Crazy For Robin, Crazy For Babies

How I Met Your Mother, S07E22

Ted and Robin were avoiding each other, and the separation started to get to Ted.  He was seeing Robin's face in not only the online dates that Barney sent him on, but also just about everyone he saw.  Barney, getting fed up with many negatives of dating a stripper, tried to set Quinn up with a cushy job at his bank, but she refused to take his handout.  Marshall was taking his preparation for the baby way too seriously and driving Lily crazy in the process.  She eventually sent him off to Atlantic City with Barney.  While they were busy gambling and getting drunk Lily went into labor.

I couldn't stand watching Ted go on dates where all he could see was Robin's face on them.  It's tiring to see this dance between the two of them where they're fine with not really being around each other, but then in another episode, they're not.  I'm hoping that Ted realized that he needs Robin his life regardless if they are in love with each other or not.  With their history of being friends, it's just dumb that they would give up their friendship just because they had a moment (mostly Ted, though) of weakness and thought they should be a couple again.   I had hoped that Ted's lapse into insanity would have been funnier (i.e. others around him wondering why looked out of it), but few people noticed how Ted was talking to Robin in his head.

Barney was also a little painful to watch this week because it was obvious that he couldn't handle random guys on the street suggestively telling Quinn that they would see her later.  I shook my head at him when he tried to casually get her a job in name only so that she could quit stripping.  If she's not willing to quit her job (which is asking her a lot of her), I don't see how it can really work.  Barney's not going to suddenly realize that it doesn't matter how many men have a sexy relationship with his girlfriend--what else can they do?  Unless Barney started stripping himself and could see things better from her perspective.  Even for this show, I couldn't see that happening.  I'm not sure if it's seeing someone like Barney but in female form that rubs me the wrong way, but I don't like Quinn too much anymore, and it wouldn't bother me much at all if she disappeared.  After all, what has she really done that is memorable so far?

I thought Marshall was cute with his overly zealous baby training.  I like that Marshall isn't the type to just think about what he might have to do once they baby comes, but he actually tries it out.  Setting an loud alarm to wake him up at odd times at night and tending to a watermelon baby, however, is really pushing it.  Lily was right to send him away for a while.  I can't imagine having to suffer through parenthood before it's even happened.

I sort of knew that as soon as Barney and Marshall agreed to not look at their phones for an hour that Lily would definitely go into labor during that time.  I didn't care too much about that at this point (just want the baby to get out already and see how that goes), but I did like that Barney brought up the ducky tie again.  I was just as surprised as Marshall to see it again:

[Marshall] I thought you threw that thing away.

[Barney] I did.  It came back.

To see Barney have to wear that wretched thing was more exciting than what I assume will be Marshall and Barney's mad dash back to the city to see Lily give birth.

I have to say this was a pretty boring episode since there was a lot about Ted thinking about Robin and Barney whining about Quinn.  Marshall and Lily's story was the best of the three, but it still wasn't enough to make me laugh or stay focused the entire time.  Next time we get to see little "whatever-its-name-is-going-to-be" be born, but I'm not counting on that being very entertaining with the quality of this episode.