The Rebound Girl

"The Rebound Girl" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 147th episode overall. It aired on November 21, 2011.^[1]

Plot

Ted and Barney, upset with the poor state of their recent romantic relationships, decide to adopt a child as bros while they are both drunk. Deciding at first to wait till they sober up, they still decide to proceed. An argument ensues and Barney storms out. Ted apologizes the next day, when Barney arrives with a child named "Hurricane Mosby-Stinson". While Ted is worried about where the baby came from, he is swayed into keeping the child when he notices how much female attention he and Barney attract with the child.

Marshall and Lily drop by the house they inherited from her grandparents, which they are planning to sell. However, after Marshall and Lily return to their apartment, they decide their apartment is no longer as big when they first left and decide to move to their given home in Long Island. Robin, shocked, puts in an effort to persuade them not to, reminding them of a time when Marshall almost purchased an abandoned firehouse and became a Ghostbuster. When they arrive at the house to prepare for Thanksgiving, Robin locks herself in their bathroom and refuses to leave until they change their minds.

When Barney and Ted arrive with the baby, Lily is shocked. She manages to convince Ted (who began to relish the idea) that this wasn't a good idea. Barney's brother James and his husband arrive, and the child is revealed to be their daughter Sadie, whom Barney offered to babysit after inviting James's family to Thanksgiving. James tells Ted he almost did the same thing with a female friend, but once they met their partners, they were glad they didn't go through with it. Ted informs Barney he no longer wishes to adopt and Barney leaves for a walk. Barney goes to the bathroom window to talk to Robin, who informs him she's pregnant.

Production

Jai Rodriguez portrays James' husband Tom in this episode. In "Single Stamina," the tenth episode of season two, Tom is portrayed by a different actor who bears virtually no resemblance to Rodriguez.

Continuity

• Barney and Ted name their baby Hurricane, which was Ted's idea in "Disaster Averted."
• Marshall and Lily had again decided in this episode to leave a decision to the universe. They had left their decision to try to get pregnant to the universe in the episode "Robots Versus Wrestlers."
• Throughout the series, Marshall has always stated his belief in the paranormal and fondness for haunted houses. This is brought up again when Marshall lists all the things he wants to do with the house as well as the fact that he almost bought a firehouse.
• Marshall mentioned destroying the home with sledgehammers as an option. The gang had previously used sledgehammers to work on Ted's house in upstate New York, in "Home Wreckers."
• Another variation of the "If we were gay" conversation was also featured in the season 4 episode "The Three Days Rule". In that episode, Barney broaches the topic with Marshall instead of Ted. Both times he is very convinced that Ted would pick him over Marshall.

Cultural references

• While looking for a sign from the universe, Marshall sees a Cadillac ambulance, a firehouse for sale, a prohibited sign, and then runs into Ernie Hudson - all references to Ghostbusters. He requests to borrow Hudson's phone, who asks Marshall, "Who you gonna call?"
• "Bro Parents-Activate!" is a play on the Wonder Twins' catchphrase.
• Barney asks Lily if she received the email he sent to her Compuserve address.
• Ted suggests Barney try single parenthood, like Mr. Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes.

Critical Response

The AV Club's Donna Bowman graded the episode at B+.^[2]
This episode attracted 10.01 million viewers.^[3]

References

External Links

• "The Rebound Girl" at the Internet Movie Database