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.