The Playbook (How I Met Your Mother)
Encyclopedia
"The Playbook" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the CBS
situation comedy
How I Met Your Mother
and 96th episode overall (Season 5, Episode 8). It originally aired November 16, 2009. The Playbook by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn was published on October 5, 2010.
explains that the key to dating is self-confidence, which Barney
had in spades, but usually that confidence was in a character. In the present, Barney is sitting in MacLaren's in a full scuba suit drinking scotch. Lily
pulls aside a woman at the bar, warning her of Barney's intentions. The woman (Claire) sits down with the rest of the gang as they explain the events that lead up to that night.
Barney and Robin
were coping with the end of their relationship in their own different ways. Robin said she wanted to throw herself into her career, but Marshall
and Ted are convinced she will find the love of her life, citing several friends who gave up on dating to focus on their work, only to be married (or in a civil union
) months later. Barney, on the other hand, decided to re-enter the dating scene with a vengeance, using his sacred "Playbook". The book describes a set of con artist scenarios designed to seduce a woman.
Meanwhile, Lily tries to set up Ted with a fellow teacher. She had originally tried to get them to meet, but she found Ted and Marshall in the middle of a chicken-finger mouth-stuffing attempt, so she convinced her coworker Ted wasn't there. But Ted is stood up, and after confronting the woman, Lily finds out that she was seduced by an exotic man at MacLaren's bar. Lily realizes it was Barney, and confronts him, infuriated.
Barney describes the play he used, the "Lorenzo von Matterhorn", using fake websites, a smartphone
, and an exotic name. As revenge, Lily steals the playbook and threatens to publish it on the internet if Barney does not stop tricking women into sleeping with him, while Barney blames Al-Qaeda
for stealing the book. To gain attention of the gang, Barney promptly shows up at the apartment in the aforementioned scuba suit, saying he will be at the bar. The "Scuba Diver" con is not in the playbook, so the gang goes downstairs to find out what it is. Claire, the girl Lily had approached at the beginning of the episode, is also curious to find out what the scuba suit is for, so the gang sits with Barney.
He begins to act cocky, but Barney eventually admits that his final breakup with Robin was hurting him more than he thought, and this was how he coped. Touched, the gang advises Claire to go out with Barney for a cup of coffee. After they leave, the gang gets a text message from Barney and finds the description of the "Scuba Diver" under their table at MacLaren's. It was actually an elaborate con, involving Lily's disgust at the playbook, revealing Barney's tricks to his prey (Claire), Barney's fake breakdown over his breakup, and his friends encouraging the prey to go with Barney.
Finally, a new co-host, Don, arrives at Robin's pre-morning show, and Robin suddenly realizes that Ted and Marshall may have been right.
's "Rondo Alla Turka
" accompanies the sequences from Barney's Playbook.
A piano version of Nino Rota
's "What Is a Youth" from the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet
is used for when Barney finally succeeds with "The He's Not Coming" play.
search for the day of November 16, 2009. The show created the tie-in websites mentioned in the episode: Balloon Explorers Club, Big Business Journal, Extremities Quarterly. A Wikipedia page for Lorenzo Von Matterhorn was also created October 21, but was deleted when the show revealed it to be a hoax.
The site lorenzovononmatterhorn.com also shows a Wikipedia-like page called "Lorenzopedia."
graded the episode an "A-" in her review; she cheered the return of the "unredeemed essence" of Barney in the wake of his breakup with Robin.
Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 9.6 out of 10.
Alan Sepinwall wrote that the episode "was very funny" but said that it seemed at times that the writers were overcompensating for newly-single Barney.
The feedback for the episode from the public was overwhelmingly positive.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
and 96th episode overall (Season 5, Episode 8). It originally aired November 16, 2009. The Playbook by Barney Stinson and Matt Kuhn was published on October 5, 2010.
Plot
Future TedTed Mosby
Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby is the titular fictional character of the U.S. television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor...
explains that the key to dating is self-confidence, which Barney
Barney Stinson
Barnabas "Barney" Stinson is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris. The character has been extremely well received by critics and has been credited for much of the show's success...
had in spades, but usually that confidence was in a character. In the present, Barney is sitting in MacLaren's in a full scuba suit drinking scotch. Lily
Lily Aldrin
Lillian "Lily" Aldrin is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is the wife of Marshall Eriksen and the best friend of Robin Scherbatsky...
pulls aside a woman at the bar, warning her of Barney's intentions. The woman (Claire) sits down with the rest of the gang as they explain the events that lead up to that night.
Barney and Robin
Robin Scherbatsky
Robin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders.- Early life :...
were coping with the end of their relationship in their own different ways. Robin said she wanted to throw herself into her career, but Marshall
Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.-Character profile:Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota...
and Ted are convinced she will find the love of her life, citing several friends who gave up on dating to focus on their work, only to be married (or in a civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
) months later. Barney, on the other hand, decided to re-enter the dating scene with a vengeance, using his sacred "Playbook". The book describes a set of con artist scenarios designed to seduce a woman.
Meanwhile, Lily tries to set up Ted with a fellow teacher. She had originally tried to get them to meet, but she found Ted and Marshall in the middle of a chicken-finger mouth-stuffing attempt, so she convinced her coworker Ted wasn't there. But Ted is stood up, and after confronting the woman, Lily finds out that she was seduced by an exotic man at MacLaren's bar. Lily realizes it was Barney, and confronts him, infuriated.
Barney describes the play he used, the "Lorenzo von Matterhorn", using fake websites, a smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
, and an exotic name. As revenge, Lily steals the playbook and threatens to publish it on the internet if Barney does not stop tricking women into sleeping with him, while Barney blames Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
for stealing the book. To gain attention of the gang, Barney promptly shows up at the apartment in the aforementioned scuba suit, saying he will be at the bar. The "Scuba Diver" con is not in the playbook, so the gang goes downstairs to find out what it is. Claire, the girl Lily had approached at the beginning of the episode, is also curious to find out what the scuba suit is for, so the gang sits with Barney.
He begins to act cocky, but Barney eventually admits that his final breakup with Robin was hurting him more than he thought, and this was how he coped. Touched, the gang advises Claire to go out with Barney for a cup of coffee. After they leave, the gang gets a text message from Barney and finds the description of the "Scuba Diver" under their table at MacLaren's. It was actually an elaborate con, involving Lily's disgust at the playbook, revealing Barney's tricks to his prey (Claire), Barney's fake breakdown over his breakup, and his friends encouraging the prey to go with Barney.
Finally, a new co-host, Don, arrives at Robin's pre-morning show, and Robin suddenly realizes that Ted and Marshall may have been right.
Music
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's "Rondo Alla Turka
Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331 is a sonata in three movements:#Andante grazioso — a theme with six variations#Menuetto — a minuet and trio#Alla Turca: Allegretto in A minor and major....
" accompanies the sequences from Barney's Playbook.
A piano version of Nino Rota
Nino Rota
Nino Rota was an Italian composer and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti...
's "What Is a Youth" from the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1968 British-Italian cinematic adaptation of the William Shakespeare play of the same name.The film was directed and co-written by Franco Zeffirelli, and stars Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey. It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design; it was also...
is used for when Barney finally succeeds with "The He's Not Coming" play.
Continuity
- Lily stares at Robin's breasts in the beginning of the episode. In "Robin 101Robin 101"Robin 101" is the third episode of season 5 of the How I Met Your Mother TV series and 91st overall. It originally aired on October 5, 2009.- Plot :...
" Lily mentions Robin has "guest starred" in her dreams and, in "Best Prom EverBest Prom Ever"Best Prom Ever" is the 20th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired May 1, 2006. It has the least amount of viewership in season 1 .- Plot :...
", Robin fulfills Lily's desire for a lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
experience by kissing her. - The advertisement promoting the episode mentions examples from Barney's playbook including the Lesbian and The Time traveller.
- Barney uses a technique called The Ted Mosby where he tells a girl that he was left at the altar, referring to the episode "Shelter IslandShelter Island (How I Met Your Mother)"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.- Plot :...
." Ted tries the technique himself and it works. - According to Ted and Marshall's predictions throughout the episode, Robin would meet her future husband since she was no longer looking for a relationship. At the end of the episode future Ted notes it is "ironically" the day Robin meets her new co-host, Don.
- Robin is "lawyered by nature" after stating that she would focus on her career, instead of dating, but is given a number of examples, by Ted and Marshall, of people who said they would focus on things other than dating but ended up married (or to-be-married) a while later. Marshall normally uses the term "lawyered", especially on the first seasons, to indicate that an argument has been defeated by clever questioning.
- Marshall and Ted's prediction comes true when Robin goes Lorenzo Von Matterhorn.
Cultural references
- When the Playbook is revealed, Marshall jokes about how prolific an author Barney is - referencing The Bro Code - comparing him to Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. - Barney describes a play called "Mrs. Stinsfire" where he dresses as a woman, a reference to the Robin WilliamsRobin WilliamsRobin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
film Mrs. DoubtfireMrs. DoubtfireMrs. Doubtfire is a 1993 American comedy film starring Robin Williams and Sally Field and based on the novel Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. It was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup...
. - Marshall describes a set of people who get married after forgoing the dating scene. A couple wearing Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
uniforms is shown. One gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
co-worker finds the love of his life, but they are an exception; instead of declaring them married, Marshall describes pending legislation on the floor of the New York State SenateNew York State SenateThe New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
, a reference to the debate over same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. - After Ted guesses the meaning of MILSWANCA (Mothers I'd Like to Sleep With And Never Call Again), an alternative acronym for MILFMILF (slang)MILF, an acronym for "Mother/Mom/Mum I'd Like to Fuck", is a common colloquial term generally regarded as vulgar when spelled out. It denotes a sexually attractive older female, generally between 25 and 50 years of age.-History:...
, correctly, Barney says, "Correct! Circle gets the square," in reference to the game show Hollywood SquaresHollywood SquaresHollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
.
Cultural impact
After the airing of this episode, "Lorenzo Von Matterhorn" (one of Barney's playbook aliases) became the fastest-rising GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
search for the day of November 16, 2009. The show created the tie-in websites mentioned in the episode: Balloon Explorers Club, Big Business Journal, Extremities Quarterly. A Wikipedia page for Lorenzo Von Matterhorn was also created October 21, but was deleted when the show revealed it to be a hoax.
The site lorenzovononmatterhorn.com also shows a Wikipedia-like page called "Lorenzopedia."
Critical response
Donna Bowman of The A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
graded the episode an "A-" in her review; she cheered the return of the "unredeemed essence" of Barney in the wake of his breakup with Robin.
Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 9.6 out of 10.
Alan Sepinwall wrote that the episode "was very funny" but said that it seemed at times that the writers were overcompensating for newly-single Barney.
The feedback for the episode from the public was overwhelmingly positive.
External links
- Big Business Journal Lorenzo Von Matterhorn Website #1.
- Extremities Quarterly Lorenzo Von Matterhorn Website #2.
- Balloon Explorers Club Lorenzo Von Matterhorn Website #3.