Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
After failing a strength test at the diner, Dipper feels humiliated by jokes about his body and lack of chest hair. He heads into the forest, where a muscular Manotaur offers to teach him how to become a man. The creatures take him to their cave and put him through increasingly painful physical trials. Dipper pushes himself because he wants their approval, accepting the name Destructor and treating each task as proof that he is improving. Back in town, Mabel notices Stan's interest in Lazy Susan and recruits Soos to help give her great uncle a makeover and some dating practice.
The Manotaurs set Dipper a final challenge: climb the mountain and kill their enemy, the Multi-Bear. Dipper reaches its cave and wins their fight, but the defeated creature asks to hear its favorite song before dying. Discovering that they both love the same pop group makes Dipper question the killing. He returns without a head and tells the Manotaurs that constant aggression does not make them admirable. They reject him, leaving him disappointed until Stan praises his willingness to stand up for his beliefs. Mabel's elaborate makeover fails to transform Stan, but a more honest approach brings him Susan's phone number. Dipper leaves the ordeal with his tastes and conscience intact, even without the creatures' approval.