Best of Swarley: How I Met Your Mother

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There have been very few times when Barney was on the receiving end of the jokes in HIMYM. Usually, it’s the other way around. The Swarley nickname in Season 2 Episode 7 was the best example of when the tables were turned on Barney.

This whole thing starts when the waitress at the coffee shop writes Swarley on Barney’s cup. The moment Barney got irritated, he basically invited Ted and Marshall to keep the new nickname going.

Beginning of the Legend of Swarley

As soon as Barney realizes how grave a mistake he has made, he storms out of the coffee shop. But the evil smile on the faces of Ted and Marshall was enough to give a sneak peek of their ruthless plan in store for Barney. This started one of HIMYM fans favorite arcs in the whole series.

Call for Swarley

Ted praises Barney’s suit out of the blue while at MacClaren’s. Barney, being the typical suit-enthusiast he is, compliments Ted’s keen eyes.

He started describing the qualities of his suit. He was still bragging about the Moroccan build when they got interrupted by Carl the bartender.

“There is a call for Swarley!”

Swarley

Swarley Mourning Barney

Next up, the girls were sitting in the bar when Robin remembered that Ted has a surprise waiting for them.

All four of them gathered in the apartment, and Ted turned the radio on. Barney got a hunch of what was about to come.

Suddenly a gentle voice appeared from the radio trying to soothe Swarley who just lost HER beloved Barney.

Barney tried his best to remain calm, but the lava inside him boiled out. He slammed out of the room visibly annoyed, leaving the gang behind in giggles. 

Swarley

Swarley’s Retaliation

Barney had to do something. He tried bribing the waitress to call Ted “Ned”, but it backfired. Barney ended up being SWARLed by her too.

He tried to shift the focus on Robin but failed miserably there too.

The End of the Legend of Swarley

Barney enters MacClaren’s and is welcomed by the entire bar standing up from their seats to honour Swarley. Barney returned to the door of the bar and left, taking an immense amount of Swarl gags with him. This was the official end of Swarley.

Swarley reappeared for a brief moment on Season 9 Episode 11. Ted called Marshall, Narshall! Barney started making fun of Narshall and that is when Ted brought back the Swarley nickname, which promptly shut Barney up.

That coffee shop was named Costa coffee which is the largest coffee chain in the UK.

But they don’t have even a single outlet in the US!