This Time For Real

How I Met Your Mother, S08E18

Barney couldn't let go of his old lifestyle with women while he kept getting new ideas for his "destroyed" playbook in his dreams.  Once again, Barney used Ted as his proxy and made Ted use some of his tricks to get a new girl now that he had broken up with Jeanette.  Jeanette showed up again, however, while Ted was in the middle of one of Barney's schemes.  Marshall accompanied Lily to an art gallery as part of her new job and tried his best to charm people there with his jokes, but soon found that he was making a nuisance of himself.

Turns out that Barney hadn't destroyed his real playbook.  That was far from a surprise.  I just knew that he had another copy somewhere else.  If he was going to keep another around when he knew full well that the destruction of that book symbolized his commitment to Robin, he should have been smarter about leaving it around and using it even if it was for Ted.  I mean, Robin could have easily found out about it without ever have save seen it.  Ted would have slipped up somewhere and Robin would have found out.

Anyway, I was a little disappointed at the mention of Weekend at Bernie's because I thought they were going to do some kind of parody.  Instead, it was used as a really bad scheme to pick up chicks.  It made absolutely no sense, as Barney would play a dead guy, but then again none of Barney's ideas really do.  They're all just horrible setups that lead to offering one's penis.  I don't know how Barney got laid at all sometimes.  He had to be dealing with the stupidest women on the planet.  Back to the point, I was expecting more from the title and from the promo I saw where Barney was dressed as Bernie.  If I had known that it was just another of his plays, I would have been less excited.

Concerning Ted, I guess he just needed a few more bad ideas in his system before he was cleansed.  I mean, he finally got freed of Jeanette, and then he goes and takes Barney's advice on who he should date next?  Or rather, he uses Barney's methods to find a new girl.  I guess you could look at it like Ted being a good friend to Barney who so desperately wanted to be doing his old tricks again, but it still was a stupid move.  After two times of knowing that the "punchline" to many of Barney's plays are "my penis," Ted should have thrown in the towel there.  Barney doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt.  Worse than humiliating himself and angering some girls, Ted's plays led him right back to Jeanette for a second.  I knew that girl wouldn't go down so easily.  But I was glad that her and Ted's reconciliation didn't last for long.

I sort of liked seeing Ted sitting outside of his apartment while all of his things were thrown out from above.  Like a cement block to the head, it really hit him that he was done dating for real.  Barney too had his moment of finality where his playbook was concerned after Jeanette exploded it with fireworks.  It was a nice end to the era of terrible pickup schemes and dating psycho girls.  Both Barney and Ted have closed the book on that chapter.  Thank goodness.

The best part of Marshall's story was when all of the skittles fell from him during the moment of silence.  I wondered how he could make himself less useful to Lily after all of his failed jokes, but I didn't expect his candy would rain out around him, making him look like the least popular guy there.

Speaking of that, I loved when Marshall recalled bitterly how in his junior year this other kid tied with him as the most outgoing that year. They showed a picture of Marshall's rival grinning widely and beside him was Marshall with the same expression.  It was funny because they didn't look like they disliked each other at all.

I also liked that Marshall's goofy interests ended up being crucial to Lily meeting the artist that she couldn't get near all night.  I couldn't stand, knowing how likeable and friendly of a guy Marshall is, if he ended up just being a loser who snuck food into a gallery and spoiled a moment of silence for the deceased.  It was great how he and the artist got along, recalling things like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Small world.  Of all people there, it was Marshall that he could relate to best.

This episode was okay.  I did like that Barney and Ted put a stop to some of their bad habits.  Barney finally said goodbye to his playbook for real, and Ted ended things with Jeanette and made a vow to stop dating.  I can't wait now to see how much longer it will be until the wedding begins, aka when Ted first sees the woman of his dreams.  I know it's not going to be the next episode, but I'm still wishing they could skip over all those other "adventures" that happen in between that point.  I'm sure there will be some decent ones, but none of the stories will be as great as when Robin and Barney tie the knot.  I feel like I'm just now watching this show just for that moment and can't be bothered with anything else in the meantime.

It Takes Crazy To End It All

How I Met Your Mother, S08E16

Ted claimed that he was finally going to breakup with Jeanette after his friends continued to tell him she was too crazy for his own good, but his cowardliness to do so resulted in Jeanette locking herself in his room and destroying his stuff.  Robin avoided holding Marvin, and when left alone with Marvin for the first time, Robin took years to tell Lily about the iffy events that happened while Lily was gone.

Jeanette might indeed have a screw loose like Barney teased, but her maniac style is starting to grow on me.  I'm also super-happy that she is the last random girl we will have to see before Ted finds the girl of his dreams.  That makes me love Jeanette a whole lot more because she's the one who's going to end Ted's streak of dating pointlessly.  After all of the other failures in his love life that will make her one of my favorite girls that Ted's been involved with, no matter how much trouble she gives him.

What I liked best about this story was when Ted left his apartment and asked Barney and Marshall not to let Jeanette in.  As soon as he left, Jeanette was at the door and they played this dramatic sound.  I loved that Marshall screamed and closed the door on her.  Then it was made even better when Barney opened the door, they played the dramatic noise again, and Barney screamed too before shutting the door.  It was like the start of a slasher movie before she murders them all.

I also like that Marshall and Barney were just sitting around in the apartment acting as if Jeanette wasn't wrecking Ted's room when Ted got back.  They started off saying that they were sure she had left after they let her in and as more sounds of things getting broken were heard, Marshall and Barney changed their story.  I liked that they were just as terrified of her in the house as Ted was.  And when they found out she was a cop, they decided on their own that Jeanette now owned Ted's apartment.  Such great, brave friends they are.

Another good point was that Lily told Ted that Jeanette was what he needed because Ted was just as crazy as her.  It's nice to see for once that not all crazy girls are just born that way--sometimes they are made by equally crazy men.  Ted was doing a great job of leading her on and encouraging her erratic behavior, so it makes sense that he should keep the crazy train going until it derails and he can get himself together again.  I'm looking forward to how they end things.

In Robin's story, I can't believe how long it took her to tell Lily about what happened with Marvin.  It took her 17 years to tell the truth!  I would have smashed a wine bottle on that bitch's head!  It's not so much that she was caring for Marvin in a strip club with Mike Tyson than it was that she kept telling Lily a piece of the story here and there.  Who does that?  It's times like this that make it really clear why they are all friends.  These people are insane.

I liked this episode.  I want to see more of Jeanette and how she will turn Ted's life upside-down with her outbursts and odd tastes.  It's exciting to know that we've come to the end of Ted's mistakes in women and are winding down to getting a glimpse of this supposedly amazing woman.  I just hope she lives up to the hype that Ted has created about her.  It would be terrible if she was underwhelming as a character.  As for Robin, it's nice that she finally got over her baby-holding fear.  If only she could get over her need to garnish the truth over the years.  No lie needs to take that long to be revealed.

Crossing The Stalker Line

How I Met Your Mother, S08E15

Barney became obsessed with finding out who Robin was stalking during her days as Robin Sparkle.  His travels to Canada and investigations of her past lovers led him to another segment of the Robin Sparkle story.  Ted met a girl on a train who later found him at work.  After learning their meeting wasn't a twist of fate as he had thought, Ted had a hard time convincing Lily and Marshall that the girl wasn't a stalker.

It's unfortunate that with so many guest stars in this episode that I didn't really know or care about the majority of them.  I liked the idea of them making a Robin Sparkle behind the music thing like you would see on VH1, but it wasn't as funny as I had thought it would be.  My favorite part was when they talked about Robin announcing that Robin Sparkle was dead and how the celebrities there reacted.  Jason Priestley started complaining about Paul Shaffer's stomach growling during that time and how disgusting it was.  Shaffer later commented directly to Priestly:

I'm sorry, Jason Priestley.  I didn't realize you were the Queen of England.

I liked how the two of them drifted away from talking about the tragedy of Robin's career fall and more on something frivolous as someone's stomach making noise during a shocked silence.

After all the running around and "mystery" around who Robin had been obsessed with back in the day, by the time she revealed that it was Shaffer, I didn't care anymore.  I guess that was because I was disappointed with that latest (and probably final) chapter of Robin Sparkle.  It's a shame because the Robin Sparkle stories used to be some of my favorite parts about this show.  I don't know.  Her transition into grunge music just didn't do anything for me.

Ted's story just kept getting creepier and creepier.  I wouldn't say that it was much better than the Robin Sparkle story, but it wasn't bad either.  I mostly liked that Ted was being delusional, as usual, and refused to listen to Marshall and Lily's reasonable points.  My favorite thing in this story and the whole episode was when Ted was trying to illustrate how a big romantic gesture can be perceived as stalkerish or touching depending on if the recipient of the gesture is in love with the giver.  I loved when he redid Marshall's first attempt to ask Lily out in a stalkersih light.  Marshall looked so creepy in the shadows, and I loved seeing Lily scream and mace him in the eyes.  I feel like I haven't laughed that loud at this show in a really long time.

It was a little surprising that instead of Ted being a stalker, it turned out that he had a stalker of his own for over a year.  It was like each time Jeanette said that she had something to tell him that she wasn't going to reveal initially, I just wanted Ted to start running as far away as possible. Unfortunately, he decided to take what he could get and not send Jeanette packing even after finding out she had followed him to a bookstore in addition to other places that she hadn't mentioned yet.  I can't call Ted a complete idiot because I guess he just needs some kind of affection, whether it's with someone crazy or not.  At any rate, Jeanette won't be around forever, so I can excuse him setting aside reason for a little fling.

Also, I felt like Lily had been lying about the first time she met Marshall from the beginning of the episode.  She was way too quiet about Marshall's telling of the story that I knew there had to be more.  I didn't expect that she was faking a reason to see him and knocking on every door to find out where he lived.  For Lily, that seems like absolutely something she would do.  And it sort of pales in comparison to some of the other nutty stuff she's done since then.  But I liked how Marshall used the same line Ted had to make it seem like Lily's actions were all right when previously he was yelling at Ted as if his friend was a madman.

I liked this episode, despite that the Robin Sparkle story wasn't as great as the others had been.  I guess there weren't enough Canadian jokes or they've just done enough of them in the past that poking fun at Canadians doesn't really work for me anymore.  It's weird that Ted got involved with someone clearly stalking him, but at least he's not so naive about it that he doesn't even question whether everything happening between him and Jeanette is as coincidentally as it seemed.  Although it's a waste of hims time to bother with a nutbag like her, I say let Ted have his fun so he can ignore for the moment that he hasn't found the one just yet.

Pit People; Saved the Best For Last

How I Met Your Mother, S08E11-E12

In this double episode,  the first half was about Ted's obsession with his old professor who said he would never be an architect.  His friends went with him to their old school so Ted could confront the man, and Lily and Marshall ran into an old friend who they believed was obsessed with them.  Barney was also jinxed and couldn't speak.  In the second half, Ted was torn about keeping his promise to Barney to not tell anyone about his plan to propose to Patrice.  Marshall and Lily also found it hard to have a night away from Marvin.

The first story was sort of funny.  I liked the idea of "pit guy."  They always make up some kind of term on this show, but lately I haven't loved any of them.  The idea that everyone has someone that they would throw into a pit because they hate them so much is interesting.  I felt bad, though, when Ted had to deal with his pit guy, Professor Vinick.  That guy was just awful.  Ted never got the satisfaction of showing the man he was wrong about Ted, and in fact, he got the last word in.  It's Ted's fault for not coming to the realization faster that he didn't need Vinick to validate his self-worth as a architect, but it still sucks for him.  The only thing I really liked about Ted's pit guy was Ted's fantasy about getting his revenge.  Ted threw a cigarette in front of him, setting ablaze a trail of fire that caused Vinick to burst into flames.  The professor quickly turned into ash.  That, plus Ted's maniacal laughter afterwards, was my favorite part of the story.

I didn't really like Robin's pit guy situation.  It was all kinds of wrong for her to try and fire Patrice for personal reasons.  I don't know if she could sue her for wrongful termination, but it was definitely going to make me hate Robin more if she didn't see the light in the end.  I did like her yelling at Patrice about the basket she bought for the lotions, but other than that I was just waiting to see if Robin would really be so petty to fire a sweet girl out of jealousy.

My second favorite thing about the first story was Daryl, played aptly by Seth Green.  Seth Green has always been a little creepy (also type of person that gets under your skin) to me, so he was really good playing someone who seemed to be unable to forget Lily and Marshall.  I loved when in the past Lily and Marshall tried to avoid him and he magically appeared in front of them.  And it was sort of funny that he later took the two to his suspicious and darkly-lit basement and Marshal and Lily thought they were going to die.  However, I knew early on that Daryl was most likely to give them a check.  I just hoped that he wouldn't tear it up.  That could have been money for Marvin's education.  What a shame.

I didn't think much of Barney's jinx til the very end where it became sort of relevant.  He got Ted to break the jinx by showing him a ring.  I actually believed that he was truly going to propose to Patrice.  I also knew that Ted wouldn't be able to keep his promise to Barney.  Telling Ted something about his friends that the others don't know is like tweeting it or putting it on Facebook.

In the second story, I was surprised that Marshall was trying to get Ted to give Robin another go.  I hope that was his real feelings and not because he was trying to win that bet he and Lily have.  However, as much as it looked like Ted was going to be selfish and go down the same old road again with Robin, I knew there was no way he could be that stupid.  I was really relieved when he told Robin the truth and took Robin to the building where the proposal would happen.  It's been a while since I've wanted to pat Ted on the back for a good job.  Robin and Ted is so eight years ago!  Haha.

No question about it, I was quite impressed with Barney.  I have really wondered why he has been so calm lately--it's been because he has been planning all this time to win Robin back!  And because it's Barney, who is the master of convoluted plans, you don't question how he was able to pull it off.  I absolutely loved that he named the last "play" of his book "The Robin," which detailed the steps he took to win Robin back after helping Robin break up with her last guy.  No man who didn't love her would go through so much trouble.  I mean, he pretended to be dating her worst enemy (who is really her biggest fan for playing the part for Barbin so well) and ignored all of her come-ons.  I loved this proposal more than the one for Quinn.  Hers was very magical, but Robin's was very heartfelt.   If Robin didn't say yes, then she might as well have fallen off that damn building.  Haha.  But seriously, it was very sweet and I feel like I need to watch it again.  I liked watching all of Barney's plan explained.

As for Marshall and Lily, they are new parents--nothing surprising about them missing Marvin.  I did think Lily's dad made it worse.  He was just too easy-going about them being gone that it made it seem like they weren't needed.  Of course, they would start to miss him and be unable to enjoy their night alone.

Good episodes.  The first story was definitely funnier because of all the "pit guy" business, but the second one was much more significant because Barbin became official with Barney's proposal.  I can't say that I'm going to miss that playbook of his.  I'm just very impressed that the last play was his very best one (and the only one I liked).  For that, it sort of makes his collection of sleazing on girls worthwhile.  Robin has to be pretty special to be deemed the last and only remaining page.

Robin's Failed Flirting

How I Met Your Mother, S08E09

Robin tried desperately to seduce Barney, determined to do so after he made it clear that he was done trying to get with her.  Ted started looking after Marvin for Marshall and Lily and was experiencing a bunch of firsts with him without his parents around.

It was a little fun to see Robin throwing herself at Barney, who was more concerned with mourning the lose of Cornelius the tie than her flirting attempts.  She is really selfish, though.  Finally when Barney told her that he was done with her, she decides that still sort of wants him.  Even if she does this with anything that she's been forbidden to have, it's a horrible habit of hers.  She needs to get it together.  Luckily, Barney wasn't paying her any attention.  I really loved that.  Even with her trying to turn him on with some girl-on-girl action didn't get a reaction from him.  Barney's not the sharpest guy around, so I could believe that he was too into a funk to notice what Robin was doing, but not so much when Robin literally threw herself at him by appearing at his door in just lingerie.  I would have liked Barney to have been like, "Thanks for the offer, but no."  He didn't really reaction like I thought he would.

But it was all good since Robin got a slap in the face when her bold move was countered by Patrice.  Wow.  Barney could not been with someone that irritated Robin more!  That was awesome.  Plus, as annoying as Patrice is, she feels like a genuine person who could help Barney heal from his breakup and his decision to shut the door on Robin.  I don't know if there will be romance between them, but at least she's acting like a friend to him.  Robin's too caught up in herself to help Barney with the pain, Ted's got his own mess to deal with, and of course, Marshall and Lily have Marvin.  So really, Patrice might just be what he needs.  At any rate, she can make Robin blow her top and that's enough for me.

This week's Ted wasn't so pathetic that I wanted him to just drop into a hole and disappear.  I mean, he was acting crazy by acting like Marvin was his kid and stealing all the first moments away from his parents, but his actions were able to evoke some sympathy from me.  Apparently he needs a project to obsess over before he becomes the creepy guy at a baby's swimming class who has no baby there in attendance.  I think I liked, though, that he made a scrapbook just because it had pissed off Marshall and Lily so much by its existence.  And it was even better that in the future Marshall and Lily get revenge by taking Ted's firstborn to Santa while they're babysitting him.  Loved that they apparently do hold grudges (and rightfully so).

There was some pretty interesting development in the Barbin situation.  Not sure if Patrice is a roadblock or simply a distraction, but it's got me thinking about what will happen in the next episode a lot more than I've thought about this show in a long time.  I'm not too worried about Ted--I'm sure he'll get another project to keep him occupied.  Better him building some structure that bores everyone than him moping around about not having found his future wife yet.  There's little worse than love-lost Ted.

Bringing Sexy To The Courtroom

How I Met Your Mother, S08E08

Marshall tried to prove that Brad's company had polluted Frog Lake, but Brad's sexy techniques were swaying both the jury and judge against Marshall's favor.  Ted, Lily, Robin, and Barney tried to determine who was the biggest badass as a teenager.  Robin and Barney tried to pretend that their awkward kiss never happened.

I can't help but love every second that Joe Manganiello was in this episode--he's not just good to look at but funny as a stupid ass.  I knew that Marshall was fighting for a good cause against some irresponsible people, but I still wanted Brad to win with his cheap tactics.  I think my favorite Brad move was his little video of Frog Lake where he was playing a saxophone and chilling in the water.  Plus, he was wearing no more than a wife beater and trunks and no less than his trunks.  You gotta love that.  It was just a really dumb video that was obvious attempt to win over the horny women on the jury.  I'm sort of surprised that they had an all-woman jury--why did it turn out that way?  Whatever the reason, Brad had everyone eating out of the palm of his hand, including the judge who seemed to be a little in the closet.  I loved when Marshall was about to turn the tables on the case and asked Brad to take his shirt off, which was given the green light eagerly by the judge.  So Marshall actually was able to use Brad's sexiness a little to his advantage.  Nice.

What was even nicer was that Marshall's win led to Brad quitting with that pharmaceutical company and joining Marshall's firm!  Yes!  Maybe we will see Brad again!  And although he's sort of a sneaky and cheap lawyer, at least his semi-effective moves will be used to help the environment instead of helping scumbag companies get away with stuff.  I have to say that I agree a little bit with Marshall that it is a bit of joke to only fine them 25 grand when they are clearly harming animals, but then again, to ruin a company with a huge multimillion blow when they hadn't exactly been blowing up bunnies with dynamite or something is maybe a little too much.  But I think they should have at least gotten a million dollar fine to make the issue seem serious.  25 grand is probably something the executives at that company spend on a car or other "toys."

I didn't care too much about the competition of who was the biggest troublemaker in the day because we all know that these guys are certified dorks.  However, when Lily told her story, I did sort of believe her because she's never hid the fact that she's a crazy-ass bitch.  I also just liked seeing Lily looking so pale and with dark makeup while she slapped cops and carried a bat.  They should show more flashbacks of that.

Barney and Robin were frustrating with their forced pleasantries.  Thankfully, Barney told Robin that he was just going to stop wasting his time trying to get her.  That is what any sane person would do.  Geez.  Robin is ridiculous.  She's not going to find a better match than Barney, but she just keeps on pushing him away.  So I guess it's up to her now to show that she actually wants Barney at some point?  I'm trusting that Barney really means what he says and isn't going to backtrack unless Robin proves her love for him.  I'm a little annoyed that they're wasting time when their attraction is so obvious, but this show is all about milking it, so I can't say that I'm surprised.

It's a no-brainer that I'm most excited to see what Brad will be up to at Marshall's firm.  I don't really care what Joe Manganiello is doing in any episode as long as he's there and possibly showing off his guns at least.  Haha.  Robin needs to hurry up and get with the program.  The viewers deserve to see Barbin become a real thing and not just a daydream we keep getting teased with.

Whether Bum Or Sneaky Lawyer--He's Hot

How I Met Your Mother, S08E07

Barney was being scouted by strip clubs after leaving his longtime favorite and hired Robin to be his agent.  Marshall vouched for an old law school buddy for a job at his firm and  lost credibility with his boss after the interview was a disaster.  Ted wanted to prove that he wasn't a "piggyback stamper" and desperately searched for proof he had vouched for something cool on his own.

Well, no such luck for Barney and Robin to kickstart their old relationship, but you definitely could see them clicking like they always have.  Anyone who could agree to handle Barney's strip club decision is a match made in heaven for him.  I think it's really weird that he puts so much money into strip clubs that they would be fighting over him, but Barney has always lived an abnormal life.  At the end where they were kissing, I got my hopes up that they would slid back into Barbin, but Robin wasn't having any of it.  Before I thought they should ease on into it, but after seeing how well they get along on something so ridiculous as strip club scouting, I don't see any reason they shouldn't be together already.  Barney seems into it--dunno what Robin's problem is.  If it's anything, it better be guilt.  She still needs to apologize for what she did.

I guess I forgot until I saw this episode that Marshall is a completely good guy.  He just sees the good in people, which makes sense that he has Ted as his best friend and can promote him, despite that Ted has a lot of annoying flaws.  It was cute when he actually gave his stamp of approval a stamp of approval.  Geez.  But the best thing about his story and this episode all together was that his old school buddy Brad was played by Joe Manganiello.  Holy crap--freaking Alcide from True Blood!  It's amazing that he can still look hot while in a hoodie and a mustard-stained shirt.  I was thrilled to see him, especially when he was telling Marshall's boss that there was no way he was six feet unless he stood on top of a pot of gold.  Not only did he make Marshall look bad but he also turned out to be on the opposing side of Marshall's biggest case.  Oh, snap!  That was a pretty shitty thing to do to Marshall who was just trying to be kind, but I just love that actor so much that I was just excited to know that he was possibly going to appear in at least one more episode.  I don't care if he makes Marshall cry--I definitely wanna see more of him!  Best guest star on this show ever!

Ted had another pathetic story.  He is really a sorry individual since being single.  The only thing I liked is that he sort of gave his original stamp of approval for Lily back when Marshall had only begun to date Lily.  He did backtrack on his stamp a little, but he mostly convinced Marshall that Lily was a good deal.  That was nice because I was just shaking my head at him spiraling into self-pity about himself.  I can't believe it's taken him so long to figure out that he's never really amazed anyone with his "discoveries" about things.

I liked this episode.  I suppose Barney and Robin will really have to start having a conversation about getting back together in the next episode (I'd be pissed if they decided to just ignore that kiss).  Joe Manganiello has appeared as Marshall's rival and I freaking love it.  Really can't wait to see his handsome face again next week.  Ted, on the other hand, can hide his face for a few weeks.  I'm about ready for him to get his damn act together.  Can't take another story about him being a sorry son of bitch.

Bye Brover, Bye Victoria

How I Met Your Mother, S08E05

Barney was getting a little too attached to his new dog, which Robin worried was due to his recent breakup with Quinn.  Ted realized that  Victoria wanted Ted to make a commitment to marry her and promise not to be friends with Robin anymore.  Marshall was being trained by Lily to give out sassy advice and got too carried away with it.

I groaned when I heard that Barney had named his dog "Brover." But I suppose him letting a dog be his wingman was kind of cute and better than seeing him use some stupid gimmick to pick up girls like he usually does.  His story also helped to put some strain on Robin's relationship, which needs to end already.  I felt a little bad that Barney had to give back the dog, but at least at the end it looked like they still could hang with each other.

Ted was incredibly thick in this episode.  I don't know why he would think that Victoria would want to take things slow when she had ruined a wedding to be with him.  I sort of forgot that he did owe her a commitment for taking such a big risk with him.  Yet, Ted couldn't give her 100 percent.  She should have known that asking him to cut Robin out of his life (which he has already tried at least once) wasn't going to fly.  But at least they sort of ended things on a less disastrous note.  They both saw that it wasn't going to work with them both wanting different things.  I feel bad for Victoria wasting her time with freaking Ted.  He should have just returned her to the church and never looked back.  Was there really a point in them being together this short time again?  So far, it just seems like a delay tactic before the "mystery woman" finally appears.  Get on with it!

Marshall and Lily were a little funny in this episode.  I thought it was weird that Marshall's inner goddess came through as this southern lady.  But as a Lily-in-training he wasn't so bad.  I mean, at least it was cute that they were dishing out advice with attitude together as a team.  It's just too bad that he didn't get the hang of actually dishing out good advice most of the time.  I also liked how annoyed Ted was to have Lily and Marshall keep telling him what he needed to do, especially when he told them they were the worst.  I don't know why that was the funniest thing to me, but it was.

Now that Robin has shown that she puts all of her friends ahead of Nick, I hope that their relationship falls next time because we haven't even really seen anything sweet or meaningful between them that would make you want to see them last.  Anyway, Robin is a train wreck, so she doesn't really deserve any guy (even Barney because she made him break up with Nora and then stayed with Kevin).

Not a great episode.  But I see potential for the next few episodes because we're getting rid of more clutter the more we progress.  It's just not progressing fast enough for my tastes, but as long as we're sort of moving along, I'm momentarily pacified.  I won't be , though, if next time Robin and Nick don't bite the dust already.

I'm Worried For Marvin

How I Met Your Mother, S08E04

Lily and Marshall finally got some time to themselves, but decided not to spend much of it with their friends.  The two began getting fearful of their deaths and thought they should pick a guardian for Marvin just in case.  Robin, Ted, and Barney began vying for the title of Marvin's guardian.

I would have never guessed that this episode would have led to Lily and Marshall thinking about how they would die (except I did see a commercial for this episode last week).  Nor did I think that their friends would attempt such stupid tactics to win the responsibility of taking care of Marvin in the worst-case scenario.  I mean, all Robin and Ted did was bring big ol' bears.  They didn't put much effort into their bribery.  Barney, on the other hand, put some effort into making children's songs into bro-themed lyrics, but I couldn't see how that was supposed to impress anyone.  I know it's Barney, but still--what was that?  He has to think somewhere in his head that doing that wouldn't make Lily and Marshall snap their fingers and tell him he's the one.  Out of all of them, he could have used his money to actually buy less stupid gifts than teddy bears to bribe them.  It's puzzling.  And it wasn't too funny.

Later, I was a little excited to see Marshall pull out a huge game wheel because Marshall always has the funniest games.  Plus, it's just ridiculous that anyone would make one of those in the first place.  The time he used to make that could have been spent just talking and hanging out with his friends in the first place, but, hey.  Anyway, the categories weren't especially clever, nor were the "contestants' " answers.  We all knew that Barney wouldn't provide a decent answer for most things, but I do think his approach to helping Marvin heal a broken heart was kind of funny:

I know this hurts little buddy. But you will love again someday because time heals a broken heart. But not that bitches window.

But when you think about it, Barney felt like the better choice when you had Robin, being a little too frank about death, threatening to send Marvin to military school, and shamelessly buttering up Marshall by saying he was a stud when it came to sex and Ted, mostly using a damn puppet to explain things to Marvin and caving into his every whim the moment Marvin looked a little sad.  Although, I would still never choose him.  In short, they all seemed like they would be horrible parents.  At least, if we were thinking about each of them raising Marvin by themselves, I would be really concerned about what would happen to the kid.

So I thought maybe Marshall and Lily would see that they all weren't good guardians, but they surprisingly chose them all.  I didn't know you could do that.  And also, even if they raised Marvin together, he would be a complete mess.  They're good friends, but I don't think they would necessarily teach Marvin good life lessons so he wouldn't grow up to be all the bad parts of Ted, Robin, and Barney (that mishmash would be a monster).  But I guess since Marshall and Lily had no family they could agree upon, that was the best they could do.

I also want to say that I was a little shocked that Marshall told his friends that Marvin wasn't one of the most important things in their life, but was the most important thing.  Perhaps one's child is to many parents, but to say that straight up to your friends would still feel like a slap in the face.  I had to share Ted and company's feelings when they walked out after that.  I don't ever think I've seen Marshall and Lily act like such jerks.  They made up for it, but damn.  It just bothers me when people seem to toss friendships away once they have kids.  Your kids are special, but you're not going to be able to bitch to them about your problems or go drinking with them (not while they're underage anyway) or probably hang out with them much (because they'll think you're too old and uncool).  So it doesn't make sense to me.  Good thing they patched things up some.

I guess this was an okay episode.  It distracted me from wanting to see those other two dumb relationships fall already.  I truly didn't even think about it because I was too focused on how Marshall and Lily were acting.  But next time I would like to see them get back to that and put an end to one or both of them.

I Liked Mrs. Buckminster

How I Met Your Mother, S08E03

Marshall and Lily had a hard time finding a nanny before Lily went back to work.  Robin and Ted tried to best each other in whose relationship was going better.  Barney tried to return to his own tricks as a single man, but was bored with his old shtick.

Well, I knew from the beginning that Lily and Marshall would eventually pick Lily's dad to look after Marvin, but I had hoped that I'd be wrong and they would keep Jane Carr who played Mrs. Buckminster.  I've liked her ever since she did voices on Fairly Oddparents.  She just has such a comforting voice--I love it.  And it was kind of weird but funny how she was looking after Barney and then screwing him at the end.  Not that surprising because I anticipated it when I saw her helping him out, but still.  Weird.

Robin and Ted's fight was just so stupid.  Especially since we all know that they're arguing for no good reason because their relationships are both doomed.  I'm annoyed that they didn't even break up one of them in the episode.  The torture goes on...  But I did like seeing Victoria being so slovenly in Ted's apartment.  She was just throwing things left and right as soon as she entered the door like a tornado of filth.  That was amazing.

Barney's story was even sadder and more boring.  It was a little twisted that he was interviewing nannies just so that he could get sympathy as a single dad and sleep with one of them, but it wasn't enough for me to think I was glad he had a little story of his own.  I also knew that he would be the one to pay for Mrs. Buckminster from the moment I heard that her salary was too high for Marshall and Lily (still hoping that she'd be on the show more).  I can't say that I'm happy to see the old Barney back.  In fact, he just seemed like an annoying fly buzzing around talking about "Bangtoberfest."  Geez.

I guess I didn't hate this episode because I did like seeing Lily's father show he did do more for her than abandon her and take her to race tracks, but it wasn't enough for me to be glad I had watched it in general.  I feel like I was just waiting for it to be over so I could enjoy 2 Broke Girls.  Even though they don't really have the same sentiment as this show, I find that its brand of comedy is less taxing than HIMYM right now.

Tedtoria--Not So Much. Barbin--Knew It All Along

How I Met Your Mother, S07E23-24

Barney and Marshall struggled to get back to New York for the birth, while Ted and Robin tried to keep Lily calm with stories.  Marshall just managed to get there in time to see his son, Marvin be born. A week later, Ted decided to contact Victoria and found out she wanted to run away with him on her wedding day.  Robin continued to fail to take a decent family picture for Lily and Marsh to use for their announcement cards.  Barney got held up in the airport security when he refused to reveal the trick inside of a magic box.

Since the finale was an hour long, it had a lot more opportunities for funny moments.  I think it was really funny how Ted had a huge picture of himself in the labor announcement email that he sent against Lily's wishes.  It should be more pathetic that he's living his life through Lily and Marshall, but it just reminds me of how ridiculously close Ted is to his friends.  It's really hard for him to see themselves as separate people.

My favorite story that Ted and Robin told Lily about was the one about Marshall's cursed pants.  He found a note in the pocket written in Chinese that sent him to some interesting shop in Chinatown.  Despite that the owner went into the back where it was glowing bright green as if there was magic afoot, it was only a ticket for dry cleaning.  Of course, it would be.  This is pretty much how my second favorite story, the mysterious door, ended.  I would love to do that to one of my friends, but you would have to trust that they would be so cautious they wouldn't go into the broom closet until the very last second. 

I also liked how younger Lily made it seem like her dad was a stranger and got security to get rid of him.  Then in the present as he was freaking her out, she simply called for security and they dragged him out of the room in seconds.  Man, I would like to go to a hospital where I could just remove people like that (or any place, really).

It was cute how they all dressed as John Bender because they didn't coordinate well for their group Breakfast Club costumes.  The idea of each of them dressing as one of the characters is interesting.  They have exactly enough people and all the right genders.  Lily could be Claire, Robin could be Allison, Marshall could be Andrew, Ted could be Brian, and Barney could be Bender (although, I think Neil Patrick Harris resembles Brian more).  I'd just love to see that.

What I didn't love was Robin coaching Ted on who he should have ended up with.  She was quite right that he kept betting on the wrong horses for love (thus, why I'm fed up with him after these years), but I can't believe that she thought the best thing for him to do was re-explore Victoria, a woman who was supposed to be engaged.  I really liked Victoria and I thought she and Ted made a good couple, but it just didn't feel right for her to suddenly come back and want to run away with Ted.  To me it sounded like she just wanted a quick out and was scared.  If she really wanted to be with Ted, why not just tell her fiance her feelings in person instead of telling him with an empty altar.  I was really happy that Ted was going to take her back to the church until he started remembering all the good times.  I wanted to choke him when he passed the church.  Really?  You're going to go for Tedtoria??  That was the last thing I expected!  I can't help but to think that the start of the next season will show Ted's actions blowing up in his face.

What I did expect was that Barney's mystery box was somehow a proposal ploy.  I don't know why I knew, but he was being overly secretive about it and purposely ruining their getaway.  Any man that can hug his girlfriend upon seeing that she had remodeled his bachelor lair into "Tinkerbell's vagina" has to love a girl deeply enough that he wouldn't actually try to ditch her for some magician's convention instead.  I know it's TV, but Barney would have definitely gotten shot before he had one chance to explain himself in the airport.  But I'm glad it was dragged out so we could see his elaborate trick where a ring appeared on top of a growing flower.  That was amazing!  It was a really wonderful proposal.

But I knew Barney was meant for Robin, the second he mentioned this was their last chance to go off together.  That connection between them has always made me think the woman he was marrying in those random previews of the future was Robin.  I never doubted it for a second, even when both of them started dating others.  I just knew they would find a way.  I still think Robin is a jerk for abandoning Barney for Kevin and then tossing him away too, though.  After breaking his heart like that, I really wonder what Robin did to win Barney back (especially when he already had Quinn).

This was a pretty good ending to this season and had one surprise that I didn't see coming.  I just really can't be happy that Ted is simply recycling his relationships (that's how he got in trouble with Robin), but maybe Victoria will finally lead him to the girl he's supposed to be with.  I know the series is supposed to be about the events that led up to Ted meeting the girl of his dreams, but I can't imagine being less enthused about who his true love is if I were his daughter and son listening to the story in the future.  It's a shame that Barney made such an inventive proposal on a girl that he won't end up with in the long-run, but I feel a little proud that Barney is transforming into a man who can at least commit enough to want to be engaged to someone.  Robin is going  need some transforming of her own and that will be something I look forward to in the next season.  Not looking forward to Ted wasting his time with Victoria.  Or Marvin (Waitforit--are you kidding me with that middle name?) turning Marshall and Lily into boring parents.  Hopefully, they won't do any of those things next season and I'll have a reason to want it to come back in the fall.

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.

Once You Have Baby, You Never Get To Be Crazy Again

How I Met Your Mother, S07E21

Marshall got upset about Lily's sex dream with Ranjit.  Barney started a campaign to make every day legendary with Ted at his side.  Ted was less interested in hanging out with Barney than he was enjoying his time living alone as an adult for the first time in his life.  Robin was frustrated that despite becoming an anchorwoman on a major news network, she was far from famous yet. However, after she landed a helicopter by herself after the pilot passed out from a stroke, she finally got the celebrity status that she longed for.

It's incredible how well Marshall and Lily know each other, to the point that Marshall could tell that Lily was lying about the content of her sex dream.  It's too bad that he could easily tell that she had "sleep cheated" with someone she knew, but it wasn't anyone in their inner circle.  I'm glad that it was Ranjit, not just because it wasn't someone I'd easily guess, but just because I like him on the show.  The issue of the sex dream wasn't as funny as Ranjit continuing to listen in on their fight by lowering the partition randomly after Marshall had asked him to raise it several times.  And I loved when Marshall and Ranjit were eating at the fancy restaurant.  I thought he was going to comfort Marshall about women acting a little nutty when they are pregnant, but Ranjit crushed his dreams about ever having the luxury to be crazy himself:

[Ranjit] She’s pregnant. She gets to be crazy. You have to be the sane one.
[Marshall] So what, I don’t get to be crazy again until the baby comes?
[Ranjit] No. Then it’s baby’s turn to be crazy.
[Marshall] When do I get to be crazy again?
[Ranjit] Never.

 That was my favorite part of the episode.  I didn't care too much about Robin being depressed about her fame and then getting it, nor Barney's point system and his attempt to have all these "incredible" nights with Ted.  The only thing I liked about the latter story was that Barney revealed that his incessant bragging about Quinn being a stripper was a front to cover up his fears about what she did on her job at nights.  The only thing that distracted him from all those terrible thoughts were hanging out with Ted.  I'm glad that it isn't that easy for him to date a stripper because I was wondering how he thought it was such a great job that he needed to tell everyone every time he spoke to them.  Ted was nice to accept his challenge to get a girl's number while wearing a dress.  It was really unflattering on him, though, especially because he didn't wear matching shoes even.  But he did wear perfume with it.  Not gonna ponder why that is--Ted's just weird in general.

I think this was a pretty boring episode except for the fact that Ranjit came back.  I wish that he had more opportunities to be in the show, but as he is a limo driver and none of them can afford such services on a regular basis, I guess he can only come back for the occasional episode or two.  I'm ready to see Ted find out that living on his own isn't all about the freedom of walking around naked or eating buckets of ribs in peace.  The season finale is drawing near, so I'd like to something eventful to happen with his relationship (that doesn't involve Robin) quickly.

Will This Show Be On In Three Years?

How I Met Your Mother, S07E20

Barney thought he wasn't ready to prove he wanted to be serious with Quinn, but he eventually saw that his days of switching from woman to woman wasn't really his style anymore, and he chose a future with Quinn.  Ted and Marshall reminisced about the futures they had imagined for themselves at 3-year intervals, starting from the time they were in college.  Nothing had worked out for them the way they had wanted most of the time, but it seems that in 2015 Ted will finally break his losing streak with finding the one and have the family he's always envisioned.

The way Ted and Marshall pictured their lives was just ridiculous. And not in a way I could laugh at.  The first time they thought about it (in their college days) was a little funny, but that was mostly because they were still naive and young, so their ambitions of long hair, mustaches, and rock-star wives was appropriate.  However, they just kept thinking of grander and richer scenarios, which made no sense when their lives seemed to get worse and worse.  I got a little blue watching it myself, thinking of how sad Ted was and how many people in his age range probably have the same disappointments in life.  You think that you're going to be in one place, and 3 years later you haven't made any progress or are worse than you started off.  At least we know that Ted's story will have a happy ending, but for those who don't live in TV land, we have to hope our efforts pay of in the next 3 (or whatever) years.  Anyway, I wonder when this show is going to be through.  I feel like it has maybe one more year in it.  2015 would be pushing it.

I never thought that the relationship between Barney and Quinn would go without consequence (that would be too improbable for someone like him), so I was surprised at first that Quinn moving in didn't seem to faze him.  That surprise didn't last long.  I was more surprised that he struggled to let Quinn have the smallest piece of ownership in their apartment.  If Barney was finally going to let a woman move in (he never even let the girls he slept with stay for breakfast), I would have figured he would go all the way.  I guess it makes sense it wouldn't be that easy for him to change completely.  I was happy that the little stroll down memory lane of how his plan for the future always involved a different woman made his see that a future with Quinn was infinitely better.  It raises my hopes that they will stick together in the end and not be a disaster like him and Robin (ugh).

I felt like this story was a bit of a downer and a tease.  Just hurry up and show us the girl that Ted is going to get with.  I don't want to know the appropriate time it'll happen--let's just get to it.  After all, I don't think this show has much time left.  I feel like they've done a lot and most fans have to be getting sick of Ted whining about being single.  Even Barney is looking like he has met the girl he might be marrying in those future scenes they've shown us.  So let's not waste any more time.  I know for sure that, even as much as I like this show, I won't be patient for another 3 years.

How I Was Bored For Half An Hour

How I Met Your Mother, S07E18

Hard to say what I liked about this week's episode.  There were a lot of disappointing things that happened.  The most disheartening was that Quinn turned out to be a stripper at a bar that Barney and Ted frequented.  I didn't want it to be really easy for him to get the only non-Robin girl he's seemed to like since Nora, but come on--a stripper??  Really??  I guess I have a soft spot for Barney ever since Robin stepped on his heart and wiped it off like a piece of gum against a sidewalk edge.  Quinn was so charming when she wasn't working; in this episode she was just a manipulative tease.  They have to show us her better side next week.  Even if it was Barney being tricked out of 100s of dollars, you couldn't be that hard-skinned to cheer Quinn on.

The next disappointing issue was that Ted was lamenting Robin's disappearance.  I know Ted, and I know he's not really the type to get over things as quickly as he should, but this was ridiculous.  Barbecuing and doing pottery in Robin's empty room?? And seeing visions of her that he talked to??  Ted is a mess.  Maybe this show should be called "How I Met My Therapist" and he should get a little help.  However, that might just lead him to start dating his therapist like a certain Canadian we know.  The best thing that came about Ted's insanity was that he moved out of that horrible apartment and gave it back to Lily and Marshall.  Not only does that leave the possibility of Ted truly starting anew with some interesting consequences, but it brings Lily and Marshall back in the city.  As much as I understand their need to raise their child in an environment that's suburban, for the sake of the show, they need to not be so separated from the others!  They really haven't had any grin-glued-to-your-face moments since they moved to that house.

That leads me to my final disappointment that Lily and Marshall's version of the "suburban cult" wasn't that funny at all.  You would think with a couple as crazy as them holding one of their best friends captive that it would be creepily amusing.  It had very faint moments of "oh, that's kinda good," but nothing to really report about.  I'm glad that Lily and Marshall revealed that they didn't like it out there as they made it seem.  The house was nice and all, but like I said before, we need them in the city if the show is going to have some of their trademark off-the-wall nuttiness.  

I suppose next week, I'm anticipating what "adventure" Ted may have started now that he isn't haunting his old apartment.  I won't expect much from the Quinn and Barney love story.  I'm a little less enthused about their coupling, so they are going to have to win me over again with some scenes that prove their chemistry.  And lastly, Marshall and Lily better have reclaimed their spot in the middle of the HIMYM madness.  The show, after all, works best when it's a story that ties them all together.