 |
| "Double Date" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | Matt Kuhn |
| Production code | 5AlH02 |
| Original air date | September 28, 2009 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Double Date" is the second episode of the fifth season of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother , and the 90th episode overall. It originally aired on September 28, 2009.
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(December 2015) |
Future Ted describes a date he went on in 2009, and the screen quickly changes to show a side-by-side shot of him preparing in 2009 and 2002. It turns out that Ted is about to go on a blind date with Jen, a woman he went on another blind date with in 2002. After going to exactly the same restaurant and exchanging the same dialogue, including a pun about shellfish that Jen describes as "really bad", Ted and Jen realize they are repeating their blind date from seven years ago. They remember that the date was horrible, from Ted's snobbish behavior to Jen's obsession with her cats and her ex-boyfriend. Frightened by the prospect of having to date everyone in New York City again, they decide to retrace their steps to find the mistakes of the first date.
Learning new things about themselves on the first date, Ted and Jen head to MacLaren's, where the gang is there to help them retrace the events of the 2002 date. Jen reveals that she thought Ted was checking out a woman at the bar, when Ted and Barney were really looking at "Mustache Marshall". Ted and Jen head up to the roof, and after they share a kiss they suddenly realize why they never had another date: Ted never called her. Ted apologizes for his blunder and gives a version of what might have happened had they gotten together. Before Ted and Jen can kiss again on the roof, he stops and realizes that their quirks are part of who they are and that they should hold out for someone who will not just tolerate them, but like them. Future Ted then tells his kids that when he told the shellfish pun to their mother, she laughed (almost completely sincerely).
Meanwhile, the rest of the gang grapples with relationship questions. Though Barney claims to have tickets to an origin of Chewbacca exhibit, which Marshall is genuinely excited about, they instead head to the Lusty Leopard strip bar, where Marshall is uncomfortable because he considers fantasies cheating. He explains to Barney that every time he wants to fantasize, he must create an elaborate scenario where Lily must die of a terminal illness. While they discuss this, Jasmine (Alyson Hannigan) — a stripper who looks exactly like Lily — appears on stage, exciting Barney to no end. He and Marshall return to MacLaren's and tell Robin and Lily about Lily's doppelgänger. It is also revealed that the gang has seen two other doppelgängers; a butch "Lesbian Robin", and "Mustache Marshall", Hispanic lawyer Señor Justicia. Lily is excited about the find, but Robin gets mad about Barney going to a strip club.
Barney makes Marshall tell Lily about his death fantasies that he uses to justify thinking about other women. Lily tells Marshall she is fine with him thinking about other women, at least as long as she is alive in the fantasy. Lily takes Marshall back to the strip club to fantasize about her doppelgänger to get over his discomfort, and is so enthralled by her stripper twin that she and Marshall get a private dance. Barney and Robin go too, where everyone recognizes him, stoking Robin's anger. She tells Barney how uncomfortable the thought of him going to a strip club makes her and wants to have a serious talk about their relationship, but Barney remains oblivious.
In the tag scene, Marshall comments to Lily that Jasmine is having trouble on stage. When "Lily" responds with a thick accent, a rather sullen tone and a cigarette in hand, "Jasmine" falls on stage and, realising that Lily has traded places with Jasmine and is now onstage, leaps up to help her.
True story: I heard this song ["Rewind" by Goldspot] in my head while reading the script for this episode. It was a weird moment of kismet. Its bittersweet poignancy was the perfect tone to play in an episode about missed opportunities, second chances and bad timing.
Andy Gowan, How I Met Your Mother music supervisor [1]
This episode was originally planned for season 4 but was shelved due to the complicated dual timeline. At the time the show had not yet been renewed for a fifth season. [2]
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade A−. [3]
Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 7.5 out of 10. He criticized the episode for its portrayal of Robin as a jealous girlfriend, although he praised the episode for the editing and character appropriate way Ted behaved on his double date. [4]
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends in New York City's Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in 2030, recounts to his son, Luke, and daughter, Penny, the events from September 2005 to May 2013 that led him to meet their mother. How I Met Your Mother was a joint production by Bays & Thomas Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, and syndicated by 20th Television.
Lily Aldrin is a fictional character in the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother. Lily is portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is married to Marshall Eriksen and is the best friend of Ted Mosby, Robin Scherbatsky and Barney Stinson. Lily is a kindergarten teacher and an amateur painter. In the eighth season, she gets a job as an art consultant. Lily is also the only member of the original main cast of the series who has not appeared in every episode because Alyson Hannigan took leave after giving birth to her first child.
"Miracles" is the 20th and final episode of the third season of the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother and 64th overall. It originally aired on May 19, 2008.
"Shelter Island" is the fifth episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 69th overall. It originally aired on October 20, 2008.
"Woooo!" is the eighth episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 72nd overall. It originally aired on November 17, 2008.
"The Stinsons" is the 15th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 79th overall. It originally aired on March 2, 2009.
"Sorry, Bro" is the 16th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 80th overall. It originally aired on March 9, 2009.
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"Robin 101" is the third episode of the fifth season of the How I Met Your Mother TV series and 91st overall. It originally aired on October 5, 2009.
"The Rough Patch" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 95th episode overall. It originally aired on November 9, 2009.
"The Playbook" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 96th episode overall. It originally aired November 16, 2009. A book based on the episode was published in 2010.
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"Girls Versus Suits" is the 12th episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and the show's 100th episode overall. It originally aired on January 11, 2010.
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"Jenkins" is the 13th episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 101st episode overall. It originally aired on January 18, 2010. The episode hit a season high with 10.52 million viewers and high overall ratings.
"Rabbit or Duck" is the 15th episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 103rd episode overall. It originally aired on February 8, 2010. In a nod to CBS hosting that year's Super Bowl, the episode features NFL commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in guest appearances as themselves.
"Of Course" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 105th episode overall. It originally aired on March 8, 2010.
Theodore Evelyn Mosby is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor. He serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the "long version" of how he met their mother.
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Jason Segel. Series co-creator Craig Thomas explained that he based Marshall and Lily on himself and his wife Rebecca.
