The How I Met Your Mother slap-bet gag was perfect all on its own, but mix in Boyz II Men, and now it’s one of my favorite scenes of all time!
I loved How I Met Your Mother right up to the very end, as long as I don’t watch the final five minutes of the series. That last five minutes put me off of that show for years, but recently, I revisited a few episodes and am not mad at it anymore. How could I be? That cast was electric! No matter how ridiculous the premise or how cheesy the dialogue was, I laughed over and over again.
How I Met Your Mother was notorious for its call-back references, and the running Slap Bet gag was a welcome call-back every time. It all started when Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) lost a bet, allowing Marshall (Jason Segel) to slap Barney up to five times whenever he wanted. Over many seasons, Marshall doled out slap after slap, each time more harrowing than the next. And finally, in the last season, he delivered the final slap. “It was awesome; you just got slapped!”
Now, I’m not saying this is the best slap-bet-related scene; it’s debatable, and I’m not saying it’s the best scene from How I Met Your Mother. Still, the slap-recovery scene from the final season features Boyz II Men, which quickly makes it one of my favorite scenes from the series. As Barney gathers himself, a red palm print impression still on his face, the 90s band eases his pain with the slap-bet song. Joined by Harris, Segel, Colbie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, and Josh Radnor, here is Boyz II Men with “You Just Got Slapped:”
And, of course, check out the original music video from Marshall:
