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Miracles
HIMYM episode 3x20 (64)
Ted pre smash
First aired:
May 19, 2008
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Barney's Blog

Images (6)

Ted breaks up with Stella but regrets it after an accident makes him realize his true feelings. Marshall and Robin argue over the existence of miracles.


Recap[]

The episode begins with Ted waiting for a cab. He bends down to tie his shoe and misses three cabs, but finally gets in one. Flashback to Ted coming home from brunch with Stella. He tells the gang that Stella invited Ted to her sister's wedding in 6 months. Ted reminds them of Barney's rule about planning ahead in relationships. Ted has a little breakdown, and says 'We need to talk' to Stella. Stella is angry, and walks away.

We then go back to Ted sitting in the cab, and the cab is hit by a speeding car that drove through the intersection. A montage is seen of everyone being informed of Ted's accident, and they all rush to the hospital to see that Ted is fine. He reveals that he wants Stella back, and that the accident let him re-examine his relationship with her. Marshall declares it's a miracle, to which Robin scoffs. Marshall is puzzled at why she doesn't believe in miracles, and he flashes back to when he, Ted, and Barney are all sitting at a bar, throwing pencils in the ceiling. One falls down and bounces off the table and into Barney's right nostril and he survives. Marshall says that that was a miracle, and Robin's explanation is "a drunk jackass with a box of pencils."

Lily thinks she should call Barney to tell him about Ted, and Barney hangs up before she can tell him that Ted is fine. Barney leaves an important business meeting to get to Ted, and he misses a cab and has to run all the way to the hospital. Ted then says that when he was in the car crash, instead of his whole life flashing before his eyes, he just saw the things he loves, and that's why he wants Stella back. Marshall exclaims "Miracle!", and again Robin disagrees. Marshall flashes back to when he was returning to the United States from Amsterdam, and is carrying a backpack full of illegal drugs, and has to give it to the customs officer, when all the sudden the officer's shift ends, and the new customs officer lets him through. Marshall yells "Miracle!" again. Now it flashes to Barney, who is still running full speed to get to Ted. Stella comes to the hospital to see Ted, and she tells him their breakup is "forgotten" and she kisses him on the bed. Marshall says it's a miracle, and Robin is sarcastic about the miracle.

Another flashback to a miracle, where Marshall is talking to Lily while she is teaching her kindergarten class. Marshall goofs off with the kids, and wears their tiny Pilgrim hats. When he is asking for his job back at Nicholson, Hewitt, and West, his former boss Joe Hewitt is going to hire Marshall back, when Marshall realizes he got lice from the children. He keeps scratching his head, and is clearly uncomfortable in his boss' office. He screams out, "I HAVE LICE!" and is kicked out of the office. Marshall says the lice made it so he couldn't get his job back, and it was a miracle because two weeks later, his boss was arrested.

Lily tells Stella that she is glad to see them together again, and Stella realizes it was a breakup even though she thought it was just a small fight. She is upset at Ted, and she tells Ted that they are really broken up now. Immediately after that, the hospital calls Ted and tells him Barney has been in an accident. Barney was crossing the street to the get to the hospital when he is hit by a bus driving the wrong way down a one way street. Barney lives, but all the bones are broken in his body, except "one bone downstairs." Ted gets very emotional about what Barney did for him, and they become friends again. Marshall says that there were "two miracles in one day," and Robin again says that it isn't a miracle.

Robin then reveals her reason for not believing in miracles: when she was a kid, her dog Sir Scratchewan was just about to die, and when her parents took him to the veterinarian, the vet said that he had learned of a new operation earlier that day that would save her dog's life. Marshall says that this is a miracle, but Robin reveals the one major side effect of this operation: her dog "turned into" a turtle.

The orderly tells Ted he can leave, and he rushes out to meet Stella, who is at Kiddy Fun Land with Lucy. Marshall and Lily ask Barney about what he saw before he was hit by the bus. They joke about him seeing a giant boob wearing a suit of money that is lactating scotch, but while they are saying this, he's looking at Robin. Marshall says "I guess that's pretty much all you love, right?" and Barney says "Yeah, pretty much."

The scene then cuts to Ted talking to Stella at Kiddy Fun Land, and he gives her a small orange kangaroo stuffed animal. Ted tells her he's ready to give her what she needs, and that's why he spent ten minutes at the claw machine trying to get a fake diamond ring, but he could only get an orange kangaroo. Stella is confused why he would need a diamond ring, and Ted proposes to her.

Continuity[]

  • When Ted, Barney, and Marshall tearfully hug as "brothers" after Barney's accident, Barney insists that he is Ted's "best brother".
  • Ted does not want to violate Barney's "date-time continuum" rule about not planning ahead in relationships. Mary the Paralegal depicts the consequences of his violating the rule with Victoria.
  • Barney uses the excuse of being in an "international business meeting" in Sweet Taste of Liberty.
  • When Marshall asks if Ted actually said "I want to break up" to Stella, Ted replies that he didn't because "it's a horrible thing to say." In Return of the Shirt, Ted does say "I want to break up" to Natalie, and is viciously beaten for doing so.
  • As in Matchmaker and No Tomorrow, Robin is skeptical about the supernatural.
  • Ted and Stella's first break-up occurs at the Popover Pantry, which is where Brad and Marshall have brunch in World's Greatest Couple.
  • Marshall mentions the Securities & Exchange Commission arresting his former boss. Nicholson, Hewitt, and West's criminal activities were previously brought up in I'm Not That Guy, where Future Ted mentions that Jefferson Coatsworth would be arrested three years later.
  • Marshall quit his job at Nicholson, Hewitt, and West in The Chain of Screaming.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Barney smiles fondly at Robin while Marshall and Lily list all the things he loves (scotch, suits, money, and boobs), implying that he has fallen in love with her after sleeping with her in Sandcastles in the Sand, as he confesses to Lily in Do I Know You?
  • Stella's sister's engagement falls apart in Shelter Island, and her wedding plans are taken over by Ted and Stella.
  • In The Final Page - Part One, it is revealed that Barney started taking "jinxes" very seriously after getting hit by the bus, since Lily and Marshall had jinxed him earlier in the day. The flashback to the jinxing shows Lily and Marshall wearing the same clothes they do here.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Stella: So, my sister broke up with her boyfriend.
Ted: Well, now I can finally say it: I hated that guy! Everything out of his mouth is 'I'm a vegan!', 'Fish feel pain!', 'I'm never constipated!'. That guy's an idiot.
Stella: Actually, she's marrying him. I just wanted your honest opinion.
Ted: He's actually a really nice guy. There's a wisdom to Kent.

Marshall: Miracle!
Robin: A pencil entered Barney's nose, and you call it a miracle?
Marshall: Do you have a better explanation for it?
Robin: A drunk jackass with a box of pencils?
Marshall: A drunk jackass called God and a box of pencils called Destiny.

Ted: Please, let me go to Kiddy Fun Land.
Bill: You can say that all you want buddy, but you're not getting any morphine.

Barney: Ted, can we be friends again?
Ted: Barney, come on. We're more than friends. We're brothers.
(Both crying)
Barney: You're my brother, Ted.
Ted: You're my brother, Barney.
Barney: Did you hear that, Marshall? We're brothers now!
Ted: Marshall is my brother too.
Marshall: We're all brothers.
Barney: Yeah, but I'm your best brother, right?
Ted and Barney make up after Barney's accident.

Ted: So I've been thinking about what changed from the moment I broke up with you to the moment I knew I wanted you back. And I think I finally figured out what happened.
Stella: Your cab got T-boned by a jackass on a cell phone?
Ted: No. I changed. I'm ready to give you what you need. That's why I spent ten minutes on the damn claw machine trying to get the big, fake diamond ring. But all I could get was this orange kangaroo.
Stella: Diamond ring?
Ted: Will you marry me?

Barney: I had to look away because if I watched what the paramedics were about to do, I would've passed out. Then they took out this electric blade thing, and I kept thinking "this isn't happening, this isn't happening!"
Lily: Oh my god, what did they cut?
Barney: My suit, my beautiful suit!

Bill: Mosby, you're still here? Your tests came back like an hour ago. You're fine.
Ted: Are you kidding me? Why didn't you tell me?
Bill: I'm sorry. I guess it was rude of me to keep resuscitating that guy with a rake sticking out of his chest.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • When Ted and Stella are arguing at the hospital, there are couple of Jell-o cups on the tray behind Ted. As the scene progresses and there are camera changes, one of the Jell-o cups disappears.
  • When Ted is getting into the cab we can clearly see that the identification number on the cab is 6Z28. But seconds later it changes to 9Z72.
  • When Barney is about to get hit by the bus, microphones can be seen in the hospital's doors.
  • During the flashback of the "Kennedy Airport: 1999" miracle, the uniforms that the Customs officers are wearing have U.S. Customs and Border Protection shoulder patches with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Seal. U.S. Customs and Boder Protection was created in March of 2003 after the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the reorganization of federal agencies.
  • In Happily Ever After, Robin tells the gang that her father raised her as a boy throughout her childhood and early teenagehood. However, in the flashback when little Robin says goodbye to her dog, she is dressed in girly clothing and has long hair.
  • When Barney tears up Ted's Springsteen tickets he says "You've been dating this girl for 2 weeks? You're not taking her to a concert in January. By then you won't even remember this Robin girl's name." However, Ted doesn't date Robin until after they become friends. Prior to her joining the group, Ted only went on one date with Robin. Only after some time when she becomes integrated into the group does Ted finally get together with her at the end of season 1. Thus, this is a lack of continuity. Ted would still remember her name since she is friends with all of them and they can't have been dating for 2 weeks if it was before she was friends with everyone else. 

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • Before Marshall was called from the hospital, he was playing an Xbox 360 with an Aerosmith-styled Guitar Hero controller.
  • Barney appears to be meeting with North Korean delegates. In Korean, he literally says "Sorry, but I must go".
  • When Ted and Stella sit down in Kiddy Fun Land, they sit down in a Virtua Racing cabinet.

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • In the second scene Marshall is shown reading the fictional newspaper The New York Examiner which displays the headline "Nude Cabbie Vows To Kill Again". This alludes to the unlicensed taxi Ted fortunately avoids in the opening sequence.
  • The man with balloons that takes a cab seconds before Barney, is seen arriving at the hospital as the same time as he.
  • The pencil-up-nose 'miracle' actually happened to one of the writers during production of HIMYM.

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction For A Multi-camera Series (Stephan Olson, Susan Eschelbach) in 2008.
  • Omar G of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B+ rating. [1]
  • Donna Bowman of The AV Club rated the episode A-. [2]
  • IGN gave the episode 8.5 out of 10. [3]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9.5 out of 10 stars. "Springsteen is America's Bryan Adams."

References[]

External Links[]


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