Future Ted tells his kids about how Barney has always mocked Robin for being Canadian.
Robin is sitting with the group at Ted’s apartment, when she tells them that Barney’s dad liked her Facebook status about Manitoba, because Barney’s grandma is from there, making Barney one-quarter Canadian. Barney freaks out and runs out of the apartment.
—
Future Ted reminds his kids about the story of the “Slutty Pumpkin.” Ten years after he saw her, he sees the costume in the window of a costume rental shop. He asks the owner who rented that costume in 2001, and then goes to the woman’s door, and she remebers Ted.
Marshall and Lily are at Lily’s grandparent’s house. Her grandparents say they have a surprise for them, and Lily tells Marshall they always give them old garbage they don’t want anymore, so she tells him they are going to say no to whatever it is. They hand Lily a small box with a key inside, and tell her they are giving them the house, and Lily happily says they’ll take it.
Ted takes the “Slutty Pumpkin” on a date on the roof of his apartment, where they met. They kiss, and Future Ted tells his kids it was…terrible.
—
Lily and Marshall are at the bar with Robin and tell her about the house. Lily goes off to go to the bathroom, and Robin tells Marshall they aren’t going to move to the suburbs, because Lily hates the suburbs, and the only reason she is agreeing to it right now is because, she has “pregnancy brain” which is making her dumb (like putting her wallet and keys in the freezer, and ice cubes in her purse, and not being able to find her way back from the bathroom). She comes back to the table, and Marshall tells her it’s not a good idea for them to move right now, because she isn’t making good decisions, but she says nothing is wrong with her. Robin tells Barney she’s not going to let it go that Barney is part Canadian.
Ted shows up and tells the group his date was “ok…ish”. The date is incredibly awkward, but Naomi aka the Slutty Pumpkin doesn’t seem to notice, and the second date is even worse for Ted. Ted tells the group he has to break-up with her, and they all agree. Everyone leaves except for Robin and Barney, and Robin hands Barney a bag with a costume inside, that she says if he wears to the Halloween party, she will drop the Canada jokes.
Lily and Marshall are at the house, and a group of Trick ‘r Treaters arrives. Lily hands them all candy, and then tells Marshal she has “pregnancy brain and has been playing [him] like a fox.”
Barney gets in the Mountie costume Robin gave him, and cries as he sings “O, Canada.”
Ted goes to break-up wiht Naomi, and she opens the door and is wearing the Slutty Pumpkin costume, and shows him she made him the “hanging chad” costume he wore 10 years ago when they met. Ted accidentally says “I love you” and they kiss.
—
Robin is in a hockey costume and gets off the phone with Barney, when “Living in America” starts playing, and Bareny is wearing an American boxing outfit.
Lily is trying to convince Marshall moving is a good idea, by seducing him.
Robin continues to torment Barney since he didn’t wear the costume. Ted and Naomi show up to the party, and Robin scolds Ted for sleeping with Naomi if he doesn’t have feelings for her.
More Trick ‘r Treaters arrive, and Lily gives them a stapler, a bottle of wine and a pair of scissors. Marshall tells her what she just did, and she realizes she’s not in her right mind, and says maybe they shouldn’t make any big decisions right now.
Naomi comes up to Ted, and says she doesn’t feel right in the relationship, and they have to call it off. We see their dates from her perspective and we see everything was just as awkward for her.
—
Barney ends up having a fight between his American side and Canadian side.
Thoughts :
Well I think I feel the same way Ted did about the Slutty Pumpkin…kind of let down. This episode was a huge one for fans of HIMYM who have been watching since season 1, and because of this, I had very high expectations for this episode which was 7 years in the making. While I’m not saying this episode was awful, I don’t feel that it lived up to it’s season 1 counterpart. I think Katie Holmes did well with the role, but maybe I just built it up too much in my mind in terms of what this episode should be. Maybe upon a second viewing, I’ll know what to expect and will appreciate it a bit more.
I did enjoy the Barney/Robin storyline though. It really felt like their old “bro” relationship we saw in early seasons, and it didn’t deal with Robin having feelings for Barney which was nice since I’m not a huge fan of that storyline.
Overall I would say this is a stand alone episode, which I am happy about because I have felt that the more storyline driven episodes haven’t been working too well for the series, so this episode also had that going for it.
