Benefits (How I Met Your Mother)

"Benefits"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 12
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Kourtney Kang
Production code	4ALH12
Original air date	January 12, 2009
Guest appearance(s)
Ambrit Millhouse (Jill) Kevin Kirkpatrick (Don) Jason Rogel (Clerk) Ethan Dizon (Ben) Jack J. Bennett (Craig Gerard) Greg Collins (Matt Zinman) Kendra Wilkinson (Herself) Gary Anthony Williams (Reginald) Heidi Montag (Herself) Spencer Pratt (Himself) Kim Kardashian (Herself)

"Benefits" is the 12th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 76th overall. It originally aired on January 12, 2009.

Plot

Ted and Robin become "friends with benefits" to deal with the stress of being roommates. Marshall catches them having sex while he's using Ted's bathroom. Marshall cannot use the work toilet, because his coworkers judge him. Barney says that he "reads a magazine" at work all the time, but he then asks for affirmation that they are talking about masturbation. Marshall blackmails Ted and Robin: he won't tell Lily and Barney about their sex, provided he can continue to use their bathroom, but gives in and tells about it. Barney breaks television outside MacLaren's to vent his anger, and when out of televisions, buys more to smash.

Ted and Robin's arrangement hits a snag when they accidentally kiss each other goodbye on Ted's way out, an old reflex when they were together, and decide to bring it to an end, but this lasts less than a day. Barney solves all of Ted and Robin's household problems to ensure they have no reason to have sex. Ted realizes that Barney loves Robin. Barney tells Lily about his heartbreak in front of her kindergarten class.

Marshall decides not to be ashamed and that his colleagues' attitude towards him changes. He relays his new-found confidence to Barney who finds it as motivation to tell Ted that he is in love with Robin. Barney tells Marshall that he can use his private bathroom.

When Robin relays Ted's ending of casual sex to Barney, she thinks Ted was afraid of getting hurt because he's too romantic. Barney confesses, saying "I love you" to Robin. Robin misunderstands and thinks he is imitating Ted. They go together for a meal, while Barney doesn't correct her. Barney gazes at Robin while she is laughing, and looks to Ted, who is okay with Barney's feelings for Robin.

Critical response

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A grade.^[1]

With 11.85 million viewers, this is the 4th most watched episode of the entire series, behind "Last Forever", "The Pineapple Incident" and "The Naked Truth". It is also the most watched episode of season 4.

References

↑ Bowman, Donna (2009-01-12). ""Benefits" · How I Met Your Mother · TV Review How I Met Your Mother: "Benefits" · TV Club · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.

External links

"Benefits" at the Internet Movie Database
"Benefits" at TV.com

How I Met Your Mother

Episodes	Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 9

Characters	Ted Mosby Marshall Eriksen Lily Aldrin Barney Stinson Robin Scherbatsky The Mother (Tracy McConnell)

Related articles	Awards and nominations The Bro Code Cheerleader effect "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit"

How I Met Your Mother episodes

Season 1	"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"

Season 2	"Where Were We?" "The Scorpion and the Toad" "Brunch" "Ted Mosby: Architect" "World's Greatest Couple" "Aldrin Justice" "Swarley" "Atlantic City" "Slap Bet" "Single Stamina" "How Lily Stole Christmas" "First Time in New York" "Columns" "Monday Night Football" "Lucky Penny" "Stuff" "Arrivederci, Fiero" "Moving Day" "Bachelor Party" "Showdown" "Something Borrowed" "Something Blue"

Season 3	"Wait for It" "We're Not from Here" "Third Wheel" "Little Boys" "How I Met Everyone Else" "I'm Not That Guy" "Dowisetrepla" "Spoiler Alert" "Slapsgiving" "The Yips" "The Platinum Rule" "No Tomorrow" "Ten Sessions" "The Bracket" "The Chain of Screaming" "Sandcastles in the Sand" "The Goat" "Rebound Bro" "Everything Must Go" "Miracles"

Season 4	"Do I Know You?" "The Best Burger in New York" "I Heart NJ" "Intervention" "Shelter Island" "Happily Ever After" "Not a Father's Day" "Woooo!" "The Naked Man" "The Fight" "Little Minnesota" "Benefits" "Three Days of Snow" "The Possimpible" "The Stinsons" "Sorry, Bro" "The Front Porch" "Old King Clancy" "Murtaugh" "Mosbius Designs" "The Three Days Rule" "Right Place, Right Time" "As Fast as She Can" "The Leap"

Season 5	"Definitions" "Double Date" "Robin 101" "The Sexless Innkeeper" "Duel Citizenship" "Bagpipes" "The Rough Patch" "The Playbook" "Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap" "The Window" "Last Cigarette Ever" "Girls Versus Suits" "Jenkins" "Perfect Week" "Rabbit or Duck" "Hooked" "Of Course" "Say Cheese" "Zoo or False" "Home Wreckers" "Twin Beds" "Robots Versus Wrestlers" "The Wedding Bride" "Doppelgangers"

Season 6	"Big Days" "Cleaning House" "Unfinished" "Subway Wars" "Architect of Destruction" "Baby Talk" "Canning Randy" "Natural History" "Glitter" "Blitzgiving" "The Mermaid Theory" "False Positive" "Bad News" "Last Words" "Oh Honey" "Desperation Day" "Garbage Island" "A Change of Heart" "Legendaddy" "The Exploding Meatball Sub" "Hopeless" "The Perfect Cocktail" "Landmarks" "Challenge Accepted"

Season 7	"The Best Man" "The Naked Truth" "Ducky Tie" "The Stinson Missile Crisis" "Field Trip" "Mystery vs. History" "Noretta" "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" "Disaster Averted" "Tick, Tick, Tick..." "The Rebound Girl" "Symphony of Illumination" "Tailgate" "46 Minutes" "The Burning Beekeeper" "The Drunk Train" "No Pressure" "Karma" "The Broath" "Trilogy Time" "Now We're Even" "Good Crazy" "The Magician's Code"

Season 8	"Farhampton" "The Pre-Nup" "Nannies" "Who Wants to Be a Godparent?" "The Autumn of Break-Ups" "Splitsville" "The Stamp Tramp" "Twelve Horny Women" "Lobster Crawl" "The Over-Correction" "The Final Page" "Band or DJ?" "Ring Up!" "P.S. I Love You" "Bad Crazy" "The Ashtray" "Weekend at Barney's" "The Fortress" "The Time Travelers" "Romeward Bound" "The Bro Mitzvah" "Something Old" "Something New"

Season 9	"The Locket" "Coming Back" "Last Time in New York" "The Broken Code" "The Poker Game" "Knight Vision" "No Questions Asked" "The Lighthouse" "Platonish" "Mom and Dad" "Bedtime Stories" "The Rehearsal Dinner" "Bass Player Wanted" "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra" "Unpause" "How Your Mother Met Me" "Sunrise" "Rally" "Vesuvius" "Daisy" "Gary Blauman" "The End of the Aisle" "Last Forever"

Heidi Montag

Studio albums	Superficial

Notable songs	"More Is More"

Related articles	Spencer Pratt Holly Montag

Book

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