After Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker were finished as co-showrunners of This Is Us, Aptaker shared with TV Line that work on season 2 of How I Met Your Father would begin. Aptaker said, “As soon as we’re done there, we’re diving back into [How I Met your Father] with our writers. And a show like this moves really fast.”

It’s been exciting seeing Sophie and her friend group in the How I Met Your Mother spin-off. Fans will always come back to the original sitcom, but when rewatching today, there are some jokes, storylines and characters who won’t sit well with viewers.

Is The Slap Bet Funny Or Necessary?

HIMYM has sweet friendship scenes and one of the most memorable parts of the friend group’s time together is their Slap Bet. This begins in season 2 and when someone loses, they get slapped in the face. It starts when Barney Stinson and Marshall Eriksen bet on the secret that Robin Scherbatsky is keeping from them.

Is it actually hilarious, though, that friends hit each other when they lose a bet? This doesn’t seem like it needed to be included in the sitcom, which is plenty funny on its own. When rewatching the show, this aspect seems especially harsh and violent.

The Slutty Pumpkin Character

Ted constantly wonders about Naomi after seeing her in a pumpkin costume in season 1 at a Halloween party on the roof of his apartment building. But instead of calling Naomi by her actual name, Ted refers to her as “Slutty Pumpkin,” even in season 7 when the two meet again and date.

Calling anyone a “slut” because of the way that they’re dressed, whether on October 31st or any other time of year, is terrible, and this isn’t a polite way for Ted to treat someone who he claims to be interested in learning more about and getting to know.

The Fat Jokes

Fat jokes are never funny, but they are made often on How I Met Your Mother, especially when talking about other subjects. In one scene in the season 4 episode “As Fast As She Can,” Barney says “A check so fat, after you have sex with it, you don’t tell your buddies about it” and Robin adds “when it sits next to you on an airplane, you ask yourself if it should have bought two seats.

There are so many other subjects that the characters could talk about, and it’s a shame that the sitcom has so many lines that don’t celebrate body diversity. When looking back on the series, these statements definitely stand out.

An Offensive Game About Models

 

There are many fan-favorite HIMYM quotes, as the sitcom often sees Ted talking about seeking out love and the other characters often wonder about life, fate, and other serious topics. But there are also some upsetting scenes and quotes that are tough to watch.

In season 6, Ted tells Barney that there are models in a building’s lobby and there is a “rumor” that “one of them is a dude.” Ted asks if Barney is interested in a game called “Who’s hot and Who’s Scott?” There is no reason why Ted and Barney should play this offensive game.

Barney Pretends Mary Is A Sex Worker

Ted and Barney are always kidding around and trying to get a rise out of each other, but sometimes, it goes too far and becomes inappropriate. In the season 1 episode “Mary the Paralegal,” Barney acts like a woman named Mary is a sex worker as a prank on Ted.

This storyline is awkward to watch as Ted says that he doesn’t sleep with sex workers but he has a connection with Mary, so he feels unsure about how to proceed. The sitcom has countless episodes about Ted’s romantic life and the dates that he goes on, so this character seems unnecessary.

The Over-The-Top Jokes About Canada

It makes sense that Robin’s friends would find it humorous that she used to be a pop singer named Robin Sparkles. The hit song “Let’s Go To The Mall” is fun, cheesy, and hilarious, and anyone would understand poking fun at this. But Barney takes teasing Robin too far and is too intense about making fun of Robin’s Canadian roots.

In one scene, Barney asks “Why are you guys even a country?” which seems unnecessary. There is also a joke about how Canadian money isn’t taken seriously and also a quote about drinking at a strip club in Canada

Lily’s Sexuality

Lily Aldrin changes on HIMYM but one thing that unfortunately never changes is how the show treats her attraction to women. Viewers know that Lily is bisexual, but the series approaches this as a joke and often uses the fact that Lily finds Robin to be attractive as a punchline. The characters kiss in the season 9 episode “Rally.”

It’s a shame that Lily’s sexuality isn’t given more respect and this is one tough reality of rewatching the series. Lily and Marshall Eriksen’s relationship is sweet and healthy, but Lily has another part of herself that she isn’t allowed to talk about.

The “Woo Girls”

In the season 4 episode “Woooo!” Robin is miserable and goes out with Lily and Lily’s teacher friend Jillian, who yells “Woooo!” when she drinks. The characters make fun of her and refer to certain women as “Woo girls” who consume too much alcohol and behave in a wild manner.

While the characters on How I Met Your Mother are beloved for their sense of humor and ability to poke fun at themselves, it’s not particularly funny when they constantly make fun of strangers. Lily and Robin could get to know Jillian instead of laughing at her, especially given the fact that they often say that they have a difficult time making other pals.

“Crazy” Jeanette

Ted begins dating Jeanette Peterson in the season 8 episode “P.S. I Love You.” Robin knows that Jeanette has stalked people before, and Ted’s pals don’t like Jeanette at all. Before long, the show portrays Jeanette as an obsessive, intense person who Ted shouldn’t be with.

Jeanette is a brief How I Met Your Mother love interest, and she isn’t given proper treatment as everyone refers to her as “crazy.” Ted also becomes annoyed by Jeanette and their relationship is viewed in a negative light. It’s too bad that Jeanette isn’t painted as a complete, realistic, and compelling person and instead is given the “crazy girlfriend” stereotype treatment.

Ted’s Love Theory

Also in season 8, Ted says that when he wants to ask someone out, he could be a “Dobler or Dahmer,” as in the kind Lloyd Dobler from Say Anything or serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

This is a terrible and offensive theory for Ted to have. While viewers know that Ted wants to find love and he thinks about who his soulmate could be all the time, and his love story with The Mother is a common thread throughout the sitcom, referring to Dahmer doesn’t need to happen. There are so many other things that Ted could say about love and dating and it seems odd that he would go this route.