How We Waited All Night | S1E6 "The Slutty Pumpkin"
Notes from Craig Thomas
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"The Slutty Pumpkin" episode represented a bunch of "firsts" for HIMYM:
*THE FIRST HOLIDAY EPISODE: We would go on to do many holiday-themed episodes over the years (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day), and even invent a few special holidays of our own (what are you doing for "Slapsgiving" this year?), but this was the very first. The first time we got to have a holiday before the rest of the world—we'd, of course, shoot our holiday episodes several weeks before the actual holiday) —a sensation I grew to enjoy very much (the sense that, in our little HIMYM universe, Christmas got to last a month).
*THE FIRST "MARSHMALLOW AND LILYPAD": This episode is the first time we heard Marshall and Lily's sweet nicknames for each other, but certainly not the last (not that we knew it at the time). Those became their go-to's. All born of "The Slutty Pumpkin" (a decidedly less cutesy name, as Lily points out). This is also the first appearance of "The Barnacle," a self-administered nickname that even Barney seems to doubt.
THE FIRST TIME WE SEE BARNEY DO MAGIC: But most certainly not the last.
*THE FIRST NADA SURF SONG: This is the first of several times we used a wonderful song by the wonderful band, Nada Surf. I heard Inside of Love on terrestrial radio (#2005) as I was driving around Los Angeles and fell in love with it. I love how that song closes out this episode.
*THE FIRST BIG STORYLINE & ENDING UP ON THE ROOF: I love that final shot (as Nada Surf plays) of Ted and Robin up on that roof. I love that roof in general. That feeling of magic that only the NYC skyline in the "distance" (all pretend, of course, but somehow it worked, even in real life on Stage 22) can provide; such a unique landscape, the rooftops of New York City, its own strange world, like walking on the surface of the moon.
*THE FIRST PEEK INTO ROBIN'S PSYCHE: Up until this point in the series (episode 6), Ted's own, shall we say, eccentricities have been on display, not Robin's. This is the first time we get a glimpse into Robin's "stuff"—her allergy to intimacy, her fierce desire for independence—culminating in Robin actually going to Ted for a pep talk (the first of many of those, come to think of it), during which Robin praises Ted's open heart and wonders if there might be something wrong with her own. Ted assures her that there's not; that it will all be easy once she is ready and finds the right person. This final scene of the episode is, to my mind, a hugely important moment of connection between Ted and Robin which ultimately sets up the ending of season one (well, and beyond). A pivot point.
THE FIRST BIG CONTINUITY GAFFE: In this ep, we say that Robin, due to her independent nature, never played team sports. Later in series, we talk a whole bunch about her being on the hockey team. (Oops.)
THE FIRST "SLUTTY PUMPKIN" EPISODE: Oh, she'll be back, folks.
Raising a "Tootsie Roll" to you all,
—Craig Thomas
SHOW NOTES
In this episode of How We Made Your Mother, Josh and Craig revisit “The Slutty Pumpkin,” a fan-favorite early episode of HIMYM written by Brenda Hsueh. They explore how the episode deepens Ted and Robin’s characters—Ted’s relentless romantic hopefulness and Robin’s fear of losing her independence—while also setting up major relationship themes that carry through the series. They reflect on the inspiration behind Ted’s ritualistic loyalty to the pumpkin party, the show’s early use of attachment theory (before it was trendy), the origins of classic bits like Marshmallow and Lilypad, and why Ted’s unreasonable optimism often becomes his superpower. Plus, they share behind-the-scenes stories about Jason Segel’s eyeliner, Neil Patrick Harris’s love of magic props, and the surprising indie rock influences that shaped the emotional tone of the series.
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