I think the biggest consequence of Gravity Falls writing being done by the seat of their pants is that they never really took advantage of the "grunkle or grampa" situation. Like, the most obvious conclusion of having the pines kids discover that their grunkle has a twin would be that said twin is either their long-lost grampa OR their 'grunkle' was their long-lost grampa all along, and either reveal could have some dramatic significance for people who care about familial relationship in fiction (I really don't understand why its supposed to be such a big deal that a pair of characters are secretly blood relatives, or a different kind of relative than what was assumed, but I've read enough gothic fiction to know lots of people apparently find that compelling.)

"grunkle for grampa" was a very popular fan theory for a long time cus it really makes a lot of sense, but no, their grampa is just some nerd that have nothing to do with the central conflict. In a way that might be a better choice cus having stans family situation perfectly mirror the kids would be a little too convenient, but I feel like they could probably have adressed it better if they had planned it from the start.

@Owlor

I really don’t understand why its supposed to be such a big deal that a pair of characters are secretly blood relatives, or a different kind of relative than what was assumed, but I’ve read enough gothic fiction to know lots of people apparently find that compelling.

I always found this confusing too. the classic “I am your father” reveal in Star Wars had me going “how does this change anything? Vader is still exactly the same character?” but I think that if I grew up with a loving family that supported me then maybe the trope would make more sense

@Owlor while I've not watched Gravity Falls, I like the idea that fictional settings can have unanswered questions, and are often better for having areas of doubt & uncertainty

@Owlor I really like the grunkle dynamic between Stan and the kids, and thematically it makes sense for Ford to be a grunkle too, but yeah. Narratively and timeline-wise, Shermie doesn't really fit in. Bit weird considering how much the show encourages viewers to read into the details and make their own theories.

(Side note: would the joke "Seems like the kind of thing a responsible parent wouldn't want you doing... Good thing I'm an uncle!" work better or worse if it was later revealed that he is their grandpa?)