Bagpipes (How I Met Your Mother)

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"Bagpipes" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 94th overall. It originally aired on November 2, 2009.

Plot[]

Future Ted describes new upstairs neighbours having loud sex on a regular basis, which he euphemistically describes as "playing the bagpipes". At MacLaren's with Ted, Barney compares his relationship with Robin to Lily and Marshall's marriage, contrasting Marshall's willingness to do chores for Lily with his own refusal to do anything he does not want to. He says that he and Robin never fight. When they disagree, Barney leaves or Robin distracts him with sex. Marshall arrives at MacLaren's, prompting a discussion about which of their relationships is better. Barney convinces Marshall he should stop doing the dishes. Robin arrives at the bar and confirms that she and Barney never fight, before leaving for a couples' skiing trip.

Although Ted warns Marshall it is a bad idea, Marshall tells Lily he will no longer wash dishes. Lily is incensed, and they engage in a wildly escalating argument that ends with Lily kicking Marshall out. Marshall goes to stay with Ted, who notices that Barney and Robin have been acting suspiciously romantic. Ted suggests that Marshall do the dishes to keep the peace with Lily, but Barney disagrees, and Marshall and Lily's marriage continues to deteriorate. Robin arrives, and she and Barney call each other cheesy pet names. Ted remembers that Robin hates pet names, which makes him more suspicious that something is wrong.

After another night of listening to his neighbors having sex, Ted goes to confront them, only to find they are very old and he does not have the heart to be angry with them. He goes to see Robin and Barney's downstairs neighbor, Phil, who has heard them fighting recently. Ted brings Phil to MacLaren's to meet Robin and Barney, forcing them to admit they have begun to fight. During their ski trip, they began to argue about Marshall and Lily's dirty dishes while stuck on a ski lift. Since they could neither leave nor have sex, it escalated into their first real fight, and they have not stopped fighting since.

Robin and Barney explain to the group that they exaggerated their romance because they felt like they were a bad couple. Lily and Marshall forgive each other, which confuses Robin and Barney, who claim that someone always has to win an argument. As Robin and Barney leave, Lily and Marshall celebrate being the better couple. In the apartment below them, an old couple's chandelier is seen shaking violently, and bagpipes are heard.

Critical response[]

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Noel Murray of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade B.^[1]

Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 9.2 out of 10.^[2]

TV Equals commented on the bagpipes addition as "funny for a little while".^[3]

References[]

External links[]

• "Bagpipes" at IMDb