"Weekend at Barney's" is the 18th episode of the eighth season of the

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

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

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

'', and the 178th episode overall.

Plot

Barney wakes up in the middle of the night, dreaming about a special play called the "Weekend at Barney's", inspired by the 1989 film ''

Weekend at Bernie's ''Weekend at Bernie's'' is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Ted Kotcheff, written by Robert Klane, and starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, and Terry Kiser. It tells the story of two young in ...

''. It angers

Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

, who knows he destroyed the Playbook. After returning the wedding invitation with

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 Runciman Island, Ontario, Canada * Jeanne ...

as his plus-one, Ted finds that Jeanette has impulsively trashed the apartment after reading a spam email message; she breaks up with him on the spot.

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and

Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

console him, but the gang is elated at the breakup. Learning of Ted's plan to win Jeanette back, Barney sees it as an opportunity to find a replacement plus-one by matching up Ted at the bar using the Playbook (the copy he burned was a "ceremonial" copy). Barney sets up a station at the apartment to guide Ted with the plays. Two attempts fall flat, but as Barney guides Ted with a Scottish-themed play, Robin appears at Ted's apartment. She storms out at seeing the Playbook, causing Barney to go after her, missing Jeanette making up with Ted at the bar. Barney explains to Robin that all his plays were definitely based on lies, but it helped him realize that he loves her, winning her over with a bouquet of paper roses. Marshall and Lily visit an art gallery where an up-and-coming artist named Strickland Stevens is showing his works. Since she is the Captain's art consultant, Lily scouts for new works while Marshall tries to crack art-related jokes. He fails with the jokes and later accidentally spills a bag of Skittles on the floor, embarrassing Lily. Marshall pledges to remain quiet, but a remark about

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

results in him and Lily hitting things off with Stevens. Ted returns to his apartment with Jeanette, who fumes at seeing the Playbook. His friends find him sitting on the street while she throws all his things out the window and destroys the place. As Jeanette tapes the Playbook to a batch of fireworks from Barney's prop trunk, Ted asks her not to blow it up, but Barney allows it to be destroyed. Erasing Jeanette's name from the invitation, Ted pledges to no longer date and is ready to settle down.

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 " ...

narrates that at that point for the first time in his life, he really meant it.

Critical reception

Donna Bowman of ''

the A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...

'' gave the episode an A.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weekend At Barney's How I Met Your Mother season 8 episodes 2013 American television episodes