Line #46 Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS4E10TheFight


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/himym_4x10.jpg]]
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3	When Doug, an employee at [=MacLaren=]'s, drags Ted and Barney outside to fight a couple of guys who took their usual booth, Doug knocks the guys out by himself, but Ted and Barney decide to lie and say that they took part in it.
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5	----
6	!!This episode provides examples of:
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8	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Robin is attracted to men who get into fights (and win). Ted also seems to feel this way, as, when Lily says him being a NiceGuy is his best quality, he retorts, "Really? ’Cuz I seem to recall this NiceGuy getting left at the altar for a taekwondo instructor."
9	* AxCrazy: Doug the bartender. He is short tempered and is constantly looking for a reason to get into fights.
10	* BaldOfEvil: Doug, which he covers with a toupee, though he is more of AxCrazy than downright evil.
11	* BerserkButton: Don't stare at Doug's toupee. Or let him think you are.
12	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
13	--->'''Future!Ted:''' Kids, don't get into a fight with your Uncle Marshall. That guy is crazy.
14	* BrickJoke: Earlier in the episode, Marshall mentions that there will be real [[Franchise/StarWars lightsabers]] 3-5 years from now. The FlashForward in TheStinger shows him wielding it.
15	* TheBrute: Doug is as tall and as huge as [[TheBigGuy Marshall]], but is AxCrazy.
16	* CallBack[=/=]ContinuityNod:
17	** Ted being [[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS4E05ShelterIsland left at the altar]] is mentioned at the beginning of the episode, and later becomes a plot point.
18	** Future!Ted recounts being [[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS3E12NoTomorrow punched at St. Patrick's Day in the previous season.]]
19	** Missy the goat is [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadowed]] by Future!Ted once again.
20	* CondescendingCompassion: How Ted views the constant stream of pity he has been receiving since Stella left him at the altar. In his defense, Wendy does go a little overboard in her attempts to show him sympathy.
21	* EtTuBrute: How Doug felt for the gang when they "sold him out and abandoned him" during an assault charge that he solely did anyway.
22	* EventTitle: The episode is about Ted (and Barney) getting into a fight.
23	* FakeUltimateHero: Barney and Ted rode along Doug's claim that the two of them "helped" him beat some guys outside the [=MacLaren=]'s. That's until the other guys sued them for assault.
24	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
25	** A FlashForward in TheStinger shows a Thanksgiving dinner in the Ericksen household 3-5 years from now where Marshall thanked members of his family ''except'' his father. Two seasons later...
26	** Missy the Goat got a CallBack again, with Future!Ted saying that he'll fight her [[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS4E24TheLeap eventually]].
27	* GreenEyedMonster: When Robin suddenly becomes interested in Marshall after hearing about his fights (due to AllGirlsWantBadBoys), Lily replies with, "bitch, don't even."
28	* HairTriggerTemper: AxCrazy Doug has an exceedingly short fuse, even aside from his BerserkButton about his toupee.
29	* INeedToGoIronMyDog: Robin propositions Barney with a pair of hockey tickets when she thinks he was in a fight. She retracts when Marshall spills the beans, and is so humiliated that she can't even come up with a plausible excuse, saying that she has to go to "the, uh... [[BrokenRecord the, uh...]]".
30	* InLoveWithYourCarnage: The episode reveals that Robin is turned on by violence. A big reason why Barney pretends he got in a fight is so she will sleep with him again.
31	* KickTheDog: Doug just had to give Ted the WhamLine below at the worst possible time.
32	* LadyInRed: At the beginning of the episode, Barney is attracted to a girl with a red [[SexySweaterGirl sweater]].
33	* LovableCoward: Barney ran away during the fight with Doug.
34	* MartialPacifist: [[MeaningfulName Appropriately]], Marshall.
35	* MilesGloriosus: Ted and Barney go along with Doug's claim that the three of them got into a fight with the booth stealers and won. They capitalize on their "heroism" in the bar…until they get indicted for assault. Then, they start pleading with Marshall to help them prove they weren’t actually in the fight.
36	* RememberTheNewGuy: Doug can be seen in flashbacks of past episodes, digitally inserted a la ''Film/ForrestGump''.
37	* SarcasticConfession:
38	-->'''Marshall:''' You two got in a fight. Really.\
39	'''Ted:''' Uh, no, Barney punched me and himself in the face to make it look like we got in a fight. Come on, Marshall.
40	* ShoutOut:
41	** Barney uses the names of sitcoms from TheSeventies and TheEighties to fake a conversation, specifically using ''Series/GoodTimes'', ''Series/GimmeABreak'', ''Series/WhatsHappening'', ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'' and ''What's Happening Now!!''.
42	** Before going out into the alley to fight, Ted says "It's clobberin' time," referencing the catch phrase of comic book character the Thing from the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' and (former) ''Wrestling/{{WWE}}'' Superstar Wrestling/CMPunk.
43	** The scene where Marshall is actively brawling with his brothers (especially the angle of his punching shot) is reminiscent of the brawling scenes from the movie ''Film/FightClub''. It's also discussed in the Eriksen's Fight Club featurette in the Season 4 DVD set. Similarly, Barney punching himself and then Ted is reminiscent of the narrator's first fight with Tyler Durden in the same film.
44	** After Barney punches Ted in the nose, he says that Ted's nose will swell up and references actor Owen Wilson, who is known for his crooked nose, which he broke in a fight.
45	** At the end of the episode, Marshall uses a [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber]] to carve the turkey.
46	** When Marshall is trying to explain to the kids not to fight, he compares the titular ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' and the character's OldMaster Shifu to UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi and Martin Luther King respectively.
47	** Ted says that in college, he "studied ''Series/{{Kung Fu\|1972}}''".
48	** When joking about Marshall's femininity, Barney and Ted mention ''Series/SexAndTheCity''.
49	* TestosteronePoisoning: The episode discusses, deconstructs and even mocks the macho mentality that says "real men love fighting".
50	* TrainingFromHell: The Ericksen brothers' rough house can be considered as this for Marshall (or all three of them in general).
51	* UndyingLoyalty: Doug to the gang, which crosses UnwantedAssistance levels.

Context Recap / HowIMetYourMotherS4E10TheFight