"How I Met Everyone Else" is the fifth episode in the third season of the television seriesHow I Met Your Mother and 49th overall. It originally aired on October 22, 2007.
Plot
At the barTed introduces the gang to his newest girlfriend, whose name Future Ted can't remember and instead refers to as "Blah Blah". Embarrassed that she and Ted met online, she makes up a story about how she saw Ted across a crowded room at a cooking class. Before she had arrived, Ted had already told the rest of the group that they met online. Barney soon realizes that the girl is actually on the "Hot/Crazy Scale", saying that the only girls who meet other people online are crazy, hookers or men. It soon becomes clear that she is neurotic and paranoid when she feels threatened by Robin. In order to change the subject, everyone begins to reminisce about how they all met each other, and their stories are told through flashbacks.
How Marshall met Lily - Marshall and Lily first met in August 1996 when Lily needed help with her stereo and she had a strange feeling about room Hewitt 110. She knocked on the door, Marshall answered, and it was love at first sight.
How Ted met Marshall - Ted and Marshall first met when they became college roommates. Marshall was "eating a sandwich" when he was told that the Dean was coming. When Ted arrived, Marshall attempted to conceal the "sandwich" and, believing Ted to be the Dean, became upset that Ted would be his roommate. The confusion was cleared up when Marshall walked in on Ted "eating a sandwich" of his own.
How Ted met Barney - Ted and Barney met in the men's room of MacLaren's in 2001, after which Barney made Ted his new wingman and told a girl that Ted was deaf so that Barney could get the girl's phone number. When the girl mentioned she knew sign language, Ted signed to her that Barney was a great guy and recommended she give him her number. After telling the story, Barney comments that he knew from that moment that he and Ted would be wingmen forever, even though the girl gave him a fake number. Ted reveals that he actually instructed the girl in sign language to give Barney a fake number, which upsets Barney. Barney then reveals to Blah Blah that Ted had told the group how they really met, which upsets Blah Blah.
How Ted met Robin - Ted provides a condensed version of how he first spotted Robin across the bar in 2005, and the two instantly felt a connection.
Throughout the stories, Blah Blah becomes increasingly paranoid rather than mollified, particularly when she learns that Ted and Robin met and dated for a while. When she wishes that she and Ted had a wonderful first meeting story like Lily and Marshall, Ted reluctantly counters that the story isn't as great as it sounds and tells the story of how he met Lily.
How Ted met Lily - During a freshman party at college, Ted and Lily met as Marshall chugged from a keg. Ted flirted with Lily and suggested that she come to his room, after which they began making out.
Ted explains that Lily had come to his and Marshall's room the next day, saying that even though Lily was drunk, she still remembered Room 110, and that he and Lily have never spoken about their first meeting since. Blah Blah, keen to make Ted uncomfortable, vindictively orders Ted to confess to Marshall or she will. Returning to the table, Blah Blah asks Lily how she met Ted. However, Lily recounts the event differently.
How Lily met Ted - When Lily went to Marshall and Ted's room, Ted was on the phone desperately apologizing to his long-distance girlfriend Karen for making out with another girl. After Marshall introduced her to Ted, Ted quickly rushed off upon seeing her to try sending Karen an e-mail.
When Blah Blah presses for details, Ted takes Lily aside to discuss what happened at the party. Though Lily recalls kissing someone at the party, she can't remember who the guy was while Ted insists the guy was him. Meanwhile, Marshall and Barney talk about how they met.
How Barney met Marshall - In 2001, Ted introduced Marshall to Barney, who attempted to persuade Marshall to forget his girlfriend and score with a random girl at MacLaren's. Marshall initially refused, but decided to play along when Barney unwittingly selected Lily as Marshall's target. Marshall walked up to her and kissed her, which impressed Barney until he learned that Lily was Marshall's girlfriend.
Unimpressed, Blah Blah tells Marshall that Ted and Lily kissed. Marshall doesn't believe the story, because he remembers that Ted and Lily kissed two other people at the freshman party, not each other, which Lily easily accepts. A furious Blah Blah storms out, mad that Ted had kissed another woman, but not before revealing that she met Ted playing World of Warcraft. For the sake of Marshall and Lily's relationship, Ted accepts Marshall's story, though he is secretly unconvinced. At their college reunion in 2020, Ted is approached by a woman who tells him that she was the one he made out with at the freshman party, proving Marshall was correct. Later, Ted, Marshall and Lily all sit down for a "sandwich" that Marshall confiscated from some undergrads and get high when Ted suddenly realizes he can't find his wife.
Critical response
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with an A. Staci Krause of IGN gave the episode 8.9 out of 10. Omar G of Television Without Pity rated the episode with an A.
