How I Met Your Mother

The episode begins with the reminder of the tattoo that Ted got in 2007. Older Ted – "Kids, too often in life, we make decisions that we're not prepared to live with. This is a story about those decisions, and the consequences that follow. Ted is going to get his tattoo removed and he has a date with the doctor that will be removing the tattoo. The group tells him that he shouldn't go out with anyone that you have to see. Barney tells Ted that the golden rule is "Love thy neighbor" (which Ted points out that it is not) and that there is a rule more important that is the platinum rule that says "Never, ever, ever, love thy neighbor." The rest of the group points out several incidents that happened when they did not obey the rule. There are eight steps to this process. The first rule is attraction. Everyone tells their own stories about how they met people": Barney with the waitress at the bar, Wendy, Marshall and Lily with their neighbors, and Robin with a new sportscaster, Curt "The Ironman" Irons. Barney explains that Ted thinks that the Platinum Rule does not apply to him, but Barney tells him that it is just step two, bargaining. Everyone complains and tries to talk them out of doing things with the people since they will be too close to them: Robin tells everyone about Curt, Marshall and Lily want to invite the neighbors to dinner, and Barney wants to have sex with the waitress. Everyone thinks about the time and tells them that it was a huge mistake even though they had bargained in their mind about it. Rule number three is submission. Wendy tells Barney that they are alone at the bar, Curt asks Lily to accompany him to a hockey game, and the neighbors complain about them not having their kitchen supplies and Marshall and Lily inviting them over. Then, it shows everyone falling for the person that they are doing things with.
Ted suggests that maybe there is a perk for going out with the doctor. Step four is perks. Robin tells them that she met some famous hockey player, Lily tells them that they will have a built-in couple to do things with them, and Barney gets free food. They all thought that everything was going great. Step five is the tipping point. After the sportscast, Curt makes a snide comment to Robin since she didn't call him when she said she would, Barney finds another girl and asks Wendy to send her a drink, and Marshall and Lily open their door to the neighbors, but they are about to leave to do other things.
Step six is purgatory. Robin realizes that Curt is annoying with his love notes he leaves everywhere, Marshall and Lily's neighbors have to send out a scout to make sure that the neighbors don't see them leaving, and then Barney is annoyed that he can't go after any girls in the bar. Barney tells Ted that he has to do the inevitable and get to step seven, confrontation. Robin, Marshall and Lily, and Barney all break up with the people and they just try to go back to being the way they were before they got too involved. Barney tells Ted that there is another step, step eight, fallout. Robin introduces Curt for the sportscast, but he is too depressed to do a good job and then turns to Robin and asks her why they broke up and then runs off crying. Marshall and Lilly leave the apartment, but they see the neighbors' door open and they run back to their apartment. Ted knocks on the door, but Marshall sees the neighbors coming out of the apartment. They decide to leave from the alley, but run into the neighbors there. Barney thinks that Wendy is trying to poison them with their drinks and tosses his and Ted's drinks out. When Barney sees Marshall about to eat a hamburger that Wendy brought to him, he slaps it out of his hands. In the present day, Robin is upset because Barney has had no fallout from his breakup with Wendy, but Barney suggests that it hasn't happened yet. Ted tries to leave again, but Barney stops him and goes over the steps again. Ted wants to break the rules and if they break up, it will not be because of the Platinum Rule. Older Ted – "So, Stella and I went on our date. But here's the funny thing. Turns out, it wasn't actually a date." 3 hours later, Ted tells them that they went to the movies as friends. Stella told Ted that they were not allowed to date, but not because of the Platinum Rule, but because doctors are not allowed to date their patients. Older Ted – "So that was the end of the story between me and Stella, at least for the time being. But I don't know, looking back at the platinum rule, I think there's a ninth step. We'll call it coexistence. It's the moment you realize that all that anger and resentment just isn't useful. And you start to let go of it. And move on with your life. It just takes a while." It shows the groups of people co-existing in the world, but Barney still throws away the drink that Wendy brought him.