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Double Date
HIMYM episode 5x02 (90)
Double date
First aired:
September 28, 2009
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Matt Kuhn
Barney's Blog

Images (9)

Ted has a blind date, and discovers its the same date he was on seven years ago. They retrace their steps from their first date to see where they went wrong. Meanwhile, Marshall and Barney go to a strip club and find a stripper who looks exactly like Lily.


Recap[]

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Future Ted describes a date he went on in 2009, and the screen quickly changes to show a side-by-side shot of him preparing in 2002 and 2009. It turns out that Ted is about to go on a blind date with Jen, a woman he went on another blind date with in 2002.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang grapples with relationship questions. Though Barney claims to have tickets to a Chewbacca exhibit, which Marshall is genuinely excited about, they instead head to the Lusty Leopard, where Marshall is uncomfortable because he considers fantasies cheating. He explains to Barney that every time he wants to fantasize, he must create an elaborate scenario where Lily must die of a terminal illness. While they discuss this, Jasmine — a stripper who looks exactly like Lily — appears on stage, exciting Barney to no end.

After going to the exact same restaurant and exchanging the same dialogue, including a pun that Jen describes as "really bad", Ted and Jen realize they are repeating their blind date from seven years ago. They remember that the date was horrible, from Ted's snobbish behavior to Jen's obsession with her cats and her ex-boyfriend. Frightened by the prospect of having to date everyone in New York again, they decide to retrace their steps to find the mistakes of the first date. This leads to flashbacks of their previous date showing alongside Ted and Jen's second date. 

Barney and Marshall return to MacLaren's and tell them about Lily's doppelgänger. It is also revealed that the gang has seen two other doppelgängers; a butch "Lesbian Robin ," and "Mustache Marshall ," Hispanic lawyer Señor Justicia. Lily is excited about the find, but Robin gets mad about Barney going to a strip club. He makes Marshall tell Lily about his death fantasies that he uses to justify thinking about other women.

Learning new things about themselves on the first date, Ted and Jen head to MacLaren's, where the gang is there to help them retrace the events of the 2002 date. Jen reveals that she thought Ted was checking out a woman at the bar, when Ted and Barney were really looking at "Mustache Marshall." Ted and Jen head up to the roof, and after they share a kiss they suddenly realize why they never had another date: Ted never called her. Ted apologizes for his blunder and both ponder what would have happened had they got together.

Lily tells Marshall she's fine with him thinking about other women, at least as long as she's alive in the fantasy. She takes Marshall back to the strip club to fantasize about her doppelgänger to get over his discomfort. Barney and Robin go too, where everyone recognizes him, stoking Robin's anger. She tells Barney how uncomfortable the thought of him going to a strip club makes her, but he ignores her. Lily is so enthralled by her stripper twin that she and Marshall get a private dance. Robin wants to have a serious talk about the relationship, but Barney remains oblivious.

Before Ted and Jen can kiss again on the roof, he stops and realizes that their quirks are part of who they are and that they should hold out for someone who'll not just tolerate them, but like them. Future Ted then tells his kids that when he told a pun to their mother, she laughed (almost completely sincerely).

Back at the strip club, Marshall comments to Lily that Jasmine is having trouble on stage. When "Lily" responds with a thick accent and cigarette in hand, "Jasmine" falls on stage and he goes to help her.

Continuity[]

  • The flashbacks to 2002 show Ted with a goatee, which is also shown in other flashbacks to the early 2000s, including the Pilot and How I Met Everyone Else.
  • In 2002, Ted mentions his dream to build a skyscraper for the Manhattan skyline, which Future Ted references in Old King Clancy.
  • Marshall and Lily discuss his having sex again after she dies in Third Wheel.
  • Ted juggles in Ten Sessions and Three Days of Snow.
  • The Front Porch depicts another example of Lily's disinterest in, and ignorance of, Star Wars.
  • Ted reiterates his claim in The Three Days Rule that he does not change his personality for girls.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Ted's aspiration to build a skyscraper in Manhattan is the source of conflict between Ted and Zoey Pierson throughout Season 6, concluding in The Final Page - Part Two​​.
  • Barney mentions that he has a guy at the DA's Office. In The Rebound Girl, he would reveal the whole list of his guys.
  • The first three of the Five Doppelgangers are revealed in this episode. While Future Ted says that by the following summer (i.e. by the end of Season 5) they would find the remaining two doppelgängers, only Mexican Wrestler Ted is found, by Barney, Lily, and Marshall in Robots Versus Wrestlers. The fifth and final doppelganger would not be found until Bad News​​.
  • Architect of Destruction depicts several examples of Ted changing his personality for girls.
  • Ted tells Jen he dislikes it when a date doesn't offer to pay. In The Naked Truth​​, he contemplates breaking it off with one of the two girls he considers dating for that reason.
  • Ted mentions that when the Mother first heard his "mighty shellfish" joke, she laughed (and only 30% out of pity). In How Your Mother Met Me, Ted is seen making the joke in the economics class he mistakenly began teaching (as seen in Definitions​​), and the Mother indeed laughs.
  • Ted's goatee appears in Symphony of Illumination.

Gallery[]

For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Double Date images.

Memorable Quotes[]

Jen: So, any thoughts on food?
Ted: Yeah. You want to share the oysters?
Jen: I'd love to share the oysters.
Ted: Good, 'cause if you didn't that would be... mighty shellfish.

Barney: Guess who just got four tickets to the "Origins of Chewbacca" Star Wars exhibit?
Lily: Why?
Barney: No, I said, "guess who?"
Lily: I heard you.

Marshall: Hey Lily
Jasmine: What did you say buddy?
Marshall: Lily?
Jasmine: Who?, Oh yes I am this 'Lily', we married long time, may I have moneys for shopping?
Marshall: (Lily slips on stage) Lily!

Barney: You are the best. You are the best. My girlfriend is at a strip club with me and she couldn't care less.
Robin: I do care Barney. Look, we're dating now. That changes things. We have to have a serious talk about this.
Barney: Just the best.
Marshall: Girlfriend trouble? I wish I could help, but my unbelievably cool wife just bought us a private dance with her stripper body double. If you need me, I'll be getting grinded like some pepper, in the Champagne Room.
Barney: Just the best.
Robin is upset with Barney going to strip clubs now that they are dating.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • Ted claims that going on the same date means they've lapped all the single people in New York. This is logically fallible, as it makes the false assumption that once a girl has been dated, she is undateable until every other girl has been dated.
  • In Marshall’s fantasy, Barney wears a suit to Lily’s funeral which contradicts his rule of not wearing them at funerals stated in Monday Night Football.
    • This is in Marshall's fantasy, so he could have forgotten about Barney's rule.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Barney uses a Star Wars exhibition about the character Chewbacca to trick Marshall and Ted into going out for the night.
  • Marshall mentions he'd like an "English to Wookiee" dictionary.
  • At the Lusty Leopard, we see Robin doing shots of Jose Cuervo Especial, a real brand of tequila.

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • Overall, this is the ninetieth episode.
  • The Double Date occurrence was inspired by an actual occurrence that occurred in Orange County, CA. by C. Chan (Irvine, CA). The memorable one-liner that each person remembered was: "Would you like to share an appetizer? Yes, good. Cause if I was any country right now, it would be HUNGARY." Story line and names were changed so that the episode was not based on a real person.
  • This episode was originally planned for Season 4 but was shelved due to the complicated dual timeline. At the time the show had not yet been renewed for a fifth season.[1]
  • International Airdates: Australia: February 18, 2010 on Channel 7; United Kingdom: June 3, 2010 on E4

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade A-. [2]
  • Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 7.5 out of 10. He criticized the episode for its portrayal of Robin as a jealous girlfriend, although he praised the episode for the editing and character appropriate way Ted behaved on his double date. [3]
  • Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity rated the episode with a grade B-. [4]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 8.5 out of 10 stars. "...Lily's doppleganger sighted!"

References[]

External Links[]


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