On his way to work, Marshall runs into his old law school classmate Brad, who has been a bum for the past two years, and recommends him to his bosses as an associate partner.
The gang is displeased because he always gives stamps of approval to everyone and everything; even earning the ire of a senior partner, Henry Honeywell, after treating his colleagues to food from a restaurant with unsanitary health ratings.
The company, which had actually hired Brad during those two years he told Marshall he was unemployed, planted him as a bum to spy on the law firm.
[2] Phoebe Reilly of Vulture.com reported that she had "nothing but praise" for the episode because it had "a solid driving device, memorable callbacks, and even a twist that we didn't see coming," referring to Brad working for Gruber.
She noted that "it's hard to add plausible dimensions to old characters," so "Ted’s being a 'piggyback stamper' ... really got us" because "this didn't feel like a tacked-on trait.
He describes the Barney & Robin plot as having "a vile (sic) of energy that is almost bone-dry" and as "nonsense ... without so much as a single solid joke."
"[5] Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a score of 5.3/10 (Mediocre), saying it was "pretty drab," but "noticeably more tolerable that before" and "still generally lacking in overall entertainment value."
He commented that "Brad's return wasn't all it was cracked up to be" as the show "sullied a once liked character by turning them into someone else completely," He said that the Barney and Robin plot was "the most ludicrous and least inspired" storyline.