(S03E09) Well, the slap countdown clock is gone, and we've just experienced the first-ever Slapsgiving. Was it as good as everyone thought it was going to be?Well, yes and no.
Despite how Barney felt about it, the impact of tonight's slap probably was blunted by the fact that we knew when it was coming. However, the goofiness that led up to the slap more than made up for that. And we even got a Robin / Ted plot that wasn't boring or annoying. So it was a bonus. Oh, and the slap was pretty funny too. Slaps always are.
Was this an all-time HIMYM classic? No. But just seeing that crazed look in Marshall's eyes every time he spoke about Slapsgiving was enough to make the episode one of the better ones this season. From what I can tell, this episode was one Bays and Thomas did for the fans; anyone who didn't see last year's classic "Slap Bet / Robin Sparkles" episode wouldn't know why the slap bet was made, why Lily was the slap bet commissioner, and why Barney chose the "five slaps over infinity" option. But for those who did get the joke, Marshall's torture of Barney was delicious. For instance, he made hand-shaped turkeys because "we're gonna eat turkey then I'm gonna slap you in the face." Earlier, he plays on the phrase "show your hand" by telling Barn that "at 3:01 PM, your face will show my hand."
It didn't help that Barney for some reason didn't know that October (or March) has 31 days. Doesn't he know the rhyme "Thirty days has September, April, June and November?" So he didn't think that the slap was going to happen on Thanksgiving. Oh, but it was. And the anticipation was killing him. "Don't slap me again!" he said in one of his finest whines. In fact, I have to give his entire plea to Marshall the Best Barneyism of the week. "You may be able to slap my face, but you cannot slap my brain!" is what he said about the mental games Marshall was playing on him.
Thank goodness Lily was there to a) put on a moratorium on the slaps, so Barney could stay at her meticulously-planned Thanksgiving dinner, and b) taking off the moratorium at the very last second so Marshall can lay a monster of a slap across ol' Barn's mug. Then, Marshall did the only logical thing... he played a song he wrote for the occasion, called "You Just Got Slapped," complete with Barney's moaning as an accompaniment. It was as warm a holiday moment as I've ever seen on a sitcom (but I'm "dark and twisty", as an annoying surgeon on another network used to say, so what do I know?).
By the way, notice who's missing from that picture above? Bob, Robin's date. He was in on the sing-along in the show, but for some reason isn't in the photo. It was fun that, even though Bob was only 41, he was played by Orson Bean. Why? Because the show is told from Ted's perspective, and jealous Ted thought he was ancient. I've seen Bean in a number of offbeat roles over the years, but I've never heard him utter the phrase "We'z gonna get silly, bitches!" before. It was a good way to show the awkward manner in which Ted and Robin have related to each other post-breakup.
Was it predictable that they were going to relapse? Of course! A lot of couples who try to remain friends after a breakup do, especially on sitcoms. I mean, Barney had a "Relapse Five" at the ready for the occasion. But I think what made the plot good to watch was that Ted and Robin were finally being honest with each other instead of just smiling and thinking that everything was fine. I liked how Ted compared initiating sex to how a wimpy Little Leaguer (like him) would lean in to get hit instead of swinging away. I think the only part of the plot that seemed bothersome to me was the pat resolution; instead of showing how the gang would deal with Ted and Robin avoiding each other, the friendship was renewed because of Marshall's heartfelt speech at dinner, thanking Lily for helping to create a new tradition. But I guess there are worse ways to bond than saluting every time an army rank is used as a sentence, like "general knowledge," "corporal punishment," and "I've got a kernel stuck in my teeth."
More fun stuff:
- Robin may not know the highest mountain in Canada, but she does know the history of her country's Thanksgiving. "I'm sorry," she says with "sorry" sounding more like "surry." "The real Thanksgiving happened a month ago."
- Barney's response to that: "Why are you even a country?"
- Marshall: "Sleep eating is a very serious and delicious medical condition!" Which is why the pies have to be kept at Robin's place the night before Thanksgiving.
- Lily really knocked herself out on the dinner, didn't she? Marshall didn't do much to help, and all Robin could do was drink wine and talk about relapsing with Ted while Lily was strongly hinting at her to help or leave.
- Lily and Marshall must be still closing the apartment in Dowisetrepla, since this is the second episode since they bought the place and they're still in their old place. Also, they're not reeling at the sight of their first mortgage and property tax payments yet.
- Lily to Robin: "Why are you trying to destroy American Thanksgiving?"
- Then we have the adaptation of certain terms to the slap motif: "Slappetizers." "The time-slap continuum." "Slappetitive."
- When Robin and Ted fought about being friends post-breakup, Robin saw fit to bring up the parade of skanks she had to witness, including the one that gave Ted the butterfly tramp stamp. Good for her! Most of the guys she's dated have been angels compared to what Ted has been attracted to this season.
- Just after the episode aired, the URL www.slapcountdown.com led to a generic video about the episode. Now it leads to a video for the song "You Just Got Slapped." (Thanks, Mike!)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-19-2007 @ 10:55PM
Ryan S. said...
I personally hope that they save a slap for the series finale at Ted and the Mother's wedding, i think that would be great.
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11-19-2007 @ 10:57PM
mike said...
Slapcountdown.com leads now to the video for Marshall's song, "You Just Got Slapped"... it's like he's Liberace.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzpYeHTiEGY
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11-19-2007 @ 11:31PM
HD said...
Orson Bean is in the picture...he's standing behind Lily--you can see his arm. I thought it was cool that they included him and he seemed to enjoy the slap--like any good guest would!
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11-19-2007 @ 11:50PM
Blair Mitchelmore said...
I'm betting that the final slap will be at Barney's funeral...
Marshall will walk up to the open casket and lay one on him and say something like "rest easy, friend."
You did say five slaps over eternity not five slaps over his lifetime, right?
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11-20-2007 @ 12:04AM
MarcDom7 said...
Great episode, but one thing bothered me:
When they were explaining the "Slap Bet" in flashbacks, they show that the first slap happened at the bar. In actuality, this was the false slap Marshall administered, resulting in the commissioner giving Barney three slaps for Marshall. The true first slap bet is after the "Robin Sparkles" video, which takes place at the apartment, as Marshall interrupts Barney laughing with a big wallop to the face at the end of the episode.
I know a co-producer/writer on this show. I should ask what the heck happened.
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11-20-2007 @ 12:05AM
JD said...
Wow, what a great episode tonight. There were so many references for the long-time viewers. Marshall's song was killer, it beat Let's Go to the Mall I think.
The episode also had a good bit of characterization, something this show does better than all it's competitors.
Check out my full recap for more.
http://www.have-you-met-ted.com/2007/season-3-episode-9-slapsgiving-discussion/
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11-20-2007 @ 12:27AM
Ryan said...
The episode was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing over how giddy Marshall was the whole time.
I also loved Robin and Ted actually DEALING with their breakup. Their scenes sorta touched me a bit.
Also I love that the way we know it's a flashback is almost always through Lily's hair. I wonder what hairstyle she'll have next season. Blonde? Short hair? Curly?
Great episode.
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11-20-2007 @ 2:18AM
khamel said...
i made a friend watch slap bet yesterday (we saw the commercials during football and i told him it would be worth it) so i was primed for this episode. nothing will ever be as complete of an episode as slap bet but the song at the end of this one was close to "lets go to the mall worth" in its sheer joy factor.
man, slap bet was such a great episode. one of the best half hours i've ever watched.
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11-20-2007 @ 2:23AM
Roxie said...
awesome ep! wait how long til we get repeats? :(
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11-20-2007 @ 3:08AM
itsjustmejanie said...
I want to know what happened to the Condo that Lilly and Marshall bought. I know it was in a smelly neighborhood but why wouldn't they have Thanksgiving at their own place? Did i miss something?
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11-20-2007 @ 3:19AM
Jeff N. said...
Great epsiode! We love this show!
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11-20-2007 @ 4:02AM
Paul said...
Plus, along with all the other great stuff already mentioned by Joel and other commenters, there was a Lonely Island reference (at least I'm pretty certain it was) with Robin responding to Lily with "kablamo".
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11-20-2007 @ 7:51AM
OnlyRumors said...
Was anyone else reminded of "Lady L?"
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11-20-2007 @ 8:04AM
KMF said...
Looovvvveeeed this episode!!! Orson Bean was a scream! I loved how Ted thought he was ancient at 41 when everyone else thought he was great.
Slapsgiving, I hope the tradition continues. My sister thinsk there should be another slap bet some time to keep it going.
How could anyone not love Barney dressed as Borat?!
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11-20-2007 @ 8:16AM
fred said...
Loved the episode, but I agree it won't be a classic. And to me that's because of the whole Robin & Ted plot.
I didn't really like it, wasn't that funny, seemed to be a whole lots of nothing, i mean in the end they're back like they were last week... at least that's how I feel.
But still, the whole slapsgiving was really awesome, even better than the slap itself was the buildup to it, and the mental torture Marshall put our awesome Barney through... I loved it!
That said, I want the next slap to be unpredictable, to come out of nowhere while no one, absolutely no one, not Barney, not us, no one saw it coming. I want it to come for no other reason than "I felt like slapping you today"... :)
http://88.191.26.34/i_watch_tv/2007/11/20/how-i-met-your-mother-slapsgiving/
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11-20-2007 @ 11:09AM
Akbar Fazil said...
I kinda wished that Marshall had just played up the psychological torture of Barney the whole way and then at the end just lightly tapped him as the slap. And then later in the evening laid out number 4 as a full on whacking.
I too wonder why Lily and Marshall aren't in their new condo yet. Still closing on the escrow could totally make sense. Or, it smells so bad they are willing to pay rent and a mortgage and continue living with Ted.
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11-20-2007 @ 3:13PM
adc42 said...
Great episode. My theory about HIMYM is that the Mother is going to be someone who has always been around on the periphery of the storyline, like a friend of their bartender or someone, who will introduce herself to Ted at the end of the series. Sort of like they were sitting right in front of each other the whole time and only just "met."
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11-21-2007 @ 10:47AM
spg28 said...
onlyrumors:
I was totally flashing back to something when Marshall was singing his You Got Slapped song...now I know it was "Lady L" from Freaks and Geeks! Good call!
I love it when Marshall sings- from his fake singing (last week's song about paying bills using the return address labels from a charity he doesn't give money to) to his super-serious rendition of Lily's "Night-Night" song with Ted. (sha-la-la-la-la)..
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11-21-2007 @ 9:13PM
kevin said...
thank you for seeing that as well marcdom7 .. it confounded me as to how they got that wrong when i watched the episode.. like coem on .. marshalls first slap was a huge backhand.. how could u forget that
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