The How I Met Your Mother Blog

This is a weekly column where the episodes from seasons one, two, and three will go head to head in a humor cage match. This week, the episode nine’s.

Season 1: Belly Full of Turkey

Ted and Robin are surprised to run into Barney when they volunteer at a homeless shelter on Thanksgiving. Lily is on the brink of freaking out when she goes to Thanksgiving dinner at her future in-laws house.

Personally, this episode always felt a little weak to me. The group was split up, no one was in the normal setting, and the B-plot about Ted looking for volunteer work wasn’t strong. It was funny that Barney was serving mandatory community service but just happened to be awesome at it. Also, that mayonnaise salad Lily made was disgusting. I’m sure that this isn’t the episode of the three that will end up being discussed so let’s move on to the main event.

Season 2: Slap Bet

Ted and Barney discusses their viewpoints on knowing things about women. Barney thinks that the more you know the more likely you are to find a deal breaker. Ted wants to know the deal breakers right away, as Robin refuses to go to the mall to cover her secret.

Slap Bet. Wow, when this episode first aired I thought that it would be the one that brought in a bigger audience for the show and, historically, would be when the show ‘made it’. I think that was true, to a point. Casual HIMYM fans always mention this episode in their favorites. It also had the wonderful Robin Sparkles video which was a truly awesome reveal. For me, this episode was special because the week before it aired I had predicted that Robin had been married at some point before meeting the gang. While not technically correct, it was still cool that I was kind of right.

I loved the dialog in this episode. Ted pestering Robin in bed about the various reasons she might not like malls: “Got arrested in a mall? Found out you were Canadian in a mall? Got mauled in a mall? Trapped under a fake boulder at the mall?” and Robin’s answers to Ted’s inquisition of her wedding details. Also, this episode has what might be the funniest “edgy” line of the show. Barney, having been slapped my Marshall says “Your hand is enormous.” Marshall replies “What do you expect? You’ve seen my penis.”

I didn’t think Season 3 had a chance against this episode, that was until I saw Slapsgiving.

Season 3: Slapsgiving

As Marshall and Lily prepare to host their first Thanksgiving as husband and wife, Barney eyes Marshall’s Slap Bet Countdown Clock website with dread.

This was a great episode. We had the payoff for slapbetcountdown.com and got to see slap #3. The Ted and Robin storyline was as good if not better than the Robin Sparkles secret (which I’m sure will receive some contempt from other viewers). Slapsgiving was more dramatic, more mature. The characters are getting older and its showing. This episode, like Slap Bet, ended in a song performed by one of the characters. Side to side, 80′s music video aside, I think “You Just Got Slapped” beats “Let’s Go to the Mall”.

It’s also important to keep in mind that Slapsgiving could not exist without Slap Bet. In that sense, the success of this episode, a year later, gives even more points to Slap Bet and season 2.

Advantage

The poll shows seasons 2 and 3 in a dead heat. I think it’s too close to call so I’m going to go with a tie. It may be like kissing your sister, but isn’t that better than being a teenage pop star in Canada or getting slapped? What do you think?

Scorecard

Vote

{democracy:13}

Not only is today Thanksgiving but it’s also my birthday. That’s why right now I’m off somewhere deep in the woods of Connecticut with my family and this post is being published by robots.

This weeks’ showdown is going to be awesome. To make sure it’s as awesome as can be, I’m delaying till Friday or Saturday due to the double holiday. Check back tomorrow to weigh in on your favorites.

In the meantime, we can start voting.

{democracy:13}

Cheers, have a great Thanksgiving Slapsgiving.

I isolated the “You Got Slapped” song from the end of Slapsgiving and created an mp3. Grab it for your iPod, ring tone, alarm clock, whatever. Share with your friends or burn to a disk and use it as a stocking stuffer.

• Version 1 (1.22 MB) – The song. This is the isolated song from the episode.
• Version 2 (1.53 MB) – The song + show audio. This track has a lead-in with Lily giving Marshall permission, then we hear the real slap, then Marshall breaks into song.

Follow along:

What is this feeling
That’s put you in your place?
A hot red burning on the side
Of your face.
You feel the blood rush to your cheek,
Tears start to fill your eyes.
Your lips are trembling but you can’t speak
You’re trying, oh you’re trying not to cry.
Ya just got slapped
Across the face my friend.
Ya just got slapped
Yes that really just happened.
Well, everybody saw it, hah
Everybody laughed and clapped.
‘Cause it was awesome.
The way that you just got slapped.

If you like this, help me out by Digging it.

[youtube pzpYeHTiEGY]

Awesome.

“See what I got going on here? They’re turkeys, but they’re also hands. Because, later, we’re going to eat turkey, and then I’m going to slap you in your face.”

Bear with me folks, this is going to be a long one. Tonight’s episode not only reaffirmed why I love the show but told a touching story of the enduring power of friendship. It also continued the tension between Ted and Robin that started in Dowisetrepla. It was also the best episode of not just this season but quite possibly the entire series. It was so good because, like all the best episodes of this series, it not only was hilarious and full of memorable quotes, but it had a ton of dramatic characterization. I’m too effusive to hold back so don’t read on if you haven’t seen the episode, spoilers follow.

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