Slap Bet

"Slap Bet" is the 9th episode in season 2 of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on November 20, 2006. This episode was originally titled "Robin Sparkles."

Plot

Ted, Marshall, Lily, and Barney find out that Robin does not want to go to a mall, and Robin doesn't want anyone to know why she's averse to malls. Ted tries to guess and in doing so reveals that he was trapped under a fake boulder at a mall in Ohio when he was nine. Marshall believes that Robin was married in a mall in Canada, while Barney believes that Robin did pornography in Canada. They agree to a slap bet (where the winner of the bet slaps the loser as hard as he possibly can) and appoint Lily as the slap bet commissioner.^[1] Ted thinks both ideas are ridiculous, but tries to find out if she's married. Robin tells Ted that she is married, having married a guy in a mall. Ted promises to keep it a secret, but then tells Marshall and Lily. Seeing as he's won, Marshall slaps Barney, but Barney still investigates the subject.

Shortly after that, Marshall uses his law-school access to search a legal records database. He tells Ted that there is no record of a marriage license for Robin in Canada, but she has had several parking tickets. Ted, after asking Robin a bunch of questions, gets her to tell him that she's not really married, but not why she's afraid of malls. Marshall also tells Lily of his findings, and Lily, as the slap bet commissioner, informs Barney and allows him to slap Marshall three times (one slap because Marshall lied, and two for being prematurely slapped).

Barney then reveals that a man in Malaysia has found a video with Robin in it, and it will be posted on MySpace shortly. He refers to her as "Robin Sparkles", to which she is surprised and questions him as to where he heard that name. Ted is no longer interested in finding out Robin's secret, but Robin later insists that it is time for the secret to be revealed. Barney plays the opening part of the video, in which Robin (dressed as a schoolgirl) seductively pleads a teacher not to give her detention. Barney, for the sake of Robin's dignity, pauses the video and says that he has proved his point, and then slaps Marshall. Robin asks Barney why he slapped Marshall, and Barney tells her about the bet and that he thought that Robin had done porn earlier in her life. Robin plays the video, saying it was not porn. It turns out to be a stereotypically 80's music video where a young Robin (referred to as Robin Sparkles) sings "Let's Go To the Mall", Robin's minor hit in Canada as a teenage pop star.

Lily points out to Barney that he did not win the slap bet. Lily then gives Marshall the right to slap Barney either ten times immediately in succession or five times available to Marshall for all of eternity, pending Barney's preference. Barney chooses the five slaps, which Ted refers to as a "horrible call", because Barney must now live in constant fear of being slapped. Robin tells Ted that she is actually glad Ted knows her secret now. They kiss and Marshall slaps Barney, proclaiming, "That's one". They all continue to enjoy the video, and Marshall menaces Barney.

Continuity

This episode introduces two long-running gags on the show. The first is Robin's former life as Robin Sparkles, and the second is the agreement that Marshall can slap Barney up to five times at any point in the future. As of April 2011, he has delivered 4 out of 5 slaps:
- Slap #1 is delivered in this episode.
- Slap #2 is delivered in the season 2 episode "Stuff" because Barney was giving an obnoxious one-man show to prove Lily wrong.
- Slap #3 is delivered in the season 3 episode "Slapsgiving." Marshall counts down to the day of the third slap, setting up the website SlapCountDown.com.^[2]
- Slap #4 is delivered in the season 5 episode "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap." {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)
Robin Sparkles later appears in "Sandcastles in the Sand", "Glitter" and "Bad News."
- The song "Lets Go to the Mall" from this episode is sung by Marshall in a karaoke bar at the end of "Little Minnesota."
Marshall says that Robin is a "private person" at one point during the episode. Robin and Ted at this point have not yet started their inside joke of saluting when an Army rank is used in a sentence, first seen in "Slapsgiving."
The look that Robin gave in the music video is the look that Ted mentioned in "Swarley." ("Oh, and your biting your lower lip, shyly looking away and thrusting your chest out is natural?")
In the episode "As Fast As She Can", the song "Let's Go To The Mall" can be heard as Ted's ringtone.

Recurring Elements

Ted's view on couple's secrets and background information, as well as communication, is shown as something he really values in a relationship.
Robin and Marshall high five after learning that Robin's video featured a robot. Marshall is actually a great robot dancer. The robot would later appear in "Sandcastles in the Sand" as well as "Glitter" as Robin Sparkles' sidekick.

Cultural references

Robin said when she performed in malls all over Canada, she was forced to live off of Orange Juliuses and Wetzel's Pretzels.

Barney's blog

Barney finds "sunken treasure" video proof.^[3]

Production

The episode was originally titled "Robin Sparkles," but the title was changed to "Slap Bet" in order to avoid giving away the ending. In reruns, CBS used the originally intended "Robin Sparkles" title.^[4]

The menu that Robin makes up when Ted questions her about her wedding was the actual menu at the wedding of writer Kourtney Kang, which took place two weeks prior to the writing of this episode.

Critical response

Miss Alli of Television Without Pity rated the episode with a grade A.^[5]

Staci Krause of IGN gave the episode 8.9 out of 10.^[6]

Joyce Eng of TV Guide later called the episode "possibly the show's finest half-hour" and said, "nothing will ever be or beat 'Slap Bet'."^[7]

References

^ Joel Keller (2006-12-28). "Here are the Official Slap Bet Rules".
^ "SlapBet Count Down". Archived from the original on August 22, 2007-08-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
^ Barney Stinson. "Barney's Blog:". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
^ Joel Keller (2007-05-11). "Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
^ Miss Alli (2006-11-20). "How I Met Your Mother: Slap Bet". Television Without Pity. NBC Universal. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2010-05-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Episode 9" ignored (help); Text "Season 2" ignored (help) A+
^ Staci Krause (2007-04-24). "How I Met Your Mother: "Slap Bet" Review. Robin 'sparkles' in this episode". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
^ Joyce Eng (2010-11-16). "How I Met Your Mother: Did Robin Sparkles Continue to Shine?". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-11-16.

External links

[rules-1] Joel Keller (2006-12-28). "Here are the Official Slap Bet Rules".

[2] "SlapBet Count Down". Archived from the original on August 22, 2007-08-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)

[3] Barney Stinson. "Barney's Blog:". {{cite web}}: |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)

[4] Joel Keller (2007-05-11). "Carter Bays of How I Met Your Mother: The TV Squad Interview". Archived from the original on 2007-05-13. Retrieved 2009-11-11.

[pity-5] Miss Alli (2006-11-20). "How I Met Your Mother: Slap Bet". Television Without Pity. NBC Universal. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2010-05-20. {{cite web}}: Text "Episode 9" ignored (help); Text "Season 2" ignored (help) A+

[ign-review-6] Staci Krause (2007-04-24). "How I Met Your Mother: "Slap Bet" Review. Robin 'sparkles' in this episode". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-04-12.

[tvguide-7] Joyce Eng (2010-11-16). "How I Met Your Mother: Did Robin Sparkles Continue to Shine?". TV Guide. Retrieved 2010-11-16.

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v t e How I Met Your Mother
Episodes	Season 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Characters	Ted Mosby Marshall Eriksen Lily Aldrin Barney Stinson Robin Scherbatsky Tracy McConnell
Soundtracks	"Let's Go to the Mall" "Sandcastles in the Sand" "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit" "P.S. I Love You"
Related articles	Awards and nominations Bro Code Cheerleader effect "How I Wet Your Mother" How I Met Your Dad How I Met Your Father

v t e How I Met Your Mother episodes
Seasons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Season 1	"Pilot" "Belly Full of Turkey" "The Pineapple Incident" "The Limo" "The Wedding" "Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M." "Mary the Paralegal"
Season 2	"Where Were We?" "Ted Mosby, Architect" "Swarley" "Slap Bet" "Single Stamina" "How Lily Stole Christmas" "First Time in New York" "Columns" "Monday Night Football" "Lucky Penny" "Something Blue"
Season 3	"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"
Season 4	"Do I Know You?" "I Heart NJ" "Intervention" "Shelter Island" "Happily Ever After" "Not a Father's Day" "Woooo!" "The Fight" "Little Minnesota" "Benefits" "Three Days of Snow" "The Possimpible" "The Stinsons" "Sorry, Bro" "The Front Porch" "Old King Clancy" "Murtaugh" "Mosbius Designs" "The Three Days Rule" "Right Place, Right Time" "The Leap"
Season 5	"Definitions" "Double Date" "Robin 101" "The Sexless Innkeeper" "Duel Citizenship" "The Rough Patch" "The Playbook" "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap" "The Window" "Last Cigarette Ever" "Girls Versus Suits" "Jenkins" "Perfect Week" "Rabbit or Duck" "Hooked" "Of Course" "Say Cheese" "Zoo or False" "Home Wreckers" "Twin Beds" "Robots Versus Wrestlers" "The Wedding Bride" "Doppelgangers"
Season 6	"Big Days" "Cleaning House" "Unfinished" "Subway Wars" "Architect of Destruction" "Baby Talk" "Canning Randy" "Natural History" "Glitter" "Blitzgiving" "The Mermaid Theory" "False Positive" "Bad News" "Last Words" "Oh Honey" "Desperation Day" "Garbage Island" "A Change of Heart" "Legendaddy" "The Exploding Meatball Sub" "Hopeless" "The Perfect Cocktail" "Landmarks" "Challenge Accepted"
Season 7	"The Naked Truth" "Ducky Tie" "The Stinson Missile Crisis" "Field Trip" "Mystery vs. History" "Noretta" "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" "Disaster Averted" "Tick, Tick, Tick..." "The Rebound Girl" "Symphony of Illumination" "Tailgate" "46 Minutes" "The Burning Beekeeper" "The Drunk Train" "No Pressure" "Karma" "Trilogy Time" "Now We're Even" "Good Crazy" "The Magician's Code"
Season 8	"Farhampton" "The Pre-Nup" "Nannies" "Who Wants to Be a Godparent?" "Splitsville" "The Stamp Tramp" "Twelve Horny Women" "Lobster Crawl" "The Over-Correction" "The Final Page" "Band or DJ?" "Ring Up!" "P.S. I Love You" "The Ashtray" "Weekend at Barney's" "The Fortress" "The Time Travelers" "Romeward Bound" "The Bro Mitzvah" "Something Old" "Something New"
Season 9	"The Locket" "Coming Back" "Last Time in New York" "The Broken Code" "The Poker Game" "Knight Vision" "No Questions Asked" "The Lighthouse" "Platonish" "Mom and Dad" "Bedtime Stories" "The Rehearsal Dinner" "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" "Unpause" "How Your Mother Met Me" "Sunrise" "Rally" "Vesuvius" "Daisy" "Gary Blauman" "Last Forever"
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