Full spoilers from the episode to follow.
With the last episode before it’s break for the winter Olympics having left us with a bitter taste in our mouths, it was really nice to get a HIMYM that hit all the right notes and included just the right ratio of laughs to feels. Not only was it completely enjoyable, it also provided more fan service than pretty much any other episode this season.
The main story arc here revolved around everyone trying to get Barney awake and ready for the pre-wedding photos that Robin’s dad has planned to take place in a few hours. Unfortunately, Barney is still completely wasted from the night before and shows no sign of being in any position to take said photos, which will probably lead to Robin’s dad killing him or at least kicking him in the balls. Flashing back to times when each of them were suffering from terrible hangovers, Ted and and the others remember Barney’s Hangover Fixer Elixir that miraculously restored them to full functionality in record time. The bad thing is that Barney never revealed the secret ingredient, so Robin and Lily are left to the task of waking him up long enough to get that bit of info out of him while Marshall and Ted head out to pick up the other supplies. Nothing works to wake him up, though, until at long last, Lily and Robin decide to make out which immediately perks Barney up, only to have him reveal that there was no secret ingredient, and his elixir was a fake. He had simply made up the whole thing just to help his friends when they needed it most because he loved them. Moved by the fact that Barney always has cared about them, even if it meant lying to make them feel better, they tell him that they pulled off the “Weekend at Barneys”, which of course was the most awesome thing he could have hoped to have been a part of (even though they actually cancelled and Robin’s dad kicked him in the balls).
Like I said earlier, “Rally” was funny as hell and chock full of cool little moments and fan service we’ve been looking forward to for years now. From Robin and Lily finally making out to “Weekend at Barneys”, it was great to see them brought to life in ways that made sense for the story and didn’t feel like pandering. Had they thrown them in for the hell of it just to say “look what we did”, it would have been completely unsatisfying, but they were smart and organically worked them into the plot.
The flash forwards were great as well, in which we got to see Marshall become a New York Supreme Court Judge, Marvin go off to college and Ted taking care of the Mother with the Hangover Fixer Elixir one New Years Day morning right before the younger versions of their kids come busting through the door. There has been much discussion between my friends and I about whether or not HIMYM will show Ted and the Mother getting married or if it will literally end the moment he meets her. The way things have been going, with our learning about how things will play out in the future piecemeal, it would seem the latter is the path the writers have chosen. At first, I wasn’t too happy about this, but if they play it correctly and provide us with enough story to show that these beloved characters do get their “happily ever afters”, then I’m fine with it.
Overall, it was an excellent episode and reminded me why I still keep watching. Even though we’ve had to slog through much of a lackluster season to get here, the payoffs have been worth it. My biggest worry is that every time we get a great episode like this one, it is immediately followed by a stinker that’s only made worse when compared to the brilliance that came just before. Only a few more episodes to go, guys; keep them to this level of excellence, and you’ll do your fans and this crazy story justice.
9 out of 10