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As Marshall and Lily prepare to host their first Thanksgiving as husband and wife, Barney eyes Marshall's Slap Bet Countdown Clock website with dread. Marshall has a gift for everyone.
  • Don't know...not inspired to think of one

    6.0
    "Fair"
    I didn't like it much because it was about Marshall slapping Barney. I felt that Marshall should have gotten a slap for slapping his mind - as Barney would call it. I like Lily, she's firm and put her foot down about the whole Thanksgiving happenings that year.

    How many times do Ted and Robin sort-of get together like they do on this Thanksgiving Day? If it's a lot then perhaps he should marry Robin and put us out of our miseries. He's so like Ross in "Friends". I want to shout: "Come on, make up your mind!"moreless
  • It's Slapsgiving!!

    9.0
    "Superb"
    "Slapsgiving" is an awesome How I Met Your Mother episode. I love how the beginning of this episode with Future Ted telling his kids about Ted and Robin's private joke with military ranks. I actually enjoyed Ted and Robin realizing that their not actually friends, but then I love how they decide to be friends by the end of this episode. I love how Barney is living in fear because he's afraid of the next slap. I love how Marshall slaps Barney and then he sings a song about it. I give this episode a 9/10.moreless
  • I expected a lot more from an episode with "slap" in its title.

    7.5
    "Good"
    I was excited about this episode, and it let me down. The slap bet is one of the most inventive sitcom devices I've seen, and the previous two slaps impressed me to no end. This time around, we were told what would happen and when, which created some of the episode's best comedic moments (Barney anticipating the slap), but ultimately took the genius out of the actual slapping moment. After Lily's ban went into effect, the slap was doomed whether or not she decided later to allow it.

    The rest of the episode didn't have a lot to offer either. The Bob gimmick didn't have a lot of momentum, and Robin and Ted's story was practically humor-free. I'd rather see the relationship stories told through a comedic lens.

    I suppose the song was all right...but I've come to expect more from this series. I'm hoping the next episode, and the next slap, will be better.moreless
  • That's three.

    8.0
    "Great"
    Marshall makes it a tradition to have the slaps that he owes Barney take place on Thanksgiving. I'm glad they brought back this story line. It was created in 209, then brought back in 216. Now time for the third slap, on Thanksgiving. The past season 1 Thanksgiving was impressive, and this one definitely lived up to it's predecessor. Since it was mixed with the slap story line. Lilly is anxious to have the best Thanksgiving since it's her first Thanksgiving as a married person. Ted & Robin end up being alone, and they realize how awkward it is, since they were never alone before until they had to bake pies together. They ended up having to suffer a relapse (Definition: Having sex one more time after breaking up). The relapse didn't do that much for me. I know that yes, it definitely develops their relationship, but them having sex just seemed pointless. The real strong point in their plot, is them learning to actually becoming friends again without it being awkward, at first they decide to just not be friends, but then they share their inside joke together and become friends again. As for Marshall & Barney's plot, it was funny seeing Barney being scared of Marshall's awaited slap. But the song at the end was cheesy, and I found myself wondering why Arney would sing in unison with Marshall if he's the one who got slapped. Bob didn't do much to the storyline. Marshall ends up slapping Barney, that's three. Only 2 more slaps to go. How I Met Your Mother didn't fail to impress me with this Thanksgiving themed episode. A great episode, that was eventful in many ways.moreless
  • Happy Slapsgiving, everyone!

    10
    "Perfect"
    This Thanksgiving episode brought back the slap bet story line from previous seasons to great effect. The main gist of the episode is that Marshall has created a slap countdown website to freak out Barney before the 3rd slap. Barney dismisses it at first by telling Marshall that if he knows when the slap is coming, it's not as scary, but Marshall sticks with his plan. Over the course of the episode, Barney gets more and more terrified, Marshall gets more and more smug, and Lily gets more and more frustrated with her cooking. As Slap Bet Commissioner, Lily decides that there will be no slaps on Thanksgiving. Barney, now with the weight of the impending slap lifted and the countdown still running, starts to mock Marshall so much and so irritatingly that with mere seconds to spare, Lily revokes her decree and tells Marshall to slap him. Afterward, Marshall goes to the piano to sing the song he composed for the occasion, "You Just Got Slapped," complete with vocal accompaniment by a stinging Barney and waving lighters from the rest of the crew.

    It can be argued that what I just described was the B-story while the Ted and Robin relationship dilemma was the real plot of the episode, but as a firm Barney/Robin shipper, I don't really care about anything Ted does.

    "Everybody saw it...everybody laughed and clapped...it was awesome...you just got slapped..."
    Happy Slapsgiving, everyone!moreless
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  • TRIVIA (4)

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    • Early in the episode we are told that the slap will occur at 3:01pm. However, as Marshall shows Barney the slap bet countdown in the final hour, the clock in the background clearly shows the time as 4:20.

    • In the flashback explanation of the slap bet, the clip they show for the first slap is not the official first of the five slaps but rather when Marshall prematurely slapped Barney after believing he was right in guessing Robin was married.

    • Marshall looks at the slap countdown, which shows 2:45:19 remaining, but then tells Barney they're in the final hour.

    • Determined from the countdown in the episode, that scene was filmed on October 19th, 2007 at 2:40 PM.

  • QUOTES (14)

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    • Barney: By announcing the time, you ruined the suspense. You have shown your hand!
      Marshall: And at 3:01 tomorrow, your face will show my hand.

    • Marshall: But it's slapsgiving!
      Lily: No, it's THANKSgiving! Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple, as grown ups and you're not even trying to be a part of it! None of you are! (shoves Ted and Robin in Ted's room) Now you two are going to talk about this, and if you have sex again, neither of you are getting dessert!

    • Barney: The killer in a horror movie does not stand in front of the camp cabins with a bullhorn and shout, "Attention, unguarded teens! At 3:00 I will jump out of that closet and hack you to death with a machete. By the way, my only weakness is fire."

    • Ted: Pecan pie? Why are we making that? Robin: Um, it's my favorite. Ted: You're allergic. Robin: I know. I just like smelling it. It's like eating with your nose.

    • Future Ted: You see on the surface Robin and I looked like we were doing great, but the truth is, trying to be friends with your ex is a lot harder than it looks... (Flashback) ... you can't be as candid as you used to be! Ted: So then hot intern leans over my desk, I can totally see she has a pierced-... (Robin and Lily passes) ...Brosnan! Pierce Brosnan is my favorite of all the Bonds.

    • Barney: I'm sorry, did you just say the Canadian thanksgiving was - and I'm quoting - the "real thanksgiving"? What do Canadians even have to celebrate a-boot? Robin: The Canadian thanksgiving celebrates explorer Martin Frobisher's valiant, yet ultimately, unsuccessful attempt to find the Northwest Passage. Barney: Why are you guys even a country?

    • Marshall: Oh my! Look at that! That means we're in the final hour of the countdown. Barney: I'm not scared Marshall: Then why is your right cheek twitching? Barney: It's not... Marshall: Maybe it's because future me slaps future you so hard, it reverberates back to the present, shattering the time-slap continuum . Barney: Please don't slap me!

    • Barney: No, no. The countdown ends at 3pm the day after thanksgiving. I counted it out! Ted: How many days are in October? Barney: Uhhh...Thirty

    • (after knowing Ted and Robin slept togheter) Barney: Relapse five! That's when we high five, then it gets awkward a little bit...then we high five again!

    • Ted: (Trying to avoid talking about him and Robin having sex the night before) (Points to plate of mushrooms) Did you know that some mushrooms are carnivorous? Probably. Not.

    • Marshall: What is this feeling, that put you in your place, hot red burning on the side of your face. You feel the blood rush to your cheek, tears start to fill your eyes, your lips their tremblin, but you can't speak. You're trying, oh, you're trying, not to cry. You just got slapped, across the face, my friend, you just got slapped, yes that really did happen, well everybody saw it, HA. Everybody laughed and clapped cause it was awesome the way that you just got slapped.

    • Ted: The only reason I'm jealous of Bob is because Noah gave him shotgun on the ark.

    • Ted: Unbelievable—Robin is dating Orville Redenbacher.

    • Barney: (to Marshall) You are allowed to slap my face; you are not allowed to slap my mind. GOOD DAY!

  • NOTES (5)

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    • The German episode title is "Klapsgiving", an exact translation. The French title is "Soirée frappée", meaning "Slap Party". The Italian title is "Lo schiaffeggiamento", meaning "Face Slapping".

    • International Airdates: Australia: May 8, 2008 on Network 7; Czech Republic: September 30, 2010 on Prima COOL

    • Music Featured In This Episode : "Still Alright" by Adam Merrin "You Just Got Slapped" by Marshall Eriksen

    • The slapcountdown.com clock was off by 30 seconds in the West Coast.

    • According to the Slap Countdown website (introduced in the episode Wait For It...) a slap will occur at 8:27pm the night that this episode airs. The clock counts down to 8:27 pm, November 19, 2007, based on your own computer's clock, which is presumably accurate (i.e., during the episode) for viewers in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, but an hour late for those in Central and Mountain times. During part of November, immediately after daylight savings time ended, the clock was counting down to 7:27 pm. This was subsequently corrected.

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

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