“I just worship chaos.” – Quinn
“The Broath” is an interesting case study in writers trying to demonstrate a particular idea for the audience, but ultimately reinforcing that idea’s polar opposite. Or perhaps more accurately, the writers exploded the short con, while setting the pieces in place for the long con.
The main plot of “The Broath” deals with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) introducing his new girlfriend, Quinn (Becki Newton), to the rest of the gang. The conceit is that Barney makes Ted (Josh Radnor) swear a “broath” (bro-oath) that he won’t tell Robin (Cobie Smulders), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), or Marshall (Jason Segel) that Quinn is a stripper.
Ted, of course, spills the beans about Quinn’s chosen profession as well as the fact that in the early stages of their courtship, Barney filled Quinn’s g-string with several paychecks worth of twenties. The gang stages an intervention (well, actually a “Quintervention”) that doesn’t exactly go as planned.
The big reveal at the end is that Quinn and Barney set the whole situation up as a way of screwing with Barney’s friends. Quinn isn’t a manipulative, money grubbing stripper. She’s just a stripper with a wicked sense of humor.
Except she’s not. She really is manipulative. After the big reveal, the writers (whether intentionally or not) muddle Quinn’s motivations. When Barney broaches the subject of Quinn quitting stripping, she tells him she would consider it if she got married. So instead of a stack of dollar bills, Quinn is about to bilk Barney out of a big, fat diamond ring — thus the long con.
Lingering thoughts on “The Broath”:
- While I didn’t particularly care for the episode’s main plot, the stuff with Marshall and his sex stories was pure gold.
- Lily and Robin kiss! That in itself makes this episode well worth the 22 minutes I spent watching it.
Some stats and info about How I Met Your Mother, “The Broath”
TV SHOW – How I Met Your Mother
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 7, Episode 19
AIRED ON – March 19, 2012
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – CBS
GENRE – Comedy, Relationship Shows
CREATED BY – Charter Bays, Craig Thomas
CAST – Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Cristin Milioti
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.