Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M.

"Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M."
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 18
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Craig Thomas and Carter Bays
Production code	1ALH17
Original air date	April 10, 2006
Guest stars
Lyndsy Fonseca (Daughter) David Henrie (Son) Ashley Williams (Victoria) George Kee Cheung (Korean Elvis) Wajid (Cab Driver #2) Lawrence Mandley (Cab Driver #1) Alexis Denisof (Sandy Rivers)
Season 1 episodes
Pilot Purple Giraffe Sweet Taste of Liberty Return of the Shirt Okay Awesome Slutty Pumpkin Matchmaker The Duel Belly Full of Turkey The Pineapple Incident The Limo The Wedding Drumroll, Please Zip, Zip, Zip Game Night Cupcake Life Among the Gorillas Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. Mary the Paralegal Best Prom Ever Milk Come On

"Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M." is the 18th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on April 10, 2006.

Plot

Future Ted tells his children of a saying his mother used and which he agrees with: "Nothing good happens after 2 a.m." He proceeds to tell the story of how Robin invited him over to her apartment after 2 a.m. when he should have gone to bed instead.

When Robin does a presentation on her career with Lily's class, she feels threatened when the children ask about her romantic life instead. Robin's feelings of loneliness are amplified when her co-anchor, Sandy Rivers, tells her that they should have sex, expressing interest in pursuing a relationship with her. When she returns home, she drinks a large glass of wine and calls Ted, who has been waiting for a phone call from Victoria. Ted believes the phone call will be about breaking up, but Victoria does not call when expected and Ted is left feeling anxious. When Robin's phone call comes, he agrees to go to her apartment, but his attempts to rationalize his decision is countered when he begins conversing with his subconscious, who appears as Victoria. When Ted consults Marshall and Lily, they both attempt to dissuade him, which Lily unwittingly encourages when she mentions that Robin has feelings for Ted.

When Ted arrives at Robin's apartment, Ted lies about breaking up with Victoria and they begin kissing. However, when Ted excuses himself to go to the washroom to call Victoria, his subconscious tells him he think carefully about breaking up with Victoria and then having sex with Robin. Ted acknowledges that he owes Victoria a real break-up call, but expresses how he is tired of pretending he is not in love with Robin and he just wants to get laid. Just when he convinces himself that it is all right to sleep with Robin, he realizes he has Robin's phone and Robin has answered his phone when Victoria calls at last. Furious that Ted lied to her and was willing to sleep with her while involved with someone else, Robin gives him his phone telling him to call Victoria back.

Meanwhile, Barney attempts to prove to Lily and Marshall that good things can happen after 2 a.m. when they try to leave a karaoke bar early. Barney invites a Korean Elvis impersonator to come with the group to MacLaren's, where Marshall and Lily spend most of the evening trying to dissuade Ted from starting a relationship with Robin. When Korean Elvis tries to convince them to stay, he whispers something in Lily's ear, which causes her to knee him in the groin. After a few seconds of silence, Barney proclaims that the night has become legendary by asking "Hey you guys, remember the time that Lily kicked Korean Elvis in the nards?"

As Ted heads back to his apartment, he calls Victoria and the two break up. Future Ted reminds his kids that nothing good happens after 2 a.m., and says that lying to Robin was the stupidest thing he ever did. Finally, Ted gets home and does what he should have done at the start of the evening... goes to bed, although it's clear neither he nor Robin will be getting any sleep.

Music

• Supergrass - "Alright"
• Robin Hackett - "Hard Left"
• Rachael Yamagata - "Quiet"
• Maureen McGovern - "The Morning After"
• Michelle Featherstone - "God Bless the Child"

Continuity

This episode takes place on the same night as Life Among the Gorillas. Marshall, Lily, and Barney spend much of this episode in the same karaoke bar they were at in that episode.

Barney's reference to the "Liberty Bell incident" is a reference to the events of Sweet Taste of Liberty.

This was the last episode Victoria appeared for approximately five years. In the seventh season episode "The Naked Truth" Victoria appeared again.

Cultural References

When Robin and Barney are making presentations to Lily's class, the chalkboard lists Barney as "Barney (not the purple one)" in reference to Barney the Dinosaur.

References

External links

• Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. at TV.com
• Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M. at the Internet Movie Database