There were a lot of role-reversals on How I Met Your Mother this week – Marshall and Ted looked in the mirror and saw bad guys, and Barney realized he actually has feelings for someone.
Let’s start with Barney, since he was the funniest. He’d been denying his feelings for Nora since she declined to have drinks with him after laser tag (even though she gave him his number) but Robin tricked him into admitting otherwise. The only thing is, we’ve already learned that it’s possible for Barney to have feelings for a woman. We all know he really did care about Robin, even though their relationship didn’t work out.
Even so, Barney admitting that he has a crush on Nora was funny – I loved watching him try to prevent his face from smiling every time he said her name. But will this relationship work out? I have two concerns. One, that Barney being in a relationship won’t be as funny as Barney constantly on the prowl. My second concern is that Barney is going to get his heart broken. What do you guys think? Do you want to see Barney and Nora in a relationship? Despite my hesitations, I think I’d like to see that explored.
Meanwhile, Marshall was freaking out after seeing an environmental documentary called “Garbage Island”. We knew he wouldn’t work for GNB forever, and it makes perfect sense that the death of his father would be a catalyst for him to question his career. I’m more concerned about how it’s affected his and Lily’s decision to start a family. Can they really not have a baby even if they’re making less money?
Meanwhile, Ted faced an awkward situation when he realized he’d been the bad guy in the break-up of Zoey’s marriage. I loved seeing Kyle MacLachlan return to play The Captain, and he was hilarious as a wounded soul. The more Ted spent time with him, the more he realized that he was the villain in the situation. I had to question the events that led to Ted hangin’ with The Captain – why on earth would Zoey ask him to go pick up a box from their old building! That’s just asking for an uncomfortable situation!
Still, the idea that The Captain knew the douche who stole his wife must have a mustache was almost as funny as seeing Ted in a creepy mustache himself.
The best part of the whole episode was the way Ted running into Wendy the Waitress in the year 2021 was worked into the plot. It was clever, the way they had Wendy bond with another victim of Marshall’s new found environmentalism, and it was also a relief to hear once and for all that Zoey and Ted do not end up together. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t, but at this point I need a flow chart to keep track of all the clues that have been dropped over the course of this series.
Where do you think the show is headed? Will the wedding we saw at the beginning of the season happen in this season’s finale? Will it be Punchy’s? Barney’s? Someone else’s? Will Zoey be outta there by the time this season finishes? Now, check out these comedic highlights from “Garbage Island”:
- “She was a really great Laser Tag partner. She’s tiny so she’s allowed to push kids.” – Barney
- “I mean this in the manliest way possible – that guy scares the panties off me.” – Ted
- “I’m Barney Stinson. I don’t get smitten, I smite!” – Barney
- Barney comparing him being in a relationship to Mother Theresa focusing all her attention on only one orphan.
- “Who is this flower child and what has he done with my lionhearted friend Ted Mosby?” – The Captain
