Air Date: October 22, 2007
Ted brings his new girlfriend to meet the group. Barney tries to prove she's on the wrong side of the line on his Hot/Crazy Scale. In the meantime, the gang tell stories about how they all met.
The episode provides examples of:
- Arc Number: "16" for Barney and Robin. When Blah Blah asked Robin if Barney's her boyfriend, she said no sixteen times. At the sixteenth episode of this season, the two get involved for the very first time. Sixteen episodes after this (the Season 4 premiere), Barney finally admitted that he's in love with Robin.
- Blah, Blah, Blah: Since Ted can't recall the name of his Girl of the Week, he calls her "Blah Blah".Blab Blah: Please, just call me Blah.
- Continuity Snarl: In the Season 2 premiere, Ted said that when he first met Marshall, he was lying in his bed listening to his CD player or Walkman. Marshall then said that he was high that day. This episode only showed the "high" part.
- Back in the pilot, Ted said that he "was there for all the big [Marshall and Lily] moments", including when they first met, but this episode shows that Marshall was alone when Lily came over.
- Crazy in the Head, Crazy in the Bed: It turns out Barney has a "Hot-Crazy Scale", which indicates that a crazy woman is allowed to be crazy, as long as they are hotter than they are crazy.
- Cross Player: Both Ted and Blah Blah's characters in World of Warcraft are of the opposite gender.
- Cute and Psycho: Blah Blah turns out to be this (everyone else but Ted knew this even before meeting her).
- Also referenced with Barney's "Hot-Crazy Scale", indicating a crazy woman can be tolerated as long as she keeps getting hotter (but not stay the same or getting uglier).
- Dating Service Disaster: Discussed by the gang, since Ted met Blah Blah "online", they assure him she must be a crazy person. They are right. To crown it, Blah Blah reveals to the others, she and Ted met on World of Warcraft.
- Delirious Misidentification: Ted believes that he and Lily first met at a college mixer where they made out and it was her coming to his dorm the next day that led to her meeting Marshall. When he confesses to Marshall, Marshall tells him the girl he made out with was another classmate who just happened to resemble Lily and Ted was too drunk to tell the difference. Ted isn't convinced until they attend a college reunion years later and that girl confirms Marshall was right.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Barney tries to defend his falling for Marshall's prank during the flashback of how they met and doing Marshall's chores as "a Mr. Miyagi thing," implying he supported the heroes of The Karate Kid (1984). Later seasons would reveal that he's all for
Rooting for the Empire, with William Zabka (who played the bully in The Karate Kid) being his idol. - Everyone Meets Everyone: Everyone tells how they met.
- Ted and Marshall being assigned as roommates at Wesleyan.
- Marshall and Lily's Meet Cute.
- Barney and Ted meeting at the bar when Barney wanted to use him for one of his plays.
- After getting attached to Ted, Barney also tried to teach Marshall to live, which also involved him meeting Lily.
- Continuity Nod/Call-Back: Ted and Robin's first meeting (and also Barney's for that matter) is mentioned here. Additionally, Marshall mentioned in the Season 2 premiere that he was high when Ted first met him.
- Ted and Lily's meeting at college. Two versions: how Ted thought it went and how Lily thought it went. The ending reveals Lily's version was right and Ted mistook her for another freshman student.
- Exact Words: Ted and Blah Blah met online. Not in an online matchmaker, but an online role-playing game.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Ted's a massive Star Wars fan, so the biggest hint that his World of Warcraft avatar was a girl was her resemblance to Leia in her slave garb.
- Green-Eyed Monster: After hearing Lily and Marshall's story of how they met, Blah Blah starts inventing corny stuff about Ted and her. Then once she makes Ted tell her how he thought he met Lily, she wants to spill the beans just to mess up with her and Marshall.
- He's Not My Boyfriend: How Robin reacts when Blah Blah asks about how she met Barney.Barney: Sixteen "No"s? Really?
- Irony:
- Robin gets very defensive when Blah Blah mistakes Barney as her boyfriend. Later that season...
- As Blah Blah gets upset at how she's going to be "just another girl for Ted", Ted chases her... still referring to her as "Blah Blah".
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Ted and Blah Blah's characters in World of Warcraft, though not the way you're expecting.
- Love at First Sight: Lily and Marshall claim this is how their first meeting went, though Future!Ted notes the story has changed over the years, as shown by a flashback to the first time Marshall told it.College Marshall: Dude, this goth chick stopped by today. Wanna tap it.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Since Ted can't recall her name after more than 20 years, he just calls her "Blah Blah". It's not until Season 9 that her name, Carol, is revealed.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: Ted and Blah Blah's respective characters in World of Warcraft.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Sixteen "No"'s, Robin?
- Real Men Wear Pink: Ted's character in World of Warcraft wears a pink Chainmail Bikini. Him being a Cross Player, it technically also counts as Pink Means Feminine.
- Sexy Backless Outfit: Blah Blah is wearing one.
- Sixth Ranger Traitor: Blah Blah is the first Girl of the Week to antagonize the group on-screen.
- Unknown Rival: Blah Blah antagonizes Robin out of pure jealousy. Robin, while still obviously annoyed, doesn't let Blah Blah get to her.
- Wax On, Wax Off: Referenced, with a Shout-Out to the Trope Namer, no less. When Marshall and Barney first met, Marshall convinced Barney that he was a pick-up master by approaching Lily (whom Barney thought was a random girl) and making out with her. Barney apparently then begged Marshall to teach him his skills, allowing Marshall to get him to do his laundry. Barney sheepishly notes that he thought it was a "Mr. Miyagi kind of thing."
