Nothing Suits Barney Like A Suit

Girls vs Suits
How I Met Your Mother: Season 5, Episode 12 (aka Episode 100!!!)

In Girls vs Suits, Ted sees the ankle of his future wife, and Barney gives up suits. Hah. Like the second part of that would ever happen.

HIMYM started 2010 with a bang. Everyone in the gang had a bit of a story - even if it was Lily's 'hot for girls' talk that she's been doing a lot this season, Marshall reassuring Lily that she is the hottest woman, and Robin not liking the fact that the new bartender makes her the number 2 hot girl in McLaren's.

Ted... TED!... has a big storyline this time around, with tons of reveals about who the 'Mother' is. He meets Cindy at Columbia, after confiscating some frat guys' beer (except for the Hard Lemonade), and they instantly hit it off. We learn that she's a PhD student, knows Ted already because she was in that Econ class he accidentally 'taught' on the first day (!!!), and she always goes for cute idiots, like Ted.

But on their first date, as Future Ted talks about how you sometimes just know you're in the right place, we learn that Cindy is not the Mother... but her awesome roommate, who all Cindy's dates fall for, is. Ted claims he won't be like the other guys. Oops. But that mis-step soon doesn't matter. Cindy calls it off, worried about losing her scholarship if she dates a professor. But we know Ted. He can't just leave it at that.

He returns to Cindy's apartment, where her roommate is just about to get out of the shower. Ted ends up saying he likes the three things in Cindy's bedroom that belong to her roommate - and so it's vamoose for him, but not before he forgets the yellow umbrella he brought with him. And not before he sees his future's wife ankle as she goes into her bedroom.

Where was Barney in all this? Trying to land the hot bartender, of course, since he's amazingly not slept with one yet. Problem is? She doesn't go for guys in suits. So, he (gasp!) gives up suits. He seems to do this pretty easily, coming to the bar the next day in just a t-shirt and jeans. But, alas, his affair with suits is still, expectedly, not over. In a moment of weakness, he goes to the bathroom, where he's stashed a secret suit in the door. He puts it on, and RIPPP!

He cradles the suit as he runs to his tailor, played by none other than Tim Gunn. Unfortunately, the suit is dead, but it's buttons can be used for another. But what a perfect play for Barney! He brings an urn of the suit's ashes to the bar, where he's finally able to snag the bartender out of pity. Back at his place, though, she accidently walks into his suit closet. She then demands he choose: her... or the suits?

Cue one amazing dance number, created by the choreographers from the TV show Glee. Everyone in the gang participates in "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit", with NPH, of course, at the center. It's big, it's awesome, and it's totally HIMYM.

But Barney still ends up sleeping with the bartender, claiming that he'll get rid of his suits the next day. Yeah. Right.

I loved the hints about the mother, and I, for one, don't mind if they don't give her a face quite yet. With this storyline, Ted finally entertained and showed why he's the main character of the show... but then there's Barney and his musical number. Which, don't get me wrong, was laugh-out-loud funny, but we've lost the tiny bit of sensitiveness we once had from Barney.

What happened to character progress on HIMYM? Lily seems stuck on the same note. Robin is stuck at her job, even while she's convinced of her hotness. Marshall, well, Marshall just hung around. Barney is always going for the girl. While Ted is back on track, I hope the writers keep up with the character development, get them doing new things but still keeping the characters true to what they've developed for them over the years.

What did you think about all the hints? Or are you just ready to find out who the Mother is and be done with it? Did you ever believe Barney would give up his suits? Do you want to see more from Marshall and Lily? Share your thoughts below!

Photo: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2010/01/how_i_met_your_mother_100th_ep.html