Season 4 Episode 3: I Heart NJ Discussion

By JD

Ted really hates New Jersey. We knew this from “We’re Not From Here” last year when Ted refused to return to the dirty Jerz with the two girls he and Barney had been duping. Tonight we learned that his hatred for the state runs so deep that when going #2, Ted refers to it as “dropping a massive New Jersey.”

I’ve been a commuter into the city (I was coming in from Fairfield, CT) and I can vouch for Ted’s concern. You really do feel like you’re spending all your time on the train. But does he love Stella enough to make the commitment? I wouldn’t have thought so before tonight but then again, Ted makes some crazy decisions when it comes to girls.

The Good

We finally got to see Stella hang out with the group. She did a good job too. Her chemistry with everyone was quite good.

I love the low-rent cable news station where Robin worked. In the HD broadcast you could tell the letters in the “Metro News One at 11:00″ where digital but I somehow like that the station is so cheap that even the digital graphics fall apart. I also like her blatant distaste for the job. She’s come along way from Barney paying her to say “back then, they only cost a nipple.” Ted’s speech was awesome though. Classic collegiate “these spectacles are decorative” Mosby.

As soon as Marshall started fantasizing about cup-holders I knew he was starting to prefer NJ. You can take the Eriksen out of the mid west… speaking of that, Marshall’s speech about how much it sucks to be huge in NY resonated with me as well. It’s really true, everything is miniturized here. When I first got here as a 6’3″ dude it was the first thing I noticed. My 5’6″ friends just seemed to “fit” better in Manhattan. It’s why I have an apartment in Brooklyn, which, by the way, I said “they can just live in Brooklyn” just moments before Ted said it to Stella. Damn this show is easy to identify with.

Marshall bought an economy sized container of olives. What happened to The Olive Theory?

The Bad

It might make a fan boy but I don’t have too much negative to say about the episode. It is kind of lame to see Ted buckle and tell Stella he’ll move to NJ but we all know how much he loves to please the women he’s with so it was totally in character. There’ll be a lot of things that end up ruining their relationship, this is just one straw on that camel’s back.

I guess I could complain we still haven’t seen the gang’s reaction to Ted announcing his and Stella’s engagement.

Favorite Moments

In the interest of honest I have to share that I had had several glasses of wine before watching tonight’s episode. It resonated as very good and quite funny with me so that might be a good tactic if you want to get more bang for you buck with the show. That being said, on to the hail of bullets:

  • Barney’s “picking up a lesbian” outfit was fantastic. Gotta respect the man’s dedication.
  • With those legs, Stella could snore all she wanted.
  • “You want us to go to New Jersey? Oh, that is rich.”
  • “I don’t have any of my gold medallions any more. I sold them when they went out of style 400 years ago.”
  • “Ted, if you murder me and bury me in New Jersey I’ll haunt you forever.”
    “What if I murder you and bury you somewhere else?”
    “Eh, I’ll leave you alone. I’m sure you had your reasons.”
  • I love all the details of Ted’s nerdy, non-atheletic childhood.
  • “I know I can land that lesbian plane.”
    “No snakes on that plane.”
  • Robin’s dancing is probably the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t often make animated GIFs but I think I might make an exception for this. I think one of those moves was from the “Let’s Go to the Mall” video.
  • I love Lily’s admiration for Robin’s legs in shorts and Marshall’s subtle “pump the brakes” gesture. Looks like Lily wishes Robin’s days as a field hockey player did make go both ways. That’d solve Barney’s dilemma too…
  • Barney’s speech about girl’s having the look of self-hatred is classic old Barney.
  • Robin riding the bike is great. Cobie does that kind of humor really well.
  • “Knuckle up for safety.”
  • “I’m like some huge monster that came out of the ocean to destroy bodegas.” Best quote ever?
  • No one can soliloquy like Jason Segel.
  • “My arm hasn’t been this sore since I was 13 and figured out how to lock a bathroom.”
  • Marshall is wearing a dog t-shirt in the final scene in MacLaren’s.

Closing

I would have listed Barney waiting for a dap under “the bad” were it not for the moment at the end of episode where he dropped his five-needing hand. That’s like dropping the cross in the church of Barney so we know for him to give up it must’ve been a big deal.

Last week we all complained they never touched on his burgeoning love for Ms. Scherbatsky, tonight we saw a few moments, the biggest of which was the disappointment on his face when we learned Robin was moving to Japan.

And, btw, the song that plays as Ted reads Lucy a bedtime story is “Jersey Girl” by Bruce Springsteen. Appropriate, no?

Note: I don’t often give previews for what’s going to come on HYMT (mostly because I don’t plan that much ahead of time) but I do want to let you all know that you should come back Wednesday morning for an exclusive interview with Carter Bays, co-creator of How I Met Your Mother. I got a chance to ask him a few questions about the show 4and the resulting interview will be posted Wednesday morning. Stay tuned!

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In Episode Discussion, Season 4 | Monday, October 6th, 2008 11:30 pm GMT -4 | By JD
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40 Comments to “Season 4 Episode 3: I Heart NJ Discussion”

  1. Cait |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:10 am GMT -4

    As for the Olive Theory–I think in the episode wayyy back in the beginning when Ted takes a cab to Brooklyn with the gang to see Robin and Marshall brings up the Olive Theory, he confesses to Lily that he really does like Olives, and he’d never had a girl “want his olives” before which is why he lied.

    And I think we did see a bit of at least Marshall’s reaction to the engagement in the first episode of this season when he asks Ted all kinds of questions about Stella that Ted can’t answer (not to mention the Star Wars fiasco in which she proceeded to hate the penulitmate trilogy of my childhood–and Ted’s).

    Overall I enjoyed this episode and a lot of the oneliners and layering craftiness. However, Ted’s caving so easily made me a bit sad, and I feel like I’m losing touch with his character/what I enjoyed about his character from season one. Of the three episodes we’ve seen yet, I thought it was a bit weak. I miss the strong characters and umbrella storylines subtly weaved in to episodes you could watch out of order.

  2. Angelica |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:12 am GMT -4

    Great blog…first time here, but a huge fan of HIMYM!! Regarding your olive theory…remember its season 1 where Marshall and Barney are waiting for Ted outside Robin’s apt. Barney finallly gets it out of Marshall that he saw him eat a tray of olives at the bar the week before. Marshall has always loved olives, despite the fact that he’d been pretending to hate them with Lilly.

  3. Diana |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:20 am GMT -4

    Don’t forget my favorite quote:

    Are you crying?
    -They’re awesome manly pain tears!

  4. Steve |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:23 am GMT -4

    I was kinda disappointed – I don’t really know why, just…was.

  5. Cait |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:23 am GMT -4

    It was a bit disappointing.

  6. Derek |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 01:24 am GMT -4

    Just a correction… :D

    The episode that shows how Ted hates NJ is “We’re Not from Here” not from “I’m Not That Guy”.

  7. AF |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 01:24 am GMT -4

    I enjoyed this one quite a bit

    The moment with Ted reading the bed time story to Lucy was adorable. Along with their interaction during the cut scenes when she calls him Big Daddy and he calls her G. He’s gonna make a great dad, you know?

    I feel very torn about Robin right now. I love her as a character. I’m desperate to see more RoBarn happen. But at the same time, I think going to Japan would be good for her characterization. It would make sense for Robin. She’s a free spirit who drinks single malt scotch and smokes cigars. Ted couldn’t hold her down in Season 1 so I’m not sure that Barney could hold her down in Season 3.

  8. CV |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 06:42 am GMT -4

    I was excited to hear “Jersey Girl” played in the episode. I’m a huge Tom Waits fan (he wrote and performed the original), but Springsteen’s version is also good.

    I too am torn on the Robin issue. I think that it makes sense for her character to go to Japan, but at the same time, I kind of want to see more of her and Barney. Also, Ted is driving me crazy right now. It seems like he’s so desperate to make things work with Stella, just for the sake of being in a serious relationship. I know someone a lot like Ted, and have been the “Lily” or “Marshall” in situations like this one with him, so I think that’s why Ted’s behavior is bothering me.

  9. Marcy |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 08:22 am GMT -4

    After a long pause, I finally have the time to write a comment :D

    First of all, I really enjoyed this episode. There were lots of fantastic quotes, the storyline moved forward and we finally saw the gang together with Stella.

    The entire Ted/Stella storyline was lovely and made a lot of sense. The issue where to live after the wedding is a major question a lot of couples like Ted and Stella have to think about and clearly the parent always has better chances to decide. I can understand very well why Stella doesn´t want to move and even better why Ted doesn´t want to move either. The way they threw the arguments for living in NY/NJ at each other were really funny and still realistic. I especially loved the part where Marshall says he hates NY and why he does so. I totally agree with JD, Marshall does the best soliloquies ever! The resolution, that, in the end, Ted agrees to move to NJ for Stella is very much in character in my opinion. He does love her (and as we see also Lucy) a lot.

    Robin quitting her job was a logical move, but I would never have thought that she would actually go back and beg for her job bag. Thankfully she left eventually. Als, Robin accepting the job in Japan without thinking about it for very long is very much in character. She really is the free spirit that takes chances as they come.

    And last but not least, we finally had another BRo moment (sorry JD, but I´ll stick to this expression if you don´t mind. I simply got used to it). I loved it when Barney´s hand slowly left it´s “high five” position. This, plus the expression on his face, was simply priceless. Personally I do think there will be a BRo happy ending, but not right now. Both Barney and Robin are not really the commitment kind of people and putting them together now would ruin their characters. Barney being secretly in love, but still slpeeing around to “get over it” is very much Barney as is Robin not noticing anything…

    And another thing, we know from “Ten Sessions” that Stella doesn´t have very much time, but now he will be deputy major? Am I the only person who thinks this is kind of strange?

  10. Courtney |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 11:54 am GMT -4

    Can I just throw out that what bothered me most is that Stella’s whole thing in Ten Sessions was the two minutes a day she gets for lunch. What about the countless hours spent on the train, Stellz? Come on.

    This episode actually really hit home for me because my boyfriend and I are currently fighting about me moving to the suburbs or him moving to the city. I refuse to Ted out on this.

    Also, I like having classic Marshall back. I don’t enjoy sad or unemployed Marshall nearly as much as I know most people do.

  11. danielle |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 11:59 am GMT -4

    olive theory was shattered in the pilot episode, wasn’t it…while barney, lily, and marshall are in the cab while ted is doing the re return

  12. Josh |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:00 pm GMT -4

    I really liked this episode, but I must say what made it best was one thing:
    Marshall
    was
    awesome.

    Btw, I saw this shirt yesterday, and I immediately thought of Marshall. In the back of my mind, I really hope that he wears it in an upcoming episode.
    http://shirt.woot.com/Friends.aspx?k=6733
    Did anyone else think of him?

  13. Ike |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:06 pm GMT -4

    Another awesome episode. I loved how Marshall loved being in NJ more, and it makes perfect sense for a guy not raised in a big town. I’m a small town guy, and last year lived in the biggest city in SC (no where near the size of NY) and didn’t like it much. I love the argument of NY vs NJ very funny. Ted gave in because he realized it was best for Lucy and he loves her and her mom. I didn’t catch that whole scene because Jersey Girl brings back bad memeries from a Jersey girl I knew.

    Jason Segel does give a mean soliloquy.

    Also wonderful callback using “Now I wasn’t there but ____ says this is how it happened” from Okay. Awesome!

    The Bad: No Robin-Stella scene.

  14. M |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 12:09 pm GMT -4

    From the Pilot:

    Marshall: On our first date, I ordered a Greek salad; Lily asked if she could have my olives. I said, “Sure… I hate olives.”

    Barney: But you like olives!

    Marshall: Well, I was eighteen, okay? I was a virgin. Been waiting for my whole life for a pretty girl to want my olives.

  15. Marcy |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 01:17 pm GMT -4

    So true. The Olive Theory was crushed in the Pilot :D

    BTW, I actually love Stella a lot, but in this episode, she was a little too Eliot´ish…

  16. J |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 01:22 pm GMT -4

    Im almost positive we will find out how everyone else reacted in next weeks episode…

  17. The Modern Gal |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 02:55 pm GMT -4

    I don’t know, I just didn’t like this episode. I think the writers are having to sacrifice too much of the HIMYM vibe in advancing the Ted/Stella storyline.

    Sure everything everyone did/said was mostly in character, but everything still seemed forced.

    One thing that did seem out of character was Stella not having a serious discussion about the living situation before then. She’s such a serious mom and she was so guarded about letting Ted in in the first place that I’m sure the living situation would have been a huge concern. Why did she treat the original conversation so flippantly?

    I also must have been the only one who didn’t enjoy Stella’s interaction with the rest of the group.

    I thought last week’s episode was so refreshing without the Stella storyline and captured the humor that made me a HIMYM fan from the very beginning, and this week’s ep just seemed to lose it again.

  18. john darc |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 03:02 pm GMT -4

    This episode sort of made me not like Stella even more than I already don’t care for her all that much. I already really have no reason to like her (as well as Sarah Chalke/Elliot, one of the weakest parts of Scrubs) and now she’s sort of being a bitch. Though that might just be cause she’s this new person messing with Ted’s shit, and I’ve already grown to like Ted.

    I understand that she doesn’t want to uproot her family and her life, though. There really is no right and wrong here.

  19. john darc |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 03:07 pm GMT -4

    I also live in Brooklyn, so anything I say that is wrong or stupid, I blame on bias.

  20. Ian Gooda |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 04:39 pm GMT -4

    As mentioned the Olive theory was dispelled in the pilot, and Lily knows about it, her response

    “We’ll make it work…”

    The episode was kinda bleh… Sarah Chalke has yet to fit in properly… and it’s a shame, b/c she’s awesome at that communal thing on Scrubs.

    Not for one minute after their initial meeting have I seen a single reason why Ted would fall for Stella, I get not wanting us to get too attached and to some degree root against the relationship, but this is getting painful!

    Barney’s eyes and dropped high-five saved the episode though… although I now question his uber-awesome ability to pull Barneyisms out of the air… his level of Barneyness was only a 6

  21. Wingman |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 05:19 pm GMT -4

    @ modern gal – “Why did she treat the original conversation so flippantly?”
    Keep in mind they were drinking some big glasses of wine, and Ted misinterprets her sarcasm… it can be so confusing sometimes.

    As for the future of the show, I think it would be good for Robin to go away to Japan, only for a few episodes, and then return to NYC all lonely and realizing she misses everyone and has roots here. It also gives space in the show for Stella (its hard to manage 6 people in a 22 minute show). In this time, Barney gets a chance to open up to Lily and maybe the guys about his love for Robin, and gives Ted time to come around to support it. Then in typical HIMYM irony, Robin comes back, Barney professes his love, and Ted and Stella break up.

    Thats the story arc anyway up through then Christmas break. I’m callin’ it. Who’s with me?

  22. Samsam |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 05:36 pm GMT -4

    For How long Robin is leaving the show ?

    I’m sure she’ll come back because in the episode of the goat, Ted said that Robin was living at his appartment ( for his 31st birthday )

  23. Cait |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 05:58 pm GMT -4

    There was also mention in one of the episodes where Ted looks back and mentions things about the characters that happen in the future, and he drops a line about how Robin traveled a lot, and she even lived in Tokyo. So I’m not sure how much time that lends to her living there in the scheme of the show, but it’s a for sure that she’ll be going.

    Maybe Barney will go to Japan with her–he speaks Japanese!

  24. OpenCasketForTheLadies |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 05:59 pm GMT -4

    After watching I love NJ for a second time, in my opinion HIMYM is 3 for 3 this season.

    It was a great episode including the meshing of the “gang” with “Stellz”, as well as some classic Barney, border line “bi-sexual” Lily, Marshall at his best, and Ted being Ted (doing anything for love)

    I’m glad they incorporated the olives into the show, just as a reference. It doesn’t have to mean anything other than to get us talking.

    I am very interested to see what Bays and Thomas have in store for Robin, not to mention Robin and Barney.

    I think these first 3 episodes have finally convinced me that this show is pound for pound better than Seinfeld.

  25. Geri |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 06:51 pm GMT -4

    As I mentioned in the other thread, Marshall clutching that huge jar of olives was priceless! Also hearing Springsteen do Jersey Girl nearly brought me to tears. It was such a sweet moment and we really got a look into how far Ted has integrated into Stella’s and Lucy’s lives.

    I have a feeling that if Stella and Ted do stay together, she will re-think moving to the city. Her work is there and it just doesn’t make sense to pull Ted out of the main framework of the show.

    I’ve been really disappointed that lately (end of last season/beginning of this season), that Robin has only had story lines that revolve around her at work. What happened to the other stuff in her life? Everyone else seems to get at least small bits of storyline focused on various aspects of their lives, so why not Robin?

    JD I think the running man move was from “Let’s Go To The Mall”. Wouldn’t it be great if Robin went to Japan and people recognized her as Robin Sparkles? They love their pop music over there!

  26. Hee |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 08:10 pm GMT -4

    I enjoyed this episode a lot and by the end (before Barney’s dropped 5) was laughing so hard that I needed a tissue for the tears. It has drama and comedy (and they weren’t trying to make the dramatic scenes easier to swallow by funnying them down).

    I particularly enjoyed the great scenes between Ted-Marshall, Marshall-Lily and Lily-Barney. Lily-Barney are constantly rocking their scenes. And was that some not-so-subtle foreshadowing for Lily and Marshall? They both seemed pretty upset.

    The Stella and Ted drama just didn’t work for me. This episode reconfirmed for me that Stella doesn’t quite fit on this show. Her vibe doesn’t mesh, she seems older than everyone else and is making Ted boring. I love Elliot (Scrubs), but I want Stella gone. I want her gone, bad. I’m disappointed that Ted caved after a 5-second lame montage. I don’t feel like their drama was earned and I don’t feel like the cave-in (Ted-in?) was earned. This honestly requires an intervention.

    BTW did anyone notice how much yellow was in Stella’s apartment. Yellow roses, yellow flowers on the cusions, a yellow French horn in the painting on the wall and Stella also in yellow. Symbolism, fake-symbolism or coincidence?

    I still just feel like we haven’t had a normal episode yet. One centered around the apartment and the bar. And still no real Ted-Barney interaction. I feel like we’re still living in semi Broke-up time.

  27. mothership |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 09:10 pm GMT -4

    Jersey fights back

    http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2008/10/himym_i_heart_nj_i_hate_ted_mo.html

  28. Geri |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 10:49 pm GMT -4

    Holy crap! I didn’t even notice all the yellow and especially not the yellow french horn! Then again i’m not the viewer that looks for things intentionally. I either pick up little things or not. I think all the yellow was put there to mess with us.

  29. john darc |  Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 11:38 pm GMT -4

    @mothership:

    That’s a pretty apt review. It was pretty mediocre sitcommy last night.

  30. Angelica |  Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 12:52 am GMT -4

    I’m not feeling Stella at all…I tried in the beginning and it was adorable…but last night’s episode just reinforced my dislike for this relationship. i think it has to do to my own biases…

    Robin Ted = Forever.

  31. john darc |  Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 03:01 am GMT -4

    My heart is Red.

    Wait, that’s too clever. It won’t work.

    How about when I think about Robin and Ted, they RobEd my heart. Maybe that’s better.

  32. TheMix |  Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 04:35 pm GMT -4

    J.D. – Offer Minnesotans ANYTHING in bulk, and we will buy it. If there’s a deal to be had, we will find it. It doesn’t even matter if it’s something we don’t want/need…..it’s the principle of the thing.

    Also, did anybody read Barney’s Blog this week? It has a nice little pick and match timeline for the history of fist bumps….the following one pleased me very much.

    “Chuck Yeager breaks the sound/fist bump barrier – (Other guy’s arm falls off – never done again) ”

    -Jason

  33. Tim |  Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 07:45 pm GMT -4

    Anyone else eagerly waiting for the end of the Ted and Stelliot Reed relationship?

  34. Hee |  Thursday, October 9th, 2008 06:36 am GMT -4

    @Tim “Stelliot” I love it.

  35. daserca |  Friday, October 10th, 2008 06:07 am GMT -4

    Quite enjoyable this time. Not as good as the first episode of this 4th season, though. Definitely much, much better that the one about the burger. As Carter said in your interview “you’re gonna win some games and lose some games”.
    Let’s just hope that they will keep winning more games

  36. Gaelle |  Friday, October 10th, 2008 12:00 pm GMT -4

    Why isn’t Stelliot over already?! I thought this whole NY vs NJ would end it. I have the same impression as Hee, Stella just seems older than anyone else and she doesn’t fit. I can’t picture Ted with a girl that is already a parent, he is just not there in his life yet, he needs to grow up a bit more. Even if it shows that he’s really fond of Lucy and that he clearly wants kids, I just always had the feeling that he wants his own kids and would be reluctant to become a stepfather before he becomes a dad.
    He’s the kind of person who needs to follow the classical path: first meet a girl, get married and then have kids.

    Even though we knew Robin will live in Japan for a while, I couldn’t help but dropping a shocked “What?” at the end of the episode. Is Colbie gonna be taking a break from the show for a couple of episodes? Will there be no Robin on screen for a while or will we see her in Japan (I love Geri’s idea of japanese fans of Robin Sparkles. I picture pretty well a karaoke scene of “Let’s go to the mall”)? And I certainly don’t want that to be an excuse to give more space to Stella. I’m sorry but they can’t just “replace” one by the other. I mean Ted had had other girlfriends and it never led to one of the gang having to leave the show to let her in! The others just found their place, something that Stella doesn’t seem to be able to.

    I miss the recurring flashbacks/flashforwards construction. They seem to use that a lot less. This episode was too linear.

  37. John |  Saturday, October 11th, 2008 01:16 am GMT -4

    I actually loved this week’s episode. I was very grateful to see Robin used alot more than last season, I thoguht she was awesome. Marshall was also great, I found the biggest let-downs this ep to be Barney and Ted/Stella.
    Overall I actually think it may have been the best ep so far this season; it just hit the spot for me and made me remeniscent of S1 and S2.

  38. Sandy |  Monday, October 13th, 2008 10:53 pm GMT -4

    With you saying “what happened to the olive theory?” In the pilot, Marshall admitted to Lily that he actually liked olives.

  39. Tamala Aitchison |  Sunday, February 14th, 2010 06:44 pm GMT -4

    http://scrubsepisodeguide.weebly.com has all Scrubs episodes free online if you missed them on tv

  40. Robt Staines |  Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 05:29 am GMT -4

    This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Many thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.

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