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Belly Full of Turkey
HIMYM episode 1x09 (9)
Belly Full of Turkey
First aired:
November 21, 2005
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Chris Miller
Phil Lord
Barney's Blog

Images (9)

Lily and Marshall head to Minnesota to spend the holiday with his family. Robin and Ted want to volunteer at a soup kitchen and are surprised to learn that Barney works there year-round.


Recap[]

On Thanksgiving day of 2005, Lily and Marshall go to Marshall's home in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which Marshall is very excited about, as he hasn't been home since last Christmas. Ted, Robin and Barney stay in New York.

As soon as Lily and Marshall arrive, Lily realizes that she is different from everybody in Marshall’s family. Marshall, who is already very tall, standing 6'4", is considered the "runt" of the Eriksen family. Later, she finds that everything in the family is huge, including salads, bowls and spoons. Mrs. Eriksen tells Lily that Marcus was fifteen pounds when he was born, which frightens Lily because she fears she may be pregnant with a similarly giant Eriksen baby.

At the dinner table, Lily insists that she will keep her name after marriage and that they'll raise their children in New York, much to the disapproval of the Eriksens. This leads to an argument between Lily and Marshall after which she runs out of the house. Lily buys a pregnancy test in a convenience store, and later got arrested for public urination. Marshall finds her in jail, and asks her what is going on with her. A distraught Lily begs Marshall to promise her that they won't move to St. Cloud. When Lily's personal effects are brought to her, Marshall learns that she took a pregnancy test. Marshall himself then begins to panic and declares that their children cannot be allowed to play Baskiceball. They soon find out that Lily is in fact not pregnant, much to their relief.

Back in New York, Ted and Robin go to a kitchen to do charity work for the homeless, where they find Barney. They are shocked to see him and can't believe that Barney would possibly want to help others, though Kendall, his boss, claims that he comes every Sunday. While Barney was playing a busy and essential role in the kitchen, having been named volunteer of the year, Ted and Robin don't have much to contribute as the kitchen is packed with volunteers on Thanksgiving. They finally end up helping a woman named Amanda, but learn that she is actually taking the best donated items home for herself. When Ted tells Kendall about this, Kendall reveals that he also takes the best items home as well. Ted steals the portobello mushrooms and gives them to the homeless people, which causes himself, Barney, and Robin to be fired from the kitchen. To make it up to Barney, they end up at the Lusty Leopard, a strip club, much to Ted's chagrin. Ted meets a stripper named Tracy, and he jokingly tells his kids that this was how he met their mother.

Continuity[]

  • Robin is revealed to be Canadian in this episode.
  • This is the first Thanksgiving episode.
  • Lily worries that she might be pregnant when her period is late, and in The Duel, Marshall tells Ted that he and Lily aren't that careful with their birth control.
  • This is the first appearance of Marshall's family.
  • The Lusty Leopard is first mentioned and shown.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Mayonnaise being a favorite ingredient amongst the Eriksens is referenced again in Game Night and Atlantic City​.
  • In Brunch​, Barney mentions that he volunteers serving food at a homeless shelter.
  • Lily tells Marshall and his family that she isn't going to take his last name. In Something Blue​, Lily and Marshall discuss not having the same last name, and in Big Days​, Lily tells Marshall about his father calling her to inform her he started the process of getting her name changed.
  • Last Forever - Part One depicts the others learning that Robin is from Canada no later than immediately after the events of Purple Giraffe.
  • Robin informs Ted that Canadians like her celebrate Thanksgiving in October, and in Slapsgiving, the gang makes fun of her for calling Canadian Thanksgiving the "real Thanksgiving". 
  • This is the only time where the gang are seen not celebrating Thanksgiving together. In Slapsgiving, Future Ted mentions that from then on, they always celebrated it together.
  • Barney complains that he will have to complete his community service by picking up trash on the side of the road after Ted gets them kicked out of the shelter, and he mentions having done this when he and Ted get sued for assault in The Fight​.
  • Barney being Volunteer of the Year is an early example of his perfectionism and single-minded relentlessness.
  • The Eriksen Seven Layer Salad is seen again in The Fight and Last Words​.
  • Future Ted mentions that "at 6'4", Marshall was the runt of the Eriksen clan". Marshall brings this up again in The Stinsons.
  • Lily's issues with her in-laws, particularly Marshall's mother, come up again in The StinsonsBig Days, and Bad News​. Despite Lily and her mother-in-law appearing to resolve some of the issues between them in Last Words, they continue to persist, as seen in The Drunk Train​ and Who Wants to Be a Godparent?
  • Lily being a gourmet cook, first mentioned here when she offers to make a frisée and endive salad with a coriander lime vinaigrette instead of the Eriksen Seven Layer Salad, is brought up again in The Front Porch​ and The Sexless Innkeeper​.
  • Lily's hips not being "Eriksen baby compliant" is again referenced in later episodes, including Jenkins​ and Home Wreckers​.
  • Marshall's father mentions that Eriksen men are extremely fertile, claiming that their "swimmers" have "two tails and a drillbit for a head". In Subway Wars​, Marshall mentions that Eriksen men are "hella fertile".
  • Barney calls the Thanksgiving dinner at the Lusty Leopard "surprisingly good", and in Baby Talk​, Marshall is seen agreeing with Barney that the strip club's prime rib was "surprisingly good".
  • In Bass Player Wanted, Robin tells Lily that the reason Barney wants Marshall to accept the judgeship offered to him in Something New is that he has a penchant for getting arrested for public urination.
  • Future Ted tricks his kids by claiming that Tracy the stripper turned out to be their mother; the joke would not have worked if they did not have the same name, which Last Forever - Part Two confirms.

Gallery[]

For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Belly Full of Turkey images.

Memorable Quotes[]

Lily: Happy Thanksgiving? As in, "Check out the girl buying a knock up test, everybody! Wonder what must be going through her head!" Yeah, well, since ya asked: A family of mayonnaise-guzzling giants is trying to suck me into their suburban nightmare and there's a solid chance that I have an Eriksen the size of a fifteen-pound turkey growing inside of me!
Lily rants to the supermarket clerk while buying a pregnancy testing kit.

Barney: I have 40 hours left on my community service and now I've gotta spend it spearing trash on a freakin' median strip. (Screaming at Ted) Volunteer of the year!
Ted: I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? Look, if there's anything I can do to make it up to you just tell me. I'll I'll do it.
Barney: Ted, I'm glad you asked.

Robin: I am Canadian. Remember? We celebrate Thanksgiving in October.
Ted: Oh right I forgot. You guys are weird and you pronounce the word out, oot
Robin: You guys are the world's leader in hand gun violence; your health care system is bankrupt and your country is deeply divided on almost every important issue.
Ted: ... Your cops are called "mounties".

Ted: This is crazy! When did it get so hard to do charity work?
Robin: I do charity work all the time. Remember when I said I'd find you a girlfriend?
Ted: Delightful. How's that little project coming along anyway?
Robin: I'm working on it. I'm gonna introduce you to that girl you've been staring at.
Ted: What? That's crazy, I haven't been staring at any girl.
Robin: Have you met Ted?
Ted: Hi. I'm the afore mentioned Ted. And this is um, gone.

Marshall: Dad, you're embarrassing me!
Marvin Sr.: Oh, don't worry about it, son, she's cool. She's going to be an Eriksen. Yeah.
Lily: well, well, not literally, 'cause, you know, I'm keeping my name.
Judy: But the apron.

Stripper: I'm Amber.
Ted: Oh, I'm Ted. [Shake hands]
Stripper: Actually, I'm Tracy.
Ted: Still Ted.
Future Ted: And that kids is the true story of how I met your mother.
Kids: What!!!
Future Ted: Haha, I'm kidding.

Robin: Thanksgiving in November... weird.

Lily: Look, we may have some really big decisions to make in about 10 seconds but right now, I don't care where our kids grow up as long as they have you for a father. Gosh, I hope you're the father. Just a little joke to lighten up the mood.
Marshall : What does it say?
Lily: I'm afraid to look.
Policeman: It's negative.
Lily: Thank God...And hey!

Notes and Trivia[]

  • The seven-layer salad is a real salad popular in the Midwest. However, unlike the Eriksen family recipe it uses more traditional ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
    • According to prop director David Baker, the seven layers are guacamole, bacon bits, shredded carrots, purple cabbage, Funyuns, gummy bears, and potato chips.

Goofs and Errors[]

  • Robin has no problem being in a strip club in this episode and in The Stamp Tramp, but in Double Date, she has major objections to strip clubs and calls them disgusting. This is likely because she is dating Barney at the time and disapproves of his desire to visit them.
  • In this episode both of Marshall's brothers have wives, but in Tailgate​, Marshall says that Marcus still lives with his mom (which would suggest that he is single). A year later, in Who Wants to Be a Godparent? Lily and Marshall are surprised to find out that Marcus has recently left his wife and two kids.
  • When Kendall rejects Ted and Robin's help, he was bending as he wrote on his notepad, but in the next scene, he was seen standing straight.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Barney mentioned that he is the Angelina Jolie of hot guys. The episode aired at about the time the actress was known for philanthropy.  

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • Eben Ham, who plays the policeman who arrested Lily, appears in the series again later as Bob in Slapsgiving and as a pilot in Now We're Even.

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 8 out of 10 stars. "A look into Marshall's family and the insanity he possesses."

References[]

External Links[]


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