How I Met Your Mother Wiki
Register
Advertisement
How I Met Your Mother Wiki


ā€œThe Naked Truthā€
HIMYM episode 7x02 (138)
TheNakedTruth1
First aired:
September 19, 2011
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Stephen Lloyd
Barney's Blog

Images (5)

When Marshall gets the job of his dreams, he worries that, once the company discovers videos he made in the past, they may rescind the offer. Meanwhile, Ted can't decide who to take to the Architects' Ball.


Recap[]

Marshall is still hungover from Punchy's wedding reception, and makes a "sweeping declaration" to never drink again. Future Ted says that Marshall's "sweeping declarations" usually don't work. While at the apartment, he receives a call from Garrison Cootes, the senior partner at Honeywell & Cootes, one of the biggest environmental law firms in America. He informs Marshall that the company is extremely interested in him and will accept him after an extensive background check. The risk of a background check concerns Marshall, who fears that an online video of him streaking through Wesleyan calling himself "Beercules" could result in him not getting the job. He tries to convince the uploader, Pete Durkenson, an old college acquaintance, to remove the video. Pete says that he will remove the video if Marshall beats him in a game of "Edward forty-hands." However, Marshall ends up getting drunk and streaking again and another "Beercules" video is uploaded. Pete's refusal to take it down prompts Lily to blackmail him with certain information that she learned from women who dated him in college. Eventually, Garrison does see the video and tells Marshall that he's hired - the video is not a problem with him.

Thinking about a date with Nora, Barney appears to the gang in crutches and a leg cast, explaining to the gang that he can gain sympathy from Nora this way. He ends up seeing Nora on their date with a neck brace. Nora quickly realizes that he is lying and is about to leave when Barney apologizes and says he lied to her because he likes her and thinks that she is out of his league. He says that he will never lie again to Nora, and tells her to ask him anything. She asks him to tell her every lie he has ever said to have sex with a girl and he recounts all the plays he ever made on women. After many hours Nora leaves, disgusted at what Barney tells her. However, Barney says that to prove to Nora that he will never lie to her again, he vows not to leave the diner until she agrees to a second date. The gang eats at the diner nine hours later and sees Barney wake up. He refuses to make an order several times, and true to his word, does stay at the diner the whole time, which humbles Nora when she comes back.

Ted capitalizes on him being featured in New York magazine to meet women who get a copy of the issue at news stands. He befriends 16 women and dates two of them on separate occasions. With Lily and Robin's help, he is forced to decide on one whom he will take to the exclusive "Architects' Ball." Robin thinks that the event will be boring, but drops hints about an interest to become Ted's date when he claims Lenny Kravitz will be at the event (she is an avid fan of the rock star). When Ted sees Barney at the diner, waiting for Nora, he decides he wants to have real love and winds up taking Robin to the Ball, where she finds out that the Lenny Kravitz Ted was referring to is Leonard Kravitz who is an elderly architect. Visibly annoyed, Robin leaves Ted. Future Ted tells his kids that a person will know for sure about falling in love "pretty quickly and with absolute certainty." While surveying the ballroom, he sees Victoria arranging cupcakes at a table and they establish eye contact.

Continuity[]

  • Victoria makes her first appearance since she and Ted broke up in Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.
  • When Marshall searches for himself on the Internet, several links pertain to events that occurred in previous episodes, including links about:
    • The Loch Ness monster, Marshall's interest in which was established in Matchmaker. There's also a reference to his interest in Bigfoot.
    • The Eriksen family, including how big and tall they are, the names of Marshall's brothers, Marvin Jr. and Marcus, and Baskiceball, a game they invented, all of which are introduced in Belly Full of Turkey.
    • One of the entries shows that Marshall now lives in Dowisetrepla, first introduced in Dowisetrepla.
    • Marshall's high school basketball nickname "Vanilla Thunder", introduced in The Possimpible.
    • Marshall's band, "The Funk, The Whole Funk and Nothing But the Funk", which was introduced in Unfinished.
  • Barney tells Nora that he pretended to be a lesbian to pick up a woman; he was seen doing this in I Heart NJ.
  • Ted makes a pros and cons list on a legal pad to try and choose which girl to take to the Architect's Ball. Future Ted mentions doing this when faced with a difficult decision in I'm Not That Guyā€‹ā€‹.
  • Marshall was previously seen abandoning a sweeping declaration in The Leapā€‹ā€‹, when he makes one that he will never eat ribs again, after the restaurant Rib Town rejects Ted's design, before amending it to never eating ribs in front of Ted.
  • Ted considers dumping one of the girls he is choosing between because she did not reach for the check after dinner, a pet peeve of his first mentioned in Double Date.
  • Nora is still angry at Barney for lying to her about his intentions on their first date, as seen in A Change of Heartā€‹ā€‹.
  • Marshall getting drunk at Punchy's wedding, Barney getting a date with Nora, and Ted's magazine article being published all occur in The Best Manā€‹ā€‹, during which Barney advises Ted to use the article to meet women.
  • Marshall's dislike of fraternities and sororities for one not having accepted him is shared by Lily in Third Wheelā€‹ā€‹.
  • Barney attempts to seduce another widow in The Bracketā€‹ā€‹.
  • Although Barney does not say "Challenge Accepted", he treats getting another date with Nora as such a challenge, vowing to stay "forever" at the 24-hour diner if necessary.
  • The others learn in Architect of Destruction that Robin and Lily tell each other intimate details about their partners.
  • Barney also pretends to be black in Robin 101ā€‹ā€‹.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Ted tells the gang about meeting Victoria in Ducky Tieā€‹.
  • Barney and Nora meet at the same diner where Robin has her dates with Kevin in Field Tripā€‹.
  • When Marshall makes a second sweeping declaration that he will never get drunk again, a flashforward reveals that he in fact will, at a craps table with Barney. This eventually occurs in Good Crazy.
  • Garrison Cootes' partner, Honeywell, is introduced in The Stamp Tramp.
  • When Barney lists the lies he has told women to get them to sleep with him to Nora, he includes convincing a woman his penis granted wishes (revealed to be the Mother's friend Kelly in How Your Mother Met Me). Ted also pretends to be gay to seduce a woman in The Fortress.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Marshall: I wanna be the kind of man my child can look up to. So, sweeping declaration, I am never getting drunk again as long as I live. (the rest of the gang laughs) I'm serious! (scene briefly stops so Future Ted can narrate)
Future Ted: Kids, it's not that your Uncle Marshall had a drinking problem. But whenever he made a sweeping declaration like that, you pretty much knew... (the next day, Marshall walks in drunk)
Marshall: I DID IT AGAIN!
Future Ted: But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Ted: Define serious.
Lily: Well, that's complicated. I guess, you have to weigh expectations, emotional investments...
Marshall: Third base.
Ted: So I can go to second base.
Marshall: Yeah, honk away my friend! Honk away.

Ted: Robin, get me my legal pad. It's Pros and Cons Time! (Robin and Lily start cheering)
Future Ted: And kids, they really cheered.

Ted: 16 moments of pure destiny in one day! And of those 16, 10 where single. Of those 10, 7 liked what they saw. Of those 7, 4 were women. Of those 4, 2 gave me their real number, and I have a date with both of them.

Future Ted: Kids, you can't talk yourself into falling in love. It doesn't take days of deliberation. When it's real, you know pretty quickly, and with absolute certainty. I had forgotten that, but I was about to be reminded.

Ted: That's right, two lovely ladies, four large cappuccinos, and one sec...

And I don't know which date was more awesome. Let's meet the girls. Jessica is a Rhodes scholar. She's traveled all over the world. Speaks four languages, is a concert pianist. And Claire reached for the check. So I don't know.

It's a squeaker. I mean, both of these girls have the potential to be something really special.

Nora: Let me make one thing very clear to you. I don't date guys who lie to me.
Barney: Well, see, I did not know that. My bad. So, from here on in, no more lies. I will never lie to you again. I'm serious. Ask me anything.
Nora: Okay. Have you ever successfully gotten a woman in bed by lying to her?
Barney: Have I ever... If I'm being totally honest... Yes.
Nora: More than once?
Barney: More than once... Wow, that's... I guess if we're splitting hairs, then, technically there was a plurality to the times I've lied to women for sex having purposes.
Nora: What were they?
Barney: Nines and tens mostly. There was a four once. She was a slump buster. But, Nora, after that, I had a run that you would not believe. Man, honesty feels good.
Nora: What were the lies?
Barney: You want me to tell you every lie I've ever told a woman to get her into bed?
Nora: A bed or any other place you had sex with her.
Barney: Oh, you're good.

Barney: [Many hours later] ...and that concludes all the space-related lies. Let's move on to the world of sports. Oh, wait, sorry; I've thought of another space one. "I've been bitten by a moon snake. You need to suck all the space poison out of myā€”"
Nora: Okay, Barney, uh, I have to be at work tomorrow at 8:00, which means I have just about enough time to sit in a shower for 11 hours, hugging myself.
Barney: So this was fun. Can I call you, or?
Nora: Barney, you're funny, handsome and really quite clever. But you're also a sociopath.
Barney: Well, I count three pros and one con, so...
Nora: How do you still think you have a chance with me?
Barney: Because you sat here all night. You could've left right away, but you didn't. Look, Nora, all those lies- that's the old me. But I swear to you, I am trying to change. You make me want to change.
Nora: How do I know that's not a lie?
Barney: I'll prove it. I will prove how serious I am. I will not leave this diner until I get a second date with you.
Nora: Good-bye, Barney.
Barney: This is a 24-hour diner. I'll stay here forever, if I have to- and I will! (to waitress) Just water for me. Thanks.
Barney tries to convince Nora to give him another chance

Robin: Ugh! Ted, deep in your heart, you know that you kind of like one more than the other. Trust me-- take the other.
Ted: Um, maybe I haven't this is the Architects' Ball, Robin. It's a star-studded event.
Robin: Okay, name one celebrity who's gonna be there.
Ted: Uh Lenny Kravitz.
Robin: Lenny Kravitz is gonna be there?
Ted: Yeah. He's there every year. And that guy's a rock star.
Robin: You know, Ted, I've been thinking-- it's too soon to narrow it down between these two girls. Just take a friend. Like I I don't know, maybe, uh, a friend who had a poster of Lenny Kravitz on her wall, and may or may not have, perhaps, dated that poster, on and off, throughout high school.
Ted: This pros and cons list isn't cutting it. I need a color chart.
Ted, Robin and Lily: Color chart! Color chart!
Future Ted: And, kids, we all really chanted.

Robin: Oh, this? No big deal. This, This cost three months rent, and, uh, I've never gotten to wear it, because I bought it for that big event that you invited me to, which then fell through. But, you know what? Don't feel guilty about that.
Ted: What big event?
Robin: That thing with your uncle.
Ted: His funeral? It didn't fall through, he miraculously came out of a coma.
Robin: And I forgive you. Now, can I please meet Lenny Kravitz?.
Robin looks gorgeous in a black dress and it's trying to convince Ted to take her to his party.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • When Marshall shows the video of him streaking in college, thumbnails of the video where he streaks after getting drunk with Pete Durkenson can be seen in the right-hand side of the screen, at the time Marshall watches the video the second video had not been recorded.
  • On the previous episode, The Best Man, Punchy uploaded Ted's videos under sTeWh525 username. On this episode, Pete Durkenson uploads Marshall's videos under the same username.
  • When the gang is in the diner near the end of the episode, Robin can be seen tapping Lily's phone, but the screen is on the iPhone unlock screen.
  • A split second after Robin shows Ted the video of Marshall saying, "Look at me, I'm a windmill!", Lily's phone reappears on the table as if it had never been touched.

Allusions and Outside References[]

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • In the gambling scene Marshall is wearing a shirt that says "Marshall and Steph 4-eva".
  • How I Met Your Mother director, Pamela Fryman, directed one episode of an American television sitcom, The Naked Truth which has the same title to this episode.
  • Throughout the episode, Victoria by The Kinks can be heard. This is foreshadowing Ted's reunion with Victoria at the end of the episode.
  • When Lily leaves a message on Pete Durkenson's voicemail blackmailing him so he will remove the Beercules video, she implies that his former girlfriends told her that he has a small penis. Marshall and Ted have no reaction to this information, yet were profoundly disturbed when Lily and Robin revealed that Marshall's law school friend Max has a small penis in Architect of Destruction.
    • This is likely due to them not particularly liking Pete, as well as possibly not believing Lily.

Guests[]

Podcast[]

How_I_Met_Your_Mother_-_The_Naked_Truth_Podcast

How I Met Your Mother - The Naked Truth Podcast

Podcast for the episode

Featuring an interview with Carter Bays and Stephen Lloyd.

Reception[]

  • This episode premiered to 12.22 million viewers, becoming the most viewed episode of the season, and second most viewed episode of the entire series.[1]
  • Donna Bowman at the A.V. Club gave the episode an A-.[2]
  • Angel Cohn at Television Without Pity gave the episode a C.[3]
  • Robert Canning at IGN gave the episode an 8 out of 10.[4]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9 out of 10 stars. "...sympathy points with Man of La Mancha..."

References[]

External Links[]


Previous episode
The Best Man
The Naked Truth
(all episodes)
Next episode →
Ducky Tie
Advertisement