How I Met Your Mother Wiki
Register
Advertisement
How I Met Your Mother Wiki


Drumroll, Please
HIMYM episode 1x13 (13)
Drumroll, Please
First aired:
January 23, 2006
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Gloria Calderon Kellet
Barney's Blog

Images (9)

Ted falls for a girl he meets at a wedding but he has no way to find her again the next day. Robin confronts her feelings for Ted and Marshall obsesses over the wedding cake.


Recap[]

Ted is disappointed that Robin was unable to attend Claudia and Stuart's wedding, because he was certain that this night would finally be the night that they'd get together. However, just as Ted is about to accept his fate as a "single guy", across the room he spots a pretty woman, their eyes meet, and they smile at each other.

The next morning, at the apartment, Ted tells Marshall and Lily that he just had the most amazing night of his life. Ted then tells the story about his night. Ted approaches the woman, who tells him that she never hooks up with people at weddings, because the heightened romantic feelings brought on by the event are not genuine. The two begin flirting, and they decide that after tonight, they will not see each other again; they plan to make this night a perfect memory, untainted by any of the hangups that come with the "next day." They agree that they won't exchange phone numbers, emails, or even names. They plan to use fake names, and the woman introduces herself as Buttercup while Ted introduces himself as Lando Calrissian - however, moments later, Barney ruins this by calling Ted by name. The woman reveals that her name is Victoria. Marshall and Lily interrupt the story to tell Ted that this is a terrible idea.

Ted continues his story. Ted steals a bottle of champagne while Victoria steals the bouquet. They head to another room where Victoria tap dances and Ted plays the piano. They sit side by side on the piano bench and almost kiss. Victoria says that they shouldn't kiss, because a bad kiss would ruin the romance of their evening; Victoria posits that the best part of a kiss is the moment leading up to it, just before their lips touch, which she refers to as a "drumroll."

Ted's story is interrupted again when Marshall and Lily tell him that Victoria sounds amazing and that he is an idiot for not getting her information. Marshall mentions that he ate the best cake he's ever had in his life at that wedding, and he will do whatever it takes to track that cake down and have more of it. Ted agrees that she is amazing, and realizes that he has to see her again. All that Ted knows about her is that her name is Victoria though, so he decides to call Claudia, who is currently on her honeymoon, to try to find out who Victoria is. Claudia tells him that no one on the guest list was named Victoria. Ted then asks Barney to ask the bridesmaid he hooked up with if she knew who Victoria was, but she doesn't know either. Ted then accepts it was his fate to never see Victoria again.

Robin comes to the apartment and tells Lily that she has a new gig as the new substitute weekend anchor on the news. Lily then tells Robin about Ted's romantic evening with Victoria at the wedding, and Robin admits that she knows who Victoria is. Robin tells Lily that she showed up to the reception after getting off work to surprise Ted, but she saw Ted and Victoria together on the piano bench, almost kissing. Robin goes and cries in the bathroom, and Victoria hears her and goes to comfort her by giving her the bouquet. Robin says she doesn't know why she was crying, and Lily tells her that it's because she has feelings for Ted. Robin finally admits that she does like Ted, but also points out that they still both want different things. Robin resolves to tell Ted about Victoria, so that he can be happy. Lily suggests that she could tell him that she has feelings for him, which would make both of them happy. Robin leaves, unsure of what to do.

At the bar, Ted, Barney, Marshall, and Lily are drinking when Robin arrives and asks to talk to Ted. Ted then receives a phone call from Claudia who apologizes for snapping at him on the phone earlier. Marshall tells Ted to ask Claudia where she got the cake from, and Claudia tells Ted that she got it from a bakery called the Buttercup Bakery. Remembering that Victoria gave the fake name "Buttercup", Ted realizes that she wasn't on the guest list because she made the cake. Marshall is excited by this, and tells Ted she must move in with them immediately. Lily tries to stop Ted from going after her, so that Robin can tell him how she feels, but Robin ultimately decides to let him go.

Ted then remembers the end of his evening with Victoria. They return to the empty ballroom for one last dance. Ted tells Victoria that there is a flaw to their plan: while this night will be a great memory, it will be overshadowed by one bad memory, the memory of Victoria leaving and Ted never seeing her again. Victoria tells Ted to close his eyes and count to five, and when he does so, she's gone.

Sitting outside her bakery in a taxi cab, Ted wonders if he really should go inside to meet her. He wonders if this perfect memory is something that both he and Victoria needed in their lives. As he ponders this for way too long, Barney tells him to make a decision already. Ted goes inside, where he sees Victoria. She exclaims "thank god" and the two share a passionate kiss.

Continuity[]

  • Marshall suggests that Victoria may have been a ghost, alluding to his interest in the paranormal, first established in Matchmaker.
  • Claudia complains about vodka cranberries, which Barney figures out is her drink of choice in The Wedding​, being expensive at the airport. She also gets annoyed at Ted's interest in another woman because he pleaded to be able to bring Robin to her wedding in the same episode.
  • In The Wedding, Ted sees Victoria for the first time while alone at the table with Barney, while here, Marshall and Lily are also at the table when he sees her.
  • Robin is seen at Stuart and Claudia's wedding reception in the same dress she bought in The Wedding.
  • Robin again says that she does not want marriage.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Based on Zip, Zip, Zip's opening narration and first scene, the episode likely occurs on Saturday, with flashbacks to Stuart and Claudia's wedding on the previous day. Friday with a Thursday wedding is possible, but less likely because the gang does not go to work.
  • Lily learns that Robin likes Ted. Barney finds out in Zip, Zip, Zip​, and Ted and Marshall find out in Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.. Also, in Game Night, Future Ted mentions that not every secret was told that night while Robin smiles at the doormat Ted bought her to replace the one he threw up on.
  • Barney lies to a bridesmaid about joining the Peace Corps. In Game Night, it is revealed that at one time Barney did, in fact, plan to join the Peace Corps.
  • Victoria tells Ted that they shouldn't kiss, because he might use too much tongue and break the spell, and in How I Met Everyone Else​, at his 20th college reunion, Ted is dismayed to discover that Alexa Leskys thought he used too much tongue when they made out at their freshman orientation.
  • Marshall's appetite is referenced again in several episodes, including The Best Burger in New York​, Rebound Bro, The Front Porch​, and Sorry, Bro.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Victoria: You can call me "Buttercup".
Ted: Pleased to meet you, Buttercup. I'm... Lando Calrissian... Wow, this is kind of exciting; our names will forever be shrouded in—
Barney: Ted! Ted! Ted! Look, I got a bridesmaid! Ted! Look, look, Ted! The second-hottest bridesmaid! Ted, look! See-ya, Ted.
Ted: I'm Ted.
Victoria: Victoria. But no last names.
Ted: No last names!

Ted: So you're not going to do it (Throw the bouquet) at your wedding?
Lily: Hell yeah, I'm take that flower grenade and chuck it into the crowd and scream 'Crawl for it bitches!' It's just what girls do.

Marshall: A drumroll? That's it? So what? You just, you said "goodnight", came home, performed a drum solo?

Lily: Jeez Louise! Happiness is not that difficult!

Notes and Trivia[]

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • The fake name that Ted gives Victoria, Lando Calrissian, is a reference to a character in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back played by Billy Dee Williams.
    • While referencing her bakery, Victoria's fake name, Buttercup, may be a reference to the film and Novel The Princess Bride.
  • Marshall theorizes that Victoria might be a ghost, which is why she didn't kiss Ted because he would pass right through her. Marshall then says that he has a great idea for a screenplay, referencing the movie Ghost.

Music[]

  • Entertainer - Scott Joplin. Played on the piano by Ted.
  • You Don't Know Me - Michael Bublé. The song playing whilst Victoria and Ted dance when the wedding reception is empty. The song is heard during the original airing of the episode, as well as in the version aired on Netflix, but the song does not appear on the DVD.
  • Spit on a Stranger - Pavement The song at the end of the episode, when Ted glances through the bakery and sees Victoria, goes in, and they kiss. This song is heard during the original airing of the episode, as well as in the version aired on Netflix, but the song does not appear on the DVD. In subsequent airings, a cover by the band Nickel Creek is used. In Ducky Tie Ted with Victoria again use this song by Kathryn Williams version.

Other Notes[]

Drumroll Craig

Craig Thomas with his wife in the montage.

  • In the background of the first scene you can see Marshall really enjoying the cake.
  • The book that Lily is reading is when Robin comes over is Pure Ducky Goodness, a collection of comic-strips created by this episode's writer's husband, Dave Kellett.
  • It was the most watched event of American Citizens from that day until February 17, 2006 when NBC aired The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy when Evgeni Plushenko from Russia won the gold medal.
  • If the show had been cancelled after 13 episodes, Victoria would have been The Mother; consistent with Big Days, The Mother being at a wedding that Ted would attend.
  • Victoria and Lily agree that the tossing of the wedding bouquet is a burden for single women (although Lily plans to continue the "evil tradition" at her wedding, because "it's just what girls do").
  • In the wedding pictures montage, the second picture was series co-creator Craig Thomas and his wife Rebecca; whom Marshall and Lily are based on.
  • This episode is the first of 2 episodes in which the phrase "busting apple bags" is used. The second is in The Magician's Code - Part One.
  • At one point, Barney gets out of the booth via the back, where the Fourth Wall is supposed be, making this a literal case of breaking the fourth wall.
  • Before going to the Buttercup Bakery Ted plans to suit up, but disappoints Barney by instead changing into the "pair of jeans and a sweatshirt with bleach stains on it" which Victoria said "sounds real sexy".
  • Victoria and Ted agree not to learn each other's last names; Victoria's last name is never revealed in the series.
  • Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, and Pam Fryman provide audio commentary for this episode, which is available on the season 1 DVD.  

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9 stars out of 10. "The most amazing night ever."

References[]

External links[]


Previous episode
The Wedding
Drumroll, Please
(all episodes)
Next episode →
Zip, Zip, Zip
Advertisement