An Intervention

So, Becky Newton came to How I Met Your Mother. And she turned Barney’s head as stripper Quinn. So you know what that means? Time to meet the others! But Barney only tells Ted what Quinn really does. He makes Ted swear a broath not to tell the others. So Ted tells the others that Quinn’s a stripper and trying to steal all of Barney’s money.

CREDITS!

The others try to figure out what to do. They decide not to judge Quinn until they meet her. They leave and three hours later come back after the party. They have to decide about Quinn. So they recall the party. How Quinn was controlling. Like, Barney having to ask her to use the bathroom. And her refusing. Then Lily finds information about a trip to Hawaii. By snooping through Quinn’s bedroom. And then Quinn and Barney announce that they are moving in together. His friends congratulate him and back at the apartment, promise to break them up.

But, in the meantime, there is another matter to attend to. Since Quinn is moving in with Barney, her place is open. I’m not sure if I recapped the last episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” but it ended with Ted giving the apartment to Lily and Marshall. Since then, Robin’s been crashing at a coworker’s while Ted’s been staying in on campus housing. He meets three students name Ned, Martin and Millie who seem very familiar. Both need an apartment and start squabbling for it.

Anyway, the guys plan an intervention for Barney. They even use the intervention sign for it! Though Marshall comes in with an addition, changing the sign to read “Quinntervention.” The others agree it was a good change as Barney enters. He is surprised and calls out Ted for breaking the broath. We flash to Barney’s history of Julius Caesar, where Brutus swore a broath to let Caesar know if anyone was going to assassinate him. As Brutus walks off, ninjas come out and attack Caesar.

His friends try to convince him its for his own good. Lily mentions the trip to Hawaii. Barney has no clue what she’s talking about. Quinn says she paid for the trip to Hawaii as a surprise for Barney, coming into the apartment. Barney fills her in on what happened. Quinn says she’s upset that Barney felt the need to hide what she does from his friends. She’s proud to be a stripper and if he isn’t, then maybe they shouldn’t be together. Quinn walks out and Barney looks absolutely heartbroken.

Guilty, the gang goes back to Barney’s. They apologize and try to make amends. He makes them all swear broaths, complete with monk outfits, torches and a Bible, to never meddle in his life again. They do so. Barney makes Lily and Robin share a kiss. Then Marshall and Ted, though Barney insists he was going to tell them to fistbump. Quinn laughs as the lights turn on. She was there the entire time.

The two reveal their master plan: Barney had warned Quinn about his friends’ tendency to be judgmental. She decided have some fun with them, so everything had been a rouse—the bossiness, the apartment being for sale, Hawaii, the break up. But the part about them moving in together is no longer fiction. They’ve decided to do it for real. So Quinn’s apartment is now really up for grabs. Robin and Ted both decline to take it.

Why? Well, let’s go to our B plot. Ted and Robin’s relationship. It’s been awkward since they decided to be friends and Robin moved out. They’ve hardly talked and Robin says her life is a mess. She’s been unfocused at work which has led to a meeting with her manager at five o’clock that coming Friday. Around the office, it’s known as “fire o’clock.” Robin says she’s been such a mess and she can’t talk to her best friend because it’s awkward between her and Ted. They bury the hatchet and decide to go back to “normal.”

Which is why both refused to take Quinn’s apartment. But it turns out that Robin wasn’t getting fired. Instead, she was promoted to on air talent as Sandy’s co-anchor. Robin explains the the head of the channel saw her reporting on New Year’s Eve and loved her. With the promotion comes a pay raise, so Robin was able to get her own apartment. She told Quinn that Ted was going to take her apartment. He thanks Robin and then there is an awkward silence. Both make their excuses and Robin leaves. Future!Ted tells us that he and Robin wouldn’t see each other for a long time.

But that’s a story for another time.

Back at Barney’s place, Quinn and Barney celebrate their new status. Quinn asks if Barney has a problem with her job and he says he doesn’t. She’s glad as she loves her job. Barney does ask her—hypothetically—what it would take to get her to stop stripping. She replies—hypothetically—she would stop if she got married. And then goes to bed.

Tag: Ted has been telling the story to Martin, Millie and Ned. They tell him he tells boring stories and feel sorry for his future kids. And the show missed a great opportunity to flash back to a bored Lindsay Rappaport and David Henrie still sitting on that couch.

Oh well.

I love Becky Newton, but I still think Robin’s the bride. Or maybe Quinn starts out as the bride but then Robin runs in to stop the wedding. After all, Ted says he won’t see Robin for a long time. What if the same is true for the others? I guess we’ll see…

Quote of the Episode
"Extensively, but I'm a bit shaky on fake history..." Ted to Barney on the history of breaking the broath.