The episode opens with Barney sitting in despair on the sidewalk, as Future Ted tells the story of the night his life fell apart.
Reaching a cheap hotel near Atlantic City, Ted and Marshall explain that they remember what Barney requested for his bachelor party (which he has dubbed the 'Bro Mitzvah') from when he was engaged to Quinn.
However, they manage to get everything wrong and end up bringing a DVD of An Inconvenient Truth (for Barney's requirement of "Fear for our Lives") and a clown who does balloon animals (for "Mind-blowing Entertainment").
She agrees to put on a show for everyone except Barney, who is forced to sit in the hotel bathroom taking angry calls from Robin, who is having a terrible time with Loretta.
As a devastated Barney collapses onto the sidewalk (as per the opening scene), Robin gets out-of-sight and calls Ted to tell him everything is on schedule, revealing the entire evening to be a hoax.
Entertainment Weekly's Sandra Gonzalez gave the episode a positive review, and wrote that it "was one of [her] favorite just-for-fun surprises they’ve delivered in years".