How I Met Your Mother

It can be immensely difficult to reconcile the events that have happened in our childhood, especially those struggles involving our parents. From absent parents, to separated parents, to those who just never fully supported your career as a movie bad guy, this week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother touched on all of the above and more as Barney and Robin’s wedding inched ever closer.

For Barney, childhood parental insecurity came back in full force as Barney’s dad (played by John Lithgow, who actually made an appearance on campus this week) came back just in time for the wedding. When his father’s reunion with his mother doesn’t go horribly (they say hello politely), despite the fact that his father is happily married, Barney becomes convinced his parents will finally get back together. Barney goes to great lengths to get them together by closing the stairs (with a sign reading “Stairs are wet. No, broken. Yeah, stairs are broken”) and shutting down the elevator they are riding in, with the intention of trapping them in there with champagne, “enough nutella to cover a 60-year-old woman” and sexy music. When James rescues them, Barney realizes that James also envisions Loretta getting back together with his dad. The two get into a war of black-and-white nuclear family sitcom idealizations before devolving into a slap fight. Though they ultimately decide to end the competition, it is quickly revealed that Barney’s mom is, in fact, with James’ dad. Though Barney takes it hard, Robin reminds him that James, newly single and mostly alone, might need a whole family right now more than Barney does.

I liked this plot because it was a reminder of what marriage to Robin means for Barney – a stable family, something he’s never really had before. In his relationship and in his life, he never really had a role model who could show him what it means to be in a committed relationship, to be married or to be a dad. Barney has been figuring it out on his own for the most part. Now that Barney is able to let go of his childhood fantasy of a nuclear family, he can move on and make his own.

Meanwhile, best man Ted puts on his Detective Moseby hat to solve the mystery of who spilled precious calligraphy ink on the signed photo of Wayne Gretzky that Ted was holding for Barney to give to Ted. Lily is unconvinced that Detective Moseby is up for the challenge. (After all, he did just give up on the 8-year mystery of the pineapple incident.) But Moseby, the “case-crackingest private dick on the scene” is on the case. After narrowing it down to three suspects, Moseby and Lily together crack the case and discover it was a ploy by the scorned former best man Zabka, who was plotting to reclaim his place as best man and thus win back the affection of his mother, who, along with the rest of the world, had taken to boo-ing him because he only played villains in movies. This plot was pretty funny, especially as the final clue revealed it to be “Zabka-tage” while the Beastie Boys played in the background and Ted sprinted across the hotel. Trying to be a good guy, when Ted hears Zabka’s explanation, he takes the blame and let’s Zabka take the praise from Barney.

And finally, of course, the subplot of Marshall and Daphne came to a subtle conclusion as, despite her daughter’s insistence that Daphne not come to her model UN performance, Marshall took a detour to drop her off in time to see Daphne’s daughter wax poetic and then shriek about the importance of oil for the United states. Hopefully this means Marshall will finally make it to the hotel next week, I’ve had about all I can take of the Hummer.

Either way, this week was solidly entertaining and full of some good gags. Barney’s and James’ musical numbers, as well as the part where baby Marvin was driving the car while Marshall and Daphne sang along to 500 miles were great moments which carried what would otherwise be some pretty average wedding-themed plots.

Tidbits:

  • James’ dad will be the new wedding official: “I now pronounce your asses saved”
  • Barney’s dad: “Barney, you’ve grown up so fast I can’t believe you’re getting married! Then again I did miss 30 years of your life.”
  • “Gretzky’s her hero, she says his name sometimes in bed, I’ve accepted it.”
  • Barney, on why he doesn’t care that his dad is already married: “So what? Marriage is just a meaningless piece of paper.” Robin: “I’m a lucky gal.”
  • Marshall, after likely a million times listening to “500 Miles,” suddenly makes an important realization: Are they singing to the same girl? …Or to each other?