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ā€œShowdownā€
HIMYM episode 2x20 (42)
Showdown
First aired:
April 30, 2007
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Gloria Calderon Kellet
Barney's Blog

Images (2)

Ted plans his best man speech for Marshall and Lily's wedding. Robin helps Lily gain weight to fit into her wedding dress. Meanwhile, Barney trains for an appearance on the Price is Right.


Recap[]

As the date of their wedding approaches, Marshall and Lily suggest spending the two weeks before the wedding living away from each other, but think that their bond might be too strong. They are shown sharing sensations such as a stomachache and following each other everywhere. Robin suggests Lily come live with her, while Marshall helps Ted with his best man's speech.

While living with Robin, Lily tries on her dress, only to find she has lost so much weight that it no longer fits. Since fixing the dress is too expensive, Robin puts Lily on a diet where she is forced to eat as much as possible before the wedding. Lily enjoys it at first, but finds that she has actually lost weight, causing Robin to put more pressure on her, until she gives up.

Meanwhile, Ted is having trouble writing a best man's speech which Marshall is happy with, as he wants no mention of sex or drinking. Ted then tries a funny story about how Marshall accidentally first said "I love you" to Lily, but Marshall doesn't want her to hear it. Finally, Ted tries to censor a night out by replacing shots of alcohol with chocolate milk, and sex with holding hands. When Marshall complains this story is boring, Ted states that this is the best he can do with Marshall censoring him. The episode then cuts to Marshall and Lily's wedding, where Ted is making his speech, and is telling them about his difficulties writing the speech, until he found Marshall coming back to the apartment in the middle of the night. It is revealed that Lily and Marshall had been sneaking out every night and meeting at a hotel to spend time together, and also for Lily to eat enough to fit into her dress.

At the same time, Barney is preparing to see a taping of The Price is Right and is practicing by learning the prices of various items, as well as how to properly spin the Big Wheel so as to land on the dollar. When asked why this matters so much, Barney explains that he wants to impress Bob Barker, who his mother told him is his biological father. After being called on down by TPIR announcer Rich Fields, Barney's knowledge of prices is shown to be excellent to the point where, while playing Clock Game, he spends most of the 30 seconds he is given showing Barker pictures of himself. He tells the price of his prize at the last second, gets a dollar on the Big Wheel in the Showcase Showdown, and bids the exact price of his Showcase (thereby winning both), but in the end loses the nerve to tell Barker that he believes the host is his father; instead, Barney congratulates him for "35 years of hosting The Price is Right". He then gives most of his prizes to Marshall and Lily for their wedding.

Continuity[]

  • Marshall loves to sing, as seen in Sweet Taste of Libertyā€‹.
  • The night Marshall and Lily get back together, in Swarley, is expanded upon.
  • Barney's mother being dishonest with him as a child was first seen in Single Stamina.
  • In World's Greatest Couple, Robin is unable to offer up her apartment for Lily to stay at because of Lily's dog allergy. Since Robin got rid of her dogs in Stuff, this is no longer an issue in this episode.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • According to Wait For It, this episode occurs two weeks before Marshall and Lily's wedding.
  • Marshall's love of singing appears in Spoiler Alertā€‹ā€‹ā€‹, and Slapsgiving.
  • In Something Blueā€‹ā€‹ā€‹, it is explained why Ted and Robin enter the apartment with marinara-stained clothes, and why the Blue French Horn is missing from Robin's mantle. Marshall wearing a hat at his wedding is explained in Something Borrowed.
  • Lily and Marshall's weird codependence is highlighted again in Woooo!ā€‹ā€‹ā€‹, Duel Citizenship, and Perfect Week.
  • Marshall mentions he has a grandfather that haunts a barn. He affirms this again in Jenkinsā€‹ā€‹ā€‹, and his belief in the paranormal in general was first established in Matchmaker.
  • Barney first mentions thinking his father is Bob Barker. While he hints after watching the game show with his friends that he knows that Barker is not his father, he explicitly admits that this is not true in Cleaning Houseā€‹ā€‹ā€‹. His real father is revealed in Legendaddyā€‹ā€‹ā€‹.
  • Barney believing the lies his mother told him growing up comes up again in Cleaning House.
  • Ted has trouble making a toast in The Best Manā€‹ā€‹ā€‹ as well.
  • Marshall and Lily would write another similar lullaby for their son Marvin W. Eriksen.

Gallery[]

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

Memorable Quotes[]

Barney: T.P.I.R. is not just an indescribably entertaining hour of television, it's a microcosm of our entire economic system--a capitalist utopia, where consumers are rewarded for their persistence, market acumen, and intrepid spirit. I gaze upon the glory of The Price is Right, and I see the face of America. And it is divine. Plus, you know, hot chicks on sports cars.

Ted: Why didn't you tell him?
Barney: Well, it's just... If you've lived your whole life thinking one thing, it would be pretty devastating to find out that wasn't true. [Pause] I just don't think Bob could have handled it.
Barney explains why he did not tell Bob Barker that he was his son, hinting that he knows that what his mom told hm is not true.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • Barney mentions winning The Showcase Showdown which is the Big Wheel. He should have said he wanted to win the Showcase.

Allusions and Outside References[]

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • The episode was originally titled "May the Best Man Win".[1]
  • Interestingly, Barney was able to guess the exact price of his showcase. At the time this episode aired, no contestant was able to guess the exact price of their showcase until September 22, 2008, when contestant Terry Kniess guessed $23,473 and won both showcases. This would become subject to the 2017 documentary film Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much, and as of 2021, Kniess is the only real-life Price is Right contestant to guess the exact amount of his showcase.
  • As the Showdown episode was set in 2007, Barney appeared on the fictional Price is Right on what would ultimately be Bob Barker's final year as host on the actual Price is Right, though no references to Barker's impending retirement (first announced in October 2006) were made on this episode.  Barker's last show aired on CBS on 15 June 2007.  
  • In January 2012, Neil Patrick Harris, was a guest on The Price is Right (now with Drew Carey hosting) during its "Celebrity Charity Week". No references to this appearance were made on How I Met Your Mother.  
  • Alyson Hannigan claims this to be one of her favorite episodes.

Guests[]


Reception[]

  • Staci Krause of IGN'IGNā€‹ gave the episode an 8.6 out of 10. She praised Lily and Marshall's storylines, saying that how they relied upon each other was hilarious, especially when she went to go get eggs with him. Her only criticism of the "cute story and cute storyline" was that "it seemed strange that Lily would have so much trouble gaining weight".  She also praised Barney and Ted's storyline especially that it gave "us a tidbit about Barney's past and how he became the man he is". She concluded the review saying that it was a "good episode and the next two episodes look to add more humor to Marshall and Lily's wedding." [2]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 9 out of 10 stars. "It's not a party without steel drums."

References[]

External Links[]


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