Recap / How I Met Your Mother S 9 E 14 Slapsgiving 3 Slappointment In Slapmarra

Summary: Marshall prepares to give Barney his penultimate slap from the slap bet, recounting the story of how he went through methods of making it as painful as humanly possible.

Carrying over from the events of the previous episode, just as Marshall's hand was about to land square in Barney's face (in slow motion, to the tune of Carmina Burana no less), Ted recounts to his kids the backstory of that particular slap.

A few weeks ago, while the gang is hanging out at MacLaren's, Barney continues to take swipes at the unstylishness of Marshall's new suit, calling it "a slap in the face of all suits." Marshall was reminded of the Slap Bet, and tells Barney that he has been working to make the final two slaps as humanly painful as possible. Barney, however, simply scoffs, claiming that Marshall's constant mental torments of Barney (by threatening him with a slap while he was unaware) already rendered him immune to such.

Marshall then reveals to the gang that he underwent "special training" for that special day he is to slap Barney, which, according to prophecy, will happen under a willow tree, near four women and a tiger: He first went to the Local Kung Fu dojo to seek training, only to be dismissed by the instructor for his absurd request. However, he is later approached by one of the young students, who tells him about the fabled "Slap of a Million Exploding Suns," (or is it the Slap of a Thousand Exploding Suns?) which has three components to be mastered: Speed, Power, and Accuracy. Each component can only be learned from the techniques of one of three individual masters:

• The Cruel Tutelage of "Red Bird" (portrayed by Cobie Smulders), an 84 year old woman living in Shanghai
• The Punishing Scholarship of "White Flower" (portrayed by Alyson Hannigan), a 106 year old woman from Slap Mountain, a hand-shaped mountain in China
• The Some-Might-Call-It-Nitpicky-But-It's-Really-Just-Thorough Schooling of "The Calligrapher" (portrayed by Josh Radnor), a 34 year old man living in Cleveland's Chinatown district

Each individual master prescribed a different method of training: "Red Bird" brought Marshall to the Slapping Tree of Gongqing Forest, where he must train to slap quickly while evading the tree's slaps. "White Flower" (with whom Marshall made love to in the Gongqing Forest) advised him that he must get slapped by all of the women Barney fooled to sleep with him in the past, so Marshall can harness their collective anger to give his slap more power. However, before he was able to show Marshall the accuracy technique, "The Calligrapher" choked and ended up getting his heart slapped out by Marshall when he tried to slap his back (as he is not supposed to deliver a slap until he is able to control the speed and power)

This episode provides examples of:

• Accidental Murder: Marshall accidentally kills the Calligrapher by slapping his heart out of his chest while trying to save him from choking to death.
• Artifact Title: Although the episode is named Slapsgiving, this one isn't set on a Thanksgiving Episode.
• Blatant Lies: Marshall obviously made the whole training thing up, but the gang backs him up to freak Barney out.
• Brick Joke: Marshall gives Barney the penultimate slap.
• Captain Obvious: The Calligrapher is about to die before he can train Marshall regarding accuracy, so he says he'll just sum up the lesson quickly instead. He says the secret to being accurate is to try to be accurate and to aim at the spot you want to aim at.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Parodied with the Slap of a Thousand/Million Exploding Suns. Marshall is forbidden by his masters from performing the Slap without completing his training, the consequences of which are shown when he slaps the Calligrapher on the back.
• Fridge Logic: Invoked by Barney during Marshall's story. He points out that there was no way Marshall kept commuting between New York and China for training, or that he would cheat on Lily with White Flower. Marshall and the gang quickly handwave all of his points and continue the façade.
• Groin Attack: When Marshall tells Nora that he was a friend of Barney Stinson, instead of slapping him like the others did, she kicks him in the nads. Marshall insists that she has to slap him in the face too.
  Nora: God, you are just as bad as Barney. (bitchslaps him)
• Hear Me the Money: How Carl verifies that the sack Marshall hands him to pay for the $8000 jukebox does indeed hold "much gold."
• Homage: Marshall recounts his slap training in classic Kung Fu movie style.
• Kung-Shui: When Marshall destroys Carl's fake jukebox with a light tap when he tries to use his slap hand.
• Meaningful Name: The three masters. "Red Bird" and "White Flower" are obviously puns on Robin and Lily's names, while "The Calligrapher" is a nod to Ted's calligraphy hobby.
• Older Than They Look: The masters. Red Bird claims she is 84. White Flower claims she is 106. Subverted with The Calligrapher. He gets upset with Marshall for thinking he is 35, when he's actually 34.
• Place Worse Than Death: Played for Laughs by Marshall. He says he can learn a thing or two about slapping in Cleveland because it is "the city equivalent of getting slapped in the face." Ted, a Clevelander (born and raised in the suburb of Shaker Heights), naturally takes offense.
• Revenge by Proxy: Marshall is told by Lily White Flower to go to Barney's ex-girlfriends and conquests and get slapped by them.
  Marshall: Hi, I'm a friend of Barney Stinson. (gets bitchslapped by Barney's conquest)
  • Implied with Red Bird and White Flower. Neither is willing to help Marshall until he reveals fhat Barney is his target.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Marshall is able to get away with destroying Carl's jukebox by presenting a sack and saying, "I have much gold."
• Special Guest: Boyz II Men singing their rendition of "You Just Got Slapped".
• Yellowface: The slap masters sought out by Marshall are played by Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders and Alyson Hannigan dressed up in stereotypical "Chinese" costumes (with no yellowface makeup) as a parody of 70's-era kung-fu movies. The episode drew considerable backlash from Asian-American fans who pointed out the show's largely Monochrome Casting and history of insensitive jokes about the few Asian characters that did appear. The creators eventually apologised on Twitter.