On Dylan's first day on the job, Ethan takes him deep into the woods, where they will be standing guard over the pot fields. They bond as night falls, and Dylan reveals he knows nothing about his mother's childhood.
Emma tells Norman that she's frightened that the men with guns will come after them and admits that initially she was just using the search for the dead girl as an excuse to hang out with him. Now that she knows the story is real, she wants to take action. Norman blows up at her before storming off to class. In class, Norman has visions of images from the manga, but in place of the young girl he sees Ms. Watson, bound and gagged. The images intensify, and he collapses in his teacher's arms.
At the hospital, Norma denies that Norman has a history of blackouts. When she runs home to sign for the new carpet delivery, Bradley shows up and hops into the hospital bed with him to watch a movie.
As Norma signs for the new carpets, Sheriff Romero arrives with a search warrant. She hurries back to the hospital and takes Norman home, against doctor's orders. Norman makes a beeline for his bedroom to discover that Keith Summers belt, usually hidden under his bed, is gone. He tells his mother. Confused and upset, she tells Norman that she'll be right back, and leaves.
Emma stops by and convinces Norman to help her continue the investigation. The number four is repeated frequently in the manga, so they go to room four to look for clues. In the bathroom they find a Chinese character scratched under the sink. Norman is distracted from the search by a flirtatious text from Bradley.
Norma tracks down Deputy Shelby, and confides to him that she really needs a friend. Shelby's on duty, but tells her to come to his place for dinner to discuss things. She returns home to get ready for dinner, and tells Norman that Shelby knows about the belt.
At Shelby's, Norma learns that he found the belt and hasn't told anyone else. He asks her if Norman killed Keith, and she says no. He has feelings for her, and wants to protect her and Norman. He tells her that she has nothing to worry about, and they kiss.
Dylan returns home late that night to find Norman watching TV. The two bond as they talk about their messed up family. Dylan mentions Norman attacking him with a meat tenderizer, but Norman doesn't remember. He assumes Dylan is joking.
Norma gets home and wakes Norman to tell him what has transpired. Norman doesn't like the idea of Shelby having power over them. She asks again why he kept the belt. He tells her he likes to keep mementos. Norma is still confused; why would he keep a memento of such a horrible experience?
At school, Norman briefly talks to Bradley at her locker before getting interrupted by Emma. The Chinese character they found is "Jiao" which translates to "beautiful". Emma tells Norman she's going to police, and he has a meltdown. He tells her not to do it. He yells that the girl being real doesn't change anything; she's still sick, and he's still who he is. He apologizes, tells her he can't deal with it right now, and leaves.
Norma sits at the end of the Norman's bed and tells him he was right about Shelby. If they let him keep the belt, he'll have power over them and will be able to make them do things they don't want to do, just like his father did. He says he knows what he has to do: get that belt. As he speaks the words aloud, Norma disappears. He's talking to an empty room. Norman walks out into the night.
He gets inside Shelby's house and finds a set of keys to the dark and grimy basement. A disco ball sends light creepily across a dingy bed. He opens another locked door and finds a young girl, passed out, in nothing but a shirt and underwear. She grabs his arm and asks him to help her. At that moment, Deputy Shelby pulls up to the house, and heads inside.