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ā€œDisaster Avertedā€
HIMYM episode 7x09 (145)
DisasterAverted3
First aired:
November 7, 2011
Director:
Michael Shea
Writer:
Robia Rashid
Barney's Blog

Images (24)

While the gang reminisces about Hurricane Irene, Barney tries to cut a deal with Marshall and Lily to get out of wearing the Ducky Tie.


Recap[]

The gang are at the bar when Kevin notices a sign out front of MacLaren's saying "No Boogie Boarding" which leads the gang to tell the story of Hurricane Irene. Ted tells the gang that he has hired a car that seats five people and has a house out of the city where they can stay and ride out the storm. Barney says that they need to stop and pick something up at his house. The group goes there and Barney convinces them to stay saying that Ted's plan is bad and calls him a jerk, causing Ted to storm out. Meanwhile, Lily and Barney get calls from their parents and Robin grows jealous resulting in Barney fake calling Robin as her dad. Ted comes back inside telling Barney he can't come and a hot girl he met in the hallway will be coming in his place. Everyone fights over who gets to stay after Lily calls the hot girl a floozy and Ted says that no one is coming and that he is going by himself. Marshall turns on the television just in time to call Ted back to hear an announcement from the mayor of New York saying that the city is closed and that everyone must go inside and wait out the storm.

Throughout this all, Marshall deals with having no health insurance and is being very paranoid. He refuses to go anywhere without Lily because he thinks he will be attacked by a bear. Lily complains that he is not giving her enough time to be alone and that all she wants to do is sit in the bath and read a book. During the storm Marshall draws Lily a bath and tells her to have a little alone time. Lily says she wants Marshall to stay and they end up conceiving their baby in Barney's bathroom.

Barney has grown tired of his ducky tie and Lily and Marshall agree that he can take it off but he must gain an extra 3 slaps to his already existing final slap which gives Marshall 4 slaps. Marshall then gives out two slaps right then and there.

Kiss

Barney and Robin hook up

The gang go out after the end of the hurricane and play around in the rain which leads to Marshall going boogie boarding, crashing through MacLaren's windows. Robin and Barney decided to share a cab home and they reminisce about the moment after Marshall's accident when they almost kissed but were interrupted when Robin's dad called her. They make fun of what could have happened and ended up kissing.

Continuity[]

  • This episode references two bets which Barney had lost, the Slap Bet and the Ducky Tie.
  • Marshall receives three slaps (four in total) in exchange for Barney removing the Ducky Tie, and uses two.
  • Ted uses the phrases "therapisted" and "boy scouted"; Marshall often uses the phrase "lawyered."

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • In the beginning of the episode, it is said that "you haven't truly lived until somewhere, somebody puts a sign out because of something you did", while showing some examples. One of those examples is a sign saying "No motorcycles on the casino floor." This is a future reference to The Magician's Code - Part One, where Barney rides a motorcycle inside the casino in Atlantic City where he and Marshall are stranded. He is arrested by security, but is subsequently released because there's no written rule about motorcycles being forbidden - until the sign, which according to Future Ted, is still there to this day.
  • Barney and Robin kiss at the end of the episode, this is the focal point of Tick Tick Tick.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Marshall: Death is all around us

Marshall: The Grim reaper beckons. I feel his icy grip ā€™round my throat. The breath of his hounds at my heels the unrelenting rat-tat-tat of his scythe on my chamber door. And you? With your blithe request you only hasten his inevitable triumph. Is that what you desire? Is that what you desire, Lily?
Lily: I just wanted you to get us some bagels.
Marshall: Bagels! Do you have any idea what could happen to me whilst getting bagels?!

Marshall: Noooo! Noooo! Not Like this!

Maya: If she's (Lily) going, then I'm not going!
Ted: Lily you're staying. Let's go!
Marshall: If Lily's staying, then I'm staying!
Lily: Then I'm going!
Marshall: Then I'm going!
Barney: You can't go Marshall 'cause I'm going!
Robin: If Barney's going, then I'm not going!
Marshall: Then I can go!
Lily: Then I'm staying!
Marshall: Then I'm staying!
Lily: Then I'm going!
Maya: Then I'm not going!
Ted: You know what?! I'm GOING!

Barney: Hey, Iā€™m really sorry about that phone call.
Robin: Oh, itā€™s fine.
Barney: No, it is so not fine. I was a jerk. And if you donā€™t mind my saying, your dad is a complete idiot for not calling. He should never let a day go by without calling you, becauseā€¦ when I let a day go by without talking to youā€¦ umā€¦ then that dayā€™s just no good.

Barney: Please let me take it off!
Lily: No.
Barney: Five thousand dollars!
Marshall: No.
Kevin: Is he serious?
Barney: Ten thousand dollars!
Lily: No.
Kevin: Dude, just take the money.
Barney: Twenty thousand dollars!
Marshall: No.
Kevin: Yes!
Barney: I'll let you slap me in the face as hard as you can!
Marshall: You have my attention.

Barney: Le jeu commence. (The Game Begins)
Marshall: Je m'appelle Marshall. (My name is Marshall)

Robin: Hello? Blocked Number.
Phone voice: RJ? It's your father.
Robin: Daddy? I love you. It means so much that you called.
Barney: Ha! I knew that you wanted him to call. Busted!

Ted: Hey, if we don't make it through the night, I want you guys to know, and I really mean this, I wish I had branched out and made more friends in my 20s.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • In the Season 6 finale (presumably September) Robin had long hair, which she cuts at the beginning of Season 7. But in the flashbacks to August she has short hair.
  • In the boogie boarding scene, Ted hands out beers. Marshall grabs his beer by the neck and is seen being unable to grab it by the base because he is also holding an umbrella. However, in the next shot Marshall is seen holding the beer by the base.
  • Lily and Marshall state that during Hurricane Irene was when Lily conceived, but she finds out about her pregnancy in Challenge Accepted, which takes place in May 2011. Hurricane Irene took place in August 2011, so this is pretty much impossible.
    • According to Barney's Blog: Boom Goes The Dynamite, the explosion of the Arcadian occurs on Sunday, September 04, 2011; Lily discovered she's pregnant on the same day.
    • Also in Challenge Accepted, Ted says that Barney spent all summer arguing over who got to push the button.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Lily says Marshall acted like a clingy Edgar Allan Poe, and Marshall mentions several elements of "The Raven" whilst talking to Lily.
  • Barney says, "I'm going to like the way I look. I guarantee it," a reference to TV advertisements for Men's Wearhouse.
  • The chase sequence at the start of the episode is a parody of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark.
  • This episode uses a clip of the actual speech given by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during Hurricane Irene.
  • Several references are made to Memoirs of a Geisha, the audiobook that Ted plays in the car.

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • The rooftop in the tale that Barney tells about saving the kid and losing the ducky tie is the Goliath National Bank rooftop, as seen in Woooo! and Last Cigarette Ever.
  • This is one of only twelve episodes that Pamela Fryman has not directed.
  • This episode is told in the same format as Ducky Tie, Ted trying to tell the story as he is being interrupted by the constant back and forth in the bar between the gang. Also this episode is somewhat of a sequel to the Ducky Tie.
  • The flashback to Hurricane Irene takes place in between episodes Landmarks and Challenge Accepted.
  • In the flashback during this episode, Barney has the big television; however between this episode and Noretta it was removed.
  • Carter Bays mentioned in a tweet in 2020 that the name of the bear attacking Marshall in the flashbacks is Luis Gabriel Ruiz.

Guests[]

Podcast[]

Featuring an interview with Carter Bays and Robia Rashid.

Reception[]

  • The AV Club's Donna Bowman graded the episode at A-, stating that it had several of the same elements that made the Ducky Tie a wonderful episode: "constantly interrupted storytelling, callbackariffic structuring, fleet pacing, machine-gun dialogue, and a dollop of sweetness at the end"[1].
  • Robert Canning of IGN gave he episode an 8.5 out of 10, stating that the episode was a real winner, up until the end, as he felt "betrayed by Barney and Robin's taxicab kiss". [3]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 8.5 out of 10. "...Barney will do anything to get rid of the Ducky Tie."

References[]

External Links[]


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