8.4/104,076 votes#1 - Definitions
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/21/2009
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
8.0/103,718 votes#2 - Double Date
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/28/2009
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
8.2/103,855 votes#3 - Robin 101
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/5/2009
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas, Kourtney Kang
7.8/103,899 votes#4 - The Sexless Innkeeper
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/12/2009
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
7.6/103,680 votes#5 - Duel Citizenship
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/19/2009
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
7.6/103,549 votes#6 - Bagpipes
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2009
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
7.6/103,749 votes#7 - The Rough Patch
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/9/2009
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
9.3/107,607 votes#8 - The Playbook
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/16/2009
After his relationship with Robin ends, Barney dusts off his "playbook" to help him back into the dating scene
Director: Pamela Fryman
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
7.8/103,871 votes#9 - Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/23/2009
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
8.0/103,781 votes#10 - The Window
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/7/2009
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
7.7/103,952 votes#11 - Last Cigarette Ever
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/2009
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: N/A
9.0/106,135 votes#12 - Girls vs. Suits
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 1/11/2010
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
8.5/104,156 votes#13 - Jenkins
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/18/2010
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
8.7/104,496 votes#14 - Perfect Week
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 2/1/2010
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: N/A
7.9/103,683 votes#15 - Rabbit or Duck
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 2/8/2010
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
7.6/103,599 votes#16 - Hooked
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 3/1/2010
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
8.2/104,022 votes#17 - Of Course
Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 3/8/2010
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
8.0/103,727 votes#18 - Say Cheese
Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 3/22/2010
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
7.4/103,608 votes#19 - Zoo or False
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 4/12/2010
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
7.7/103,604 votes#20 - Home Wreckers
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 4/19/2010
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
7.6/103,513 votes#21 - Twin Beds
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 5/3/2010
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: N/A
8.1/103,741 votes#22 - Robots vs. Wrestlers
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/10/2010
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: N/A
Writer: Jamie Rhonheimer
7.9/103,907 votes#23 - The Wedding Bride
Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 5/17/2010
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
8.3/103,836 votes#24 - Doppelgangers
Season 5 Episode 24 - Aired 5/24/2010
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
Writer: Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
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!
A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to...
Genre:Comedy
Network:CBS
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 4076 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".