1x13 Boss Mabel

[7.4/10] There’s a very sitcommy quality to the setup here -- the old “You do my job, and I do yours for day!” chestnut. But as usual, the Gravity Falls rendition of the classic finds fun new wrinkles in a familiar story.

“Boss Mabel” is kind of a cynical episode, one that effectively postis that Grunkle Stan’s generally greed and hardassery around the Mystery Shack are not personal quirks or failings, but a necessary attitude to keep the business afloat. But I still like it as a suggestion that for all Stan’s...eccentricities, he’s not just a kook or a jerk, but someone who may have been once like Mabel, but molded by these responsibilities.

That’s a lot of highfalutin talk for an episode that is, at base, just a load of fun. I love 1980s businesswoman Mabel. From her corporate speak, to her focus on stickers, to “the Mabel difference”, her go-getting throwback attitude is a hoot. Her transformation from friendly, free giveaway paragon of virtue to grumpy, Stan-like whip-cracker is an amusing one.

Her trying to be patient with Wendy’s slacking only to find that it leaves the shop unmanaged and falling apart is a good beat. Her encouraging Soos’ wacky ideas like a mascot costume, only to discover that he was, in fact, over his skis with the concept takes some funny turns. And I particularly like Dipper’s realization that people get weirded out by real mysteries, and are only ready for Grunkle Stan’s fake ones.

The group working together to imitate Stan and get the business back on track before he returns has a good energy to it. And I got a big kick out of how they defeated the nightmare-induced gremlin/goblin by showing him a mirror so he sees his own worst nightmare -- becoming his father. It’s a great example of Gravity Falls humor, mixing the fantastical and the mundane.

Stan’s adventures on the Wheel of Fortune knockoff is a big laugh too. His usual tactless personality mixing with manicured TV is worth more than a few chuckles. And there’s a bit of poetry in his bit too, where he loses everything because, to Mabel’s credit, he doesn’t know the word please.

The resolution is nice. For all Stan’s jerkery, he has learned the value of saying please, if only in esoteric and very literal circumstances. Mabel’s learned that running a business isn’t the easiest thing in the world, even if her great uncle could stand to be nicer about it. And the apology song is a hilarious capper to put over the end credits.

Overall, it’s nice to see Mabel get the spotlight, and even if the premise is a little tired, the humor is anything but.