- Ted angers Lily when he brings a random date to her birthday party, so she is forced to remind him of all the other random women he has brought along to important functions, only to discover that they weren't "the one."
- 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.—Huggo
- It is Lily's 32nd birthday, and, as one who really loves her own birthday, she wakes herself up at midnight for the sole purpose of announcing that it is officially her birthday before falling asleep once again. Later in the morning, Marshall brings her breakfast in bed with its own theme, Spanish Interlude, complete with a guitarist and a picture of the "lyrical rolling hills of southern Spain (Alozaina, Málaga)" in the window.
One of Lily's first presents to be opened is a new digital camera with naked pictures of Marshall inside. As she enjoys taking pictures all the time, Barney and Robin cringe as they remember all of the group shots Lily took over the years and the situations that happened before the pictures were taken. Ted arrives at the door with his new girlfriend, Amanda (Amy Gumenick), who has volunteered to bake Lily's cake. Ted has only met Amanda a week ago and she is meeting the gang for the first time ever.
The group plays parlor games designed to test their knowledge of Lily (Lilial Pursuit), but Amanda does not know anything about her. Lily gathers the gang together for their annual group photo while Amanda prepares the birthday cake in the kitchen, in an attempt to take the photo without Amanda. Ted objects, so Lily brings out a photo album showing pictures from past events where Ted has brought his dates along. Lily challenges Ted to name them, but he fails to remember a single one.
Robin notices that Barney's pose is exactly the same in all of the photographs. Barney explains that he never takes a bad picture. He compares and contrasts his photo presence with Marshall's; while Barney always looks "drop dead, stone cold amazing," Marshall "just looks dead, stoned, and cold". Marshall does not take a good picture. Robin tries to take candid pictures of Barney, but is shocked to see his usual pose in all the pictures. Ted calls Lily a "birthday brat", not understanding why she is so upset over ruining "a couple of pictures". Lily reminds him of their trip to Paris (Lily was studying in Paris and invited Marshall over for 2 months): It was initially reserved for only her and Marshall, but Ted came along with Karen. Karen and Ted got in a fight (Karen tells him on the flight that she had sex with her philosophy professor the night before) and broke up before the plane landed. Karen's presence in Paris ruined the whole trip. Lily and Marshall had just started having sex and went without sex for 2 months. Karen insisted that she sleep with Lily and Marshall spent the entire trip bunking with Ted.
Ted apologizes for always ruining their group shots, but explains that he's always trying to find "The One". Robin admits not inviting Don because some of the gang's important events are not ideal to bring new friends. Ted notes that Robin is Lily's best friend, but she began as one of Ted's "random girls", Lily countering that Robin is the "Exception to the random girl rule". Ted accepts that Amanda does not have to be in the group photo, but asks Lily to give her a chance. When Amanda reveals the birthday cake, which reads "Happy 42nd Birthday, Lori", Marshall gets angry and kicks Amanda out of the apartment. Marshall explains he has become cynical because every time Ted breaks up with a girl, Marshall is there to pick up the pieces and console the girl.
Ted comments that all of the photos in Lily's photo album show no signs of the fights and disagreements that happened only moments before they were taken. Lily turns the page to the first photo that she, Marshall, and Ted had taken together back in college, a result of Ted inviting her into the picture because he believed that her and Marshall's relationship would last. Lily apologizes to Ted and agrees to call Amanda back. When the time comes for the group photo, Robin tricks Barney into removing his suit jacket just before the picture is taken, but the finished product shows Barney in his usual pose, much to Robin's dismay.
At Lily's 33rd birthday, Lily asks Ted to identify Amanda in the photo album, but he cannot remember her name. As they gather for the group photo, Robin offers Barney some dip. Barney realizes too late the dip contains cilantro, which he is allergic to, and begins to sneeze. Finally, Robin catches Barney in a compromising position for a bad photograph.
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