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Karma (How I Met Your Mother)

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"Karma (How I Met Your Mother)"

"Karma" is the eighteenth episode of the seventh season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 154th episode overall. It aired on February 27, 2012.[1][2]

Plot

Barney decides to pursue Quinn, even after discovering she works as a stripper named Karma. Barney tries to ask her out on a second date, and although she appears interested, she continually avoids answering and only wishes to hang out at the strip club; she always claims her boss is watching, and requests more money to make it appear like she’s working. When Ted hears about this, he realizes she is just playing Barney. When Barney sees Quinn behaving much the same towards another client, he realizes Ted was right, and apologizes to Quinn and leaves the club. Later, Barney runs into Quinn one morning buying coffee and chides her for playing him, but she tells him off for failing to recognize her even though she worked at the Lusty Leopard for a year. When she mentions a number of things that Barney mentioned to her, he accepts her offer to sit down for coffee, suggesting she is actually interested in him.

Robin has moved in with Lily and Marshall for a while, but becomes annoyed at their mundane lifestyle. When she attempts to flee one night, Lily and Marshall catch her. They admit they find the suburbs boring, but believe it is best for their upcoming child. Robin tells them that if they are unhappy with where they live, that will not make it the best place for their child. Robin finally moves out to stay with a colleague.

Since Robin had moved out, Ted has attempted to take his mind off her by using her empty room for various hobbies such as smoking meats, woodworking and pottery, none of which he does well in. Robin goes to meet Ted later, and helps him realize that some things shouldn’t be forced and that one should instead just move on. A few days later, Lily and Marshall receive a message from Ted to come hang out in the city, and the two eagerly rush off. When arriving at Ted’s apartment, they find the place empty and a note from Ted. Ted never took their names off the lease, and he has decided to move out for good as he needs a change. He gives the apartment to Marshall and Lily and has decided that Robin's old room should be used for their baby.

Continuity

  • Marshall and Lily last had the apartment to themselves in the season 2 episode Moving Day.
  • Barney claims GNB financed and later sold a laboratory in North Korea. The bank is known to be behind some acts of subterfuge in previous episodes such as Woooo!.
  • An entry in Lily's diary talks about her fantasies of killing Marshall's mother. Both women have been at odds for years until it is resolved in the How I Met Your Mother (season 6)|season 6]] episode Last Words.

Barney's blog

Barney enumerates some of the bad stripper names he came across at the Lusty Leopard.[3]

Cultural references

  • Writing in her diary Robin mentions a 42 year-old woman who uses a Rascal Scooter comparing it to the second half of film WALL-E.[4] She also talks about macrame gatherings.
  • The scene where Robin wakes up to Lily standing by her bed with a sledgehammer is a reference to Annie Wilkes in the film Misery.[5]

Critical response

The AV Club's Katherine Miller graded the episode at B. She commends the show for dealing with common complaints about the show this season, giving more time to tertiary characters and making a significant change to the living arrangements. Miller is glad things are happening on the show or at least "the illusion of things happening" and giving the story some momentum.[4]

Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B-. Alter believes Quinn is no more than a placeholder until Barney and Robin get back together, but a least a placeholder with more personality than Nora.[6]

IGN gives the episode 7 out of 10.[7]

Chris O'Hara of TV Fanatic gave the episode a score of 4.0 out of 5.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Listings - TheFutonCritic.com". Retrieved February 23, 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "thefutoncritic.com" ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Listing for 'Karma' - The FutonCritic.com". thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
  3. ^ "BARNEY'S BLOG: A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME". CBS.com. FEB 28, 2012 03:00AM. Retrieved February 29, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b http://www.avclub.com/articles/karma,69827/
  5. ^ a b Chris O'Hara (February 27, 2012). "How I Met Your Mother Review: Misery Business". The show's creepy attempts to prevent Robin from leaving reminded me of the movie Misery, complete with Lily brandishing the sledge hammer over Robin when she awoke.
  6. ^ Ethan Alter. "Moving on up". Television Without Pity.
  7. ^ http://tv.ign.com/articles/121/1219779p1.html

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