HIMYM – The slap bet meets the ducky tie

People really do stupid things in preparation for a big storm. There’s one extreme – where I come from, it’s colloquially known as the “Hurricane Party.” Then there’s the opposite, those that are a little too prepared (I’d argue that the proper level of preparation lies somewhere in between, lest you don’t get stuck pushing your Jeep through a four-hour line for gas … not that that’s happened to me). This week’s How I Met Your Mother proves that there is such thing as too much preparation, especially when it is Classic Schmosby.

I could talk about the entirety of this episode — how the idea of Marshall boogie boarding on a plastic garbage can top is ridiculous, or how Ted’s move to throw Barney under the bus for the sake of a hot woman is showing some growth into Stinson-esque territories, or even Marshall’s freaky obsession with being mauled by a bear. I could do those things, and waste your time, but there are really only two things you want to talk about, right?

The Slap Bet revisited

You had to know that the only thing that was going to save Barney from the Ducky Tie would somehow involve the Slap Bet. His trying to leverage one additional slap to get out of the bet was, ironically, exactly how the scoreboard looked at the end of the night. Minus, obviously, the two slaps that Marshall negotiated into the deal, and then immediately utilized. The Slap Bet has played itself out pretty well over the years (Though, Deb is right, Slapsgiving 2 kinda sucked), and this is just another chapter in a great long-running joke.

Barney and Robin kiss

I’d love to say that this gives credence to my theory that Barney and Robin will end up together, but, technically, it just lends credence to the idea that there will be conflict and mystery in whom Barney ends up marrying this season. And, we already know that there will be conflict, so this did little to advance the story. What the kiss (and the moment with Barney and Robin on the stoop discussing her father) did accomplish, however, was to give people like me — who believe in Barney and Robin — another reminder of how well they do work together. Despite the last iteration of their relationship’s massive failure, they are comedic gold together … and more than a little sweet.

Notes & Quotes

• “Kids, you haven’t truly lived until somewhere, somebody puts a sign up because of something you did.” – Future Ted
• “Guys, this storm is serious. Luckily, you are friends with a former Boy Scout. And a Boy Scout is always what?” – Ted
  “Unpopular?” – Robin
  “Beaten up?” – Lily
  “Going to the movies with his mother?” – Barney
  “A Boy Scout is always prepared.” – Ted
  “Prepared to spend lunch in his locker?” – Robin
  “Prepared to die a virgin?” – Marshall
  “Prepared to paint his sister’s nails?” – Barney
• Lily is deriding listening to the Memoirs of a Geisha book on tape, when she forced Ted and Marshall to listen to the Marley and Me rip-off book on tape, in “Duel Citizenship?”
• “Wow, it’s come to this. You could help a friend, but instead your choosing the hot girl with the tight tank top … Your training is complete. I’m so proud of this kid!” – Barney
• “OK, if we don’t get through the night, I want you guys to know – and I really mean this – I wish I’d branched out and made more friends in my 20’s.” – Ted

Clacked by Ivey West
on Nov 07, 2011 @ 21:15 EST5EDT