Arrivederci, Fiero
| "Arrivederci, Fiero" |
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"Arrivederci, Fiero" is the 17th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on February 26, 2007.
Plot
Ted and Marshall begin the story in Marshall's Pontiac Fiero. The car is about to hit 200,000 miles on the odometer, and Marshall is excited, since the Fiero has served him well. He even has cigars in the glove box ready for the occasion, although Ted can only find two sets of chopsticks. However, Marshall hits a pothole, and the Fiero quits running just before it hit 200,000 miles. In the shop, Marshall is saddened, and everyone begins sharing stories about the Fiero.
Marshall tells the story of how he had to prove himself worthy in the eyes of his brothers by ordering 12 cups of coffee at the drive-thru while sitting naked in the front seat (his brothers jumped out and surprised him, causing him to jerk the car and make the hot coffee spill all over him). He also uses this to tell why he has never allowed food or drink in the Fiero (not even groceries). Ted then tells his memorable moment with the Fiero, known as both "Fieroasco" and the "100k Fiasco" (the Fiero was approaching 100,000 miles at that time), which began during their freshman year of college, when Marshall offered to drop Ted off at his parents house in Ohio on his way home to Minnesota for Christmas break. Ted tells of how they got lost on a back road and had to cuddle together to stay warm when a snowstorm hit, and then found out they were parked in front of a small bed-and-breakfast with people staring at them the next morning.
Lily and Robin then feel the need to come clean about something, and they tell Marshall about when they took the Fiero to get Thai food but spilled it in the passenger compartment. They carefully cleaned it up, smoked the cigars that Marshall had been saving for the passing of 200,000 mi., and wrapped two chopsticks in napkins, hoping Marshall would never discover what they did. Finally, Barney says that he doesn't understand any of their feelings for the car. Ted then tells of Barney's only memory with the Fiero, which was the time Ted taught Barney how to drive on the Fiero (because Barney had never learned how to drive a car), and Barney was quite scared of driving ever again (even though he never left the parking lot or went much above 10 mph). Although all 5 of them attempt to push the car to 200,000 miles, they give up, and say goodbye to the car.
Notes
- Throughout the episode, whenever a story about the Fiero is being told, an image of an odometer appears at the bottom of the screen, telling viewers the Fiero's mileage at the time of the story instead of the year it took place.
- According to Lily, the two things that Marshall takes really seriously are the rule about no food or drink in the Fiero and the difference between "affect" and "effect."
- In college, Ted wore "spectacles" for "decorative" reasons and dated a woman named Karen who dumped him.
- Marshall had a mullet when he was a teenager.
- When Ted and Barney are screaming at each other immediately before crashing the Fiero into the hedge, Ted can be heard yelling "throw me the idol, I'll throw you the whip,", "stop, drop, and roll" and "screaming is fun."
- Marshall and Ted play a game called "Zitch Dog" on their road trip which Marshall excels at, it was stated in Game Night that Marshall has never lost a game as long as Ted has known him.
Marshall's Fiero
- Marshall's Fiero is painted silver
- Marshall has never allowed open food or drink in his Fiero since he has had it.
- Marshall's Fiero is equipped with an automatic transmission, because when Barney asks which pedal is the brake, Ted tells him it is the left one, which is only true in an automatic.
- A tape with the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers was stuck in repeat during most of the car's life. The tape was originally inserted by Marshall when he and his brothers were teens. The tape finally pops out when Marshall bangs on the dashboard before he finally parts with the car.
- Robin is the only main character never shown driving the Fiero.
- The scene featuring Lily and Robin cleaning the Thai food out of the Fiero closely mirrors the scene in Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent are cleaning out the car after shooting Marvin.
- The Fiero is either a 1985 GT or a 1986 SE.
Music
Continuity errors
- In "Come On," Penelope, claims that she slept with Barney twice in his car, but in this episode it is revealed that he does not know how to drive.
- Barney's acknowledgement of Marshall's statement, "And Barney has never driven faster than 10 miles an hour" seems to suggest that Barney never learned how to drive nor does he have the desire to drive. However, in the next episode, Barney drives away with Ted's moving truck, but only takes it behind the bar.