What actually happened to Marshall’s wallet on How I Met Your Mother season 5, episode 19 ‘Zoo or False’?
Marshall Eriksen implied a monkey had mugged him on How I Met Your Mother Season 5, but specifics of the incident remain unknown.
Played by Jason Segel, Marshall has always been the fine-natured member of the gang. Throughout the CBS sitcom, Marshall carried the best spirit, resulting in his ideals often getting in the way of the antics of his buddies.
Marshall’s principles came in the spotlight during season 5, episode 19 titled “Zoo or False.” After failing to pay for the pizza bought for the squad, Marshall was forced to clarify his wallet had been robbed by a guy with a gun in Central Park.
Marshall’s wife, Lily, was immediately interested in buying a gun for self-defense. Worried about Lily purchasing a weapon, Marshall flipped his story, saying a monkey allegedly mugged him at the Central Park Zoo. However, he was left too humiliated by the incident.
Was Marshall genuinely mugged by a monkey on HIMYM?
Source: Reddit
Later, Marshall told Ted and Barney he made up the story about the monkey to ensure Lily would stop getting worried.
Marshall’s narrative got more complex after Robin asked him to share his story on her TV news show. The station got Bobo, the monkey from the zoo, in the studio, announcing he would be separated from his partner because of the crime.
Feeling ashamed of Bobo’s plight, Marshall changed his stance, saying a person, not a monkey mugged him. His friends would never cease wondering what actually happened, prompting Marshall to flee.
Future Ted emphasized no one really finds out the details about Marshall’s mugging, which was also the case when it came to fans.
Why was Monkey Mugging Incident Never Cleared Up on How I Met Your Mother?
Unlike the “Pineapple Incident,” the popular comedy series never cleared up the facts about Marshall’s robbed wallet in Central Park. As it turns out, the episode was intended to be vague to leave the audience guessing.
The episode, though, went much deeper than the facts about the monkey. The point of Marshall’s internal battle was to demonstrate how hard he wanted to soothe his loved ones.
He flipped his story so that Lily wouldn’t feel unsafe, but then he shifted the tune once again so that a monkey wouldn’t get split from his partner. In the end, the reality had to be too much, pushing everyone to move on.
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In the most likely scenario, Marshall was actually robbed by a man while strolling in Central Park. He obviously needed help after a scary incident, but because of Lily’s reaction, he toned down the severity of the event.
Marshall had a history of putting himself into absurd scenarios, so he may have thought that his buddies would believe the monkey was the one who mugged him. When he got over his head with a TV news report, Marshall couldn’t pretend anymore.
Instead of uncovering the misinformation, Marshall kept the topic ambigious. Having said that, it wouldn’t be completely unrealistic for How I Met Your Mother to include a character robbed by a zoo animal.
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How I Met Your Mother Jason Segel
Last modified: September 20, 2020
