Swarley (How I Met Your Mother episode)

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“Swarley”
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 7
Written by Greg Malins
Directed by Pamela Fryman
Guest stars Joe Nieves (Carl), Charlene Amoia (Wendy), Tom Lenk (Scott), Vanessa Vander Pluym (Janine), Dana Power (Lauren), Morena Baccarin (Chloe)
Production no. 2ALH07
Original airdate November 6, 2006
Episode chronology
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"Aldrin Justice" "Atlantic City"
List of How I Met Your Mother episodes

"Swarley" is the 7th episode in the second season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on November 6, 2006. The alternative title for this episode was "Crazy Eyes."

Contents

[edit] Plot

The guys go to a coffee shop, where Ted points out that Chloe, the girl working there, has drawn a heart next to Marshall's name on his cup. Ted insists that Chloe has a crush on Marshall because she always laughs at his lame jokes about how they fit a pumpkin into a pumpkin-flavored latte. When Marshall approaches Chloe, she gives him her number on a coffee cup. When Marshall introduces Chloe to Ted and Barney at the bar, they tell him that she has the "Crazy Eyes," an indicator of future instability. Both Ted and Barney give Marshall examples of their experiences with girls with crazy eyes; Barney's crazy-eyed date wanted a threesome with a teddy bear; Ted's crazy-eyed date picked up a long metal rod and repeatedly hit a car that nearly hit them as they were about to cross the street. Marshall shrugs it off. The next day, as Marshall is taking a test, he receives a call from Chloe who says that she is being followed by a hunchback with a limp. Later, Marshall takes Chloe back to his apartment and suspects that she broke a picture of him and Lily that was sitting on the end table. However, it turns out that Lily has been hiding in the apartment, and pops out (much to Marshall and Chloe's surprise). She introduces herself, and leaves the apartment dejected and crying. Marshall follows her out to the steps.

Lily confides in Robin that she is scared by the idea of Marshall going out on a date with another woman. Despite hearing that Ted believes she has crazy eyes, Lily wants to see what Chloe looks like. It turns out that Lily was the hunchback following Chloe -- she was carrying a bookbag, then covered herself with a coat to shield herself from the rain (the hump), and limped because she stubbed her toe. Lily, while visiting Ted and Robin in the apartment, realizes that Marshall has moved the picture of the two of them. She then sneaks into the apartment before Marshall brings Chloe home to put it in a more conspicuous place, and it breaks. While hiding from Marshall and Chloe, she gets upset and then pops out. Marshall realizes that he should get back together with Lily even though he says that Lily has the craziest eyes he's ever seen. 6 months after Ted came back to the apartment and found Marshall alone and upset after the engagement ended, he returns to find Marshall and Lily back together.

Meanwhile, Chloe writes Barney's name as "Swarley," prompting everyone to call him Swarley for the duration of the episode. Barney protests, but variations on the nickname become a running gag throughout the episode. Later, Chloe calls Robin "Roland", and Barney tries to use it as an opportunity to stop everyone from calling him "Swarley." In the final scene, however, Barney walks into the bar, everyone shouts "Swarley," and he turns and walks out (with a piece of paper on his back saying "Swarley") dejectedly as Where Everybody Knows Your Name plays.

[edit] Music

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Cultural references

  • The opening scene, in which Marshall, Ted, and Barney are all sitting silently in the coffee shop. The characters say that hanging out in a bar is much more awesome than hanging out in a coffee shop. This is a reference to the sitcom Friends, where all the main characters frequently hang out in a coffee shop.
  • Many of the names of Swarley are cultural references to other people or places with similar names, such as Swarlos (the Spanish name Carlos), Bob Swarley-mon (Bob Marley), Swarhili (Swahili, the African language of similar name), and Swarles Barkley (either a reference to basketball player Charles Barkley or singing group Gnarls Barkley). Similar references are made by Swarley about Robin being called "Roland", such as Rock and Roland (rock and roll), Roland (instead of Poland), and Monica Rolandski (in reference to Monica Lewinski).
  • The closing scene of the episode, in which Barney walks into the bar and everyone calls his name, is a reference to the sitcom Cheers. After that, Carl, the bartender, plays the theme song from Cheers, particularly the classic line of the refrain "where everybody knows your name." Swarley, disgusted, then walks out of the bar, and the ending credits appear in a similar style to Cheers.

[edit] External links