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Gravity Falls Dipper and Stan's Relationship Throughout the Series

Happy ten year anniversary to Gravity Falls!

Years ago when season one was airing, I started an analysis titled "Dipper looks up to Stan and wants his approval" that I, of course, never finished. So I decided on the ten year anniversary of Gravity Falls that I would type it up and finish it, now with the context of the entire series. I wanted to give the series a rewatch and watch the episode commentary...but I waited until the last minute and then had a family emergency sooooo I'm doing this from memory and some fast forwarding through episodes that I needed a refresher for! I thank the people who gave me their list of Stan and Dipper focused moments for me to rewatch! Anyway.... Stan and Dipper’s dynamic has three major points throughout the series, separated by season one, season 2A, and season 2B, with a bit of "transition time" between each of them. I will talk about each of these, the specific relevant episodes, and how they all connect.

Season 1: Dipper Looks up to Stan and Wants his Approval

Going off my original idea from when we only had season 1 to go off of, Dipper and Stan's dynamic starts with Dipper looking up to Stan and wanting his approval. Now you might be tempted to argue, siting that Dipper never approved of Stan's crimes, seemed suspicious of him, and generally at this point in the series saw Stan as a weird relative he and Mabel were forced to stay with rather than any kind of role model. There is some truth to that, however there's one thing about Stan that Dipper often wishes he was: a "manly man." It's not secret that Dipper is self conscious about his masculinity. Heck there's an entire episode dedicated to it which I'll talk about in a minute. Dipper's definition of masculinity is to be strong, tough, muscular etc. Dipper is not any of these things, hence his insecurities. Stan, on the hand, is exactly all those things. Stan is Dipper's exact definition of a man, so while Dipper might not approve of a lot of Stan's actions or many of this other qualities, he does respect Stan's "masculine" traits. So if this old geezer sees Dipper has a man, then Dipper must be one, right?

Episode 106, Dipper vs Manliness

This episode starts with Stan and Mabel making fun of Dipper because he's not particularly manly. He's yet to hit puberty, his music tastes lean more to the feminine side, and he fails the "manliness tester" in the diner. Dipper runs off, upset, into the woods and meets one of the manataurs (totally guessing on spelling there...) who encourages him to talk about his "emotional issues." The first thing out of Dipper's mouth is "My own uncle called me a wimp--" He doesn't vent about Mabel, who was also teasing him (though you could chalk this up to them being siblings and him therefore not caring about her teasing, or even the fact that a 12 year old girl probably isn't going to have a great understanding of what it means to be a man.) When Dipper refuses to kill the multi-bear and gives a big speech to the manataurs about how he basically thinks they're all full of BS, he says it was extreme confidence. He knows he's in the right. However a scene later he's seen walking through town looking sad. This sad feeling doesn't go away for Dipper until he talks to Stan. Stan says "You were your own man and you stood up for yourself...you did what was right even though no one agreed with you. Sounds pretty manly to me." And Dipper's mood immediately shifts to being happy.

Episode 110 Fight Fighters

Robbie, being the totally mature teenage he is, picks a fight with Dipper. Since Dipper is 12, half Robbie's size and has "noodle arms," he's understandable scared. During his panic attack, Stan tells him "Look kid, you got yourself a choice here. You can either go face him like a man, or hide indoors like a wimp? What'll it be?" and of course we know that Dipper chose to hide like a wimp, however, it always struck me as odd where he choose to hide--The arcade. A public place. (A public place Robbie has seen him hanging out, but that's besides the point here, just really dumb thinking on Dipper's part) There's not much reason for Dipper to have left the Mystery Shack. He could have stayed in his room. Sure Robbie would know exactly where to find him, but Robbie can't legally trespass into the house. Maybe there's an argument to be made about how Stan would have handled a teenager waiting outside, wanting to come in to fight his nephew, but I think more so what's going on here is that Dipper is avoiding Stan. He's not just hiding from Robbie, he's hiding from his uncle too. He doesn't want Stan to know he chose to be a wimp. This is supported later, when Dipper brings Rumble into the Shack, hears a door open and tells Rumble "uh oh, I think I hear my uncle, stay perfectly still." implying that he doesn't want Stan to know that he brought to life a body guard for his fight.

Episode 114 Bottomless Pit!

I just want to bring up one little moment from Dipper's story, Voice Over. After Dipper gets his voiced changed by one of Mcgucket's concoctions, Mabel and Soos both hate his new voice. Dipper angerly storms off saying "I'll find Stan! He'll like my new voice! You'll see!" Fairly self explanatory.

Episode 116 Carpet Diem

This episode is sort of the inciting incident that will eventually lead to Dipper and Stan's first dynamic shift. Dipper and Mabel accidentally switch bodies while in a competition to butter up Stan to give them a newly discovered room in the Mystery Shack. At one point, Stan pulls "Dipper" aside for "the talk" (a moment of silence for Mabel's innocence.) Afterwards Stan tells "Dipper" that he found him "more likeable than usual." Stan throws in that he might change his mind and give the room to Dipper instead of Mabel. Mabel panics when she hears this and decides to tell him off in hopes of making him mad at Dipper and giving her the room instead. Once she's done, Stan says "Finally standing up to me huh? HA! I love it! I've made my decision! The room is yours, Dipper!" We find out a few episodes later that Stan is hard on Dipper because he's trying to "toughen him up." This entire scene is a reflection of that, "Dipper" stood up to him, which made Stan proud so he decided to reward Dipper for it. The thing is, that wasn't Dipper, it was Mabel. And Mabel didn't tell Dipper why Stan gave him the room, there wasn't really a reason to. So now we are in an interesting position where Stan has just rewarded Dipper for standing up to him in hopes of encouraging that behavior further, meanwhile Dipper has no idea that that's what Stan wants from him and therefore has no reason to change his behavior. I believe that this is what lead to the events in Dreamscaperers. Stan, now believing that Dipper can stand up for himself, was trying to get Dipper to man up again, but we'll cover that more when we get to it.

Episode 117 Boyz Crazy

So there's not much to offer here in terms of Dipper looking up to Stan and wanting his approval. There are moments we could dissect in that regard, but I think this episode is more important for Dipper and Stan's relationship in that it shows us what their relationship could be when they are on equal footing. They are a great team that get along great when they are in a position where they understand each other. It also works really well to show the audience that Stan really does care about Dipper, despite his gruff exterior. This narratively is helpful for Dreamscaperers, because Dipper spends the episode believing that Stan hates him, and has his suspicions "confirmed" by one of Stan's memories, but the audience, on some level, knows that despite that memory, it can't be true. Stan wouldn't have been as supportive of Dipper in Boyz Crazy if he didn't care. He wouldn't have offered Dipper to go bowling with him if he hated Dipper. Stan is not the kind of person to pretend to like another person, no matter who it is.

Episode 119 Dreamscaperers

Remember in Carpet Diem when Stan rewarded "Dipper" for standing up for himself and telling Stan off? And how Dipper wouldn't have known to change his behavior because it wasn't actually him? Well this is where all of that builds up. Stan has been expecting Dipper to stand up for himself and tell him off more, but he hasn't done it. He's acting just as wimpy as before, like it was a fluke, like it didn't even happen. Stan now believes he's seen Dipper not be a wimp, so he knows he can do it, he's just choosing not to. So Stan's best bet to bring that back out of Dipper is to be harder on him, make him mad, make him want to tell him off. This leads to the conflict of the episode, because Dipper doesn't understand why Stan is doing this, he simply thinks Stan hates him. While walking through Stan's mind, looking for a memory that tells Dipper what Stan thinks about him, Dipper finds a memory of Stan telling Soos "I just wanna get rid of him." Dipper hangs his head, and shuts the door, and stands there for a second. The shot stays just long enough for you to know just how much this hurt Dipper. (Thirty bucks says he cried) Thankfully Dipper later stumbles on the memory again and watches the whole memory and learns that Stan doesn't hate him, simply wants him to "fight back" and is hard on him to teach him that. Now that Dipper knows, he changes his behavior and starts fighting back. Yes with Bill and later with a choke hold on Stan in this episode, but also in the following two episodes

Season 1 Finale and Season 2 Premiere: First Transition Time

Now that Dipper understands that Stan wants him to fight back, he starts doing so, but in the two episodes that follow, Dipper is fighting back in a way Stan doesn't necessarily want him to. This is more so the case with Scary-oke but let's look at Gideon Rises real quick first

Episode 120 Gideon Rises

This episode has Dipper and Stan's roles somewhat switched. Stan is quitting (like a wimp but also in a "responsible adult" kind of way) and Dipper is ready to fight back. I've also seen people point out that how Stan and Dipper solve their problems in this episode are switched, Stan uses his brains like Dipper normally would have, and Dipper uses his brawn like Stan normally would have. Dipper's actions are likely being subconsciously influenced by Stan throughout this episode. After Gideon discovers that Dipper has had journal 3 all along, and states that Dipper only won all those times because of the journal, Dipper practically gives up, believing Gideon to be right. Dipper is giving up trying to stop Gideon much like Stan gave up trying to stop the pint-sized brat. Stan's current actions are likely aiding in Dipper's mindset here, but on the other hand, Stan's influence throughout the series up to this point is likely part of the reason Dipper was so determined to stop Gideon right after Stan had given up, and why Dipper worked up enough bravery to attack the Gideon bot to save Mabel.

Episode 201 Scary-oke

This is when Stan's "toughening up" of Dipper bites him in the butt. We didn't at the time the episode aired, but we know now how much Stan cared for Ford, how he saw his brother get lost, literally and metaphorically, to the supernatural, and how alike Dipper and Ford are. We also learn in this episode that Stan had been lying to the kids about the supernatural in an attempt to keep them away from it. Stan doesn't want Dipper and Mabel going out seeking all the weirdness in the town. He doesn't want to lose them like he lost Ford. He probably doesn't have to worry too much about Mabel in this regard, but Dipper is as stubborn as Stan and as curious as Ford. Dipper is an easy target to get lost in the mysteries. So Stan continues to deny the magic. But now Dipper has learned to fight back, and there's been too much obvious stuff that's happened for him to simply brush off Stan's ignorance. Now Dipper is actively fighting against Stan's wishes. Consider their argument in Stan's room after he catches Dipper calling the government agents. If that conversation had been about anything else, Stan probably would have found the entire interaction funny because Dipper was all worked up, and would have left the conversation with a sense of pride because Dipper isn't taking any BS. However because of what the argument was about, Stan's now in a situation where Dipper is fighting to go after the very thing Stan doesn't want him anywhere near, not to mention risking Stan's entire mission to get Ford back. So the argument escalates into Dipper getting grounded, Dipper leaving annoyed, and Stan letting out a frustrated sigh. The episode ends with Stan admitting to knowing about the towns supernatural happenings, and Stan wanting the kids, mostly Dipper, to promise not to go seeking out the weirdness. Dipper makes Stan swear that he doesn't have anymore secrets, and they agree with their fingers each crossed. Personally, I'm a little bummed that this scene never came back in the form of another argument between them, but I think it does a little something to show where their relationship goes after this.

Season 2A Dipper and Stan on Equal Footing

Dipper is no longer trying to impress Stan or is seeking his approval, more often than not Dipper simply speaks his mind to Stan in a blunt manner, just like how Stan has always talked to...well everyone, but Dipper for the purpose of this analysis. They still care about each other, but they have a new respect for each other now and it shows off in them being able to say whatever they want with each other. Scary-oke somewhat symbolized this by having them both confidently lie. One isn't lying while the other is telling the truth, one isn't feeling more guilty about their lie than the other. Not the healthiest symbolism, but I think it works. Most of the moments that support this are just that: mere moments. But they are mere moments that say a lot about where their relationship is at.

Episode 203 The Golf War

When Stan offers some "Stan-cakes" for breakfast and describes what Stan-cakes are, Dipper says, without hesitation or remorse, "Pass!" When Pacifica shows up at the mini golf course and goes all Regina George on the Pines family, Stan talks about punching her, but Dipper tells him he'll handle the situation, and Stan let's him without a second thought.

Episode 206 Little Gift Shop of Horrors

Believe it or not, but this "not canon" episode actually has a lot to help us see where Dipper and Stan's relationship is at. More specifically, this episode shows us how Stan's sees Dipper at this point in the series. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my interpretation of this episode being "not canon" was that the stories Stan told were completely made up, but the idea of Stan telling a customer those stories to get the customer to buy stuff was canon. That interpretation is key to this analysis. One of my English teachers always told us "The key to a great story is that same as a key to a great lie: It needs to be 95% true. If the story is mostly true, it'll make that last 5% believable." Gravity Falls itself is a great example of this. Gravity Falls itself doesn't exist, but it was based off of real locations, the characters in the show were based off of real people, embarrassing moments for said characters were inspired by real life embarrassing events from the cast, etc. And we all know that Stan is a great liar, so likely his story telling has a bit of truth to it that we can dissect. Since Dipper is in the stories, we can assume that this is how Stan expects Dipper to act in theses types of scenarios.

Hands Off!

Dipper puts on some glasses and exclaims "Professor glasses! They make me look like a genius!" and it shows that Stan knows how much Dipper values his intelligence, or even perceived intelligence, and implies that Stan sees Ford in Dipper given that the glasses Dipper tries on look somewhat similar to Ford's. After Stan steals the watch from the hand witch, Dipper scolds him, showing us that Stan expects Dipper to speak his mind, particularly regarding things that Dipper doesn't approve of or thinks is a stupid idea. It's also interesting when you consider that since Stan is the one telling this story, he likely had some mental idea of where the story was headed, that in the story, he'd be in the wrong and Dipper would have been right. This implies that Stan also thinks Dipper is smarter than he is and/or respects his perspectives (neither of those are worded right to describe what I'm thinking but I think you can decipher what I meant). This continues when after the kids discover Stan's hands are gone, Dipper is the one in the story to tell Stan what he needs to do. Dipper tells Stan what to do much like a parent would tell a child what to do in this situation to make things right and get his hands back. When the hands attack in the Hand-Witch's cave (these sentences are slowly sounding more and more crazy), Stan and Mabel run away from the hands, but Dipper's instinct is to fight back. Dipper is now at a point where Stan assumes that he'll fight back when in trouble, even when Stan doesn't, which sort of calls back to Gideon Rises.

Abaconings

Again we see Dipper striving to prove his smarts, and getting insulted at the notion that he might not be smart enough to solve his new puzzle. I feel like this one, even more so than Dipper wearing "professor glasses" shows that Stan sees Ford in Dipper. We also note that Dipper quickly gets carried away with Waddles and their now shared pursuit of knowledge, implying that Stan believes Dipper will keep pursuing knowledge until he can't anymore (like his pig partner deciding to be dumb again), even if it means upsetting others in the process (like say, failing to notice that he's getting in the way of Mabel being able to spend time with Waddles). There's also a brief moment when Mabel tells Waddles how sad she is that he's not hanging out with her anymore, where Dipper looks sad/sympathetic that Mabel is upset, which shows us that Stan knows how much Dipper does care about Mabel. Which we see even more of in Clay Day.

Clay Day

Not a whole lot here IMO, mostly Dipper being a caring brother, so likely this is Stan projecting his relationship with Ford onto the kids.

Episode 211 Not What He Seems

Much like how Carpet Diem was the inciting incident for Dipper and Stan's first dynamic switch, Not What He Seems is the inciting incident for the next shift. The past few episodes Stan and Dipper's relationship is the best it's been, they can get along and poke fun at each other and over all just be themselves around one another. Moments before getting arrested, Stan attempts to explain to the kids what's been going on, and decides to put it off because he knows it's going to change things. When Stan gets arrested, he claims he was restocking the gift shop as his alibi. Both Dipper and Mabel believe him, no questions asked. They immediately put a plan in place to prove Stan's innocents when Trigger says something that makes Dipper question his uncle for a brief moment, "I've seen it all before, false names, double lives, one minute they're playing with water balloons, the next, they're building doomsday devises. Your uncle scammed the whole world, you gonna let him scam you too?" This comment shakes Dipper up a bit, but he brushes it off and tells Trigger he doesn't know what he's talking about. Dipper's trust in Stan has been questioned, but it's not gone yet. Stan and Dipper specifically have come too far for that to be true, right? No way the man who was hard on him to toughen up, and who he now can get along with easily, is some kind of super villain right? Dipper can still trust him right? Until Dipper sees the other two journals in the secret lab. Dipper has now seen Stan's fake IDs, the newspaper clipping that Stan Pines is dead, this mysterious lab under the house, and now it's clear that Stan has had the other two journals. The prequels to the very journal that Stan claimed was fantasy in Gideon Rises, the prequels to the journals that Stan made Dipper promise to only use for self defense and not to go looking for trouble. "Was anything he said to us real?!" Now Dipper has lost pretty much all his trust in Stan, he suggests that Stan stole the journals, that Stan is a master criminal and he's trying to destroy the world. However, you can tell that there's still the tiniest bit of trust left in Dipper, as when Stan bursts in and tells Dipper to back away from the machine, Dipper doesn't, but he also still does not press the button. If Dipper really 100% didn't trust Stan right now, then he would have pressed the button and stopped the machine right then and there. Dipper knows there's no logical reason to trust Stan, he says it himself "I should trust you why? After you stole radio active waste? After you lied to us all summer?" but he still doesn't immediately press the button. He still waits just long enough that Stan could have started to explain himself (which like maybe you should have done that Stan!). In many ways the portal scene calls back to Scary-oke, Dipper is fighting back, just like Stan originally wanted for him, but he's fighting against Stan's goals.

Start of Season 2B: Second Transition Time

This transition time exists because the introduction of Ford changes Stan and Dipper’s dynamic, but said change hasn’t fully come into play yet. Stan and Dipper are still on equal footing but changes are coming soon.

Episode 212 A Tale of Two Stans

On Dipper's side of things, once he learns why Stan did all that he did, he apologizes to him for not believing him. There are absolutely no hard feelings on Dipper's end towards Stan. Dipper also later tells Mabel that he doesn't know if having "the author" back is good or bad, showing Dipper acknowledges that things are going to change. Meanwhile for Stan, he's not upset that Dipper didn't believe him, he even says that he wouldn't have believed himself either. He later tells Ford to stay away from Dipper and Mabel because "I don't want them in any danger, because as far as I'm concerned, they're the only family I have left!" A statement that takes us nicely into Stan's mindset in the next episode

Episode 213 Dungeons Dungeons and More Dungeons

This episode starts with Dipper being awestruck by Ford and Stan telling Dipper that Ford is dangerous and to stay away from him. Stan doesn’t want to loose either of the kids to Ford, so he’s taking precautions to keep them, specifically Dipper who’s been unknowingly idolizing him all summer, away from his brother. Stan then pretty much continues as normal, including in how he behaves around Dipper. When Dipper wants to play dd&md and Stan doesn’t see the appeal, he teases Dipper, or more specifically the game, like he normally would. The episode ends, however, with Stan apologizing (which lets face it is strange for Stan. It’s not strange for Stan to be sorry, but usually he says sorry with actions not words) and telling Dipper the game is too nerdy for him, but if Dipper wants to play it with Ford that’s okay. It’s not fair for Stan to keep Dipper from Ford, who shares his interests, just because Stan and Ford aren’t getting along. Stan and Mabel don’t share Dipper’s interests, and there’s not much to suggest that Dipper is in any danger by spending time with Ford. So, Stan let’s Dipper hang out with Ford, but this changes things at least on Stan's end. Everyone has always liked Ford better than Stan, and now Dipper, who his relationship with has come a long way, is gravitating towards Ford as well.

Season 2B: Stan Wants Dipper’s Approval

For this final shift in their dynamic, I don't think the shift is on Dipper's end at all. I think Dipper feels the relationship he has with his grunkle Stan is exactly the same, it's just that now he also has a good relationship with his grunkle Ford as well. But for Stan, things are different. Bonding with Dipper has never been easy for Stan, but of course Ford can bond with Dipper easily. Between Stan's inferiority complex when compared to Ford, Stan's need to not lose his connection with the kids, and Dipper's growing bond with Ford, Stan starts trying to be an impressive uncle to both kids, but especially to Dipper.

Episode 214 Stanchurian Candidate

I’ve been trying to avoid episodes and moments that focus on Stan’s relationship with both of the kids, because their dynamic as a family is different than their dynamics individually. So I wanted focus solely on Stan and Dipper moments/ episodes. However I have to make and exception for this episode. This episode is focused on Stan's relationship with both of the kids, but I'm going to use it as a Dipper and Stan focused example for a few reasons: 1. What happens in this episode just works too well with the thesis I have going here 2. Of the few episodes left in the series, Stan is only playing a significant role in like half of them, and one of those is the finale, and other is Dipper and Mabel Vs The Future where he's spending more time with Mabel than Dipper, 3. the arc of Stan and Dipper's relationship is pretty much wrapped up in Roadside Attraction anyway, to make room for other awesome things in the finale. With that said, let's look at this episode in terms of Stan and Dipper's dynamic. Stan's inferiority when compared to Ford is very apparent in this episode, and is made worse by his family, including Soos, being very impressed with Ford, who is clearly not trying to out stage Stan in any way. Stan spends the episode trying to impress everybody, but especially Dipper and Mabel, and other reason I want to use this episode to focus on Stan and Dipper's relationship is because the consequences of Stan not being an impressive relative are bigger, in Stan's mind, with Dipper than they are with Mabel. At the end of the day, Mabel is Mabel, she loves everyone. You have to really screw up for Mabel to not like you, there is little Stan could do at this point to emotionally lose Mabel. Dipper, however, will hold grudges and gravitate towards people he feels more comfortable with, has a better connection with, or is impressed by. Mabel has been easy to bond with, Dipper has not. While this episode focuses on both Dipper and Mabel, it's Dipper who makes most of the comments that set Stan off: "It's too bad Ford isn't here, he'd run, and win too!" "We'd respect you if you took things more seriously" and letting it slip that they've been mind controlling him (although that one there's some other obvious reason Stan should be upset that the episode just kinda glosses over so I will too I guess...) Stan is so focused on trying to impress the kids, to be their hero, that he refuses to accept their help. Wouldn't it be more impressive if he could do this on his own with ease? And you can see how much it means to him when he gets upset that they don't show him "respect" (more like adoration) like the rest of the town. Like I said above, I don't think Dipper changes his behavior at all for this part in their relationship. Since Dipper has learned to "fight back," he's been very blunt with Stan when he doesn't agree with him, and we can see that shining through here. When Mabel tries to nicely state that their reluctance to have Stan run isn't because they don't think they can do it, Dipper interrupts her, tells her it's okay and bluntly says to Stan "We don't think you can do it." When Stan saves the kids and is pulling them up, Stan apologizes, Mabel apologizes and says they should have supported him, win or lose, and Dipper simply chimes in "Probably lose" while he's still dangling over a cliff and, as Stan points out, could still be dropped by Stan. Another interesting detail on Dipper's end, when it's announced that Stan didn't win, Stan and Mabel look shocked, but Dipper looks angry.

Episode 216 Roadside Attraction

This episode’s placements always struck everyone as odd. There is no acknowledgement of all the craziness that went down last episode, or the craziness that’s about to go down next episode. There’s no mention of the rift, the force field they just built around the Shack and no sightings or mention of Ford. It’s like a season 2A episode that got plopped in a very strange point in season 2B. Because of this, I’ve been many write this episode off as pointless, and I have to respectfully disagree. Sure, it doesn’t do much for our main plot and all the crap that’s about to go down, but it’s a very important episode for Stan and Dipper’s relationship. This episode wraps up their arc. They do have a bit of conflict in the finale, but the root of that conflict has more to do with Stan and Ford than Stan and Dipper. As much as having Ford in more episodes would have been nice, it’s actually very important that he’s not in this episode, or at least not playing active role in the episode. Stan has spent this half of season 2 feeling overshadowed by his brother, and having Dipper choose to spend more time with Ford than Stan. Ford was able to get a closer relationship to Dipper in one afternoon than Stan could over the course of the summer. Not having Ford in the episode is important because it gives Dipper and Stan an opportunity to bond without Ford’s influence. It gives these two a chance to bond like they could in season 2A. Upon seeing Dipper struggle with girls, Stan decides to give him some advice. Stan reveals later that he's by no means an expert when it comes to getting girls, however, it's probably safe to say he's better at it than Ford, who isn't even there. This is the perfect opportunity for Stan to be an impressive grunkle to Dipper, he can give him girl advice. When Dipper vents that he messed up his chances with Wendy, Stan makes a very casual comment "Yeah...chances..." which is important because he's holding back. Normally he would have made a comment like that with confidence and laughed, but he holds, back, looking like he doesn't want to hurt Dipper's feelings with that comment. It's a huge difference from season 1 Stan, because this Stan isn't trying to toughen Dipper up, he's desperately trying to keep his connection with him. Much like in Boyz Crazy, this episode shows us what Stan and Dipper's relationship can be when they are on the same side, when they are supporting the other with their problems ... I guess the best way for these two to bond is with girls because that's the common factor in these two episodes XD At the end, after Dipper has hurt Candy's feelings and Stan has barely escaped being eaten, Stan confesses to Dipper that he's not an expert on women, and gives him a warning about being a pick up artist. He states that when it comes to women he's a failure. Dipper smiles, points to his arms where he's rubbed off the girls' contact info and says sympathetically "Hey, we're both failures." The smile Stan gives Dipper back is the sweetest damn thing. This was one area where Stan thought he could help Dipper, Dipper will go to Ford for any other topic, but this was something Stan had a chance to help Dipper with and failed--and Dipper doesn't care. He's upset about what happened, but doesn't blame Stan, he still sees Stan as an equal, they are both failures. If Dipper won't hold a grudge at Stan over this, Stan probably doesn't have to worry about losing Dipper to Ford. Dipper then even acknowledges that Stan's advice did help with his confidence.

Conclusion

Dipper and Stan don't connect with each other very easily. They have very different interests, personalities, perspectives and sometimes even values. It's much harder for these two to bond with each other than it is for Stan to bond with Mabel or for Dipper to bond with Ford. But they still care about and respect each other. They look up to each other, want the other's respect, and have no problems being blunt with each other. Stan has helped Dipper be tougher and more confident and Dipper has helped Stan feel less alone in the world. Dipper certainly has a strong bond with Ford, and Mabel has a strong bond with Stan, but because of Stan and Dipper's very different personalities, they have a bond they had to work to create, and it's one that I don't think either of them could have with the rest of their family.

Feel free to add more moments or thoughts and I thank everyone who made it to the end of this!!!

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