How I Met Your Mother S06E08 – Natural History
The gang attends a black tie fundraiser at the Natural History Museum
and Ted sees a whole different side of Zoey when she introduces him to
her husband. Barney and Robin dare each other to break the museum law:
touch all of the exhibits.
Thanks to Goliath National Bank, the entire gang is invited to The 133rd
Annual Natural History Museum Autumn Spectacular. On the taxi-ride over
to the event, they predict how their college-selves would react to
their formal attire, given how at the time they were "pretty
anti-establishment", even going so far as to make fun of people in suits
and tuxedos.
At the museum, Lily recounts how as a child, she snuck under the rope of a room that was closed for cleaning. Barney
claims that when he was six, he removed a rib from a triceratops and
used it to knock down the giant blue whale in the museum. None of the
gang, especially Robin, believe him. Arthur arrives and introduces them to a school friend of his and the host of the event, George Van Smoot. However, George prefers to be called "The Captain."
Barney and Robin trying to touch as much as possible in the museum
As The Captain leaves, he tells them not to touch anything, so Barney takes this as a challenge, and begins by poking one of the exhibit statues. Robin,
who watches him do it, tries to raise the bar by rubbing the entire
body of the statue. The two then decide to creatively touch many other
exhibits.
While Robin and Barney are racing around the whole museum,
Marshall tells Lily that Arthur offered him a five year contract with
GNB. Lily tells him to tell him no later, as doing it now could cause a
scene. She assumes Marshall still has dreams to be an environmental
lawyer, and plans to quit. Marshall, however, has decided he wants to
accept the contract and continue working at GNB. He no longer wants to
be an environmental worker, and hasn't for the past two and a half
years. Lily is shocked to learn this, and has trouble accepting this
"new" Marshall.
Ted
tests out an acoustic feature of the museum; because of the way the
main room is designed, if you stand in a certain spot it's possible to
speak to people on the other side of the room while whispering. He has
some fun by whispering random words to people that can't see him, until
he spots Zoey Pierson on the other side of the room.
Earlier that day, Zoey had written an article about him, slandering him for his work with GNB and his plans to tear down the Arcadian.
He approaches her, asking why she's there, and the two start insulting
one another. They stop once The Captain approaches, and Zoey introduces
him as her husband. Ted openly mocks The Captain's unique nickname and
his interest in boating, but The Captain doesn't seem to notice. As The
Captain leaves, Ted calls Zoey a spoiled trophy wife, and Zoey vows to
destroy him.
They part, but he later comes back to mock the people she's
talking to. She takes him aside into a private room, asking what he
wants from her. Ted tells her she should just go back to her perfect
life, and leave him alone. Zoey starts to cry, claiming her life is not
perfect. She got married at 22, and hates everything about boats, her
husband's greatest passion. The reason she loves the Arcadian is because
it makes her feel solid, when the rest of her life is so shaky.
Ted sympathizes, telling her that the Arcadian is a great
landmark, and badmouths GNB. Zoey quickly stops crying and pulls out a
voice recorder, showing she just caught Ted badmouthing GNB on tape, and
plans to use it to destroy him.
A security guard approaches Barney and Robin, who are now dressed
in the costumes of two of the exhibits, and takes them away to his
office. The guard chastises them, and recounts all the pranks people
have previously pulled on the museum, including a a six year old
knocking down the blue whale. Since Robin didn't believe he actually
knocked down the whale, Barney asks the guard if he knows the name of
the kids who did it, to prove definitively that he did.
The guard pulls out the security file detailing the incident,
confirming every detail of Barney's story, proving to Robin that he did
knock down the whale as a child. The guard confirms the event actually
occurred, and was reprimanded and returned to the custody of his father,
Jerome Whittaker, the man Barney knew as his Uncle Jerry for his entire life.
Later that night, Barney and Robin are alone at a table, and
Barney reveals that the last time he saw Uncle Jerry was the day he
knocked down the whale, July 23, 1981, because his Mom
got mad he let Barney destroy the whale. Robin tries to convince him
that maybe the security guard was wrong, that Jerome Whittaker really
was Barney's uncle. Barney stops her, because he can feel that Jerome
Whittaker really is his father, and asks Robin not to tell anyone.
Later on, The Captain sees a crestfallen Ted, and offers to erase
the voice recording of Ted badmouthing GNB once Zoey's asleep,
commenting on how annoying her voice recorder and her protector temper
tantrums are. Ted turns down the offer, saying that he respects her for
standing up for what she believes in. Future Ted
explains to his kids how, unknown to Ted and The Captain, Zoey was
standing in the perfect acoustic spot in the room, and overheard their
entire conversation. Later, Zoey pulls Ted aside, and tells him she
erased the tape. Ted thanks her, and the two dance.
By herself, Lily wanders the museum and talks to the "College
Marshall" exhibit, explaining how she wants to be with College Marshall,
not the Marshall he's become. College Marshall remarks that he's now
"extinct", but the current Marshall hasn't changed where it counts. The
real Marshall then approaches Lily, and apologizes that he's not going
to be an environmental lawyer, but promises that he'll use the extra
income he'll earn at GNB spoiling her and their kids. They reconcile,
and walk off while College Marshall insults "corporate" Marshall.
Later, Marshall is seen working at GNB, indicating that he
accepted Arthur's contract. Future Ted confirms he kept working at GNB,
but the job wouldn't last forever and Corporate Marshall would go
extinct, just like College Marshall... But that's another story.
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