"Dowisetrepla" is the seventh episode in the third season of the television series ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' and 51st overall. It originally aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

on November 5, 2007.

Plot

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

and

Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

finally become tired of Ted's never-ending presence and his invasion on the

married couple Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

personal space Proxemics is the study of human use of space and the effects that population density has on behavior, communication, and social interaction. Proxemics is one among several subcategories in the study of nonverbal communication, including haptics ...

, so they decide to rent a new apartment. In the newspaper they find an apartment in a neighborhood called "Dowisetrepla", which is explained as part of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's tendency to shorten neighborhood names (such as

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

and

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

), and is supposedly an up-and-coming neighborhood in the city. The apartment is for sale, rather than for rent, but Marshall convinces Lily to view it with him. Marshall falls in love with the apartment in Dowisetrepla, imagining himself playing drums in a band with his future sons. Lily feels guilty because of the huge credit card

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

she hides from Marshall, but still imagines herself painting with two daughters and eventually ends up saying that she loves the apartment, despite Robin persisting that Lily tell Marshall the truth. The next day, Lily and Marshall apply for a

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

, resulting in Marshall finding out about Lily's credit card debt. Later, Ted, Barney, and

Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

go home, where Ted discovers that Lily and Marshall were having a fight based on "evidence" strewn about the room. While Robin realizes that Marshall found out about the credit card debt, Ted disregards her explanation and incorrectly concludes the fight was over something minor (the

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food Paste (food), paste or Spread (food), spread made from Grinding (abrasive cutting), ground, dry roasting, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, ...

jar, Lily leaving the jar out after Marshall's repeated insistence to not do so) and hits re-dial on the apartment phone, expecting the number to be Marshall's

cell phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

, which Lily would have called to apologize and make up. They instead hear the receptionist of a

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, which makes them panic at how Lily and Marshall's divorce could split the group. Lily explains to Marshall that she had the idea of divorcing Marshall so he would not be dragged down by her debt, but Marshall remarks that by marrying Lily, he married all her problems, too, and chooses to stand by her. Finally, they exclaim to the others that they bought the apartment. The next day, Lily and Marshall take a taxi to their new home, but as they step out of the cab, they smell an extremely strong stench. The cab driver reveals that the area is near the

sewage treatment plant Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

, but the plant is shut down on weekends. They realize that "DoWiSeTrePla" is short for: DOwnWInd of the SEwage TREatment PLAnt, revealing why the

real estate agent Real estate agents and real estate brokers are people who represent sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

wanted the apartment to be viewed on the weekends.

Critical response

Donna Bowman of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' rated the episode A−. She compares the show to ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' and notes the appearance of actress

Maggie Wheeler Maggie Wheeler (née Jakobson) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Janice on the television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), and Anita on ''Ellen'' (1994–1996). In addition to her acting and voiceover work, she is a singe ...

, who previously played Chandler's on-and-off girlfriend Janice, as the real estate agent. Staci Krause of ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' gave the episode 8.0 out of 10.

References

External links

* {{How I Met Your Mother episodes, 3 How I Met Your Mother season 3 episodes 2007 American television episodes