Stone Cold Slytherin

How I Met Your Mother, S08E13

Barney had a hard time asking Robin's father for permission to marry her.  Robin was shocked that her father was not only more relaxed and fun, but had gotten married without telling her.  Ted and Lily fought over whether Barney and Robin should have a DJ or a band for the wedding.

This isn't much related to the story, but I felt like Robin was recovering from a cold the whole time and it sort of distracted me.  I mean, she didn't sound like a frog or anything, but she definitely sounded like she might need to clear her throat or something.  Must be difficult to be sick when you have to use your voice constantly.

Anyway, I might have never noticed how funny Robin's father was until now.  He was definitely my favorite part of the whole episode.  Before he even showed up Ted and Marshall were saying such funny things about him:

[Ted] Dude’s a stone cold Slytherin.
[Marshall] He always looks like he just came from slapping some guy tied to a chair in a back room.

I don't even like Harry Potter and Ted's line still has been chuckling to myself.  They set me up to expect to see some really scary guy appearing (I had forgotten what the man looks like), and Robin's dad didn't disappoint.

I loved his hard, intense expressions, especially when he was looking at Barney.  Barney's not exactly the bravest guy around, but I still liked seeing him sweat in the presence of Robin's dad.  Barney didn't look that good with dark hair, but it was really funny that he felt the need to do that after Robin's dad evaluated Barney's appearance:

This is Barney?  This man is blond.  Grown men are not blond.

Of all the things you could find wrong with Barney, that would be at the end of my list.  If he's bothered by just the surface of Barney, he's going to have a field day with what's underneath that blonde hair and expensive suits.

I wonder how, as terrified as Barney was of his future father-in-law, he was able to get the man to apologize to Robin?  Maybe now that he's married to someone like Carol, he's able to access some of those feelings that he's neglected all those years he raised Robin.  I thought they might say what Barney did, but that was left up to our imaginations.

I was also wondering why Ted was so set on a DJ throughout the episode.  I knew what Lily's deal was--she just wanted to be part of the planning and show that she knew what was best for the wedding.  I don't know why I didn't think it was because he was still stuck up on Robin.  For the love of everything, Ted--let it go.  I get that his love for Robin is deep, but he really looks so damn pathetic.  I believed him when he had accepted that Robin wouldn't be his and had really let her go.  Instead he was just fooling everyone, even himself.  Come on, Ted.  When are you gonna pick yourself up and stop grasping at straws?

There was a glimmer of hope in Ted's ridiculous battle for the DJ--they revealed that Ted would finally meet his future wife at Robin and Barney's wedding.  She'll be the bassist in the band, and we even got a sneak peek at her arm.  It's frustrating that this fated meeting is further down the road, but at least we know it's semi-soon.  We most likely won't have to wait another season to find out at least what she looks like.  There will be plenty of stories left once he does meet her because just because they met doesn't mean they'll fall in love in a second.  Especially with Ted, I think it'll take a lot before any woman decides to spend a lifetime with him.  He's a mess and even with the girl of his dreams, that'll never change.

The part where Marshall got "confetti" all over his face was so gross, but a little funny.  I would have vomited to see what actually flew out of little Marvin's behind, so I'm glad they had a cute way of conveying that.  I'm just glad that something came out of Marshall and Lily complaining about Marvin being constipated.  I just didn't think it was going to be the confetti explosion in Marshall's face.

This episode wouldn't have been half as good if Robin's father wasn't in it.  I couldn't stop laughing at his cold, dead-serious stares at everyone, especially Barney.  As for Ted, I just felt bad for him as usual that he can't commit to the things he's resolved to do or feel.  I think he's had more than enough time to get over Robin and truly be happy for Barbin finally becoming a thing.  Hurry up and get on the Barbin train, Ted!