AS IT JUST SO HAPPENS (after further inspection of the episodes “Sock Opera” and “Blendin’s Game”) I discovered something very interesting:
Soos’ birthday episode took place during the events of “Sock Opera”.
The actual Sock Opera performance takes place on July 15th, meaning that Soos’ birthday was the Wednesday just before, meaning that Dipper and Mabel had been working on the puppet show and the laptop during this time (from July 11-July 15).
1) How do I know this?
Although it is initially unclear, I figured out that from July 11-15, Mabel enlisted Dipper to help her create her puppet show to impress Gabe, her crush at the time. The calendar we see onscreen (which rolls across the screen during the puppet-making montage sequence) doesn’t say which month “Friday the 15th” aligns with (intentionally, because the writers probably saw how this would mess up the “Falls” timeline) but we can do the math:
A few episodes prior, in “Scary-oke”, Dipper mentioned that “the summer [was] half over,” indicating just that. This is a telltale way of deducing that the timeline of the series is now into August or late July.
"Blendin’s Game", one of the most recent episodes, sets the timeline at July 13th as this is Soos’ birthday.
It’s clear that the episodes are not chronological. Having the events of “Sock Opera” take place on August 15th (the last month of a 2 1/2 month summer at most), would really confuse things: August would most likely be the month of major investigations and discoveries. The series hasn’t gotten there yet and is only at its midpoint (because of Dipper’s earlier “summer’s half over” quote). So having the date as June 15th doesn’t make sense, either.
The only logical explanation is that “Sock Opera” took place from July 11-15, and overlapped with some other major events, most likely “Into the Bunker” and with absolute certainty “Blendin’s Game”, which dates July 13th.
2) What does this all mean?
HOLY COW.
DO YOU PEOPLE REALIZE HOW MUCH PRESSURE DIPPER WAS UNDER THAT WEEK?!
And probably EVERY WEEK?
Mabel had him making puppets while he was trying to unlock the laptop, cope with a broken heart, save Soos’ birthday from space cops, fight off an evil dream demon and MUCH MORE. Dipper was on-call 24/7, and we never even knew the extent of his efforts.
Again, the episodes clearly overlap (and they do this often), meaning that Dipper’s days have been filled with constant activity: work, research, paranormal misadventures, etc. By the time the show is over, you can bet your buns that not a single day in Gravity Falls will be a “filler”. Each day has been jam packed with problems, so far, so I expect the same from the next half of the summer.
And people wonder why Dipper is a ball of nerves. If you ask me, he is EXCELLENT AT HANDLING THE PRESSURE.
Basically, “Sock Opera” overlapped during a period in Dipper’s life when everything was extremely complicated. It also took up a crucial week of research and analysis, which he was willing to sacrifice for his sister, who he loved that much. This boy has really been giving up his own life for a cause he believes in and for the people he loves.
In conclusion:
God bless this precious cinnamon roll. Long may he reign.