"Gary Blauman" is the 21st episode of the ninth season of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'', and the 205th episode overall.

Plot

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

and the Mother are going out to dinner on their

first date A first date is the initial meeting during the dating process of two individuals, in which an effort is made to ask about each other, plan a potential relationship, and/or organize some sort of romantic activity. Aims vary between finding a ...

at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, three days after

Barney Barney may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barney (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Barney (surname), a list of people Film and television * the title character of ''Barney & Friends'', an American live actio ...

and

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') **Bush-robin **Forest rob ...

's wedding. When they decide not to go to the restaurant they originally chose, the Mother says they should just find a restaurant where they don't need a reservation. Ted tells her that going somewhere without a reservation isn't easy, through the story of

Gary Blauman "Gary Blauman" is the 21st episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'', and the 205th episode overall. Plot Ted and the Mother are going out to dinner on their first date at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, three days a ...

. In the present, Blauman shows up a couple hours before the wedding begins and congratulates Robin. Robin pretends to be happy, but freaks out when she realizes that she didn't plan a seat for him.

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

calms her down, telling her he will take care of it, as he is very good with wedding seating. However, Marshall realizes that it will be difficult to change the seating plan and recruits Ted to help so to avoid screwing up. Ted refuses because he hated Blauman ever since they competed for a girl once at a party.

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

comes in, saying she is grateful to Blauman after he stopped her from getting a huge

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

on her back following her and Marshall's breakup. The Mother stops Ted momentarily after spotting her ex-boyfriend in the distance. She tells Ted she recently had a bad breakup and isn't ready to date, but wants him to finish his story. In the present, the three go to Barney for the

tie-break In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...

ing vote. Barney doesn't want him there either, as Blauman once stole four of Barney's fries at MacLaren's, including the accidental curly.

Billy Zabka William Michael Zabka (; born October 20, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Johnny Lawrence in ''The Karate Kid'' (1984), ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) and the TV series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–present). In 2004, h ...

and James come in; Zabka wants him there, because Blauman appreciates his

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, but James doesn't, as his

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

with Blauman caused him to

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

his husband, Tom. Ted changes his mind about Blauman from this disclosure, realising that Blauman was actually competing with the girl for Ted's attention. Marshall ultimately makes the tie-breaking vote: Blauman stays because Robin wants him to, as she is the bride and has final say over any decision. Barney then admits he already told Blauman to leave, forcing the gang to go after him. The Mother cuts off the story again when they reach her apartment building. After exchanging goodbyes, Ted walks away as

Future Ted Theodore Evelyn Mosby is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Josh Radnor. He serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the " ...

says he didn't make the mistake he made eight years earlier during his first date with Robin, when he prematurely told her that he loves her. Much to Ted's relief, the Mother calls him back and asks him to finish the story. In the present, the gang finds Blauman as he is about to drive away, leading Ted to realize that he must hold on to the people that matter most to him, as they could instantly disappear from his life. Future Ted then reveals the fates of many

acquaintance The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s he and his friends had met in his stories: *

Carl Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

continues to run MacLaren's, with the bar becoming a family business after he has a son. *

Jeanette Jeanette, Jeannette or Jeanetta may refer to: * Jeanette (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) Places * Jeannette, Ontario, Canada * Jeannette Island, Russia * Jeannette, Pennsylvania, U.S ...

is arrested for her obsessive behavior and ends up getting together with her therapist, Robin's ex-boyfriend Kevin. The two now live in

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. *

Ranjit Ranjit can refer to: * Ranjit Singh (disambiguation) ** Ranjit Singh (1780–1839), First Maharaja of the Sikh Empire **Ranjit Singh of Bharatpur (1776–1805), ruler of the Bharatpur princely state in Rajasthan, India ** K. S. Ranjitsinhji (1872� ...

ends up getting rich off the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

, and buys the limo company where he's worked for years. *

Patrice Patrice is a given name meaning '' noble'' or '' patrician'', related to the names Patrick and Patricia. In English, Patrice is often a feminine first name. In French, it is used as a masculine first name. Popularity In the United States, the pop ...

gets her own

drive-time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

radio show, and regularly listens to and offers advice to her listeners, one of whom is Robin. *

is honored with the American Humanities Medal for Literature for his poetry, becoming the youngest winner of the award. * Zoey continues her

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, supporting many causes (some questionable, as shown when she is attacked by a

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

she's trying to save). * Scooter marries Jasmine the

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

, obviously due to her resemblance to Lily. *

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...

fights and beats a

gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...

following a three-day bender at a slot machine, which paid off immediately after he left it. * Ted remains uncertain as to what happened to Blah Blah, but does manage to remember that her name is Carol. * Sandy Rivers' inappropriate behavior destroys his career in the U.S., but he soon finds work anchoring a Russian news program and never changes. *

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

manages to convince his husband Tom to take him back, and the two enjoy a very happy life together with their son and daughter. The narration concludes with the return of Blauman, saying he doesn't want to miss the wedding. After finishing his story, Ted and the Mother have their first kiss, and decide to walk around the city some more.

Critical reception

Donna Bowman of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' graded the episode an A. Max Nicholson of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave the episode 8.7/10, saying that it "delivered a sharp and enjoyable storyline that felt like a snapshot of the show's former glory."

References

External links

* {{How I Met Your Mother episodes, 9 2014 American television episodes American LGBT-related television episodes How I Met Your Mother (season 9) episodes