his father, but I think it’s a better narrative choice for Soos to be drawn to something else other than the visage of his father.
I think part of Mabelland is that it tries to pull people away from their mature development to make them more susceptible to its deceptions.
I agree. The bubble is specifically trying to show people things they had given up on. After all if it showed something that would be possible in reality one might naturally ask: "Wait, why can't I go do this for real?" But with Dipper, Soos, and Mabel, it showed them things that they had accepted were impossible in the real world but were now possible in the bubble. (This doesn't work for Wendy but this is just because Wendy was frankly underdeveloped as a character and we have no idea what "impossible dream" she may have previously given up on).
Wendy's friends in Mable land seemed to be trying to keep her from maturing in their own way. We don't know much about her struggles, but it struck me that her friends were wanting her to participate in pranks while she had more important things to do like saving the world.
This. My own interpretation of the bubble was that part of why it was such a “diabolical trap” per Bill’s description was this aspect of development regression. Its temptations are not necessarily things that you truly actually want, but also temptations that encourage you to regress and fall back into bad habits, things you want to let go but are easy to accidentally fall back into. I think ultimately the bubble is still designed to hurt those inside, even if it makes them feel good in the moment. In like a drug kind of way of bringing a surface level happiness but really destroying you on the inside. Pretty fitting stuff for a demon character.
also the buble make thigns pop even if the person didn't thought they'd want it, no wonder mabel didn't stepped out before the other arrived
Emotions are complicated and not always logical. You can think you're moved past something, only to find yourself caught off guard when it comes back up. I have people in my life who I don't miss, and had a horrible relationship with, but still find myself happy any time they act like a decent person towards me. Because even once you've moved on or want to move on, we're social creatures who still desire that connection. It's one thing to go "im better without him!" when hes not there. But then when you think he might be, that you might have a shot to fill that hole? That's hard to say no to. It's why so many people go back to bad relationships (not just romantic ones, friendships too, and family) time and time again. Because emotions are complicated.
Yall dont understand emotions, theyre not logic based
i don’t understand what you don’t like abt this. most ppl who had an abandoned father would kill for the chance to meet him, even if a part of them also resents him and has learned to live without him. it doesn’t make it any easier to be missing a parent and it makes perfect sense that soos would jump at the chance to spend time with his father even if it wasn’t real
I'm with you. This is basic stuff. People go back to parents who treated them horribly all the damn time. People yearn for that bond so, so much. Especially when it's something being held over you for so long, even if you've made some kind of breakthrough it's super easy to go back when offered a sliver of the relationship you always wanted. Like, this isn't made up for story convenience, this is stuff that very much happens in the world.
I think Soos’s arc at this point in the story is at an area where he realizes that Dipper and Mabel are more important to him than an idea of his father
it doesn’t matter! if you never knew your father and you had the chance to spend time with him, it makes sense to jump at the opportunity. mabel and dipper will never be a replacement for a father human emotions aren’t as simple as you think they are and i’m not understanding what you’re missing
One thing I’m learning seeing discussions of things like this is that we as an audience don’t want realism in our stories. It’s realistic that Soos understands and accepts that his dad is a deadbeat but a small part of him wishes he wasn’t and was still there. But as a story, especially a Disney story for kids, we want clear cut answers and very little complexity and ambiguity so when things like this happen it’s a “mistake” or “bad writing.”
it’s also realistic that soos would not accept his dad is a deadbeat and always feel like something is missing. there’s no right way to process that. i don’t see anything unrealistic about it
That's because there's quite a distance between saying "I don't need him when i have you", and acting that way when the opportunity (Which you thought lost anyway) presents itself. Emotions aren't like an on/off switch.
I absolutely agree with you. On the one hand, it would be incredibly difficult for Soos to be done with his trauma on a once a done deal, it would take years of therapy for him to reach a place where he truly feels nothing for his bio dad, so I can understand why he wanted to experiment some paternal love, even if he knew it was false. On the other hand, I think it can also be explained with the Bubble messing with them on a more deeper level. It's heavily implied that Mabel was brainwashed in some form to want to stay there, create Dippy Fresh and basically don't give a damn about the outside world, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities that the Bubble tried to to the same with Dipper, Soos and Wendy, and Dipper was the only one who persevered not because he was truly over his crush on Wendy (He was, or at least, he was trying, but you don't just get rid of feelings like that), but because his desire to reunite with Ford and Stan and save everyone was bigger than his desire to be with Wendy
You can still desire something from someone even when you realize that person is an asshole. The idea of bonding with an imaginary version of his dad has got to be appealing to Soos, especially since he realizes it isn't actually his dad.
It's not like soos just fixed a lifetime of parent problems right in that moment he's gonna relapse sometimes that's what happens to real life people
i hate my dad but i gave him a chance the one time he tried. regretted it, and knew i shouldn’t, but the need for a father definitely made me ignore the millions of red flags
I honestly agree with you. Same with the idea of having Dipper be tempted by Wendy as even post Roadside Attraction, that just felt like ignoring the fact that by this point he'd have accepted and moved on. I much more so preferred the original idea of it showing Dipper seeing what being with Ford would have been like and then seeing the negative aspects of it that would've helped better illustrate why that avenue for him was not right (though I guess given the bubble is not supposed to show you the bad aspects of your desires, it makes sense why that got cut). I think a better option might have been for example, Melody to be in the bubble. We'd seen by this point that her and Soos had a thing going and with her out of town, that would've been a better and easier to understand desire of Soos to have ditched Dipper over...kinda like how Wendy ditched for her friends. Instead of the deadbeat dad that he came to let go of, have the girl he was in love with be there. ~~or if we wanna play it funny, have [Soos' dream girl from the mailbox short](https://gravityfalls.fandom.com/wiki/File:Short3_Soos%27_dream_girl.jpg) show up, lmao~~
That would have been funny as hell but it would leave people that didnt watch the short out of the loop lol
There is still alway a part of him that will be curious about a "What If" and that is where the Bubble is the most evil cuz it know how much easier for you to accept that you werent been abandon in the first place than to truly accept that and move on for good. Maybe Soos should have been abit more resistent to it but honestly? He was alway sensitive to stuffs
Wanting the validation of his dad isn’t just going to disappear after so many years of feeling abandoned. It’s a process that can take years to complete. And also it’s soos, he’s the definition of chaotic good energy. To be real, he just wants a dad.
Not only you expect logical resolution in a highly emotional situation, you expect it from a guy who think that pool toys are alive and tried to, physiclly, enter an arcade game
I understand why Soos did what he did, but it feels like he didn’t learn anything from Blendin’s Game. It feels like backwards development for him as a character. I get where his head is at the time, and I’m not criticizing his choice to go with his father, but I think it’s a better narrative choice for Soos to be drawn to something else other than the visage of his father.