05E18 - Say Cheese

It's Lily's 32nd birthday. The only thing she loves more than birthdays is taking a group photo with all her close friends on such special occasions as a permanent memory she can paste in her scrapbook. On this birthday for which Marshall has planned an intimate black tie dinner for the five of them, Ted brings Amanda, a woman he has just started dating. When Amanda is out of earshot, Lily makes it quite clear to Ted that she doesn't want Amanda in the photo. The reason is that Ted has always brought the woman he is dating to such functions, she who is always in the photo. But each of those women have not only become a forgotten nameless memory which has ruined the shot for Lily, but many have become the nameless "bitch" in the photo in Ted's memory. This discussion leads to an argument between Ted and the rest regarding dating philosophy, and what happens in the aftermath of the inevitable break-up. The photos also bring up the issue that Barney seems never to take a bad photograph, he having the same composed demeanor in every single photo. Robin takes it upon herself to take that one bad photo of Barney.