As I’ve said numerous times, one of the most tiring elements of HIMYM has been the subplot of Ted’s continuing to have feelings for Robin. Tonight’s episode appeared to put the isuse finally to rest, but I’m not so sure this is the last time we’ll have to deal with his tomfoolery.
As always, full spoilers here on out.
Barney is basically torturing Ted by having him run around performing little menial tasks which Ted readily agrees to since he believes it’s his duty as the best man to make this the perfect wedding for Barney. Everything comes to a head though when Ted discovers that Barney has left him out of the groom’s poker game and has replaced him with William Zabka as the “best man”. Barney finally admits that yes, he is upset with Ted for the awkward moment he saw between him and Robin when they held hands together at the carosel (in last season’s “Something Old”) and claims Ted broke the Bro Code by doing so. Ted replies he was simply consoling a friend, and there was nothing between them and then accuses Barney of breaking the code himself by messing around with Ted’s mom. Unable to come to a decision, they ask virtual Marshall to make a ruling on the code, which leads to Barney and Ted holding hands on the beach to see if it’s weird. Barney relents and says that Ted was just being a good friend — so long as Ted is completely over Robin. Ted admits he still has feelings for her, and that this might always be the case, but swears an oath on the Bro Code that he will never do anything stupid that would hurt Barney or any of his other friends.
Meanwhile, Lily finally tells Robin that the real reason no one showed up to her bachelorette party was due to the simple fact that Robin has no female friends (other than the ever hilarious Patrice). Lily is determined to find a new female friend to replace her while she is in Rome for the next year, but all of Robin’s attempts to bond with another woman continually blow up in her face. Robin tries one last time and is successful when she finally meets another hockey fan who hates the same teams she does. Of course this unearths Lily’s jealous streak, and she violently threatens Robin’s new friend and chases her out of the bar.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; Lily is my favorite character, and she is never in finer form than when she is “crazy” Lily.. So of course the funniest moment of the episode was watching Lily worry about being fully replaced by the new woman Robin is bonding with (complete with imaginary scene that those two would have a sexual fling — something we know Lily has been fantasizing about forever now) and then angrily threatening and banning her from Robin’s life. The only thing that could have made it better was the return of the “you’re dead to me” look.
What I’m really happy about is that the writers didn’t use this moment to introduce Robin to the Mother. While it would have made sense (and was actually what I was sure was going to happen), the moment would have felt contrived and not as much fun as when Lily met her at the beginning of the season. Considering this is our last hurrah with these characters, it’s good to see that they’re being smart about how everything plays out at the wedding.
What wasn’t so funny but was desperately needed, was the confrontation between Ted and Barney about Ted’s lingering feelings for Robin. Ted has gone through God knows how many women since he last dated Robin, and it’s about time the issue was broached by the characters, and we can only hope, finally put to bed like it deserves. Despite his taking a broath, though, I still have this nagging suspicion that this isn’t the last we’ve heard of this, and that it will rear its ugly head at least one more time before the series ends (Narrator Ted even alluded to this awhile back). I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but we’ll see.
Finally, the return of the new and improved Marshpillow was just, well, bad. I get that they’re trying to include Marshall in the festivities, but if they wanted to have something for him to do, they should have given us more glimpses into what is going on with his road trip with Daphne. Daphne is wonderful, and she cracks me up everytime she’s on screen. Give her more to do!
Here’s to another good episode and a great tease for what’s coming next week! I’m excited to see what takes place at the poker game, why Barney’s mom is playing the strip version and exactly what horrors Willaim Zabka has in store for Ted since he reclaimed the title of “best man”.