The Stinsons
Comment1| “The Stinsons” | ||
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| First aired: March 2, 2009 | ||
| Director: Pamela Fryman | ||
| Writer: Carter Bays Craig Thomas | ||
| Barney's Blog | ||
The gang learn Barney has been living a secret life with a wife and son for his mother. Lily tells Marshall how she really feels about his mother.
Contents |
Recap
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The gang is immediately suspicious when Barney skips out on hitting on a hot girl. Reexamining some of Barney's earlier behavior, they begin to suspect he is in a committed relationship. So they follow him to a house in Staten Island. There they find that Barney has been hiding a woman from them: his mother, Loretta Stinson. But the bigger shock comes when they are joined by his wife Betty and son Tyler.
The gang is shocked by the syrupy sweet family. Once his mother is out of earshot, Barney explains that Betty and Tyler are actually actors he hired to play his family. Years ago, when Loretta looked like she was going to die, Barney hired an actress, Margaret, to play his fiancée, Betty. When his mother miraculously got better, Barney was forced to keep up the ruse and cast Grant to play his son.
Ted bonds with Margaret as they discuss acting and Robin bonds with Grant discussing their troubled careers. Meanwhile, getting to know Loretta, Marshall decides the "sweet, caring, slightly too graphic" woman deserves to know the truth. When Marshall claims that Loretta reminds him of his own mother, Lily admits that she hates Marshall's mother.
After a slightly awkward dinner where Barney has written a script for Betty and Tyler, the gang walks in on Ted and Margaret kissing in the kitchen. Barney tries to ad-lib a confrontation but is startled when Ted creates his own story (thanks to some acting tips from Margaret). Robin meanwhile congratulates Grant on his improvised performance in the kitchen and the two share an awkward moment on the porch.
Barney eventually yields and confesses the whole story to his mother. Loretta is surprised but forgiving. She admits that she hates Betty and Tyler and even Barney's "fake friends". Loretta reminds Barney that she once led a promiscuous lifestyle to rival his own. She explains that she merely wants Barney to be happy and urges him to pursue love when it crosses his path. Robin comes in and tells him the cab's here. Barney tells his mom he'll try.
In the cab ride home, Lily comes to terms with Judy Eriksen on the phone for Marshall's benefit. What Marshall doesn't realize is that Margaret and Ted are on the other end of the line.
ContinuityEdit
- Barney once again claims Bob Barker is his father, which he first reveals in Showdown. He later admits Bob Barker is not his father in Cleaning House.
- Betty talks about Doctor Grosbard, Barney's shrink in Intervention.
- Barney expresses dislike for New Jersey in discussing The Karate Kid. This sentiment was openly expressed by Ted and the others in We're Not From Here, I Heart NJ, and Happily Ever After.
GalleryEdit
- For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:The Stinsons images.
Memorable QuotesEdit
| Lily: | Barney, check it, three blond babies drinking bad decision juice at eight o'clock. |
| Marshall: | Where is Barney going? |
| Ted: | Yeah. We're not even in Manhattan anymore. Where's this girl live? |
| Robin: | We're talking about a woman who's gotten Barney to commit. I'm guessing Narnia. |
| Lily: | Wait, Barney, hold on. Where are you going? |
| Barney: | Nowhere. (pauses) The beach. It's winter. Laser tag. Home. Shut up! You're going somewhere. |
| Barney: | Look, mom, there's something I have to tell you, something I should have told you a long time ago. Tyler is dying, and Betty said that when he goes she's gonna off herself. So that's all probably going to go down pretty soon. |
- —Barney tries to explain Betty and Tyler out of the picture
| Robin: | I got one: Terminator. |
| Barney: | What is the name of the movie, Robin? Who among us didn't shed a tear when his little red eye went out at the end, and he didn't get to kill those people? |
- —Barney tends to view the wrong character as the protagonist
Notes and TriviaEdit
Goofs and ErrorsEdit
- Betty mentions Dr. Grossbard, who apparently told Barney to have only one helping of meatloaf, to the group. Barney reveals in Intervention that Dr. Grossbard is his shrink, which implies that he might have suggested the name to Betty himself.
- In this episode Barney's Mom name is Loretta. In The Yips, Rhonda French calls her Patty.
Allusions and Outside ReferencesEdit
- Ted recalls having seen Betty act in Brecht's "Die Heilige Johanna der Schlachthöfe" (he refers to the play by its original German title).
- Barney's line "Call me crazy, but child actors were better in the 80s", is a reference to the actor Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Barney. Harris himself was a child actor in the 1980s playing Doogie Howser, M.D..
- Barney's fictitious wife's name Betty is a reference to Barney and Betty Rubble from The Flintstones.
- Robin says that Barney's supposed girlfriend must have come from Narnia to manage to make him a committed man. Narnia is the fictitious world created by C.S. Lewis in his Chronicles of Narnia series of books.
- The name of the episode (The Stinsons), is a reference to the title of the cartoon series, The Simpsons.
MusicEdit
- Vertigo - Anya Marina
Other NotesEdit
- Zachary Gordon, who played Grant in this episode, also played Ted's nephew in How Lily Stole Christmas.
GuestsEdit
- Zachary Gordon - Grant
- Brooke D'Orsay - Margaret
- Frances Conroy - Loretta Stinson
- Angelo Diona - Ricky
- Kimberly Pfeffer - Stage Mom
ReceptionEdit
The AV Club rated the episode A-. [1]
Cindy McLennan of Television Without Pity rated the episode with a grade B. [2]
Michelle Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 8.6 out of 10. [3]
ReferencesEdit
External LinksEdit
- The Stinsons at the Internet Movie Database
- The Stinsons at the English Wikipedia
- The Stinsons at TV.com
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