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Field Trip
HIMYM episode 7x05 (141)
Field Trip1
First aired:
October 10, 2011
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Jamie Rhonheimer
Barney's Blog

Images (16)

When Marshall witnesses his boss's soft approach in settling with a million dollar company, he takes matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Ted takes his architecture class on a field trip and things don't go as planned.


Recap[]

Robin visits her therapist, Kevin, who says that he can't see her anymore, as he is moving to Alaska. She leaves his office, but they then run into each other a week later at a diner, where Kevin admits that he had to stop seeing her because he liked her. He says that, ethically, he cannot date her, though. She offers for him to sit beside her and have breakfast as two people not on a date. They do this every morning. On the last morning of the week Robin is running late. She enters through the door soaked from the rain and says she missed her bus and ran 40 blocks to get there. Kevin says they should just go on an actual date. (The staff of the diner all begins to applaud.)

At MacLaren's Pub, the group sits around talking about Marshall's new job (his settlement offer with Gruber Pharmaceuticals), Robin's new relationship with Kevin, and Nora's hatred of the Ewoks. Ted talks about taking his class on a field trip. Marshall, though, is angry at Garrison Cootes for not being strong enough during negotiations.

Ted, meanwhile, has decided to take his class to the site of the new GNB offices to let them see an actual construction site. He is stopped, though, as the site is closed and only those with a pass are allowed on site. He takes the the class around Manhattan to various places under the pretense of trying to make it a good field trip. They end up in a GNB conference room with Barney, who looks grief-stricken. Barney says that since the class is full of freshmen, they need "Sex Lessons." Ted replies that they are 18 years old, to which Barney counters that they are 18 years old. Barney relents and starts a slideshow about the Ewoks, eventually detailing how, since Return of the Jedi hit theaters on May 25, 1983, anyone born before May 25, 1973 hated the Ewoks because they were deemed "too cute." He begins to freak out, explaining to Ted that this means Nora is actually 37 years old. Ted tells his class it is time to leave, but Barney tags along.

They go to the apartment and find Robin and Kevin cuddling on the couch. Ted takes an impromptu poll of the class to further make his point that dating your therapist is weird. The class agrees unanimously. Barney realizes that they have young, old, and Germans in the class now (having picked up a German tourist family) and he and Ted use the class as a focus group to settle some of their long standing arguments.

Marshall, upset that Cootes gleefully accepted a $24,000 settlement from a multi-billion dollar corporation responsible for polluting a lake, tells his boss that if the firm will not stand up for the environment, then he will do it himself. He goes back to the corporation and delivers a presentation that does not go well, leaving Marshall on the verge of going through his fish names routine from a previous open mic night. Garrison Cootes walks in and tells the corporation that $24,000 is not enough. As he leaves Marshall asks where they are going. Cootes replies "War, son. We're going to war."

Kevin returns to his office to find Robin sitting in his chair. She tells him that, since he saw her vulnerable side for the first two hours of their acquaintance, then she would turn the tables and let him be vulnerable for a while. He unloads in a very emotional manner, but he and Robin remain together.

Continuity[]

  • After the class agrees that dating one's therapist is creepy, Barney says "Pollstered!"
  • Barney claims that 83% of eighteen-year olds need sex lessons. His fixation with this number was first pointed out by Ted in Brunch.
  • Marshall uses charts for his presentation to Gruber Pharmaceutical. In Right Place, Right Time, the group held an intervention for him because of his excessive use of charts.
  • When his presentation fails, Marshall starts to recite The Fish List, previously seen in Right Place, Right Time, where he uses it during a presentation at GNB, and Old King Clancy.
  • Ted's goal of inspiring at least one of his students was first mentioned in Unfinished.
  • Ted takes his class to the site of the New GNB headquarters, the construction of which began in Challenge Accepted.
  • Robin began court mandated therapy with Kevin in The Stinson Missile Crisis.
  • Robin and Kevin have their dates at the same diner where Barney and Nora meet in The Naked Truth.
  • When Ted leads his class into the apartment he starts to read some information from his phone but has to pause because it's loading. The apartment's poor reception is also mentioned prior to this in The Naked Man when Robin has to step outside to take a phone call.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Marshall convinces Garrison Cootes to turn down Gruber Pharmaceutical's $24,000 settlement offer, and their firm eventually takes the company to court, as seen in Twelve Horny Women.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Ted and Barney: Ehhh... it's creepy.

Barney: So you're the therapist. You know it's one thing to pretend to be a therapist and bang your patients, that's normal, but to do it for real? Little creepy bro.

Ted: Robin, if you asked a hundred people “Who’s the worst person you could possibly date?”, they’d all say “Your therapist”. Except the ones saying “Barney”.
Barney: Hey! Yeah, that tracks.

Marshall: What's the matter with you people? That settlement offer today was a flaming pile of...
(Lily glares at him)
Marshall: Puppies.
(Lily still glares at him)
Marshall: Which aren't on fire!

Garrison Cootes: Gruber Pharmaceuticals dumped toxic waste into Frog Creek, a tributary of the Trout River that feeds into Clearwater Lake. All three of which now need new names.

Robin: But why? Why-why am I constantly looking for reasons not to be happy?
Kevin: Maybe because the idea of finally being happy terrifies you.
Robin: Bro, you are killing it today. (clash fists simulating an explosion) Pshh! We got something good here.

Robin: Sorry. No cabs. Ran 40 blocks all the way here. May have knocked an old lady into the street, don't know, I didn't look back.
Kevin: Let's just go on a real date.
Robin: Yeah, that might be a good idea.
Diner Ladies: Finally! (applause)

Barney: Ultimately, Ewoks split Star Wars fandom into two camps: those born before, and those born after May 25, 1973: the Ewok Line. Anyone born on this side of the Ewok Line was at least ten years old when Jedi came out, and thus too old for something so cloying and cute. Anyone born on this side loved the Ewoks because, why?
Student: They reminded you of our teddies?
Barney: They reminded you of your teddies. Thank you, Gina.
Ted: How do you know her name?
Barney: And so by the immutable laws of the Ewok Line, my 29-year-old girlfriend who hates Ewoks must in fact be no younger than 37. That's only a year younger than Will's mom.
Will: How do you know my mom?
Barney: Class dismissed! I need to be alone.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • Lily tells Marshall they have a doctor's appointment at 4:00, but later at the bar when Ted is talking to the student who says he might become an architect, the student says "Hey, it's 4:00 in the afternoon and you're out in a bar with friends." Lily and Marshall are at the bar with Ted at the time, so they could not have attended the appointment, yet Marshall later shows a video of Lily's ultrasound to his boss.
    • The student could have been approximating, and since we don't know how far Dr. Sonya's office is from the bar, it's plausible that Marshall and Lily left shortly after the scene ended.
  • Future Ted says that Marshall and his boss do in fact save the world. This is impossible, however, since in Romeward Bound, it is found out that Cootes gave up and moves to his bunker in Colorado after his firm loses all of its business and Marshall quits his job to move to Rome with Lily. Unless somehow the small settlement for the damage done to Frog Lake actually did have a ripple effect that changed the world.
    • Another possibility is some time after Marshall becomes a judge he hires his old boss Cootes and they work together to create an important judicial decision which preserves the environment.
  • Ted says his students are eighteen-year-olds, but despite being minors they are allowed inside MacLaren's Pub. It's possible they were able to pass for twenty-one or only some of his students are eighteen, but in any case the young son of the German family certainly shouldn't have been allowed in the bar.
    • It's possible MacLaren's Pub only IDs when someone orders an alcoholic beverage.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Barney describes the way Marshall censors the language in a story he tells as being "like watching The Breakfast Club on TBS.
  • Barney references the film Stand and Deliver when talking to Ted about his proposed field trip. In the flashback shown at the end of the episode, Ted and Barney are discussing the film and whether the lead actor's name was Jacob James Olmos or Edward James Olmos.
  • Ted refers to Indiana Jones in his introduction to the field trip.
  • Ewoks are referenced when Ted suggests that Garrison Cootes only appears "soft" but will become tough like an Ewok when the time comes; during the celebration party at the corporation, you can listen to the Yub Nub song. Ewoks also become the basis of Barney's theory on why Nora is too old for him to date.
  • Garrison Cootes mentions that he has all five seasons of Friday Night Lights.
  • The German family who joined along in Ted's field trip are fans of David Hasselhoff, referencing the actor's German popularity.
  • The Picture of the building that is shown when Barney starts his lecture about college is of the Main Quad of University College Cork.
  • The sign on the door in the construction site wall indicates that the GNB Headquarters Building is being built by Muttnik Construction, , referencing the Carter-Bays stamp logo at the end of every episode.
  • Kevin refers to Robin dating her therapist as "Crispin Glover creepy," whose odd appearance on Late Night with David Letterman led the host to walk off the set in 1987.
  • Barney refers to one of the students as "Bieber" due to his style.

Music[]

  • A Retrospective Bliss - Little Sur
  • Yub Nub (Ewok's Celebration Song)

Other Notes[]

  • The message on the third cake says, "Just in case I wasn't clear with my last 2 cakes, seriously guys, congratulations!"
  • The diner where Robin and Kevin have their 'not dates' has Turkey specials every day:
    • Monday Turkey Dinner $7.99
    • Tuesday Turkey Melt $7.99
    • Wednesday Turkey Meatloaf $7.99
    • Thursday Turkey Casserole $7.99
    • Friday Turkey Chili $3.99

Guests[]

Podcast[]

How_I_Met_Your_Mother_-_Field_Trip_Podcast

How I Met Your Mother - Field Trip Podcast

Podcast for the episode

Featuring an interview with Jamie Rhonheimer.

Reception[]

  • This episode premiered to 8.89 million viewers.[1]
  • Margaret Eby at the A.V. Club gave the episode a B.[2]
  • Angel Cohn at Television Without Pity gave the episode no rating, but did not have many positive things to say about the episode.[3]
  • Robert Canning at IGN gave the episode a 7 out of 10.[4]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 7.5 out of 10 stars. "...Robin would have continued in therapy except ... Nora hates Ewoks ..."

References[]

External Links[]


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