 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
| "Platonish" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 9 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | George Sloan |
| Original air date | November 11, 2013 |
| Guest appearance | |
| Bryan Cranston as Hammond Druthers | |
"Platonish" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother , and the 193rd episode overall.
At 11am on Saturday, with 31 hours left before the wedding, Barney, Ted, and Lily comfort Robin over the news that her own mother is not attending her wedding. Barney takes this as a challenge to cheer her up, claiming he never fails a challenge, but Lily counters that Barney never finished a challenge to pick up diapers and samosas in the fall of 2012. Barney recounts the story.
One night at the bar, Barney discussed with the gang the fact that the group's only true male/female platonic relationship was between Marshall and Robin. By this point, Lily had been fed up with Barney's own creative plays to pick up women. She dares him to take up challenges that she and Robin will choose – which include getting a woman's number while speaking like a dolphin and not using any word that has the letter E. Seeing that Barney has passed all their challenges, Lily and Robin decide to make him do an errand for them by inserting the challenge of picking up a woman while performing the request – to buy her a pack of diapers for Marvin and samosas for Robin. Barney buys the items and then attempts a play on a woman at a pharmacy; the woman is actually Ted's future wife, who sees through his facade and assumes that Barney is doing this to take his mind off being sad about something. When Barney questions her, she senses that Barney was once in love but messed it up, and keeping himself busy enough to come to terms with that. (with Future Ted telling his kids this was "How Barney met your Mother"). Outside, the two talk about Barney's failed relationship with Robin and how he had felt lost since they broke up. When Barney says he can easily woo back Robin, the woman declares that if he really wants her so much, he will have to give it his very best shot. The woman leaves him and Barney returns home, leaving behind the diapers and samosas, to draft "The Robin".
Elsewhere, Marshall and Ted watch a game between the Washington Generals and the Harlem Globetrotters. As they watch the game (with both supporting the Generals), the two begin talking about Ted's feelings for Robin and whether he will not pursue her again. Ted assures Marshall he isn't interested, as he knows Robin isn't interested in any real commitment so their relationship is just 'platonic'. Marshall tells him that it has been years now and people change. Ted also gets a call from his old boss Hammond Druthers who offers Ted a job in Chicago in light of his success with the GNB headquarters. Ted initially refuses, but eventually agrees to think about it under pressure from Druthers. Returning home after the game, Ted finds Robin eating olives which surprises him as she hated olives during their first date, and Robin tells him that she changed her view on them. Reminded of Marshall's words, Ted calls Druthers and turns down the job believing he still has a chance with Robin. Druthers tells Ted that the offer remains open if he changes his mind, and later at MacLaren's, Ted admits he and Robin now only share a "platonish" relationship. However, rather than immediately pursue her, he wants to leave it up to fate to bring them together.
Flashforwarding back to the Farhampton Inn, Barney says that despite all of the challenges, he still hasn't finished one more challenge – to cheer up Robin. Now inspired by what Barney has done, Robin kisses him as Ted watches them sadly, feeling that his decision to leave his relationship with her up to fate may have cost him a future with her.
Show co-creator Carter Bays tweeted before the episode broadcast that the flashback takes place between "Splitsville" and "The Stamp Tramp". [1]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2015) |
The A.V. Club 's Donna Bowman graded the episode an A. [2]
Laura Hertzfeld of Entertainment Weekly noted the episode's homages to When Harry Met Sally... . [3]
Bill Kuchman of Popculturology praised Milioti, saying she "continued to show us why she was the perfect pick for this role, giving life to a character that really has never been more than an abstract concept. We’ve only seen her a few times, but Milioti instantly makes The Mother someone you root for." [4]
Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode 7.8/10, saying that it had "solid storylines" for Barney and Ted, with Cranston and Milioti's appearances as the "high points." [5]
Alan Sepinwall, a noted critic of the show, said the episode's emphasis on flashbacks was a welcome change from the Farhampton Inn. [6]
TV.com's Kaitlin Thomas praised the episode for the revelation that the Mother set Barney off on the road that will lead him to marrying Robin. [7]
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.
"Farhampton" is the premiere episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and 161st overall. It aired on September 24, 2012, and it gained mixed reviews.
"P.S. I Love You" is the 15th episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 175th episode overall.
"The Time Travelers" is the 20th episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 180th episode overall.
"Romeward Bound" is the 21st episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 181st episode overall.
"Something New" is the 24th and final episode of the eighth season of the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 184th episode overall. The episode aired on CBS on May 13, 2013. This was the episode that finally introduced the titular character of The Mother, played by Cristin Milioti.
"The Locket" is the first episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 185th episode overall.
"The Broken Code" is the fourth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 188th episode overall.
"Last Time in New York" is the third episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 187th episode overall.
Tracy Mosby is the title character from the CBS television sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The show, narrated by Future Ted, tells the story of how Ted Mosby met his children's mother. Tracy McConnell appears in eight episodes, from "Lucky Penny" to "The Time Travelers", as an unseen character; she was first seen fully in season 8 finale "Something New" and was promoted to a main character in season 9. She is played by Cristin Milioti.
"Bedtime Stories" is the eleventh episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 195th episode overall.
"The Rehearsal Dinner" is the twelfth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 196th episode overall.
"Unpause" is the fifteenth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 199th episode overall. This is also the episode where Ted's future children's names are finally revealed; the daughter's name is Penny and the son is Luke.
"Sunrise" is the seventeenth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 201st episode overall.
"Vesuvius" is the nineteenth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 203rd episode overall. The episode features Ted in 2024, telling the Mother about the day of Robin and Barney's wedding. The final scene prompted some to think that the Mother was dead; this was proven correct in the series finale, "Last Forever".
"Daisy" is the twentieth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 204th episode overall. It was written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, directed by Pamela Fryman, and aired on March 10, 2014.
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.
"The Poker Game" is the fifth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 189th episode overall.
