No Questions Asked

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“No Questions Asked”
←	HIMYM episode 9x07 (191)	→
First aired: October 28, 2013
Director: Pamela Fryman
Writer: Stephen Lloyd
Barney's Blog
Images (10)

When Daphne sends a troubling text message to Lily, Marshall enlists the gang’s help to remove the message while enforcing the “No Questions Asked” rule.

Recap

On Friday at 11.30 PM, 42.5 hours before the wedding, Daphne has just texted Lily about Marshall taking his dream job as a judge in New York. When Lily calls, Marshall is relieved to learn that Lily has not read the message yet and is complaining that they have received room 13 at the Farhampton Inn . Room 13 is rumoured to be haunted by Captain Dearduff the Hooker, a supposed serial killer from 1843 who froze to death because his hook was stuck on the wall. Lily tries to get another room, but the receptionist Hamish keeps using Captain Dearduff as an excuse to all of Lily's complaints. Meanwhile, Barney plans to release 100 doves when he and Robin come out from the church. Unaware of Barney's plan, Robin mentions that the release of the doves would be problematic as her family will do a 21-gun salute with real bullets when they leave the church. Both Robin and Barney realize that they both always go on with their own plan without telling each other first.

That night, Lily has trouble sleeping and a stranger with a hook appears at her window, though it turns out to be Ted. It's revealed that Marshall called Ted to delete the text on in Lily's cellphone using his "No questions asked" that Ted owes Marshall after Marshall released him from a mailbox. Despite having been told the lock was broken, Ted insisted on climbing the drainpipe and entered Lily's room from the window. He manages to soothe Lily back to sleep by singing Marvin's lullaby, but his search is interrupted by Barney, who is in the air ducts leading to the room. As with Ted, Marshall had also asked Barney to delete the text message using another "No questions asked" Barney owes him from when he was trapped in a Macy's utility room with soiled pants and when Marshall had to discharge him from the hospital for swallowing real versions of lucky charms. Their subsequent arguing wakes Lily up, but they are interrupted by the arrival of food from room service. Because she did not request the food, Lily goes to confront the receptionist downstairs.

When Robin appears from under the food service cart, she reveals that Marshall also called her to delete the text on Lily's phone with a "No questions asked" she owed him when he helped her escape from a mysterious group who knew her as "Nightfalcon." When they try to find the phone, they realize that Lily has taken it with her downstairs. Barney and Robin manage to develop an overly complicated plan to take the phone while working together, resolving their issue with working alone. However, they are stunned to learn that Ted has already deleted the text by getting Lily to destroy her phone using a "No questions asked" she owed him when she had been tied up by her kindergarten class.

Ted calls Marshall and asks why he didn't use a "No questions asked" on Lily. Marshall explains that he never used one on Lily as he is always open and honest with her, making him realize he shouldn't be keeping his news from her. Using Ted's phone, Marshall tells Lily the truth about his new job. Lily is furious and tells Marshall that she never believed anyone died in their room, but somebody soon will. The final scene reveals how Ted got trapped in the mailbox: he had sent a sappy letter to a woman , then changed his mind almost immediately and tried to retrieve it. He saw the mailbox was unlocked and climbed in when the mailman passed, who ended up locking it with Ted still inside.

Continuity

• Marvin's lullaby has been played in The Final Page - Part Two.
• Ted overcame his fear of climbing when he climbed up the drain to Victoria's dressing room at the church in Farhampton.
• Marshall's belief in supernatural things and mythical creatures has been mentioned throughout the show.
• Barney's strong dislike for the protagonist is seen once again when he claims Bruce Willis is the bad guy in Die Hard, and is rooting for the antagonist.
• Lily and Marshall's decision to go to Rome was seen in Romeward Bound, and Marshall's decision to take the judgeship was seen in Something New.
• Barney and Robin speaking in unison then looking at each other and going "Awww" was first seen in Something New.
• The toy car from The Poker Game is still sitting on the staircase.
• Marshall can be seen carrying a case that says, "Property of Ted Mosby". The gang has been known to borrow many things from Ted and not return them as mentioned in, The Over-Correction.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)

• The events of this episode will result in Marshall standing up to Daphne in The Lighthouse.
• The Toy Car is visible, which Cassie will fall on in The Lighthouse.
• The room Marshall and Lily have is said to be haunted by ghosts. Marshall will talk to imaginary ghosts of Lily and his father after she leaves in the middle of their fight in Sunrise.
• Lily is mad when she finds out about Marshall accepting the judgeship. They will fight about this in Unpause.

Gallery

1/8

For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:No Questions Asked images.

Memorable Quotes

Lily:	I can't believe you did this behind my back.
Marshall:	I know, I should have talked to you.
Lily:	Thanks to you, we are stuck all weekend in the room with a ghost in it.
Marshall:	Room with a? We got 13? The room that's haunted by the ghost of Captain Dearduff?
Daphne:	Who got the who with the what now?

---

Lily:	Ted! What the hell are you doing in my room?! Uh...
Future Ted:	There was an explanation. You see, after Marshall got off the phone with Lily, he'd called me. (phone rings)
Ted:	Hey, buddy. What's up?
Marshall:	Ted, listen, I need you to sneak into Lily's room, find her phone, and delete the last text she got.
Ted:	Why? What's...
Marshall:	Ted, I need you to do this no questions asked. And as we both know, you owe me a "No Questions Asked.

---

Ted:	Meet me at the corner of 53rd and 8th. Bring your drill. (click)
Marshall:	What the hell? How did you...
Ted:	No questions asked.
Marshall:	I broke federal law drilling you out of that mailbox.
Ted:	Hey, I was a man in need.
Marshall:	I know. You were a "Priority Male. "
Ted:	You said you'd stop doing that joke after the editor of Bazooka Joe comics rejected it.
Marshall:	That man is a comedy snob. The point is, you owe me a "No Questions Asked.

---

Ted:	I just have to figure out how to get into Lily's room.
Marshall:	Easy. The lock on her door is busted, so...
Ted:	The drainpipe!
Marshall:	What? There's a drainpipe that runs up near her window, and...
Ted:	no big deal, I can totally climb it. I'll call you when it's done.
Marshall:	...Her door is unlock (click)

---

Barney:	(phone rings) Hey.
Marshall:	Listen, I need you to get to Lily's phone without her seeing, and delete the last text she got.
Barney:	Why? What did you...
Marshall:	And I need you to do it no questions asked. As you'll recall, you owe me a "No Questions Asked."
Marshall:	(phone rings) Hello?
Barney:	Marshall, I need you to rush to the Macy's in Herald Square, find the utility closet on the third floor, and bring me the following things: a clean pair of underwear, a clean pair of pants, a box of moist towelettes, hand sanitizer, and a garbage bag, no questions asked.
Marshall:	You deuced your pants.
Barney:	Never mind.

---

Marshall:	Robin, I need you to delete the last text that Lily got before she sees it.
Robin:	Bro, it's my wedding weekend. Just because you didn't know better than to take a naked selfie while you were in the coldest part of the country...
Marshall:	First, I'm an Eriksen. Cold has a plumping effect. Second, you owe me a "No Questions Asked."
Marshall:	All right, I'm-I'm at the alley near 22nd and 2nd. Now what?
Robin:	No questions asked. Tell me about that giant trout you and your dad caught ice-fishing that one time.
Marshall:	Well, it was more beast than trout. Fought us for three hours and nearly dragged us both into Lake Winnibigoshish. It was this big, and (grunts)-
Robin:	Hey. Run!
Marshall:	I never asked you who those weirdos were, why they kept calling you Night Falcon or even what was in those darts that they were blowing at us.
Robin:	Your vision came back, didn't it? (sighs) Wuss.

---

Notes and Trivia

Goofs and Errors

• Marshall tells Ted that he had never asked Lily a no-questions-asked favor, but in The Scorpion and the Toad, Marshall asked Lily to ruin Barney's date with the twins, stating: "Actually there may be something that you can do for me but you can never, ever, ask me why".
  • It a different question than "no question asked". Lily could speak every question except why, so it could be Marshall see this as something different.
• Lily says that they can't change rooms because the Inn's full because of the wedding. But it's Friday night, before everybody's arrived. Barney and Robin found plenty of empty rooms on the third floor and Robin's mother hasn't arrive yet. Of course it may just be the night clerk lying to Lily because he can't be bothered with moving her to another room.
• When Ted says Marshall should have tons of "No questions asked" from Lily he realizes that he doesn't because he never hides anything from Lily. However, this would be true if Lily was the one telling Marshall everything.
• Barney's X-Ray shows the lucky charms he swallowed in incorrect positions. They should be in his stomach or small intestine, not spread out all over his thorax. Furthermore, it is physically impossible to swallow some of the charms (the horseshoe, for example).

Allusions and Outside References

• Barney names two doves Courtney Dove and Kurt Coobain, after the famous Nirvana lead singer and wife. 
• According to Barney, Bruce Willis is the bad guy in Die Hard.
• Marshall mentions Bazooka Joe.
• During the scene where the doves are released and the 21-gun salute is fired, a brass instrumental of "O Canada" can be heard.
• The quote by Lily "There are rats in the walls?" is a reference to the H. P. Lovecraft short story, titled "Rats in the Walls."

Guests

• Sherri Shepherd - Daphne
• Rhys Darby - Hamish
• David Grammer - Captain Dearduff
• Tre Moye - Bellhop
• Lindsey Alley - Woman
• Donna Pieroni - Maid

Podcast

Featuring Cristin Milioti.

Reception

• The episode was viewed by 7.75 million viewers.
• Donna Bowman of The A. V. Club gave the episode a B.
• Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a 7.7 out of 10.
• Angel Cohn of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B. He said that despite the episode containing elements he'd typically enjoy, "it is getting frustrating that they are bringing up new things instead of actually moving the plot forward in any sort of way". He said that the reenactment of ghost shows and Robin in a unitard were the highlights of the episode for him.
• The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 6.5 out of 10 stars. "...what a lame story about a ghost..."

External Links

← Previous episode Knight Vision

No Questions Asked (all episodes)

Next episode → The Lighthouse