Barneys Breakfast Bar

"Zip, Zip, Zip" is the 14th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother . It originally aired on February 6, 2006.

Plot

A lot of Ted and Victoria's firsts (first kiss, first night together, first weekend together) all happen in the span of a weekend. After being asked by Marshall and Lilly how many times they had sex over the course of the weekend, Ted reveals that they are waiting and not starting the relationship too quickly. He then adds that it was mostly Victoria's idea, and the only reason he's going along with it is that he thinks Victoria might be the one. Ted begins to get anxious after a few weeks and can't stand it. However, Victoria decides to speed things up when she realizes that she will be out of town during their one-month anniversary. They go back to Ted's (supposedly) deserted apartment, and spend a lot of time just being together before they actually go to the bedroom to have sex together for the first time.

At the same time, Marshall and Lily are actually in the apartment. They had planned on going to a small bed and breakfast for their 9-year anniversary, but decided to bail on that plan and stay home and have a much more mellow anniversary. When Ted and Victoria unexpectedly show up they are trapped in the bathroom. They first make fun of Ted and Victoria for being a mushy new couple, but Lily begins to wonder what happened to her and Marshall. She and Marshall try just staring into each other's eyes, but Lily ruins it when she asks about dry-cleaning. They then try just holding hands, but Marshall ruins it by sneaking an arm around Lily and caressing her breast. They begin to wonder if they're out of firsts, and Lily begins to realize that she has to pee. She hasn't peed in front of Marshall before, and always wanted to keep some of the secret protected, but eventually does pee in front of Marshall. Although not happy at first, she realizes that this was a first for her and Marshall, and then realizes that their relationship is not stale.

Robin is left out on her own, and after a friend receives hooks up with someone, she decides to become Barney's bro for his "bro-ings on around town" that night. Robin suits up, and Barney is impressed. After hanging out at the cigar bar, they go play laser tag and have a good time there. They go back to the bar, where Robin tries to hook Barney up with a woman and Barney tries to hook Robin up with a lesbian. They both return to Robin's apartment, and Barney (after stripping down) tells Robin that he thinks that they would be great together, but Robin admits that she has feelings for Ted, and Barney promises not to tell, on the condition that she not mention Barney's going "bare pickle" in front of her.

Cultural References

• At the cigar bar, Robin asks for Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which is one of the few times a character in the show has asked for a particular name-brand drink. She also asks for a Montecristo #2 cigar.
• During the Quantum Leap marathon, Lily drank a Big Gulp (7eleven's notoriously large drink size) of Mountain Dew, and uses this as the reason why she has to pee. Marshall responds, "Oh, boy!," referencing Dr. Sam Beckett's catch phrase in Quantum Leap .
• Robin and Barney go back to Robin's apartment to play Battleship. Robin thinks that they are actually going to play Battleship, while Barney construes it as an international code meaning that they are going to have sex- just like in the movie 13 Going on 30

Continuity

• Robin's friend who recently broke up with her boyfriend is the same friend from the pilot episode. Her friend also says the exact line that she says in the pilot, "What's taking so long?"
• This is the first episode in which "The Bro Code" is mentioned.
• Alyson Hannigan also wears the white shirt with the blue toile design in "The Duel."

Barney's Blog

• In an update of his blog, Barney gives his readers a lesson in "Brocabulary" explaining that men hanging out with each other comes with a dialect all its own.
• In another update, Barney explains why one should never wear jeans to a strip club.

References

1. ^ Stinson, Barney (2008). The Bro Code . New York: Fireside. ISBN 9781439110003.  
2. ^ Stinson, Barney (2006-02-07). "Barney's Blog: Brocabulary Lesson". Archived from the original on 2006-03-14 . http://web.archive.org/web/20060303043201/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/barneys_blog/02_07.shtml . Retrieved 2009-11-11 .  
3. ^ Stinson, Barney (2006-02-14). "Barney's Blog: When should you wear jeans to a Strip Club... Never!". Archived from the original on 2006-03-14 . http://web.archive.org/web/20060310130532/http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/barneys_blog/02_14.shtml . Retrieved 2009-11-11 .