10 Things You Didn’t Know About How I Met Your Mother’s Quinn

Quinn Garvey may not be one of the core gang in How I Met Your Mother, but she was a fairly major part of the show for around a season. One of the romantic interests in the series, Quinn dated Barney for most of season 7, and the two actually got engaged, before breaking up early in season 8.

Quinn was certainly more than a match for Barney, and while the two met as wingmen for Ted and a girl he was on a date with, Barney later realized that he already knew Quinn – because she was a stripper at his favorite club, the Lusty Leopard. Over the course of Quinn’s season, we learned a lot about her – but only devoted fans will remember all these tidbits!

10 Her Stage Name Is Karma…

Ok, this one may be a bit of an easy one – as Quinn’s stage name is stated more than once throughout the show, from the moment that it’s revealed she works at the Lusty Leopard. However, her name is more than a little appropriate for the character. Her treatment of Barney at the beginning (when she took him for all he was worth, under the pretence of really liking him), is fitting karmic retribution for all the times that Barney has led girls on with his own lies.

9 … And She’s Not The Only Karma Barney Knew

In an earlier episode, ‘The Bracket’, Barney is attempting to figure out the identity of a mystery woman who is sabotaging him. Lily suggests that perhaps it’s just karma, to which Barney replies that it couldn’t be, because Karma is stripping in Vegas, and they’re good. Presumably, this is just a joke, but fans have wondered if this could even be the same person. However, presumably it isn’t, as Barney didn’t recognize Quinn as Karma when they first met.

8 She Was Intended To Be The Opposite Of Nora…

Barney doesn’t have many real relationships in the series, but his big three are Robin, Quinn, and Nora. Interestingly, Quinn and Nora are essentially polar opposites; Nora is sweet, nurturing, and motherly (so much so that it freaks out Barney’s brother when he sees them together).

Quinn, on the other hand, is wilder, more obviously sexy, and definitely not as naive as Nora (or as concerned about always telling the truth). This was an intentional choice, and fits, as Barney would have been on the rebound and looking for something totally different.

7 … And Was Inspired By A Frasier Character

How I Met Your Mother‘s EP Craig Thomas revealed in an interview that not only was Quinn designed to be the opposite of Nora, but that that dynamic was inspired by Frasier and Lillith. “Becki’s character is going to be a spitfire, someone who can give it back to Barney and leave him speechless. It’s a little Frasier Crane and Lilith Sternin — two people who’ve met their match”. Or course, it’s not unusual to draw inspiration from other character dynamics, but it’s hard to see Barney as Frasier… other than in their love of suits!

6 Barney Included A Weight Gain Caveat In Their Pre-Nup

Barney and Quinn finally break up when their plans for the wedding include a detailed (and quite crazy) pre-nup… which causes the pair to realize that they may love each other, but they don’t actually trust each other, and that’s not going to work. One of the pre-nup demands that Barney included was about Quinn’s figure – that she submit to weekly weigh-ins, and if she gained weight, she would pay him $2000. It’s not clear where that money would come from, seeing as he also wanted to her to stop stripping…

5 Her Breakup To Barney Was First Revealed When They Got Engaged

How I Met Your Mother includes lots of flash forwards and flash backs, and sometimes, these include some big reveals about how things are going to work out. In ‘The Magician’s Code: Part 2’, Barney proposes to Quinn, and she accepts. However, this episode ends with a flash forward to Barney’s wedding, and the reveal that he is marrying Robin. So from the moment that the two get engaged, it’s clear that they won’t be making it down the aisle.

4 Her Original ‘Friends’ Disappear

This is something that tends to happen in sitcoms, but it’s definitely noticeable here. In the first episode that Quinn is introduced, two of her friends are introduced, too. One is Randi, the woman that Ted is on a date with, and the other is Ferrari, the other stripper that Quinn talks to about Barney.

Although there are a few moments where Quinn’s friends are mentioned, these two don’t reappear – and she asks Robin and Lily to be bridesmaids. Seems like the show dumped her friends to keep things focused on the core group.

3 Barney’s Bachelor Party For His Marriage To Robin Was Planned During His Engagement To Quinn

This one may be more about Barney than Quinn, although she actually shows up as the stripper during his failed ‘bachelor party’ before his wedding to Robin. However, it’s an interesting tidbit that the party was actually planned off a list that Barney made of everything he wanted at his original bachelor party – for his engagement to Quinn.

2 There’s A Continuity Error In Barney’s One-Minute Wrap Up

When Quinn finds out that Barney and Robin used to date, she demands a recap of the entire story in only one minute, and Barney (impressively) delivers. However, eagle-eyed (or should that be eagle-eared?) fans noticed one small mistake. Barney tells Quinn that he and Ted made up after Ted was hit by a bus… but fans will remember that it was Barney who was hit by a bus in this instance. Ted was in a cab that was hit by another car.

1 She’s One Of Few Recuring Sitcom Characters Who Is A Stripper

Quinn may not have been around for the entire show, but it’s definitely worth mentioning that she is one of only a handful of stripper characters in a sitcom who make more than one appearance – and that is portrayed in a positive light. While sex workers are usually included in sitcoms as one-episode human punchlines, Quinn is a rare example of a positive portrayal, and a relatively accurate one. She loves her job, is intelligent, funny, kind, and interesting, and is in no way portrayed as a victim or stereotype. She’s also not the only stripper in How I Met Your Mother, although Stripper Lily isn’t quite as positive a character.

About The Author

Rose Graceling-Moore
(1516 Articles Published)

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Rose Graceling-Moore has been writing about film, TV and comics since 2013, when she began writing for a local print magazine in Vancouver, BC. Since then, Rose has written for Horror Honeys, Moviepilot and Quirkbooks as well as Screenrant, increasingly focusing on comic books and live-action comic adaptations, as well as diversity and representation on screen. Rose also co-hosted the DC Movies Podcast, and has guested on other nerd and entertainment podcasts over the past five years.

Rose’s love of comics began all the way back in the early ‘90s, when she discovered the X-Men while living in Africa (where there wasn’t a whole lot to do but read!), and since then has had an on-again, off-again love affair with not just Marvel, but DC and indie comics as well. You can follow her on Twitter: RoseMooreWrites for tweets about comics, movies, and more.

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