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Season 8 DVD Cover

Season 8 of How I Met Your Mother aired during the 2012-2013 television season (September 2012 to May 2013) on CBS. The season aired from September 24, 2012 to May 13, 2013, and contained 24 episodes from Farhampton to Something New.

Synopsis[]

How I Met Your Mother8x5

The first episode shows Ted sitting at Farhampton train station after Barney and Robin's Wedding ceremony. He recounts to an elderly woman (Bernice) about how Robin was nervous and considered climbing out the window of her dressing room. To calm her down, Ted starts telling her the story of what happened after he and Victoria drove off into the sunset. Future Ted then starts recounting the events of what happened in 2012, where after driving away with Victoria, Ted tells her to write a note to leave for Klaus. However, when leaving the note at the church, Ted sees Klaus also running away, who tells him that he can't get married to Victoria. Ted then gets into the car with Victoria but stops at the train station to ask Klaus why he didn't want to marry Victoria, who tells him that she wasn't "the one" for him. He also tells Ted that everyone meets "the one" for them at the right place and time. The scene then flashes back to Ted sitting at the Farhampton train station, where the mother gets out of a cab, revealing that this is the place where Ted and the mother meet for the first time. Meanwhile, Quinn finds out that Barney and Robin used to date, and is furious at Barney for lying to her. However Robin assures her that she doesn't have any feelings for Barney, as she is now dating Nick.

Barney designs a pre-nup for Quinn with preposterous terms explaining how Quinn has to behave after they get married. Quinn also designs a pre-nup with terms equally as preposterous to get even with Barney. They both realize that they don't trust each other and break up. A future scene reveals Barney and Robin do not have a pre-nup.

Lily and Marshall try to find a nanny for Marvin but Barney keeps sleeping with potential nannies by pretending to be a widower. Although they refuse at first, they finally hire Lily's father Mickey as Marvin's nanny after they see how good he is with him. Meanwhile, Ted and Robin have a fight about who is happier in their relationships. They both reveal that they're unhappy.

Lily and Marshall host a game show to see who would make the best godparent for Marvin. Whenever Lily thinks of their demise, she explodes into tears. After the game goes nowhere, Ted, Barney and Robin leave. Lily and Marshall make Ted, Barney and Robin Marvin's guardian, realizing they've been slacking as friends. 

Ted realizes Victoria wants to get married, and he proposes to her. Victoria accepts, but says he has to stop being friends with Robin. Ted refuses resulting in Victoria breaking up with him. Barney finds a dog, names him Brover, and uses him as a wingman, to cover up his depression after breaking up with Quinn.

When Robin and Nick stop having sex due to his groin injury, she tries breaking up with him, but fails. Barney helps her break up with Nick, by professes his undying love for her in front of him. Robin is moved by his words and wonders if they were sincere.

Marshall meets his old law school friend Brad Morris. He helps him get a job interview at Honeywell and Cootes but Brad deliberately doesn't get the job and Marshall gets kicked off the upcoming case. After Honeywell invites him back on the case, they go to the court room and find out that Brad actually got the strategy they were using for the case, and Marshall has to win the case or get fired. Although the all-female jury and the judge fall for handsome Brad's charms, Marshall exposes a rash caused by Brad's firm, causing the Jury and Judge to side with Marshall. However, instead of $25 million, Brad's firm were charged $25,000 leaving Marshall to wonder what went wrong. Later that night, Brad thanks Marshall and said he was going to join Marshall's firm and try for a Judgeship.

Barney tries to find a new strip club to attend. When he finds it, Robin and Barney go to the strip club and he makes a drunken move on Robin. Robin declines, and the two agree to pretend it never happened. Barney eventually says that he can't keep trying to win Robin and is done. Robin is perplexed by this. Robin is now desperate to get Barney to sleep with her again, trying all sorts of plays. She eventually goes to his house to seduce him, but Barney reveals he started dating Patrice, her frustrating co-worker. Robin is dejected and confused.

Robin, believing that Barney and Patrice aren't in a real relationship, tries to break them up. She starts by telling Patrice Barney has a Playbook. Patrice doesn't believe her. Robin attempts to steal the playbook from Barney's apartment, but Barney returns home, leaving Robin trapped in a closet. She calls Ted who stalls Barney, so Robin can get out. She continues to look for the Playbook and eventually reels Ted and Lily into the search. They are all forced to hide when Barney returns once again. Robin puts the Playbook on Barney's bed so Patrice will find it. Barney and Patrice have their first fight. Barney burns the playbook in front of her, as Robin, Ted and Lily look on, stunned, and Barney seems to be happier with Patrice than ever before.

With the construction of the New GNB Headquarters completed, Ted decides to invite his former professor from Wesleyan, Professor Vinick, who once told him that he could never become an architect. However, Vinick doesn't remember Ted at all, and declines the invitation. Ted drives to Wesleyan, with Marshall, Lily, and Barney, to show Vinick his design of the GNB building, but Vinick calls it hideous. Ted learns to let go of old grudges, and Robin learns to stop needlessly hating Patrice.

Barney is sworn to silence when Marshall jinxes him. He tries desperately to get the gang to let him speak but nothing works. Eventually, he gets Ted alone and shows him an engagement ring. Ted's exclamation breaks the jinx and Barney tells him he plans on proposing to Patrice on the roof of the WWN building, and asks him neither to stop him nor tell anyone. (The Final Page - Part One)

Ted talks to Marshall about telling Barney's plans to Robin, but Marshall thinks that he shouldn't tell her as Ted may still end up with Robin some day. Ted asks Robin to be his date to the opening of the GNB building and tells her about Barney's plans on the way there. Robin doesn't think she should stop Barney, but Ted convinces her to do so. He drops her off at the WWN building. When she arrives on the the roof, she finds a page explaining one of Barney's plays; "The Robin", which explains that Barney's weird behaviour recently has been because he was orchestrating a marriage proposal to her for months. Robin is initially angry at the extensive scheming, thinking Barney only did the play to sleep with her. He tells her to turn the page over and the final step reads "Hope she says yes". Barney proposes to Robin, which she tearfully accepts. (The Final Page - Part Two​​​)

Robin insists that she and Barney meet with her dad and tell him about the engagement. The couple meets with Robin Scherbatsky Sr., who has moved to New York to be with his girlfriend, Carol. While Robin goes to the bathroom, Mr. Scherbatsky denies Barney permission to marry his daughter. This makes Barney go to such lengths to try to change his mind by dying his hair black (because her dad was displeased at Barney's blond hair) and attempts to gun down a rabbit, but caves just before Robin walks through the door. Robin confronts her dad because she found out through Facebook that he is married and she never knew. He confirms the fact which propels Robin to tell him she and Barney are already engaged and since she wasn't invited to his wedding, he's not invited to hers, then leaves. He apologises to her the next day. Robin tells him all she wants is a normal dad, someone who will give Barney permission to marry her, walk her down the aisle, smile in the pictures, and dance with her. Her dad says he will do all those things for her, but only one dance, and Carol has to sing "Cheeseburger in Paradise". At the end of the episode, Robin realizes just how much Barney loves her.

As this is happening, Ted attempts to conceal his anguish over Robin and Barney getting engaged by planning their wedding. He already has the date set which is May 25, 2013 and the wedding venue is where Victoria almost got married. Throughout the episode, Ted does his best to convince Robin to hire a DJ to play at her wedding instead of a band, but Robin and Barney want a band. After Ted goes through the trouble of booking a fake gig for the band Lily was going to hire, Lily and Marshall ask him why he would do this. Ted admits Robin deserves better than a band because bands lie and cheat and deceive and "slept with every woman in New York City". Lily takes Ted up to the apartment roof and makes him confess his frustration at Barney and Robin being engaged. He denies it at first, which prompts Lily to confess that she sometimes regrets becoming a mother because it is so gruelling. After this admission, Ted says Robin should be with him, not Barney. Lily brings up her old dream of being an artist and how it's been years since she even picked up a brush, but now she has to accept that she is a mother, just like Ted has to accept that Robin is marrying Barney and just let them hire a band.

In the future, a week before the wedding, Ted runs into Cindy and her girlfriend on the subway. He explains the band he hired cancelled, and Cindy tells him her roommate, Ted's future wife, is in a band who could play at their wedding. At the wedding reception, we see Robin dancing happily with her father and Ted staring across the room as he notices the mother, playing bass.

Ted starts dating a 20 year old, much to the group's amusement. Barney, however, sneaks into Ted's bedroom and wakes him up. He explains to Ted that while he loves Robin and she's the only woman he wants to be with, his body is detoxing after years of one night stands. He pleads Ted to proxy bang his 20 year old girlfriend for him, but Ted tells him that he feels no connection with this girl and wants to end it. Barney continues begging until Ted finally gives in. At first, Ted can't find a connection with her because she's only interested in how old he is. Ted is about to call it quits until he discovers she's a Star Wars fan like him, even though she's only seen the new ones. Ted meets up with Barney at MacLaren's and tells him that he did sleep with her. Barney asks for a picture and when he sees the girl's face he is stunned and disgusted, because this girl is actually Carly, his half sister who was mentioned in Legendaddy​​​. Barney is so disgusted with Ted that in a fit of anger, exclaims their friendship is over and leaves the bar in a huff. Later, Barney calls Ted to apologize and tells him to come over to have a cigar with him. Ted arrives just a few moments before Carly does and when Ted asks Barney why his sister is here, Barney claps his hands and wedding music plays, people are bustling around his apartment to create a tiny wedding for Ted and Carly. Barney wants to marry Carly and Ted because if they don't, then their night was just a cheap, meaningless, disgusting one night stand. Ted points out to Barney that this means his detox is done and that he is over one night stands.

Meanwhile, Robin is frustrated that her new engagement ring is making her invisible to men. She keeps interrupting Marshall and Lily who have discovered a fantasy involving Marshall wearing a wrist cuff and pretending to be a thug to spice up their non-existent sex life since Marvin was born. They finally tell Robin that while it's nice to get attention from strangers, nothing beats the rush you get when that one special person looks at you. Robin and Barney both learn this lesson at the end of the episode when they both look at each other.

Ted meets a woman on the subway who is reading the same book as him. He tries to make conversation with her, but she gets off once the subway makes its first stop. As luck would have it though, he runs into her on his school grounds when everyone in the building is ushered out because of the fire alarm going off. Ted relays his story of how he and Jeanette met and how alike he is to her because she was trying to find him the same way he was trying to find her via use of yellow notepads to jot down details about the other person. Marshall and Lily both think she's a stalker and that he should run away. Ted brings up the Dahmer-Dobbler theory in which a romantic gesture can either come off as creepy (Dahmer) or sweet (Dobbler) depending on the feelings of the other person receiving the gesture. He insists that he was charmed by Jeanette finding him, so she's a Dobbler. Robin expresses her discomfort about the word stalker, which makes Barney question her and she admits that she herself was obsessed with someone back in Canada but this guy didn't like her back. Barney pushes her into telling him who it was she was crazy about, but she refuses to tell him until he admits that anyone can get obsessed. He refuses and she doesn't tell him who it is.

This makes Barney break into Robin's apartment and read her journals to find out who the person is. He flies to Canada to interrogate her ex-boyfriends. He meets up with Simon, who tells him about Much Music's Behind the Music Video all about the rise and downfall of Robin Sparkles . Barney gets the tape and flies back to New York where he and the gang minus Robin watch the video. Turns out Robin Sparkles was a bigger success than Robin told and that when she completely changed her look to Robin Daggers and sang an angry-love song about some unknown guy called, P.S. I Love You, it devastated all of Canada. People speculated that the song was about Alan Thicke and so, in a fit of jealousy, Barney tracks down Alan Thicke and attempts to pummel him.

Barney returns back to the apartment with a black eye, insinuating that he lost the fight with Alan Thicke. He confesses to Robin about what he's done and finally admits that anyone can get obsessed like he did. Robin, pleased by his admission, tells everyone that her song was aboutPaul Shaffer. She then asks Barney if he will go beat up Paul and he sighs and says he's a total Dahmer, but Robin tells him that he is her Dahmer, which makes him a Dobbler and then she leans in to kiss him. Ted explains Jeanette is also a Dobbler; even though she admitted to being the one who started the fire at the school just so she could meet him. Marshall vehemently tells him that the way Jeanette tracked him down was bonkers and tries to get Lily to confirm that for him. Lily however confesses that she broke her own stereo and knocked on every door she could just so she could find Marshall because she was enamored by him when she saw him at the freshman orientation. Marshall relents and tells Ted that Jeanette is a Dobbler after all.

Jeanette reveals she has actually been following Ted since he first appeared in the New York Times magazine a year ago. Ted enjoys the attention and they begin dating. Jeanette turns out to be psychopathic. Marshall and Barney beg Ted to dump her but he is too scared, and they are too scared to confront her. She finds out his plan anyway and trashes Ted's apartment. Ted vows that he is done with dating. Future Ted reveals Jeanette was the last person he dated before meeting his future wife.

The Captain calls Ted in search of Robin's number. After asking Barney if it would be okay, he gives out Robin's number to the Captain. Robin is displeased by this because she believes that the last time she saw the Captain, he was flirting with her and trying to sleep with her. Barney is upset by this so she assures him that nothing happened because he was on the rebound after Zoey and that he should call her in a year and half. Barney is even more upset by this and goes on a tangent about what this could mean for their relationship and if this means they are going to have an open marriage, which Robin firmly says no to. Marshall urges Robin to call the Captain back and let him down easy. Robin calls him back and tells him that she is engaged, which confuses the Captain because he thought she was already married to Marshall. Turns out, he wanted to talk to Lily, so Robin gives him her number.

Lily is also displeased because she had stolen a valuable crystal ashtray from the Captain in a fit of Aldrin Justice due to him telling her that her opinion of art doesn't matter because she's only a kindergarten teacher. However, the Captain actually buys the painting and now it's very valuable because the artist became a huge success. He's impressed that nobody but Lily had seen it coming so he offers her a job as his art consultant, which she happily accepts.

Barney and Robin discuss where they are going to live when they get married. Barney suggests they live in his apartment, but Robin declines, saying that there are too many weird things in the apartment. The next day, Robin holds an open house, but Barney tries to scare off buyers by telling them all the 'unique' ways he has gotten women in bed. Later at the bar, Barney says that he'll give up the apartment because he never wants to be alone again and wants Robin to be happy, but Robin said she got the buyers to leave it.

Meanwhile, The Captain has been making Lily work hard at the new job. Marshall gets frustrated with Lily never being home and crashes one of her gallery exhibitions. The Captain then informs Lily he's moving to Italy and wants Lily to move too, in order to continue her job. He tells her to decide quickly. Lily is concerned this offer will drive a wedge between her and Marshall. Ultimately, they agree to go to Italy but Marshall is soon offered a Judgeship in New York, which he secretly accepts. Robin is desperate to find her grandmother's locket necklace which she had buried in a park, believing she would dig it up when she got engaged. She asks both Barney and Ted for help searching but only Ted shows up. When she finds the buried box, it is empty. She believes this is a sign of bad luck for her wedding and shares a close moment with Ted. Lily reveals where the locket actually is and Ted knows he can bring it to Robin. Lily begs him to be careful. The season ends with the gang all separately travelling to Farhampton for the wedding. Barney and Robin are excited but Robin feels she has forgotten something. Ted and Lily are confident but Marshall (who had been at his parents house) is wracked with guilt about his secret job offer as he boards a bus to the wedding.

A woman is making her way to the train station. She is holding the yellow umbrella. For the first time in the series, the Mother's identity is finally revealed as she orders a ticket to Farhampton.

Cast[]

Main Cast

In order of character appearances

Recurring Cast

In order of character appearances

Episode List: 2012 - 2013[]

Image Title Writer(s) Director(s) Airdate #
Farhampton Sign Farhampton
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
September 24, 2012
8x01
Robin’s anxiety on her wedding day to Barney prompts Ted to recount the time he insisted on leaving Victoria’s jilted fiancé a note before they drove off into the sunset together.
Pre-Nup The Pre-Nup
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
October 1, 2012
8x02
When Barney designs an extensive pre-nup, the guys take note and propose their own relationship amendments to their significant others. Meanwhile, Quinn is outraged and draws up a pre-nup of her own, which causes friction between the sexes.
Sss Nannies
Chuck Tatham
Pamela Fryman
October 8, 2012
8x03
When Lily and Marshall have trouble finding a nanny, they learn it’s because of an elaborate scheme Barney came up with to meet girls. Meanwhile, Robin and Ted butt heads over who has a more serious relationship.
WWtBaG4 Who Wants to Be a Godparent?
Matt Kuhn
Pamela Fryman
October 15, 2012
8x04
When Lily and Marshall can’t decide on godparents for Marvin, they put the gang to the test to see who would make the best one.
AoBU6 The Autumn of Break-Ups
Kourtney Kang
Pamela Fryman
November 05, 2012
8x05
As the season of break-ups continues, Ted and Victoria must choose the next step in their long and complicated relationship. Meanwhile, Robin worries about Barney when he chooses a dog to be his wingman.
Splitsville2 Splitsville
Stephen Lloyd
Pamela Fryman
November 12, 2012
8x06
When Robin is hesitant to break up with Nick, Barney takes matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Lily and Marshall are desperate for some private time.
The Stamp Tramp 6 The Stamp Tramp
Tami Sagher
Pamela Fryman
November 19, 2012
8x07
Marshall recommends his old law school classmate Brad for a job at his firm, but the interview goes awry, leaving Marshall to do damage control with his boss. Meanwhile, Robin helps negotiate Barney’s return to the strip club circuit.
THW4 Twelve Horny Women
Eric Falconer
Eric Romanski
Pamela Fryman
November 26, 2012
8x08
Marshall takes on his old friend/new nemesis Brad in the biggest case of his career. Meanwhile, the gang reminisces about their own run-ins with the law, leading to a debate over who was the biggest delinquent as a teenager.
Lobster Crawl 1 Lobster Crawl
Barbara Adler
Pamela Fryman
December 3, 2012
8x09
Robin is determined to get Barney back no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Ted fills in as Marvin’s nanny, leading Marshall and Lily to realize that Ted is using baby Marvin to replace his other baby...the GNB building.
The Over-Correction 1 The Over-Correction
Craig Gerard
Matthew Zinman
Pamela Fryman
December 10, 2012
8x10
Robin becomes increasingly suspicious of Barney’s relationship with Patrice. Meanwhile, Marshall discovers his mother is moving on in her romantic life, with a very disturbing partner.
The Final Page6 The Final Page - Part One
Dan Gregor
Doug Mand
Pamela Fryman
December 17, 2012
8x11
Robin takes steps to have Patrice fired from WWN, while Marshall puts a jinx on Barney. Meanwhile, Ted invites his architecture professor to the dedication of the GNB building, and Marshall and Lily run into an acquaintance from college.
The Final Page13 The Final Page - Part Two
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
December 17, 2012
8x12
Ted debates whether or not to tell Robin about Barney's plans of proposing to Patrice. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily get an early Yule gift, a night away from Marvin, but a case of separation anxiety strikes and threatens to ruin the evening.
Band or DJ 2 Band or DJ?
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
January 14, 2013
8x13
When Robin learns that Barney never asked her father’s permission before proposing, she insists that he seeks his approval before announcing their engagement. Meanwhile, Ted keeps his feelings concealed by throwing himself into planning their wedding.
Ring Up Ring Up
Jennifer Hendriks
Pamela Fryman
January 21, 2013
8x14
Even though Ted has nothing in common with her, Barney begs Ted to continue seeing his much younger, much wilder girlfriend, until he learns who she is. Meanwhile, Robin must adjust to the power of her engagement ring.
Vlcsnap-2013-02-05-01h04m26s174 P.S. I Love You
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
February 4, 2013
8x15
Barney uncovers the lost episode of Robin’s “Underneath the Tunes” as Robin Sparkles. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are concerned that Ted’s new girlfriend is a stalker.
Himym badcrazy Bad Crazy
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
February 11, 2013
8x16
Ted is reluctant to break up with his crazy girlfriend Jeanette. Meanwhile, Robin becomes attached to Marvin after finally holding him for the first time.
TheAshtray The Ashtray
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
February 18, 2013
8x17
When Ted receives an unexpected call from The Captain, the gang reminisces about their last awkward encounter with him.
Weekend at Barney's 4 Weekend at Barney's
George Sloan
Pamela Fryman
February 25, 2013
8x18
When Ted and Jeanette break up, Barney tries to help him land a new girl by using the infamous playbook Robin thought he had destroyed. Meanwhile, at a gallery opening where Lily hopes to make a good impression, Marshall ends up unintentionally getting noticed.
TheFortress The Fortress
Stephen Lloyd
Michael Shea
March 18, 2013
8x19
After Robin asks Barney to sell his bachelor pad so they can build a home together, Barney is reluctant and drives away potential buyers. Meanwhile, Lily’s commitment to her job as The Captain’s art consultant strains her relationship with Marshall.
The Time Travelers 1 The Time Travelers
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
March 25, 2013
8x20
Future versions of Ted and Barney try to convince Ted to go see Robots Versus Wrestlers. Meanwhile, Marshall challenges Robin to a dance-off.
Romeward Bound 2 Romeward Bound
Chuck Tatham
Pamela Fryman
April 15, 2013
8x21
When The Captain asks Lily to move to Rome for a year to be his art consultant, she fears that Marshall will resent her. Meanwhile, Ted and Barney become obsessed with a girl who is hiding her amazing body under a puffy coat.
The Bro Mitzvah 3 The Bro Mitzvah
Chris Harris
Pamela Fryman
April 29, 2013
8x22
The gang works together to plan a legendary bachelor party for Barney.
Robin holds Ted's hand Something Old
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
May 6, 2013
8x23
Robin is desperate to find her “something old” she buried in Central Park years earlier for the wedding. Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily ask for Ted’s help packing for Italy, and Barney bonds with Robin, Sr.
Legenmarried Something New
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Pamela Fryman
May 13, 2013
8x24
As the gang prepares to head out to Robin and Barney’s wedding, Ted invites Lily to see the house he’s finally finished fixing up. Meanwhile, Robin and Barney’s night of relaxation is ruined by an obnoxious couple, and Marshall takes the baby on a last-minute trip to Minnesota to see his family.


Notes and Trivia[]

  • How I Met Your Mother was renewed for a seventh and eighth season on March 1, 2011.[1]

References[]

External Links[]

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