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ā€œRebound Broā€
HIMYM episode 3x18 (62)
Rebound bro - barney and randy
First aired:
May 5, 2008
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Jamie Rhonheimer
Barney's Blog

Images (2)

Barney struggles to fill the void after his falling out with Ted. Stella and Ted fight when Ted reveals some personal information about her to the gang.


Recap[]

Ted decides that it is time for his relationship with Stella to take the next step. Stella is strangely reluctant, however, and she tells Ted a secret: she has not had sex for five years. Ted shares this with Marshall and Lily, as he does everything, and when Stella comes over on the night that she was meant to go out with Ted and they accidentally reveal that they know her secret, Stella is upset that Ted betrayed her trust and leaves.

Meanwhile, Barney tries to find a "Rebound Bro" to whom he can be a wingman to help him bed women. He misses Ted and, unwilling to admit it, puts applications up on his blog. Receiving few responses except for an enthusiastic proposal from his colleague Randy, Barney resorts to calling up old friends and previous wingmen. After many unsuccessful attempts (one already has a wingman, one is married and has settled down, etc.) he decides to be the "Bro" to Randy and give him a chance. Unfortunately, he discovers that Randy hasn't had sex in thirteen years and Barney is repeatedly unsuccessful at getting him together with a woman, since Randy is uncomfortable with talking to women, and gets nosebleeds whenever he gets an erection. Barney is unsuccessful until he enlists Robin's help to make Randy comfortable with small-talk with women, telling Robin that he may have a sex tape with her to convince her to come and help Randy. Barney then discovers that Randy was a police officer, albeit one that was fired for incompetence; nevertheless, Barney knows being in the 'force' impresses women, and quickly finds a woman who takes Randy home with her. Barney seems happy until Robin comments that "Ted doesn't know what he's missing." Barney then tearfully remarks, "You had to mention Ted, didn't you?"

Stella comes to Ted's house and admits that she left because she was afraid it was getting too serious and she was looking for a reason not to get too close to him. Ted and Stella's relationship goes even further than expected as Ted meets Stella's daughter Lucy and gets to know her. Later, Stella tells Ted that her sister (who was previously meant to take care of Stella's daughter while Stella and Ted had sex) is still in town and can take care of Stella's daughter. Stella and Ted rush to a motel, where they finally have sex. When Ted jokingly picks up the phone to tell Marshall and Lily about it after the deed is done, Stella pushes him off the bed in an equally lighthearted manner.

Continuity[]

  • Ted being in the top bunk when Marshall and Lily were having sex during college is first mentioned in the Pilot and again in First Time In New York.
  • Ted mentions having not had sex in five months, and is reminded by Marshall that the last time he did was Thanksgiving, referring to Ted and Robin hooking up in Slapsgiving. This indeed occurred about five months before this episode.
  • When Randy enters Barney's office, he hands him the new issue of Sky Mall magazine. In The Goat, Barney attempts to assuage his guilt over sleeping with Robin by buying many products from the catalog.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Ted: Unexpected number of testicles?
Stella: It happens. I knew a guy in med school, we used to joke he was one ball away from getting a walk.

Robin: Yeah, your nose is bleeding like a faucet.
Randy: Oh, God. This happens every time I get an erection.

Lily: When Marshall and I had been together for two months, we were doing it 24/7.
Ted: I know, I was in the top bunk. I also sat next to you guys at football games.

Marshall: You haven't had sex since Thanksgiving. Do you know how many federal holidays have passed since then?
Lily: Remember what we did on Martin Luther King Day?
Marshall: Oh, yeah. We honored the hell out of that dude.

Robin: Let me ask you something, Ted... why are you so much madder at Barney than me?
Lily: Yeah... she had just as much sex with Barney as Barney had with her!
Robin: You know what, I'm not sure that's true...

Randy: Well, it's gonna be easier than you think. I have been reading your blog for years. You are like a god to me. That is why tonight is going to be legendary... wait for it... dary.

Crazy Larry: Awesome.  You come over, the wife makes dinner and brings out the wine and cheese.  We play Cranium, put in 27 Dresses at 9, and everyone's home by 11!

(Barney hangs up the phone, pauses, then picks it up and dials it again).

Crazy Larry: Hello?
Barney: Hanging up on you once wasn't enough.  (Hangs up the phone)
Barney proposes a "bros night" to an old acquaintance

Barney: I am the greatest wingman of all time.
Robin: Ted doesn't know what he's missing.
Barney: You had to mention Ted.
Barney answering to Robin with a broken voice when he and Ted are not bros anymore.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • When Barney calls Randy in, Randy drops a box and leaves a man there, but when he goes to the same spot to celebrate being Barney's wingman, the box and the man have gone. However, the man may have left.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • After Ted describes their intimate plans as Stella's "Virginity: The Sequel," Stella replies, "Virginity 2: Electric Boogaloo?," which is a parody of the title of the 1984 movie, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.
  • Marshall mentions several things that happened in 2003, the last time Stella had sex:
    1. Seabiscuit came out in the cinemas.
    2. The world was just learning about SARS
    3. The Da Vinci Code was published.
    4. Nell Carter died.
  • Barney prohibits the use of the word bro in the name of a failed Democratic Vice President candidate preventing Randy from using "Broseph Lieberman", and "Geraldine Ferrabro".
  • Stella could possibly be referencing her part on Scrubs, where she was a medical student and her colleague Christopher Turk (played by Donald Faison) had a testicle removed due to an injury resulting in testicular torsion. However, she jokes that her friend was "one ball short of a walk." A walk in baseball happens after 4 pitches, implying the person had 3 testicles, not 1.

Music[]

  • Love Saves the Day - Dimitri Ehrlich

Other Notes[]

  • In Barney's blog, he asks people to apply for the position as his new "wingman".
  • Later in season 7 one episode has similar name, The Rebound Girl.

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • Donna Bowman of The AV Club rated the episode A-. [1]
  • Omar G of Television Without Pity rated the episode B+. [2]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 7.5 out of 10 stars. "Lily really enjoyed that earthquake. ... Barney's got a new wingman."

References[]

External Links[]


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