When the gang discovers Marshall does not have any money to pay for the pizza they had ordered, he is forced to reveal that he was mugged by a man (Jon Dore) with a gun in Central Park.
Lily is worried, and aided by Robin's gun-loving nature, expresses her interest to buy a gun for protecting herself.
Robin is forced to interview Ted about his model, but as they are about to start, the monkey breaks free and snags a small doll nearby.
[2] Bowman claims that, although the script included many promising comedic elements, they "never seemed to settle into rhythm or find their natural relationship".
The genuinely funny elements were overshadowed by a "lack of natural interaction or real emotion", originating with the cast's "unconvincing gales of laughter" at the idea of being mugged by a monkey.
Lindsey Bahr of The Atlantic said regarding the fun factor of the episode:[5] It left me contemplating big "what is the point of it all" questions, which is something a sitcom should never, ever, provoke its audience to do.The Time magazine compared the episode to Pale Fire of Vladimir Nabokov but only in romantic comedy form and praised the climax where Marshall said "she's my sister/she's my daughter".