Matchmaking, new relationships, and lots of phone calls on HIMYM

Rabbit or Duck
How I Met Your Mother: Season 5, Episode 15

When I watched the Superbowl this Sunday, I told my friends--who are also HIMYM fans--that since the game was on CBS, there had to be some sort of commercial featuring Barney. Sure enough, he appeared holding a sign that read what's pictured to the right. For those lucky enough to get through on the line, they heard a pre-recorded message about meeting Barney at McLaren's bar on October 12, 2016 at 3:45a.m. Currently, the line is a busy signal.

Of course, the writers found a way to tie this into the show. After holding up his sign, Barney's phone won't stop ringing with calls and texts, which is good--at first, until Barney realizes that there's always someone better than the girl who's on the other end of the line. Cue a string of girls that Barney brings back to his apartment but is unable to seal the deal with because the phone keeps ringing, even after Barney tosses it into the garbage. This was funny for awhile, but the incessant ringing got annoying. Then again, I laughed at the ringtone for 'do your ears hang low?' which later switched to a Western tune, which was particularly appropriate since Barney had hidden the phone in Ted and Robin's piano.

Everyone else was busy setting up dates, too. Ted asks Marshall and Lily to set him up with someone--after hearing Ranjit's tale of arranged marriage--while Robin thinks she agreed to a date with co-anchor Don while on live TV. When Robin reveals that Don actually asked her to a party, the group agrees that Robin doesn't really hate Don, and that she, in fact, likes him and wants to date him.

It's the whole rabbit versus the duck conundrum, Ted explains. He shows off an optical illusion, explaining that at first you see a rabbit, and then you see a duck. This, of course, is compared to relationships: at first you think it's someone/something you hate--a rabbit--only to later realize it's someone/something you love, a duck. This sets off a huge fast-forwarded argument, but eventually, it's agreed upon that ducks are more lovable. Talk about a crazy relationship theorem, more bizarre than most on HIMYM.

Moving on... before Ted's double date, Robin asks him to go to the party with him. He claims he'll "duck out" if it looks like something might happen between the two duck--er, lovebirds. Robin opens Don's apartment door and--voila!--Don is trying out the Naked Man, which fails to win over Robin, effectively turning Don into a Playboy bunny, aka a rabbit.

Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily forgot to set up a date for Ted. Lucky for them, they get their hands on Barney's phone. Fortunately for Ted, it's the girl who can put her leg around her neck and open a beer bottle with her foot. Unfortunately, she needs a visa... and Ted found and became addicted to Barney's phone. Luckily for everyone, a fight over the phone results in Lily tossing it into a pitcher of beer.

The episode wraps up with Ted and Robin sitting in a darkened living room, watching TV together. This moment seemed like it might turn into another re-return with Ted and Robin, but thankfully it didn't.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty funny episode--but notice how much they've used plot devices from previous episodes?
- Fast-forwarding through a discussion, a la trying to figure out the best candy metaphor to describe what single-life is like in NYC.
Barney: Yes! It's like being in a candy store! You just walk right in and grab yourself
some Whoppers! Yeah! ... Is Whoppers the best one?
Ted: Mounds.
Barney: Milk Duds. (Season 2, Episode 2)
- Ranjit appearing to help Barney out in meeting all his women. He first appeared in Season 1, Episode 1 as a cab-driver. Later, he was their limo driver on New Year's Eve (Season 1, Episode 11), and he's appeared sporadically in other seasons as well.
- The Naked Man. Duh. This was one of the best episodes of a lackluster Season 4.
- Lawyered! Originally spoken by Marshall in Season 1, Mary the Paralegal--and used sporadically throughout HIMYM since, but this was the first time Ted used it. Thankfully, he asked Marshall's permission.

There's nothing wrong with using and doing stuff that's been done in earlier (better) seasons and episodes. In fact, I like that they keep things continuous, and what better way to pull off a great episode then using things that worked well before?

Then again, this episode ushered in very little progress for yet another week. Barney, as usual, acts the player part. Ted still struggles to have a normal date. Marshall and Lily act as cute matchmakers and realize how hard the single life is. But then there's Robin.

At the end of the episode, Robin is startled to see that Don is wearing pants, because he knows that she deserves a great co-anchor. And Don is back to being a lovable duck, bill and all. Progress on the Robin front!

What did you think of the episode and the latest relationship theory? Do you think Don and Robin's relationship will go anywhere? What crazy shenanigans will Barney be up to next? And will Ted ever date again!? Share your thoughts below!

The Best Couple Ever

Photo: Fox Television Photo, Ron P. Jaffe

A few weeks ago, HIMYM treated us to the "best night ever," complete with a video montage and Marshall singing. In Season 5, Episode 6, "Bagpipes," we're witness to another "best" category where there previously hadn't been any competition; Lily and Marshall get overtaken for the spot of "best couple ever" due to some serious romantic cute-ness from Robin and Barney. Meanwhile, Ted deals with new upstairs neighbors who...er... like to 'play bagpipes' a lot.

Putting aside the fact that Ted's storylines have had nothing to do with the 'mother' since the beginning of the season, recent episodes have been about developing and nurturing relationships. In other words, Barney and Robin suck at being in a relationship (yet I still like them together).

Season 5 facts:
- Episode 1: Barney and Robin are unable to define what they are to each other, so they lie about being in a relationship.
- Episode 2: Barney is clueless to Robin's unhappiness in regards to him visiting strip clubs.
- Episode 3: Barney tries skipping the "getting to know you" phase by taking "Robin 101" classes from Ted.
- Episode 4: Barney & Robin don't see the value of 'couples night' until it's almost too late.
- Episode 5: Barney pushes Robin to forgo her Canadian roots and become a U.S. citizen.

Which brings us to last night's episode, "Bagpipes." Barney claims that now that he's awesome at being in a relationship, Marshall feels threatened. Buying into this claim, Marshall takes some advice from Barney about how to win arguments with Lily - complete with Barney imagining himself in Marshall's place and making out with Lily. As to be expected, Barney's advice goes horribly awry when applied, and Marshall is forced to sleep at Ted's apartment.

Meanwhile, Robin and Barney are acting all cute-sy, and still claiming that they avoid fights easily, with Barney either leaving the room or Robin getting naked. But when Ted isn't discovering this his upstairs neighbors are old folks, he's growing suspicious of the new couple's romantic ways. So what does he do? He finds Barney's downstairs neighbor, who attests to the fact that Barney and Robin fight A LOT. The fights all began, they recount, when they got stuck on a ski lift and Barney couldn't run away and Robin couldn't undress without the threat of frostbite.

With their fighting discovered, they seek the help of Lily and Marshall, who automatically forgive each other after hearing the horrible fights that Barney and Robin have. When Lily and Marshall explain that sometimes you just have to put your ego aside, realizing that your love is more important, Barney & Robin laugh, and say, 'seriously?' After Robin & Barney leave, Lilypad and Marshmellow break out the champagne and declare that they are officially the BEST. COUPLE. EVER. Silly kids, everyone already knew that!

Barney and Robin then fall back on their old solution of avoiding fights, and proceed to add another item to their list of places where they've 'done it' (83.5 places as of last count, according to Barney).

Is this a sign of worse things to come for the new couple? Are Robin and Barney ever going to be capable of a normal, healthy relationship with each other? Will Ted ever have a relationship-storyline of his own again? How much do Lily and Marshall rock as a couple? Share your thoughts below!

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!