Stuff

Season 2, Episode 16, Aired
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Episode Summary

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.
9.1
out of 10
EPISODE RATING: Superb
426 votes
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • You're the one that I don't want!

    4.0
    "Poor"
    By GeorgeJobson, Nov 20, 2011 Report Abuse
    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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    1 33

  • Ted and Robin get into a big fight.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By Jon_MW_14, Aug 16, 2011 Report Abuse
    "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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    1 0

  • Robin & Ted's worst fight ever.

    7.8
    "Good"
    By Canogaparkcindy, May 01, 2010 Report Abuse
    Definitely a setting stone in Ted & Robin's relationship. I rated this a bit lower than a usual episode, because I found Barney's plot unbearable due to the intentional terrible play he was in. Some parts were funny like when Barney was watching Lilly's play, but I definitely enjoyed the Barney & Lilly interaction, there always good together in a plot. The strong plot was Ted & Robin's. Robin gets upset when Ted has kept all of the things from his past girlfriends, he ends up getting rid of it for Robin, only to find out that her 5 dogs are from past boyfriends. She comes to her senses, and sends her dogs to a farm, and then Ted puts all his stuff back. I honestly thought they were going to break up in this episode,m it had me at the edge of my seat when Robin said, "Are we really doing this?" I was sure they were going to b break up, since it was their biggest fight. But we find out they are going to move in with each other instead which is definitely eventful. Marshall also uses his second slap which is also eventful. An okay episode with a strong A plot.moreless

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    0 0

  • Lily gets asked to be in a play. Robin discovers the source of a lot of Ted's stuff and Ted discovers the source of Robin's dogs. They have a fight and ask the rest of the gang to rule on the matter.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ParkPlace2623, May 04, 2008 Report Abuse
    This episode was very entertaining. I enjoyed watching it. I loved when Ted kept seeing Robin's old boyfriends in her dogs. Then at the end when they kept fighting and the conclusion was that they were moving in together. It was very unique. Barney and Lily were also funny in this episode as well. Barney's play was so horrible and made Lily wrong and Barney right... Of course after Lily broke her silence. It was definitely a series classic. It was so cleverly plotted. I am so happy that Ted and Robin are moving in together. They are made for each other and Robin definitely deserves the title of "the mother."moreless

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    1 0

  • Lily has the gang come to her dreadful play, much to the consternation of Barney. After seeing the play, Barney claims the play is dreadful. Lily claims he should have just been polite and said nothing, so to retort Barney creates his own dreadful play.moreless

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By usfjonny, Apr 29, 2007 Report Abuse
    This is an emblematic episode of How I Met Your Mother. To begin with it is very good at dealing with the character dynamics. Lily is, in many ways, the anti-Barney, and we get to see the schoolteacher politeness in her conflict with the Barneyness of Barney. Meanwhile, Barney's play is truly hilarious. We also see some of the tension in the Robin/Ted relationship. The actual fight they have seems non-unique, as in any relationship could have these kinds of issues. It's its resolution that gives us hints of forthcoming problems in their relationship. Both take actions with out actually telling each other, and when this ends in a terrible fight their eventual resolution is to move in together. Ted and Robin just seem to have an issue with actually communicating with each other-often resolving major issues in their relationship through hiding things (see Robin hiding the fact that she reads Guns and Ammo in the next episode, when they finally move in together). The show does an excellent job making Ted and Robin a lovable couple whose break up seems somewhat inevitable, but not entirely regrettable. What is especially triumphant about this bit of writing is that we dislike neither of the characters as we watch the very slow decay of this relationship, a rare feat of sitcom writing.moreless

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    3 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • 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. Edit
    • 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. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • 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". Edit
    • International Airdates: Czech Republic: February 1, 2010 on Prima COOL Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • 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. Edit
    • 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! Edit
    • Actor: I... am rage! Actor: I... am greed! Lily: I... am rage... envy! Barney: I am out of here. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • 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. Edit
    • 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. Edit

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