Slapsgiving

"Slapsgiving"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 9
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Matt Kuhn
Production code	3ALH09
Original air date	November 19, 2007
Guest stars
Orson Bean (Bob)
Season 3 episodes
Wait for It We're Not from Here Third Wheel Little Boys How I Met Everyone Else I'm Not That Guy Dowisetrepla Spoiler Alert Slapsgiving The Yips The Platinum Rule No Tomorrow Ten Sessions The Bracket The Chain of Screaming Sandcastles in the Sand The Goat Rebound Bro Everything Must Go Miracles

"Slapsgiving" is the 9th episode in the third season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 53rd overall. It originally aired on November 19, 2007.

Plot

The episode begins with Future Ted telling his kids about a private joke he and Robin used to share while they were going out where they would salute whenever another person used a military rank before another word in a sentence (an example being 'Kernel Stuck In My Teeth'), but since breaking up simply share awkward looks whenever someone does it. It's the gang's first Thanksgiving with Marshall and Lily as a married couple. Lily is obsessing over making sure it is perfect, Robin has invited her older boyfriend Bob to Thanksgiving dinner, and Marshall is terrorizing Barney in the days leading up to Barney's third slap across the face from the Slap Bet to the point where he has set up a countdown on his computer. When Robin and Ted are the only two members of the group to show up to a night of baking pies, they notice how awkward their relationship has become since they broke up; they have nothing to talk about when they are alone together, and are uneasy in each other's presence, creating a nagging feeling that they are no longer really friends. They fight, but end the night by having sex. Meanwhile, Barney begins to get upset at the notion of another slap, and, following Marshall's relentless taunting of Barney, Lily declares as Slap Bet Commissioner that no slap would occur on Thanksgiving much to Barney's delight and Marshall's dismay.

On Thanksgiving, Robin and Lily decide that Robin and Ted need to talk about what happened and Ted, Marshall and Barney have decided they must ignore it. Robin and Ted argue again and Lily forces them to talk it out. After the two discuss how weird it is to be around each other they come to the realisation that they're not friends, and sadly agree that after the dinner they shouldn't see each other again.

Later, over the dinner Bob uses the phrase 'major buzzkill', causing Ted and Robin to salute without thinking, making them realise there's still a connection between them and they can still be friends. Future Ted tells his kids that he had a great evening with his friends (and Bob), and that's why he takes them to Marshall and Lily's to spend Thanksgiving every year. Barney begins to taunt a dismayed Marshall as the countdown enters the last ten seconds. Lily warns him not to but when Barney keeps going regardless, she allows the slap to happen with only three seconds to go. Overjoyed, Marshall slaps Barney immediately sending him flying across the room before singing 'You Just Got Slapped' (a song of his own creation).

Later, as everyone tidies up from the dinner, Ted notes there's going to be a 'major clean-up' making everyone unknowingly salute and despair.

Music

• "Click, Click, Click, Click" by Bishop Allen
• "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• "Still Alright" by Adam Merrin of The 88
• "You Just Got Slapped" by Marshall Eriksen

Continuity

• This episode marks the third out of five slaps in Marshall and Barney's slap bet over why Robin hates malls, the rules of which are laid out in "Slap Bet". The first slap also occurs in "Slap Bet", while the second takes place in "Stuff": Marshall slaps Barney during his one-man play, ending the play.
• Marshall introduced the Slap Countdown in "Wait for It", at which point there were 55 days until the next slap.
• Barney gets his fourth slap in the ninth episode of season 5, "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap", originally aired on November 23, 2009.
• Ted and Robin's smoking histories are hinted at in this episode, as they both carry cigarette lighters.
• First example of Lily's dislike of people who are not members of the gang appearing in photos of major occasions, which is a major plot point in "Say Cheese".

Cultural references

• When Ted wanted to speak about piercing, he changed the topic that 'Pierce Brosnan is his favorite Bond actor'
• When Ted goes to make pies with Robin and Bob, Robin mentions that Bob "went to see Green Day".
• Barney dresses as Borat for Halloween.
• Ted, commenting on how old Bob looks to him, says that Bob looks like Orville Redenbacher.
• When Barney talks about the killer taking out the suspense, the killer he was using was Jason Voorhees.

Critical response

• Donna Bowman of The AV Club rated the episode B.

• Eric Goldman of IGN gave the episode 8.5 out of 10. He describes the slap bet as one of the funniest running jokes of the series. Goldman was also impressed by how well Neil Patrick Harris took the slap, describing it as "like Biff Tannen taking a punch from George McFly".

• Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "After winning permission to slap Barney in a bet, Marshall renames Turkey Day in 2007. Slapstick ensues, setting the stage for "Slapsgiving 2" in 2009. Did we mention it's a real knee-slapper?"

External links

• Slapsgiving at TV.com
• Slapsgiving at the Internet Movie Database