How I Met Your Mother 9.07 Review – No Questions Asked

With a plot that had relatively little to do with Barney and Robin’s impending wedding, “No Questions Asked” reminded me very much of a traditional episode of HIMYM – if you will allow me to use the word “traditional” in this sense.

What I mean is – the running “no questions asked” plot point reminded me a lot of other episodes that feature running gags…or just the show’s running gags in general, really.

42 and a half hours before the wedding, the episode opens on Marshall and Daphne’s road trip, and Marshall still worried about accidentally telling Lily about his judgeship.  He panders to Ted owing him a “no questions asked” after getting himself stuck in a mailbox (we learn about this later), and asks him to sneak into Lily’s hotel room to delete the text.

However…Marshall also calls Barney, who swallowed real items from Lucky Charms cereal, and…also calls Robin, whose reason for calling in a “no questions asked” is the most suspect of all.  All we know is that it involves a purple unitard.

All three end up in Lily’s room one way or another, desperately trying to find her phone and delete Marshall’s text before she can see it.  Unfortunately, Robin’s using a room service cart to gets in ticks Lily off, and she goes down to the desk, taking her phone with her.

While Ted calls in a “no questions asked” of his own from Lily – her kindergarteners once held her hostage – and has her destroy her own phone, Robin and Barney are upstairs discussing their ‘lone wolf’ status, and figuring out if they are capable of being in a marriage together, despite being so indepenent.

Ultimately, the couple comes to the decision that yes, they can figure it out together, and Marshall caves and tells Lily about his judgeship after Ted asks why he didn’t just call his own “no questions asked.”

What I love about this episode is that it is relatively simple in its story, and the running gags kept things moving in an entertaining way.  It also actually served a purpose in the grand scheme of the season in having Marshall admit his judgeship to Lily.  With him still being on the road trip with Daphne, I’m interested in seeing how this will play out in comig episodes.  Especially with Lily’s: “I’m not sure anyone died in our room, but someone’s going to.”

This, of course, is in reference to the backstory of the episode that Lily and Marshall’s room is haunted.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the over the top forms of entry that Ted, Barney and Robin all came up with to get into the room, and the episode tag explaining how Ted got trapped in the mailbox was perfectly in character, and added another layer to the episode.  And of course, the snarky night manager at the hotel.

Line of the night: “Your vision came back didn’t it?  Wuss.”  – Robin to Marshall, in reference to her calling “no questions asked”