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'How I Met Your Mother': Robin falls for the naked man
Tonight on How I Met Your Mother we started a whole new story – the story of how Ted met the woman who helped him get over Stella. And here I thought this was the story of how Ted met his kids' mother. This Vicky girl from tonight was clearly not that person.
What struck me as hugely odd was that Vicky said "yes" when Ted asked her out. You see, in asking her out, Ted told Vicky that he had just been left at altar a month earlier. To me that says "damaged goods," apparently to Vicky that said "hello!"
Meanwhile, Robin slept with Mitch. Who was Mitch? Doesn't matter, Robin only slept with him because he was naked. That was Mitch's move – The Naked Man. Prior to Robin, Mitch had used The Naked Man successfully two out of three times. Those are hall of fame numbers people, hall of fame.
It also made Marshall's statement about Robin quite accurate. He called her a "slut." That may sound harsh, but as Marshall pointed out, the only thing standing between Robin and sex is clothes, and that's not a bad definition of slut. Even Mitch pointed out on their next date that Robin was a slut and only slept with him because he was naked.
But, back to the important stuff – The Naked Man. Now, as Mitch explained, The Naked Man should only really be used when things aren't going well, i.e., the first date is going badly enough that you're quite sure that there will be no second date. Makes complete sense to me, that's why he had tried it with Robin (she way outclassed him), and it made sense to Barney, who never wants to see a woman the second time anyway.
Barney pushed for Ted to use it on his date with Vicky that night, and he himself set out to use it on his yet-to-be-determined random girl of the evening. Ted, being a good guy and decent human being, was against it. Thank goodness. If Ted had jumped all over the idea I would have thought that maybe Stella had destroyed him for life. Ted wanted things to work with Vicky and knew The Naked Man wasn't the way to make that happen.
As it happened, Ted's date with Vicky didn't go so well. It turned out that you can't judge a person solely from a few random encounters in the elevator. Although, now that I think of it, maybe Vicky's not passing on Ted as soon as talked about being jilted at the altar spoke in a negative way about her, not a positive one. She certainly turned out to be a wretched individual, doing everything from yelling at a waiter to making fun of old people on her date with Ted.
With no chance for a second date existing, Ted opted to pull a Mitch. Ted did The Naked Man and it worked. Awesome.
Lily even ended up doing The Naked Man, okay, naked woman. Marshall was all upset with her because he believed that the only reason to have sex was to be in love, but Lily was determined to come up with 50 reasons to have sex (my favorites – your condoms are about to expire and "this is getting hard"). Lily wanted to distract her hubby, to change the topic (another of the 50 reasons), and, as I think we all know, nothing changes the topic quicker with a man than a naked woman offering herself up (only if it's one's wife, of course).
So, with two successes, to achieve Mitch's batting average prior to Robin, Barney was doomed to failure, and fail he did. He found some random blonde chick and tried to do The Naked Man only to get booted out of her apartment… naked.
Caring deeply about this, I've analyzed exactly why Barney failed, and I think I've come up with a reason. Barney went into the night with the explicit purpose of doing The Naked Man. The Naked Man should only be done as a last resort, it's a way to get something out of a date that would otherwise go nowhere. Barney's dates never go nowhere, they always lead to sex, consequently, he jumped the gun on The Naked Man. He used The Naked Man in vain, and The Naked Man should never be used in vain. The Naked Man has great power and needs to be treated with respect, Barney forgot that, and that, my friends, is why Barney failed to score with it.
A thought, a quote, and a question:
- Barney on hearing that The Naked Man works – "all these years I've been suiting up when I should have been suiting down."
- I didn't mention it above, but how funny was the scene tonight with Barney and Ted trying out different Naked Man poses? I particularly liked the Captain Morgan.
- And, our question of the week – does it bother you that old Ted was telling his kids this story? If I ever score with The Naked Man, I won't be telling my children about it.
The TV and Film Guy's Reviews - The Non-Naked Man.
I'm over the mystery of the mother. The only reason I watch is for Barney. The show would be gone within the year without him.
k | Nov 24, 2008 10:09:32 PM | #The pose section was the best.. or how bout Lily's... the "I've Got Boobs" pose
Francesca | Nov 24, 2008 11:51:32 PM | #Should Lily's "Naked Man" count? What guy is not going to get it on with his hot, naked wife?
Overall, I really liked tonight's episode, and I was convinced that I wasn't because of the whole "Naked Man" bit, but it won me over.
The pose off was classic, and way better than the Dr. Seuss exchange from last week.
It just reminded me of the crazy episodes from the first two seasons.
MC | Nov 25, 2008 12:22:46 AM | #This episode was hilarious! I loved the different poses! Two guys talking on the phone to each other, naked, and posing! Hilarious!
Bo | Nov 25, 2008 4:28:01 AM | #It was a funny episode. My favourite pose was the Burt Reynolds.
And Mitch's honesty about why he uses the Naked Man ("clearly nothing impressive") had me laughing out loud.
Josh, after the weekly criticism you have received for your recaps (and yes, I have been a contributor), I feel obliged to say: This recap is a BIG improvement!
You clearly have made an effort to include some commentary, insight, and humor. Best examples: "Hall of fame numbers, people" and the entire "Caring deeply" paragraph.
Keep up the (steadily improving) work!
Jon | Nov 25, 2008 7:40:22 AM | #Not a classic epi, but fun.
Was anyone else surprised by the trajectory of the obstruction in front of Ted during his posedowns? That scene was silly but funny.
I also thought it was funny that Ted false started his Naked Man when he thought they had a connection and then re-nuded after she mocked his favorite poet. I also liked the look on Vicky's face when she succumed to the power of the Naked Man. Kind of a 'Yeah I guess' shrug.
anonymus49 | Nov 25, 2008 8:45:44 AM | #Funny episode, but if I were a woman and this wasn't a sitcom, I'd definitely call the cops on "naked man"... it's borderline sexual assault. A "naked woman" on the other hand is always welcome.
AC | Nov 25, 2008 8:59:06 AM | #HELLO!!! We HAVE to mention that last year's goat story now has a scheduled date: May, 2009!!! Woot! So they definitely WILL return to it! :)
Sarah | Nov 25, 2008 9:46:12 AM | #I agree with k (first poster) - for me the show is all about Barney and he is the gift that keeps on giving every week. The other characters have their moments but Barney is always the best in my book. His Burt Reynolds pose across the sink was a classic.
daisyrose | Nov 25, 2008 10:28:16 AM | #The naked man shouldn't count with Lilly a) she's a woman not a man b) she wasn't even close to being on a date and c) she knows Marshall fancies her and only says no to her if he happens to be in the office when she hits on him.
The naked man shouldn't count with Ted either a) he's way more attractive than Mitch and b) Vicky was already attracted to him. Mitch used the naked man knowing full well that Robin wasn't attracted to him.
The naked man didn't work for Barney because he wasn't on a date either he just took some random girl home, granted that's what he usually does but he wasn't even trying to get her into bed the way he usually does so of course she clocked him one.
But I do love the concept of the Naked Man and the guy who played Mitch was fantastic - well worthy of the rest of the team!
I love that Marshall tries to be the moral compass of the group. He told Ted off for kissing the married woman and now he's calling Robyn on her behaviour although no-one calls Barney a slut for doing the same thing...
Solly | Nov 26, 2008 5:33:17 AM | #I thought this was one of the funniest episodes in awhile. The naked pose ideas were hysterical!
I think I am in the minority, but I still would like to see Robin be the mother. Someone in the comments from a few episodes ago mentioned the kids had blond hair and then they had brown hair. Is there any possibility that Ted is talking to the future kids of Marshall and Lily when he refers to Robin as "your aunt Robin?" I haven't paid that much attention to the kids. Are they always the same kids? Sometimes we just hear Ted talking without the kids being shown.
Oh, I don't think I heard anyone suggest "making a baby" as one of the reasons to make love. Odd, since I know the actress who plays Lily is pregnant and it will probably be written in the show.
Beez | Nov 26, 2008 7:54:59 AM | #Robin is not the mother, we know that since the pilot episode, and maybe two eps back we had confirmation that neither is Stella (the blonde kids thing wa because of her).
Amazing episode, definitively season 2 material. Barney is always hilarious. The actor who plays that character was robbed of an Emmy in best comedy performance (or something like that).
sin laden | Nov 26, 2008 9:59:59 AM | #
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