Gideon really loves Mabel??
A while ago, I wondered this... Because while I was debating with my brother about the couple that Dipper deserved (if Pacifica for the comics or Wendy for the chemistry between the two)
At that moment I remembered that Mabel was never presented with a worthwhile romance... I mean Mermando was a wonderful choice, but he's already married (unfortunately) and my brother corrected me by telling me that Gideon is the "partner" Mabel needed to meet.
I thought my brother was joking... I didn't think he was talking about the same kid who tried to sabotage/murder Stan and Dipper (and even Mabel herself) just because she didn't want to be his "Queen"...
But he told me that in reality, if Gideon worked as a parallel to Dipper where Gideon never had someone to shut up his damn ego. Dipper had Mabel, who functions as the heart and Dipper is the mind and reason. (Mabel made him prioritize human contact and the heart over the ego)
Gideon only had his father (we don't know what really happened with his mother), who actually fed his ego and never brought him down to earth. When they first met, I thought he loved her superficially and when she refused to be with him, then Gideon lost his mind and started seeing her as a whim or a trophy he had to win. (yes, exactly what Alex said about Dipper and Wendy).
At no point in the second season do we see Gideon with a charge of conscience or with a real desire to improve. That's when we guess that Gideon most likely asked Bill to lock Mabel in the Bubble, (probably because Bill promised not to hurt her when the Weirdmaggedon started). But we also learned that NO ONE, not even Gideon, had entered the Bubble.
That's the strange thing, if Gideon was truly evil and not just a spoiled child, he would have entered the Bubble with every intention of blackmailing Mabel. Something like "If you won't be my queen, then I can get you out of here" or "If you don't want to be mine, then I'll visit your brother or uncle, Bill will be happy to see them."
But no, Gideon preferred to keep Mabel unspoiled and ignorant of the horrible chaos outside. As if keeping her safe was his priority instead of making her "pay for her rejections."
When Dipper talks to Gideon, he tells him that Mabel doesn't love him because he's selfish, but that he can change that and if Mabel were there, how would she want him to act?
And that's when Gideon asks if Mabel knows about the sacrifice he was about to make. Upon getting an answer, Gideon decides he's going to bet his life, and leads his warriors into battle AGAINST BILL, a being MUCH MUCH more powerful than him, just to give Dipper time to save Mabel... Gideon is genuinely in love with Mabel, he just needs a better guide to leave his selfish self behind...
I think Gideon is fully AWARE that a betrayal of the God of Destruction could cost him his life, but he knows that saving Mabel and all of Gravity Falls was something worth trying for.
