How I Met Your Mother S04E10 – The Fight

MacLaren's bartender Doug gets into a fight and draws Barney and Ted (but not Marshall) in. Robin thinks fighting is hot.



When MacLaren's bartender Doug Martin catches the gang not sitting in their normal booth, he gets pretty angry. Loyal to his regulars, Doug provokes a fight with the guys sitting in the booth and asks Ted, Barney and Marshall to back him up. Marshall says there is nothing noble about fighting; he has gotten into plenty of fights with his brothers. Ted and Barney mock Marshall's playful horseplay in his family. Ted decides he has never been in a fight heads out, Barney in tow. Barney sees it a chance to impress Robin. However, they find that Doug has dispatched the three men on his own.

Doug doesn't realize that Ted and Barney didn't help him. Barney convinces Ted to keep quiet about the two of them missing the fight and even punches Ted and then himself in the face to cover up their non-involvement. Doug offers everyone but Marshall free drinks and excitedly tells everyone how Ted and Barney had his back. They revel in the attention, especially Barney who is particularly interested in the affections of Robin who is very impressed.

Meanwhile, Marshall maintains that he has taken the high road, but Ted, Barney and Robin mock him for being unmanly. That night in bed, Lily confirms that Marshall did the right thing and asks him to come give a talk to her class about not fighting. However, even Lily's students mock him for not fighting.

Back in the bar, Ted and Barney regale the story of the fight to a couple of girls. However, seeing a few guys sitting in the booth again, they find they may have to start a second fight. Fortunately, the two guys have heard of the two: they are there to serve them a summons. The guys they "beat up" are suing for assault.

Ted and Barney immediately go to consult their lawyer: Marshall. Marshall exaggerates the punishment for such an offense and they admit that Doug was the only one involved in the fight. Marshall takes great pleasure in telling Robin about how Barney was leading them on. Later, Marshall tells the gang about how he convinced the guys they "beat up" to drop the charges by explaining how unmanly Ted and Barney really are. However, this means that Doug now knows that Ted and Barney "threw him under a bus".

Out in the alley behind the bar, Doug confronts Barney and Ted. Barney runs away in fear. Marshall points out it was obvious that Ted didn't help in the fight. Doug understands that it was just him in the fight but is hurt that Ted and Barney didn't have his back. He insults Ted by saying, "no wonder your fiancée left you." Ted punches him.

Having never been in a fight before, Ted didn't realize how much he would hurt his hand by punching Doug in the face. Doug punches Ted right back and knocks him out. Ted has learned his lesson. He would later explain to both his own kids and Lily's class about he learned that one should never get in a fight.

Of course, Ted leaves out part of the story: After punching out Ted, Doug was himself punched out by Marshall. Turns out that Marshall did a little more than roughhouse with his brothers. Their fights were bloody and violent including smashing furniture and throwing hot chocolate in each others faces. Future Ted suggests that his kids never get on Marshall's bad side.

Post a Comment

 
Top