Ep 20. Showdown

Ted and Barney are eager to explore a bar they've heard of that has a famed "Tarot Card Couple" - a man and woman who give out readings in the bar every Thursday night. When they arrive, they find that there's a long line to get a reading and quickly realize that it's not worth it. Meanwhile, Marshall is feeling left out because Lily has been hanging out with her art school friend "The Blitz" and they've been gone out to fun places without him.

Barney decides to try to make the Tarot Card Couple's line move faster by hustling gullible people out of their spots. He manages to move a few people along and suddenly Ted gets a reading from the Tarot Card Couple. They tell him that he's going to meet the woman of his dreams very soon and suddenly Barney gets a reading as well that tells him that he's going to win a showdown between himself and a "drunk" wearing a "duck tie". Barney decides that this drunk must be Marshall, who's been saying that he's taking care of his sick and dying grandmother all day.

Marshall returns home and Barney starts mocking him for wearing a duck tie and calling him a drunk. Marshall is confused and suddenly tells them that he's not interested in hanging out with them anymore. Barney invites Marshall to strip club but Marshall declines, saying that he's going to visit his grandmother in the hospital. Ted finally meets the "woman of his dreams" - a dermatologist named Stella - and invites her on a date.

That night, Barney tries to go to bed and suddenly hears his phone ringing. It's Marshall, who's calling him from the hospital because his grandmother had just died. Barney rushes to the hospital, where Marshall's family is gathered. Marshall is in shock and grief-stricken. He suddenly picks up a vase and smashes it against the wall - provoking the rest of his family to start throwing things as well. Barney tries to calm them down, but nothing works until he reveals that Marshall is going to appear on a "Where are they now?" special on the Crocodile Dundee movies.

At the funeral, Barney shows up wearing a duck tie and immediately starts doing awkward impressions of Crocodile Dundee. He also brings a telescope that he tells everyone is an heirloom from his grandmother. Ted invites Stella to the funeral, and they end up talking about how they want to be buried when they die - Ted wants to be buried in a suit, while Stella wants to be cremated in a flowy bohemian dress.

After the funeral, Marshall tells Barney that he never wants to speak to him again. Barney, however, reveals that he lied about the drunken showdown, and that he was just trying to get Marshall to hang out with them again. Marshall forgives him and the two reconcile. At the end of the episode, Ted and Stella kiss for the first time.