Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra
| "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 9 Episode 14 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas |
| Original air date | January 13, 2014 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Boyz II Men (themselves) | |
"Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 198th episode overall.
Plot
Picking up where "Bass Player Wanted" left off, at 1 a.m on Sunday, 17 hours before the wedding, Marshall is about to slap Barney (seen in a slow-motion fashion and featuring music from Carmina Burana) when Future Ted says that there is a particular back story to this slap. A few weeks earlier at MacLaren's Bar, Marshall tells Barney that he wants the next slap from the slap bet to be as painful as humanly possible. Barney counters that he is now immune to all of Marshall's torments.
Marshall proceeds to tell Barney (who keeps interrupting to point out the obvious inconsistencies in the story) that he went to seek "special training" for the next slap, which he describes as happening sometime in the future, under a willow tree, near several women and a tiger. First, he learned from a kid at a martial arts training center about the existence of the so-called "Slap of a Million Exploding Suns", and that he needed to visit three masters to learn this skill. He traveled to Shanghai for a year to learn the 'speed' component from "The Cruel Tutelage of Red Bird", to the so-called Slap Mountain (a mountain in China shaped like a hand) to learn the 'strength' component from "The Punishing Scholarship of White Flower", and to Cleveland (the city equivalent of being slapped in the face) to learn the 'accuracy' component from "The Schooling of the Calligrapher".
The training from Red Bird (who looks like Robin) included Marshall practicing with a fabled "slapping tree", a tree that slaps back with its branches. White Flower (who looks like Lily) instructed Marshall to get slapped by several of Barney's former conquests so he can harness their anger to give him the strength for his slap. However, when visiting the Calligrapher (who looks like Ted), Marshall tried to save him from choking by slapping his back, but without learning accuracy yet, he accidentally slapped the Calligrapher's heart right out of him. Thus, Marshall ends his story to Barney complaining that he never got to finish his training.
Flashing forward back to the wedding weekend, Barney runs into woods in panic just before Marshall's hand makes contact with his face. He finds himself under a willow tree, near several women who are making a banner with the image of a tiger. The gang finally catches up to him, and Marshall tells Barney that the Calligrapher did in fact teach him the secret to accuracy while dying on the floor, and that his training is complete. Barney says that he is also ready, and Marshall slaps Barney (seen in a slow-motion fashion).
In the end tag, Boyz II Men sing the "You Just Got Slapped" song. After the song has ended, Marshall reminds Barney that there is one slap remaining in the slap bet.
Production
What happens when you combine Boyz II Men and a favorite original song from our series? Magic, that's what. We had a lot of fun bringing [Boyz II Men] into the studio and onto our set to make the end of this episode so damn funny. What other show can pull off a whole Kill Bill-inspired episode, centered around one character slapping the other in the face as hard as he can?
Andy Gowan, How I Met Your Mother music supervisor[1]
Critical reception
Bill Kuchman of Popculturology said that despite the episode not advancing the show's story or featuring The Mother, "it was still a highlight of Season 9" thanks to "Marshall finally [being] reunited with Lily, Ted, Robin and Barney." Kuchman also noted that HIMYM may have created another timeline error, with Marshall yelling "That's four!" after slapping Barney in both this episode and in the Season 7 episode Disaster Averted.[2] Except there was no error as there were two slaps remaining and Marshall said "One more!" shortly after saying "That's four!"
The A.V. Club's Donna Bowman graded the episode an A–.[3]
Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode 6.5/10, saying it delivered a fun and concise storyline that effectively set up future events.[4]
Controversy
The episode generated criticism that the actors were in yellow face, and were depicting Asian stereotypes and accents. While the episode was airing, #HowIMetYourRacism became a trending topic on Twitter. In response, show co-creator Carter Bays posted on Twitter that they were trying to pay homage to the Kung Fu movies that they grew up on and apologized to people who were offended.[5]
References
- ↑ "'How I Met Your Mother' Music Supervisor Reveals Show's Top 10 Music Moments". Archived from the original on June 22, 2014.
- ↑ Kuchman, Bill (January 13, 2014). "'How I Met Your Mother' 'Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra' Recap: 'You Just Got Slapped'". Popculturology.
- ↑ Bowman, Donna (January 13, 2014). "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment At Slapmarra". The A.V. Club.
- ↑ Nicholson, Max (January 13, 2014). "How I Met Your Mother: "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" Review". IGN.
- ↑ "'How I Met Your Mother' Creators Respond to Kung Fu Controversy". Hollywood Reporter. January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2013.