Welcome brothers and sisters to this week's meeting of the Royal Order of the Holy Mackerel.
A secret society dedicated to discovering, decoding, and protecting the secrets of Gravity
Falls.
I am this chapters founder and duly appointed High Exhaulted Big Fish, Douglas Mackrell.
As always, if you would like to see the minutes of last week's meeting you can click red link
on the screen.
And now for this week's order of business: The Mystery of Soos!
Before we start investigating what we know of Soos from the show, it's important to know
his true origin.
Alex Hirsch explained in his now famous AMA on Reddit, that Soos is directly based off
his old college buddy Jesus Chambrot from CalArts.
No one could figure out his real age, which became even more confusing when he revealed
that he was nearly bald when he finally removed the baseball cap he always wore.
Out of respect for the man, no one ever asked Jesus how old he was, but the mystery behind
Jesus (as well as his friendship) was more than enough inspiration to incorporate him
into Gravity Falls.
So now that we know who Soos is based on, what's his character like?
Soos is a chubby hamster-like man of childish hyperbole who relishes being a part of the
action.
He's naively dedicated to his job, and as such - Grunkle Stan constantly takes advantage
of him.
Soos is also a good listener.
A quality that allows him to freely interact on the same level of whomever he interacts
with regardless of their age or social standing.
Soos is also a man who can easily be mistaken for being unintelligent - but that's far from
the case.
He's shown repeatedly in the show that he has a basic understanding of mechanics and
construction, as he's in charge of temporary fixes for the Mystery Shack's many flaws.
He's constantly trying to better himself and even teaches himself new skills through trial
and error, like when he worked as the DJ for Grunkle Stan's Teen Party in Double Dipper.
As far as we know, Soos has been a lifetime resident of Gravity Falls.
He was raised by his grandmother, whom he still lives with.
There's been absolutely no mention of his direct parents, so it's unclear if they are
dead or just missing.
Since it quickly was shown how little money they had after Gideon seized the Mystery Shack
- it's safe to assume that Soos's paycheck from the Mystery Shack is their only source
of income.
As we've seen from pictures around Soos's house, he led an active and well documented
childhood.
He had a vivid imagination which he still has to this present day.
At one point he trained in Karate or at least had a sweet karate costume - but what we concretely
know about his formative childhood years is that he spent a lot of time in Gravity Falls'
arcade.
From an amazing episode of the Gravity Falls Gossiper podcast - which you can find a link
to in the About section below - Grunkle Stan confesses that Soos started working in the
Mystery Shack when he was 12 years old - which is right around the same time Stan launched
the Mystery Shack as a business.
Soos was his first employee who responded to his ad in the local paper looking for a
kid who doesn't ask a lot of questions and doesn't need a lot of money.
Soos is one of the few residents in Gravity Falls who actually notices the odd and paranormal
things around him.
Which makes him a constant ally for Dipper and Mabel - as he never questions any of their
claims, no matter how outlandish.
He also aids in their adventures - lending them weaponry, muscle, transportation, or
phat beats for freestyle raps when the need arises.
He's essentially a peer to Dipper and Mabel with the added bonus of having access to all
the things adults can do.
As for rumors about Soos, there are a few major ones - such as Soos being a bigfoot.
Although he does strike the classic bigfoot pose in the Legend of the Gobblewonker, and
there is a flash of what could possibly be a bigfoot in the opening credits - this seems
the most unlikely.
Though Soos is fairly tall, there isn't any evidence to link him with being the mythical
beast.
Plus Soos has very tiny feet.
You can't be a Bigfoot with tiny feet!
Another popular theory is that Soos either knows the future or is slightly psychic.
There are quite a few instances where Soos seems to know exactly what is about to happen.
Being in the right place at the right time, under reacting to scary paranormal instances,
or even plainly telling characters what will happen - much like he did with Grunkle Stan
in the episode The Time Traveler's Pig.
Being from the future or having psychic powers might account for Soos' knowledge of future
events, but another possible theory fans suggest - is that Soos is a part of the mysterious
and sinister secret society that's connected to the image revealed at the end of Dipper's
Guide to the Unexplained.
This also seems unlikely, as Soos doesn't outwardly appear to have any ulterior motives
- but since we don't know much about this "blind eye" society, anything is possible
at this stage.
It's also important to note that Soos may have been mentioned in a secret code in the
game Rumbles Revenge.
The code says "The Handyman knows more than you think."
This could be a reference to Old Man McGuckett, but Soos is referenced to as a handyman directly.
Plus Bill Cipher commented directly on how secretly clever Soos was.
What's important to remember about Soos is that he defends the Shack just as much as
Stan does.
It's uncertain if Soos knows every secret about the shack - but it's clear that he has
a deep affection for the business and everyone in it.
He respects it.
And ultimately Soos thinks of Grunkle Stan as a father figure - hoping to someday inherit
and run the Mystery Shack business.
But what do you think?
Is Soos the mysterious handyman that knows more than he seems?
What happend to Soos's parents?
Does Soos know all of the secrets of the Mystery Shack?
Leave your theories and suggestions in the comments below!
And now before we close this week's meeting, I have one last order of business!
It's time for this week's challenge, and this is an important one.
I've decided that as a proper secret society, all of our members should be keeping their
own journals.
So, if you can decode and answer all three of this challenge's riddles, you'll receive
my private notes on Soos for the first page of your journal!
Simply print the page out, punch some holes in it, and add it to a three ring binder - making
sure to add some blank pages for notes of your own!
With no other orders of business, I hereby call a close to this week's meeting of the
Royal Order of the Holy Mackerel.
Until next time, share, subscribe, and keep cracking those codes!
Soos may act childish, but he will drop this act when he needs to take on adult responsibilities.
Like when he helps Mabel and Dipper escape the Gobblewonker by picking them up, or when
he takes on new jobs after the Mystery Shack is taken over by Gideon so he can support
his family.