We knew it would happen at some point this season, right? In last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, after a whirlwind and devastating Valentine’s Day for Robin, Ted confessed that he still loves her. They set this up back in the beginning of the season, when Ted’s ex Victoria told him that his complicated relationship with Robin was holding him back from finding the one. And now we’re about to get the payoff.
Love Train, Baby, Love Train
But let’s start at the beginning. First of all, after a string of bad dates (none of which we actually got to see – it would be nice to see Ted actually experience some of these) Ted gave up on his quest for “the one” (been there, done that?) and decided to embrace scumbaggy douchiness (yes, I’ve mae up both of those words) with Barney. Where? On the drunk train! Barney learned about the drunk train from Marshall and Lily – it’s the last train back to Long Island from Manhattan, and it’s full of drunk girls who’ll go home with pretty much everything.
Barney and Ted’s first attempts at taking advantage of the drunk train were pretty hilarious, since they all resulted in some Jersey Shore type girl yelling “What, you think you’re better (betta?) than me?!” and throwing a drink in their faces.
Barney was having trouble on the train for a different reason – he’d hooked up with the hot girl named Quinn (Becki Newton) he’d chatted up at the bar while playing wingman for Ted, and he actually had a thing for her. She called him on all his crap.
The twist, which was revealed in the end tag, is that Quinn is actually a stripper at a club Barney frequents. He didn’t recognize her. Veeery interesting. I like that the writers threw us a curveball here, because Quinn did not come across like your typical stripper. But how will this pan out for Barney? Could he really date a stripper?
Reverse Proposal
The big storyline was Robin’s, though. She and Kevin had gone to Vermont for a romantic couple’s weekend with Lily and Marshall, and while they were there Kevin popped the question. Robin stalled, not because she doesn’t love Kevin but because she felt she needed to tell him she can’t have kids first. She did confide in Lily and Marshall though – first about the proposal, so they made several nervous, accidental wedding references over dinner, and later about the fertility news she’d been dealing with.
Kevin was OK with Robin’s news that she can’t have kids, but since we never actually heard the conversation we don’t know if she just said “can’t” or did indeed say “and don’t want”. It’s an important distinction, because when Kevin insisted it didn’t matter and proposed a second time, he thought surrogacy and adoption were still options for them. But Robin has decided that she doesn’t want kids, and children were always a part of Kevin’s vision for his future. Even though he said he was OK with it, Robin didn’t want that guilt. She didn’t want to be the person who robbed him of having kids, and can you blame her? Kevin might think he’s OK with the choice now, but he’s always wanted kids. Once he sees all his friends having babies and Robin still doesn’t want them, he could start to regret his decision or resent her. So they broke up.
Heartbroken, Robin headed to the roof for a cigarette where Ted found her. He was also down in the dumps, albeit it for much less serious reasons. Robin told Ted everything that had happened (I loved how this played out silently, because we know a conversation like that could take hours in real life) and then Ted said he still loves her.
It’s a mistake, but it’s one that I think makes sense for these characters. Look, we know Ted and Robin won’t end up together. Not only has it been made clear based on what we know of their futures, but it also doesn’t make sense based on what we know of these characters right now. But people do stupid things when they’re in sad places, like turning to the comfort of familiarity. This show is in its seventh season and, yes, I think we should have met the mother by now. But the idea that Ted has been wanting to settle down for seven years now and STILL hasn’t met the right person, well, that’s an interesting concept to play with. He’s sad and lonely. If I thought the writers were trying to make another go of Ted and Robin I’d be frustrated, but instead I just see this as another piece of their complicated history, a step that will eventually lead these two unhappy people toward happiness – separate happiness.
So, what do you guys think? It seems like this was a polarizing episode. Are you annoyed or OK with this development? Let me know in the comments!
Favorite quotes and moments:
- Every single one of the top ten things Lily and Marshall said to each other on their wedding night.
- “Last week I went out with a girl whose favorite band was Glee.” – Ted
- “Well, I propose we order a bottle of wine. Not propose, suggest, I’m not married to the idea! Lily take it.” – Marshall
- Marshall attended a play with Lily that was just screaming. And then we found out it was the name of the play.
- Lily and Marshall’s funny little scoreboard storyline nicely mirrored Robin’s more serious thoughts on relationship debt, when she told Kevin “I just don’t think I could ever owe someone that much.”
- Quinn’s stripper name is “Karma”. Of course – not only an excellent name for a stripper, but an excellent name for a stripper that Barney Stinson falls for.
