'How I Met Your Mother' Season 8, Episode 11: 'The Final Page: Part One' Recap

Barney and Marshall both order a scotch neat, and Marshall jinxes Barney. Everyone gets excited. Turns out Barney broke the jinx back in the day, which promises bad luck—and he was hit by a bus.

Barney started taking the jinxes too seriously, unleashing them on everyone else—so when Marshall jinxes Barney, everyone lights cigars and cracks champagne.

Ted is listening to his architect professor who he admires in college. He shows him a design he sketched out, which his professor finds terrible. He tells him he’ll never be an architect.

Fast forward to Ted sending him an invite to his professor to his building opening. Marshall points out he is Ted’s “Pit Guy.”

“Silence of the Lambs” style.

Lily tells Robin that Patrice would be in her pit. She says that she and Marshall would be in the pit of someone named Darryl from college, who was obsessed with them.

Barney comes in, and speaks in subtitles because he had a horrible day, unable to speak, and begs them, silently, to say his name and break the jinx.

Sandy Rivers comes in to see Robin for his favorite time of the year—firing time. Someone has to go. Patrice comes in to see Robin, who is smiling maliciously.

Ted enters, with his invite from the professor—he checked not attending. Worse, he wrote that it was addressed to the wrong person, he didn't know anyone named Ted Mosby.

Mosby and the gang hop in the car to go see the professor at his old college, while Ted fantasizes about his revenge. Marshall warns him it won’t work out the way he wants.

Robin brings Patrice in for her review. She fires Patrice.

Barney still can’t talk, despite his efforts to trick them into saying his name. Marshall and Lily run, oddly, into Darryl. Darryl works at a hacky sack store on campus, the brand with his face, as well as Marshall and Lily’s. He tells them they’re going to his house, he has something for them. Barney and Marshall have an eye conversation, Barney pleading to be set free so he can lie them out of going, but Marshall won’t.

Ted goes to sit at the back of his professor’s class, brooding. However he is soon won over by the genius of the man. After class, he goes to speak to him, and shows him his designs. He is crushed to hear the professor say the same thing—he will never be an architect.

They go into Darryl’s poorly lit basement. Marshall screams at him not to murder them, surprising Darryl. He tells them he wanted to give them a check for 100 grand, for “giving” him the idea of the hacky sack store. He is rich now, and realizes he doesn't need their approval. He rips up their check.

Patrice asks why she is getting fired, and Robin fudges ideas. Patrice asks if it’s really about her, and Robin says no, tearing up. Patrice hugs her.  Robin apologizes.

Lily, Barney, and Marshall find Ted in the hallway, with a 3-D model of his building now. They tell him what happened with Darryl, and Ted realizes that he has put himself in his own pit. As he goes to throw the model away, the professor comes out and taunts him for trying to impress him. His friends drag him away.

Sandy Rivers comes in and Robin tells him she didn’t fire Patrice.

In the car, Barney takes out a ring from his pocket in the car, making Ted unjinx him. He jinxes Ted so he can talk, and tells him he’s going to ask Patrice to marry him. He feels settled, and happy, and wants to feel like that forever. He makes Ted promise not to tell anyone, and unjinxes him as Marshall and Lily get in the car.

He jinxes Marshall and Lily too.

“Hey if you guys don’t want me to smoke or fart in here, just speak up.”