Ted and the "perfect" girl

The Window

How I Met Your Mother: Season 5, Episode 10

Ted finally finds a window of opportunity, and the gang tries to help him catch the "perfect" girl. Meanwhile, Barney takes a bet, and Marshall (again) tries to come to terms with the corporate life he's created for himself.

At the beginning of "The Window," Ted dashes out the door of McLaren's after receiving a phone call from an older woman saying the window is open. According to Ted (and Marshall & Lily), Maggie is the perfect girl - which is a problem because every guy who meets her thinks so, too. When she's finally single for a minute - in the 12 years Ted has known her, our hero races over to her apartment and asks her on a date before she can run into any other guy, postmen included.

The problem? When Ted arrives early for his date, Robins reminds him about the class he's supposed to teach that night. Maggie refuses to sit in, so Ted charges Marshall & Lily with watching over her to make sure that no guy comes in contact with her, even if it's just on the walk from the bathroom to the booth.

But Marshall and Lily don't stay long. Marshall has been sorting through some things his mother sent him. He pulls out a pair of denim overalls, which, naturally, leads to Barney challenging himself to get laid while wearing them. Marshall also pulls out a letter his 15-year-old self wrote his 30-year-old self. Despite some ridiculous goals - including growing out his rat-tail and legally changing his name to 'Vanilla Thunder' - his teenage goals affect him, and he runs away from the table, claiming he needs to take care of something at work.

Lily leaves Maggie in the care of Robin. Her turn babysitting is immediately threatened when Maggie's co-worker, Jim, starts chatting her up. Trying absolutely everything to get Jim's attention, Robin manages to make herself Jim's date to a erotic canine art gallery - which means Robin can leave Maggie with only one person... Barney.

Naturally, this frightens Ted. He had been trying to wrap up his class early, but to his dismay (and to his delight) everyone wanted to hear what he had to say about bridges. When he accidentally writes what's on his mind - MAGGIE - on the board, he tries to play it off as an acronym, but the classroom doesn't buy it. They start asking questions of his love life, focusing on: are you really ready for a serious relationship?

With no time to answer the question, he runs back to the bar. After Maggie calls Barney's overalls cute, Barney informs Ted that he has 10-minutes before the window closes again. Running down the street, Ted yells, "I hate Barney Stinson!" to which an unseen female yells, "Me too!" Classic.

Ted arrives at the bar just in time to run into Jim, who managed to escape Robin's clutches. Barney, too, throws his name into the hat, telling them that after he gets Maggie, the window will open again in 10 minutes. The guys fight about how long they've loved her, until they notice she's disappeared.

Robin sent her off in a cab, so she could escape the greedy guy vultures. Ted gives a lofty speech, so in character for him, and concedes that Maggie deserves to be single for a little while.... and then, as expected with his character, too, he bolts out the door, racing to Maggie's apartment, pushing Jim and Barney away in the process.

But they're too late. She ran into her childhood sweetheart and old next door neighbor, which prompts Ted to say that it was the second best romantic story he's ever heard. Despite the window with Maggie closing forever, Ted finally realizes he really is ready for a serious relationship... which begs the question, when has he not be? Yeah, he's gone through some rough patches in the past year, but he was always, always, always on the lookout for a serious relationship. If he hadn't been, why didn't he just throw in the relationship towel like Robin did, which is one of those things people do "Before They Meet the Love of Their Lives"'?

I understand why the writers let Ted have this realization... we're about to get a lot more of Ted's story... but it's disappointing that his conclusion is something that he's wanted all along.

As for Marshall, his story ended with attempting to prove to himself that he could still accomplish something on his list: slam dunk a basketball. Fail. Even after Lily lowers the hoop a foot. But, luckily for Marshall, Lily is there to remind him that he's successful and he's done things his 15-year-old self never dreamed of.

While I love seeing this side of Marshall and Lily - rather than Lily and her 'you're dead to me' stare, this storyline has somewhat been done before. Marshall's unhappiness with selling-out even led him to quitting his job in a previous episode. At least, he's learned not to do that again, I suppose.

Before wrapping up, let's not forget the tag: Marshall sits in McLaren's and writes a letter to his 60-year-old self. In it, he asks for proof of time travel on December 7th at exactly 8:29pm. Marshall looks around the bar, nothing happens, and then... Lily brings over a plate of free hot wings that someone returned because they were too hot. Miracle!

The camera pans over and we're treated to an older Marshall who is being served by Wendy the waitress, who's apparently returned as part of the supporting cast.

Despite my critiques of the storyline, this was by far my favorite of the season so far. The whole gang had a role to play. Barney's plot was simple and classic Barney - even with the shudder-inducing moment that he goes to sleep with the old lady, Maggie's neighbor who had earlier called Ted, just so he can get out of the overalls.

Overall (hah, you know they cover everything), "The Window" led to plenty of laughs, and here's hoping that HIMYM is back on track for the rest of the season.

What did you think of Ted's pursuit of Maggie? Do you think Marshall will ever 'save the world'? What happened to Robin and her totally horrible - but funny - tactics of getting Jim's attention? And, will Barney ever change? Share your comments below!

The Speeding Ticket Metaphor

As Fast as She Can
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 23

This will be a short(er) review/recap compared to usual. Why? Because I don't have that much to say about it, except:
1. Stella's not the mother (and is, in fact, engaged to Tony). Phew!
2. Since when can Barney drive?!?!

How I Met Your Mother is typically all about continuity and flashbacks and making the past and the future tie together nicely. But, again, I ask, since when can Barney drive? In "Arrivederci, Fiero" (Season 2, Episode 17), Ted tells the story about attempting to teach Barney to drive in the Fiero; alas, Barney is too scared to go above 5 mph and freaks out when he sees a dog ahead of him. After rolling into a hedge, Barney decides to never change and, therefore, never drive. Then, in "Moving Day" (Season 2, Episode 18), Barney steals Ted's moving van, so Ted can't move in with Robin. I suppose this implies that Barney can drive, but if he was so scared to, when did it happen? Just one line of explanation, really - it's all I ask for.

So, why is Barney driving and getting speeding tickets a big deal in this particular episode? Because getting out of speeding tickets was the theme of the night. Marshall got out of a ticket by tempting the police officer with a bratwurst at a BBQ. Robin once cried to get out of a ticket. And Barney? Well, Barney failed 15 times to get himself out of a speeding ticket.

And then there's Stella's story at the end, about the police officer who said, "I've been waiting for you all day." Stella's response, "I got here as fast as I could." This little lesson was applied to Ted's love life: the future mother, Ted's "one," is getting there as fast as she can.

Progress towards Ted meeting the mother is clearly being made - but Barney is still the one keeping me tuned in week after week. (That's a lie; I love a ton about this show - Ted and his quest for the mother just isn't one of the things I love). But I hate when things suddenly change for characters and the continuity of the show gets ruined - i.e., Barney driving, Lily able to keep a secret. Let's hope the show gets back on track for the Season Finale, when the story of the goat is finally revealed - and hopefully, Barney's love for Robin?

My favorite moments from last night's show:

• Ted's ring tone: "Let's Go to the Mall"
• Barney calling Ted from jail, scared by the people he shares the jail cell with, who promptly ask for their spray paint back
• Robin demanding that Ted "bump" her fist, when Stella bemoans the fact that Tony dumped her because of something Ted said
• Ted admitting that he wants what Marshall and Lily have. Yeah, yeah. I don't like Ted all the time, but this was a moment where I felt for him. He's best when he's at his most romantic.

Did Barney driving annoy you as much as it annoyed me? Were you glad Lily returned, albeit only a couple seconds? Do you hate Stella's character as much as I do? (I really didn't like Stella in this episode). What were your favorite moments from this episode? Share your thoughts!

Return of the Yellow Umbrella

Right Place, Right Time
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 22

Bays and Thomas, the writers of HIMYM: why oh why do you taunt me? Ted leaves his apartment, carrying the fated yellow umbrella that we've been told will somehow lead him to the mother, and eventually waits on a street corner, where a woman taps him on the shoulder... and it's Stella. STELLA! I wanted to scream - NO! She CAN'T be the mother!!!

Now that the surprise has worn off at that unexpected "reunion" between old flames, I think I may have over-reacted.

It's all about fate and the decisions you make, Future Ted explains to his kids. The idea is reminiscent of previous (better) seasons, especially the episode about the "Lucky Penny," when a series of seemingly random occurrences leads Ted to miss his flight and, therefore, not get a job in Chicago - thankfully, otherwise he would have never have met the "mother."

Last night's episode was also full of seemingly unimportant decisions/incidents that lead Ted to the right street corner, at exactly the right time.

Decision #1: Upon leaving his apartment, Ted turns left, instead of right. He would have gone to his favorite bagel place, but that's where Robin got food poisoning, which led her to throw up into some very expensive hand-made purses.

Decision #2: Ted stops at a news-stand to look at a magazine and see who was the 199th... err, #200th woman that Barney slept with.

Previous to Ted's fateful walk in the city, Barney was about to go on a date with a supermodel to celebrate sleeping with 200 women. The entire gang is appalled at the number, but Barney says he did it because it's awesome... and to prove, to his 7th-grade bully, that he could.

But it turns out, according to Robin, the list is wrong. Desperate for the supermodel to not be #199, Barney has two hours to sleep with a woman. His quick-witted lies and attempts fail at McClaren's, so he's off to the gym, where a woman, who Barney claims isn't his "type" because of her muscly size, has been pursuing him. He returns to the bar, in pain - only to find out that Robin (still studiously pouring over the list) realized that Barney used the same number twice... so the gym gal, who posed for a magazine, was actually #200.

Decision #3: Ted takes a different route, so he can give $1 to a specific homeless guy. Why? Ted threw out all of Marshall's charts and graphs as part of Marshall's latest intervention, because Marshall became obsessed with making them (thanks to GNB graphics department). He has a pie chart showing which bars are his favorite; a bar graph showing which pies are his favorites. Unfortunately, Marshall actually needed some of his charts for work. A homeless guy demands a million dollars for the charts, since they're on his blanket, so Ted promises to give him a dollar a day.

And all of this bring us to Ted standing on the corner, under the yellow umbrella, when a hand reaches out to tap him on the shoulder. Stella. Sigh. Disappointment.

The way the writers play with time, mess with our heads, talk about fate and all the small choices we make - that's some of the many, many reasons I love this show. I'm glad to see these ideas returning, but... Stella? I still don't think she's the mother but after all that lead-up, including Ted imagining running back and hugging everyone who participated in his three decisions, I didn't expect her. But then again, I have faith in our writers. There's a reason, as Ted would say, that he ran into her that day.

For the first time in awhile, I got excited again about who the mother may be... but it was the ending tag that made my heart melt. Sitting in McClaren's, Barney tears up his list of women, asks "What now?" and gazes longingly at Robin standing at the bar. Aw!

Were you disappointed that it was Stella? Do you want to know who the Mother is? Do you miss Lily? (I do.) Did you like the reference to the "Intervention" episode? Did you enjoy the reasoning behind all of Ted's decisions? Share your thoughts!

Image source: http://www.fanpop.com/spots/how-i-met-your-mother/images/1227041

No, I'm Ted's Best Friend!

The Three Days Rule
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 21

The question of 'who is Ted's best friend?' took on a whole new meaning in last night's episode. Barney and Marshall again fought about who was the leading man in Ted's life, despite (or perhaps because of ?!?) the fact that Ted had a gay dream about his best friend.

Whaaat?

The show, as of late, has become less about discovering who the "Mother" is and more about the dynamics of the five friends. Last night, though, we got a bit of both. Ted meets someone new, Holli, played by All My Children's Rebecca Budig (aka, Greenlee) and he doesn't want to wait three days to call her, despite the "three day rule" that governs the beginning of all relationships, according to Barney. After Barney explains that Jesus instituted the three-day rule - after all, duh, it took him three days to rise from the dead - Ted promises he'll wait to call Holli.

Yet, that doesn't mean he can't text her. After two days of texting, Ted starts falling for Holli - until he receives a sexually explicit text from Holli that wasn't meant for him.

But, wait! Robin meets Barney & Marshall at the bar and discovers that it's Ted's two "best friends" who are "Holli"; Barney changed Holli's number to his work cell, and they've been pretending to be Holli ever since Ted's first "texty text." The sexually explicit text was sent by Marshall and was supposed to be sent to Lily (who was completely absent from this episode, still peeved about that guy-funny joke, apparently).

Barney and Marshall justify their joke on Ted, explaining that Ted always tends to move too fast in relationships. Cue flashbacks to his first date with Robin, when he proclaimed he loved her. They want Ted to get his "I love you" out of the way, so he won't jump into his next relationship. Makes sense? In a way, yeah.

But, of course, Ted doesn't think so, after Robin tells him the truth about "Holli." Ted gets back at them by texting a confession: lately he's been having gay dreams about his best friend. Instead of Barney and Marshall being horrified, they both believe they're the one who is the object of Ted's desires. Marshall because he's cuddly. Barney because he has an awesome body.

Ted eventually tells them the truth, that he knows they're "Holli" - but not until he subjects them to a half-hour tale about a dream he had about his architectural role models.

When Ted reams out his "best friends" for lying, he launches into one of his monologues, explaining that he's tired of rules and that he'll tell a girl how he feels when he wants to, because that's just the kind of guy he is. You tell them, Ted! Unfortunately... breaking the "three-day rule" was a bad idea with the real Holli, who, on their first date, is the epitome of someone saying things too early, like saying they should go on a trip and that they should get married... so did Ted learn anything? Was there a point to this episode?

I think so. Ted is beginning to stick up for the romantic ideals that he held in season one, which makes him much more likable now, in comparison to Ted's character in recent episodes.

As for the group's dynamics, Ted's friends clearly care about Ted having a happy and successful love life, but clearly they all have different approaches/takes on the way relationships should work. Ted believes in saying what he feels when he feels it - and, apparently, one day that will work for him. As the episode closes, Future Ted admits to his kids that when he met their mother, he called her right away.

With the season winding down, do you think we'll learn even more about the "mother"? Do you think Barney & Marshall were justified in lying to Ted? What did you think about Lily being completely absent from this episode? Share your thoughts, favorite lines/moments from last night's episode!

Ted's Revelation!

Mosbius Designs
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 20

Ted starts his own architectural firm, except he does everything but call potential clients, and Robin starts sleeping with Ted's assistant, P.J., who makes sure everyone - including Robin - signs out the bathroom key. Meanwhile, Marshall tries to make himself irreplaceable at GNB, with a bit of help from Barney. And, Lily, well, she disappears.

At the very beginning of the show, Lily storms out of the bar in disgust after hearing Barney tell a "boy-funny joke." According to Future Ted, after that joke, they don't see her for four weeks. While the writers most likely did this because they were unable to hide Lily's pregnancy anymore (Alyson Hannigan gave birth in March), it ended up working to the benefit of the show... we saw more of Marshall & Barney's friendship.

Finding a "Thing"
With the recent layoffs at GNB, Barney tells Marshall that he needs to find a "thing," something that will distinguish him and make him irreplaceable. The jobs of "food guy," "toy guy," "You Tube guy", the creepy "back-rub guy," and "fantasy guy" are already taken, so Marshall becomes "sports guy" and heads up the fantasy baseball league for the office. With $18,000 that he has to keep track of, he starts feeling the heat and wonders how he's going to juggle his actual work with keeping track of the league...

My current most-favorite storyline: Barney's unrequited feelings for Robin
Barney was obviously distraught upon learning about Robin sleeping with Ted's assistant.

"She's the greatest woman on the planet! I'm getting off topic. You're an idiot," Barney declares to Ted, while crushing peanuts on the table, and storms out of the booth before he admits his feelings for Robin. This plot was somewhat like the one in "Benefits," when Ted and Robin slept together, to the dismay of Barney; yet, this time Barney didn't smash TVs to vent his frustration. Instead, he needed someone to talk to, and with Lily away, he turned to Marshall.

Barney's confession to Marshall, about his love to Robin, is riddled with "wait for it"s in classic-HIMYM fashion. With Barney unable to spit out how he feels, Marshall admits that he already knows about his feelings for Robin, because Lily told him. In another cutesy moment, Marshall also admits that he and Lily try to sit on the same side of the booth, so Barney & Robin can sit together. Awww.

Ted's revelation (finally!)
With Ted going on "wisdom walks" and "corporate retreats" instead of actually working on growing his business, Robin asks Ted if he ever expected to be where he is now. She admits that she didn't expect to be where she was today, and she never imagined that she'd settle for a guy sitting in her apartment.

"I used to describe my ideal guy as funny, smart, passionate, challenging," she says. Isn't she describing Barney, really? And she just hasn't realized it yet?

Ted admits that he's worried about failing. "What if I forget about the books?" he asks, and explains that an architect once built a beautiful library - but failed to account for the weight of the books, causing the library to sink. Ted finally decides to give his dream a real shot and finally stops having a staring contest with his phone.

Ted's evolving! This episode proves that Ted doesn't have to be pretentious in order to be an interesting character. We saw a bit more of his optimistic side, of his worries but his aspirations too, and it was good.

The Wrap-Up
So, how does the relationship between Robin and the assistant ultimately end? Marshall hires P.J. as a "paralegal," who is in charge of the fantasy baseball league. Everyone ends up happy, and Barney can put off admitting his feelings for Robin to Robin for yet another day.

A good chunk of this episode appeared to be set-up for the last few episodes of the season. Robin is, officially, the only one who doesn't know about Barney's feelings. Ted is making progress with his career - perhaps he'll make some progress in his love life next?

Other Favorite Parts:

• Barney, thinking P.J. is a chick, sends him a "very confusing card" and a "garment."
• Barney explaining why he needs Lily's help: "Lily is a diabolical puppet-master, subtly manipulating every situation to get exactly what she wants. She's pure evil, Marshall. You've got a good one there; hang on to her."
• When P.J. calls in late to work, claiming he's on top of the Empire State building, Ted realizes the call came from inside the apartment; cue the "scary" music.
• When Marshall is walking down a NYC sidewalk with $18,000 cash (from the fantasy league) in his pockets, he thinks, "Oh no, the baby is on to me. Babies can smell money; everyone knows that!"
• The montage of guys that Robin meets after getting off work at 5:30am: newspaper delivery guy, guy who not only lives with his mom but cuddles with her, and fantasy guy from GNB.
• Robin's terrible attempt at a breakup with P.J. "It's just not... really... x-nay..."
• The tag, with the ninja roaming the halls, his sword drawn. "He doesn't work here," Barney says. "I think we should leave the building... this has happened before." Marshall and Barney bolt out of the conference room.

Did you like the way they got "rid" of Lily for a couple weeks? Is Marshall Barney's new wingman? How do you think Mosbius Designs will fare? Will Ted find a new "office" other than the one in his apartment? Do people in your office have "things"? How will Robin find out about Barney's love for her? Share your thoughts!

Photo source: http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/04/himym_mosbius_designs_homeoffi.html

More Barney, please!

Old King Clancy
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 18

Canadian sex acts. Architectural dreams. I didn't expect an HIMYM show about both, but that's what we got this week. We also saw a Ted who was more "inspired" than usual, and that, at the very least, was good to see.

At the bar, Lily, Marshall, and Barney played a game of "Clue," trying to guess what celebrity Robin almost hooked up with, what collection he enticed her with, and what kinky sex act he wanted to do; to make their guesses, they used the handy-Website, canadiansexacts.org. As with any referenced Website on HIMYM, the site is up and running - except the descriptions of the sex acts which are indefinitely "temporarily unavailable."

Okay, back to the point of the show. Wait - was there a point to this show? Oh, yeah. Ted and his lofty ambitions for the new GNB building that Bilson keeps squashing.

At the beginning of the episode, Ted learns that Bilson scrapped the plans for the building a month ago, and Barney and Marshall have created an elaborate lie - complete with a fake task force that loves every single one of Ted's ideas - so they wouldn't have to tell Ted that he was fired.

Naturally, Ted is upset. To make amends, his best friends get him hired for another project that involves creating a room to fire people, just like the one two floors below it. Surprise, surprise. After Ted presents his plan for the room, complete with a grief counselor, Bilson fires him, again. At least this time Ted had his revenge, as he hits Bilson over the head with a chair.

Alas, with the GNB project gone, Ted is let go from the architectural firm, but he's no longer upset. His plans for the GNB building inspired him; he's determined to start his own firm. Go Ted!

Overall, I found this episode disappointing, even if it was kind of nice to see a bit of "personal growth" in Ted. Now, if only, Ted could get his personal life together as well!

A couple highlights from this week's show:

• Marshall says that Lily would be the celebrity he'd want to nail. Then, Lily says, "Hugh Jackman."
• Barney casually firing people, in a security video montage, with a simple wave of the hand.
• Lily getting so excited about Robin almost-sleeping with a celebrity, that she gets uncontrollable hiccups.
• "I have to think of ways to put my wood into Bilson's dark atrium," Ted proclaims, while discussing his architectural plans.
• The Canadian jokes, both Barney's quips and the listing of sexual acts that are named things like the "Reverse Rick Moranis" and "Two-handed Zamboni." But...

... the Canadian sexual acts got overplayed. I had hoped for a stronger storyline for Lily and Robin, as we had last week, but they got stuck with the silly storyline that really went nowhere. So, who was the Canadian celebrity that Robin hooked up with? The Frozen Snowshoe, a Canadian wrestler that the gang has never head of. This joke fell flat, just like the pants story did two weeks ago. All hype; no payoff.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. With the exception of last week and learning Lily's relationship manipulating ways, the Barney-centric episodes (and scenes) are often the best. Call his womanizing character what you will, he is by far the funniest character on this show.

Please, let's see something more with Barney, so we can get back to some classic HIMYM.

Oh, Ted, when will you learn?

Sorry, Bro
How I Met Your Mother: Season 4, Episode 16

It's 1:45am, and Robin is joining the gang at the bar before heading off to work. There's stories to tell; Marshall had the "funniest" thing happen to him at work, about... his pants? And, Ted's ex, Karen, is now living in NYC to Marshall & Lily's dismay.

This episode finally brought us back to Ted's love life, and his story confirmed, once again, why this show is so great: the writers know the characters so intimately, that old subjects come back and reward loyal viewers time and time again. Who doesn't remember pretentious Ted in college, calling his long-distance girlfriend, Karen, to apologize for making out with another girl in the episode "How I Met Everyone Else"?

Now Karen, played by Laura Prepon, is back, and she doesn't appear to have changed a bit. She is even more pretentious than old Ted. The old Ted who went back to her, time and time again, even after catching Karen cheating on him, time and time again. But, wait, she's changed, for real this time, Ted claims. And now Ted's dating Karen. Whoop-de-do. I wish I cared, but I don't.

I want Ted to wake up and start dating likable women. I want Ted to stop returning to old flames; hasn't he done this before and seen how badly it's worked out? I'm thinking of "Return of the Shirt" episode, when he dates Natalie until he realizes - for the second time - that she's not the one. And then he gets beat up by a girl.

That episode happened way back in Season ONE. Come on, Ted. Grow up. Move on. Find the woman with the yellow umbrella.

My biggest qualm is this: it's disheartening to see Ted have bad relationship after bad relationship, and not see him learn from any of it. His character has barely evolved since the beginning of the show. Sure, he is no longer the hopeless romantic we first met, but he hasn't progressed much. We loyal fans know the writers can do so much more with him! Look at Barney.

As I talked about in my last HIMYM post, Barney is continuously evolving as he admits his love for Robin and then tries to deal with his feelings. Although I admit, I made a mistake in my last post. Ted does NOT have things figured out. He still has plenty of room to grow (up), and hopefully he does that soon so he can find the Mother. I'm not asking the show to be over with (because I think it can exist even after Ted meets her); I'm just asking that our main character get a bit more interesting and learn from the past, rather than continuously repeating it.

Now that I'm done complaining, here are some of my favorite, and the most awesome, parts of Monday's episode (because it was still a pretty good episode overall, despite Ted):
* Barney's 4 reasons why an Ex would want to have lunch. The gun thing, both in the Barney and Robin sections, was hilarious. I also liked seeing young Marshall; the child looked it could have been Marshall's kid!
* Marshall standing up from the booth and he's still wearing his shredded work-pants, displaying his handsome calves. =)
* Robin's sleeping pill-induced sleepwalking, especially her eating the ribs while sleeping/lying on the floor. Again, another shout-out to past episodes! ("The Bracket" episode, when Ted says that Robin laughs every time she lies. His example? "Have you ever fallen asleep while eating ribs?" Robin: (giggles) "No.")
* The entire episode took place in the bar. The flashbacks, of course, took us all over the place, but the writers were able to tell the story from the vantage point of the bar. Mighty impressive, I think.
* Lily asks Barney to give something to Marshall, and Barney, of course, thinks it's something sexual.

What do you think of Ted, and his return to Karen? What were your favorite (or least favorite) parts of the show?

Photo source: http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/met-mother/photos/192257