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How I Met Your Mother Season 2 Episode 16

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9.1

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 2/19/07

Lily gets asked to play in an off-off-off-off-Broadway play, and the gang shows up to support her. Ted and Robin get hung up on what each kept from their past relationships. Barney performs his own play to prove a point to Lily.

FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (15)

What to keep and what to let go

8.0

By TheDeadPuppet, Mar 02, 2013

The main plot of this episode is Ted and Robin's fight over Ted's stuff (all of which was given to him by his ex girlfriends). Robin finally gets Ted to give all of it away. The lotions, knick-knacks and clothes were understandable, but lamps and houseplants may have been going too far. Then, Ted finds out that Robin's dogs were gifts from her exes and, basically because he's petty, demands she get rid of them. Come on Ted, people don't throw out their kids when they get divorced! Naturally the fight escalates and is resolved when they decide to move in together. Meanwhile Barney and Lily fight over whether or not it's socially acceptable to lie to someone when they did a bad job in a play. Barney proves his point by writing his own play, and boring all of his friends with it, and Lily proves her point when they try to leave early and Barney becomes upset. I'm not really sure why other reviewers are upset Barney's play was bad, that was the point but I digress. Each character learned a lesson (well, except Marshall) and they all leave with slightly different outlooks on life. The significance of this episode is we get to see more of "relationship Ted", a much less generous character than "friendmoreless
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It happens again

9.0

By Lostindharma, Aug 29, 2012

While Ted and Robin make a great couple, when they got together it was great but too much hat to happen. It goes back to the conversation Ted had with Barney at Stewart's wedding. While there is work to a relationship, it shouldn't be that hard. There is always going disagreements but they should not lead to big fights. Ted and Robin had their disagreements but they have not let it get out of control. Until now. I understand both Ted and Robin's side in keeping stuff from past relationships. However I do side with Ted in keeping an ex's past things. But when it comes to alive things like dogs, I side with Robin. I like that Ted and Robin went to their friends and accepted their decision. This episode had a lot of good moments. The past scene with Marshall and this pants was great. Both of Barney's and Lilly's plays were so bad it was funny. Barney's might have been "worse." I liked it when Barney was telling how bad his play was to his friends, the excitement in his voice shows how much he was into it.

Again another great song at the end. It was good that you didn't get to hear what Barney and Robin said. The producers do a great job of setting up what would happen in Season 2. It also didn't come up as a total shock with how they first got together and other past fights. Also the ending while not having much to do with the ending was great. That's Two.moreless
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Ted and Robin argue over 'stuff' given to them by exes and Lily is in a terrible play.

8.5

By pudgebyrd722, May 07, 2012

Ted and Robin get into their worst argument as a couple. Ted confesses most of the stuff in his apartment were given to him by ex-girlfriends. The rest of the gang vote 2-1 that the stuff must go, including Barney, who we can see a tad likes Robin as he sides with her. This, I did not agree with. But Ted takes the stuff out anyway. However, Robin confesses also that all of her dogs were gifts from her ex-boyfriends. Viewing Robin hypocritical like she truly is, Ted protests Robin get rid of her dogs. I, though, did not like this motion made by Ted however. The others agree, too, 3-0 in favor of Robin again. So Ted puts all the stuff back in his apartment while Robin sends her dogs to her aunt. When Robin discovers Ted's apartment again, they get in a fight so long, it had to sped up to reveal a twist I didn't see coming: they decided to move in together. Meanwhile, the gang shows up for a play Lily is in, which is horrible. Barney is brutally honest at the end and to prove a point, he creates his own horrible play. Lily surrenders but Barney suckers her and the rest of the gang into staying to watch the rest. They initially agree, but Marshall ends it early by slapping Barney: "That's two." I liked Ted and Robin's storyline but Lily and Barney's was okay at best. I thought Barney's horrible play was a little too far.moreless
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You're the one that I don't want!

4.0

By GeorgeJobson, Nov 20, 2011

Barney's off Broadway One-man play is the reason why I've given "How I Met Your Mother" a 4. Before I heard the protest, let me tell you why. If I were in the audience writing a review of the play for a newspaper like The New York Post, and having Barney shot a squrit gun at me and pentending to be a robot, well I go back to the office and write a negative review of the show. I'll give the show a one star I give the episode a four. Barney needs to put some material onstage. You know the critics.moreless
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Ted and Robin get into a big fight.

9.0

By Jon_MW_14, Aug 16, 2011

"Stuff" is an awesome How I Met Your Mother episode. I love how Robin sees all of Ted's ex-girlfriends once he says most of his possessions were from his ex-girlfriends. I love how Ted sees Robin's dogs as her ex-boyfriends, so they once belonged to her ex-boyfriends. I love how Ted gets rid of everything in her apartment and Robin agrees to send her dogs to her Aunt's farm. I love how they get into a big argument and you think they are going to break up, but instead they decide to move in with each other. I love how Lily gets the gang to come to her play and it was completely awful. I love how Barney decides to torture the gang by coming out with his own boring play. I love Marshall giving Barney his second slap. I give this episode a 9/10.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Alyson Hannigan	Lily Aldrin
Cobie Smulders	Robin Scherbatsky
Jason Segel	Marshall Eriksen
Josh Radnor	Ted Mosby
Neil Patrick Harris	Barney Stinson

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Taylor Hoover	Jeannie Radford	Guest Star
Diana Gettinger	Alison Moses	Guest Star
Ashli Ford	Lauren Stein	Guest Star
Bob Saget	Voice of Ted, 2030	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- Marshall: Ok, so you have to have sex with one: either classic mermaid, bottom half fish, top half human, or inverted mermaid, top half fish, bottom half human, go!
  
  Last season when Marshall was interning at Barney's company, he was put off by the other lawyers who kept forcing him to chose which of two women to sleep with, ended by the phrase "go!" Clearly, Marshall picked up the habit.
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- The final scene, in which Marshall slaps Barney and states "That's two" is a reference to a previous episode "Slap Bet" in which it is decided that Marshall can slap Barney in the face anywhere, at anytime a total of five times. He now has three slaps left.
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QUOTES (15)
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- Lily: You can ask someone to get rid of their iguana after it poops in your hair, but not their dogs!
  Marshall: I miss Jedediah.
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- Lily: This is the face of consumerism! (holds a mirror up to Ted's face)
  Marshall: Oh, my god, Ted's part of the play!
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- Actor: I... am rage!
  Actor: I... am greed!
  Lily: I... am rage... envy!
  Barney: I am out of here.
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- Robin: Oh, my God. You've been robbed.
  Ted: Nope.
  Robin: All that stuff was from old girlfriends? Don't you buy anything for yourself?
  Ted: What can I say? Papa got swag.
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- Older Ted: New York is famous for its theater, but there are different levels. There's Broadway; off-Broadway; off-off-Broadway; homeless people screaming in the park; and below that, the play your Aunt Lily was in.
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- (When settling down to watch Barney's play)
  Marshall: Are you sure you're gonna be ok? I mean you know that this is going to be..
  Lily: I know. But I am going to sit through the whole thing and I am going to say something nice about if afterwards. You know why? Because that's what friends do.
  Marshall: Hmm.
  (The lights are dimmed and Barney enters, the gong sounds)
  Barney: Moist, moist, moist, moist.
  (Lily uncomfortable, repeatedly flinches)
  Future Ted: That was the first 40 minutes of Barney's show.
  Barney: Moist.
  Future Ted: And then we endured about twenty minutes of this.
  (Barney sprays Lily repeatedly in the face with a water pistol)
  Barney: I have to go refill, I'll be back in a moment, play's not over.
  Marshall: I never get picked for audience participation.
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- (Marshall slaps Barney)
  Marshall: That's two.
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- Ted: We fought for so long, seasons changed outside the window.
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- Robin: What kind of building is this?
  Barney: From the smell of it, I'm guessing a urine factory.
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- Ted: We need you guys to decide something for us.
  Barney: Yes, you should break up.
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- Marshall: Ok, so you have to have sex with one, either 'classic mermaid'- bottom half fish, top half human or 'inverted mermaid' top half fish, bottom half mermaid. Go!
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- Ted: Oh, my God, Van Helsing is on. Remember when we went to see it? We sat in the back row.
  Robin: I've never seen Van Helsing.
  Ted: That's right, I saw it with my sister.
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- Barney: (when entering Lily's play) I brought a bag in case anyone needs to puke.
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- Barney: Friends don't let friends come see their crappy play.
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- Barney: (to Ted) Your place is too cluttered. It's like you're living in a Bennigan's.
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NOTES (2)
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- The German episode title is "Nur Theater", meaning "Just Theater". The French title is "Des ex trop présents", meaning "Too Many Presents from Exes". The Italian title is "Gelosia", meaning "Jealousy".
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- International Airdates: Czech Republic: February 1, 2010 on Prima COOL
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ALLUSIONS (2)
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- When Lily explains how, "friends are supposed to make each other feel good. They build each other up and support them. That's what being a good friend is about," Barney derisively responds, "Yeah, if you're a Smurf," referencing the title fictional cartoon species from The Smurfs that live in their own community, which is built on kindness and helpfulness and had originated as a comic strip created by Pierre Culliford under the pen name Peyo in 1958.
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- Barney mentions dislike for "Joey Buttafuoco pants" he wore in 2005, with Robin responding, "I don't want some 16-year-old girl falling in love with you and then shooting Lily in the face." They are referencing the 1992 case that involved middle-aged auto body shop owner Joey Buttafuoco's affair with a 16-year-old girl, Amy Fisher. Out of jealousy, Amy Fisher shot Buttafuoco's wife, Mary Jo, in the face, leaving her partially paralyzed.
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