Robin Ee
This episode provides examples of:
- Bait-and-Switch Suicide: The episode begins with Barney jumping into the Hudson River only to be pulled out by the police and fined $500. It turns out he believed doing so would get him arrested so he could keep his promise to Robin not to sleep with Anita.
- Bilingual Bonus: Barney takes Anita to a restaurant called Le Tombeur des Culottes, which roughly translated means "The Panty Dropper".
- Call-Back:
- Robin's Verbal Tic from "Jenkins" reappears.
- Clips from "The Playbook" and "Rabbit or Duck" are reused and built upon for dramatic effect.
- Ear Worm: The group of friends repeatedly describes Barney's tune "a bang, bang, bangity-bang" as very catchy.
- Friendship Moment: After seeing how hurt Robin's been due to how much of a jerk he's been acting since their breakup, Barney gives Robin the "superdate" so she can go out with Don. Meanwhile, when Anita shows up at the bar and, incensed that Barney never showed up for their date, tries to seduce him, he promptly walks out of the bar, down to the Hudson River, and jumps in.
- Girl of the Week: Deconstructed. Robin says that Barney's parade of conquests makes her feel like she was just a longer-term Girl of the Week to him.
- Grand Romantic Gesture: Subverted and deconstructed with Ted's idea of a superdate. It gets subverted since the point of it is just for Barney to seduce Anita, not to make a serious relationship with her. Also deconstructed since Robin feels like just another conquest because during the time they dated, she never got such a gesture from him and he's pulling all the stops for Anita, who he just met.
- Heel Realization: The entire gang has one, one by one, over the course of the episode, as they realize Robin has been in a painful emotional situation following her breakup with Barney. It ends with Barney realizing his return to slutting around is really hurtful, such that he throws himself in the Hudson River rather than sleep with Jennifer Lopez.Barney: Wow. I knew I would be bad at being a boyfriend. I never knew I would be so bad at being an ex-boyfriend.
- How We Got Here: The episode opens with Barney explaining why he threw himself in the Hudson to a cop.
- Imagine Spot: Ted gets a brief musical number where he explains the concept of the "superdate", wherein he and Barney go from MacLaren's to a hansom cab ride, a fancy dinner, ice skating, the opera, a fireworks display, and back again.
- Insistent Terminology: It's a super date, not a mega-date.
- The Oner: The "Super Date" scene was accomplished in one take through the use of green screens and sliding set pieces.
- Reverse Psychology: This appears to be the logic behind the "Power of 'No'" principle set forth in Of Course You're Still Single, Take a Look at Yourself, You Dumb Slut.
- Rule of Three: Anita's dating advice book Of Course You're Still Single, Take a Look at Yourself, You Dumb Slut, her follow-up financial advice book, Of Course You Don't Have a 401k, Take a Look at Yourself, You Dumb Slut, and finally when Barney asks if Robin is upset, Lily tells him "Of course Robin's upset, take a look at yourself, you dumb slut!"
- Running Gag: A bang, bang, a bangity-bang, I said a bangbang bangity bang.
- Special Guest: J-Lo shows up to seduce Barney and leave him wanting.
- Take That!: To the Star Wars prequel trilogy, when Barney says he did "something worse" in his Stormtrooper helmet after The Phantom Menace.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Barney's response to learning how much he's been hurting Robin with his string of conquests is to vomit into his Stormtrooper helmet.
- Worth It: Barney is fined $500 for jumping into the Hudson, but one look at the fireworks going off during Robin and Don's "superdate" makes him satisfied.
