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The Best Episodes of How I Met Your Mother Season 5

Every episode of How I Met Your Mother Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of How I Met Your Mother Season 5!

Binge this in 9h 10m•Peaking at 9.3/10

A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 1 - Definitions
    8.4/10(4388 votes)

    #1 - Definitions

    S5:E1

    After sharing a kiss at the beginning of the summer, Robin and Barney are unsure how to handle their mutual attraction. After some consideration they tell the gang they have decided to remain just friends, but secretly continue seeing each other. They are able to get away with their secret romance for a couple months, but are discovered when Ted, Marshall and Lily walk in on them together. They explain to the gang that they are happy with their casual relationship, and didn’t want to complicate it by defining it. This is unacceptable to Lily, who pressures them to label their situation, and ultimately locks them in Robin’s room to force them to address it. Meanwhile, Ted is anxious about his first days as a professor at Columbia, which is made worse when he shows up at the wrong class and starts his lecture.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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  2. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 2 - Double Date
    8.0/10(4012 votes)

    #2 - Double Date

    S5:E2

    Barney takes Marshall, and Robin to a strip club where they find a stripper who looks almost exactly like Lily. Meanwhile, Ted discovers he had been fixed up with the same woman, Jen seven years earlier.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Matt Kuhn

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  3. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 3 - Robin 101
    8.2/10(4172 votes)

    #3 - Robin 101

    S5:E3

    When Robin fears that Barney is cheating on her, she soon discovers that he is spending his evenings with Ted learning everything there is to know on how to date her.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Kourtney Kang, Craig Thomas

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  4. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 4 - The Sexless Innkeeper
    7.8/10(4198 votes)

    #4 - The Sexless Innkeeper

    S5:E4

    Marshall and Lily want to hook up with Barney and Robin for double-dating and fun, but their desperate eagerness to please is a huge turn-off. Meanwhile, when a succession of girls come to his apartment and immediately fall asleep, Ted is bummed to learn he is a "Sexless Innkeeper" whose "dates" are only interested in a comfy place to crash

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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  5. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 5 - Duel Citizenship
    7.6/10(3962 votes)

    #5 - Duel Citizenship

    S5:E5

    Barney tries his best hoping to convince Robin into becoming an American citizen, while Ted and Marshall's road trip takes an unexpected turn for the worst when Marshall invites Lily to come along.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Chuck Tatham

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  6. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 6 - Bagpipes
    7.6/10(3827 votes)

    #6 - Bagpipes

    S5:E6

    Even though they do their best in order to be the perfect couple, Barney's attitude of know-it-all lands him in trouble with Robin and they are forced to seek Marshall and Lily for advice.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Robia Rashid

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of How I Met Your Mother

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  7. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 7 - The Rough Patch
    7.6/10(4029 votes)

    #7 - The Rough Patch

    S5:E7

    Lily comes up with a perfect plan to break up the relationship between Barney and Robin when they have a rough patch, but she needs help from Robin's famous friend, Alan Thicke, in order to make it work.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Chris Harris

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  8. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 8 - The Playbook
    9.3/10(8090 votes)

    #8 - The Playbook

    S5:E8

    After his relationship with Robin ends, Barney dusts off his "playbook" to help him back into the dating scene

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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  9. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 9 - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
    7.8/10(4158 votes)

    #9 - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap

    S5:E9

    Barney freaks out when Marshall bequeaths a "slap bet" slap to Ted and Robin. Meanwhile, Lily's estranged father shows up for Thanksgiving.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Jamie Rhonheimer

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  10. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 10 - The Window
    8.0/10(4071 votes)

    #10 - The Window

    S5:E10

    When a perfect girl finally shows up, the gang tries everything to help Ted, while Marshall takes action when he discovers a letter written by younger himself.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Joe Kelly

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  11. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 11 - Last Cigarette Ever
    7.7/10(4255 votes)

    #11 - Last Cigarette Ever

    S5:E11

    When Marshall picks up smoking again, it prompts Lily, Ted and Barney, ex-smokers all, to succumb as well. Meanwhile, Robin gets a new co-anchor at her show...

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 12 - Girls vs. Suits
    9.0/10(6564 votes)

    #12 - Girls vs. Suits

    S5:E12

    When Barney debates giving up wearing suits in order to land a hot bartender, his conflicted feelings lead to an amazingly awesome musical number. Meanwhile, Ted gets one step closer to meeting the future mother of his kids.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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  13. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 13 - Jenkins
    8.5/10(4471 votes)

    #13 - Jenkins

    S5:E13

    When Lily refuses to believe that Jenkins, Marshall's attractive female colleague, kissed him, Marshall insists Jenkins tell Lily what really happened. Meanwhile, Robin finds out that a drinking game has been made up about her.

    Director:Neil Patrick Harris
    Writer:Greg Malins

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  14. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 14 - Perfect Week
    8.7/10(4827 votes)

    #14 - Perfect Week

    S5:E14

    When Barney is about to complete the perfect week - landing seven different girls in seven days - the gang roots him on in order to forget about their own miserable week.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 15 - Rabbit or Duck
    7.9/10(3975 votes)

    #15 - Rabbit or Duck

    S5:E15

    When Lily and Marshall forget to fix up Ted on a blind date for Valentine's Day, they use one of Barney's many discarded girls to see if they may become Ted's future wife. Meanwhile, Robin's obnoxious colleague invites her to a party at his apartment

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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  16. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 16 - Hooked
    7.6/10(3892 votes)

    #16 - Hooked

    S5:E16

    When the gang tries to convince Ted that he is being strung along by Tiffany, they reflect about relationships where each of them has been in the same situation.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Kourtney Kang

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  17. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 17 - Of Course
    8.2/10(4331 votes)

    #17 - Of Course

    S5:E17

    When Robin confesses that she is still angry with Barney for the way he handled their break-up, she enlists the help of Anita, a self-help author who plans to beat Barney at his own game.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Matt Kuhn

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  18. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 18 - Say Cheese
    8.1/10(4024 votes)

    #18 - Say Cheese

    S5:E18

    When Ted ruins Lily's birthday dinner celebration by bringing a date, Lily goes to great lengths to keep her out of the traditional photo she takes every year of the gang.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Robia Rashid

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  19. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 19 - Zoo or False
    7.4/10(3890 votes)

    #19 - Zoo or False

    S5:E19

    When Marshall gets mugged, Lily decides she wants to get a gun for protection, so Marshall comes up with a convoluted story about the mugging to deter Lily from following through.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Stephen Lloyd

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  20. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 20 - Home Wreckers
    7.7/10(3890 votes)

    #20 - Home Wreckers

    S5:E20

    When Ted attends his mother's wedding, he is extremely disturbed by her overly affectionate relationship with her fiancé, which forces him to think about his own life and make an impulsive decision.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Chris Harris

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  21. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 21 - Twin Beds
    7.6/10(3790 votes)

    #21 - Twin Beds

    S5:E21

    When Ted and Barney jeopardize Robin's new relationship by professing their love for her, Robin realizes that she is finally over them. Meanwhile, after spending a weekend sleeping in twin beds, Marshall and Lily decide to get twin beds at home.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 22 - Robots vs. Wrestlers
    8.1/10(4025 votes)

    #22 - Robots vs. Wrestlers

    S5:E22

    When Ted, Marshall, Lily and Barney crash a highfalutin party at a swanky New York apartment, Ted gets the chance to mingle with the snooty guests and show off his intellectual side.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Jamie Rhonheimer

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  23. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 23 - The Wedding Bride
    7.9/10(4206 votes)

    #23 - The Wedding Bride

    S5:E23

    When Ted takes a date to see a new hit movie, "The Wedding Bride," he is shocked to learn the story is loosely based on his life, and that it was written by Tony, the man Stella left him for at the altar.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writer:Stephen Lloyd

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  24. How I Met Your Mother Season 5 Episode 24 - Doppelgangers
    8.3/10(4127 votes)

    #24 - Doppelgangers

    S5:E24

    Marshall and Lily make a secret pact to start trying to have a baby if they ever finally see Barney's doppelganger. Meanwhile, Robin finally gets an offer for her dream job.

    Director:Pamela Fryman
    Writers:Carter Bays, Craig Thomas

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Definitions" is the best rated episode of "How I Met Your Mother" season 5. It scored 8.4/10 based on 4388 votes. Directed by Pamela Fryman and written by Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, it aired on 9/21/2009. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Double Date".