HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Intervention

Like Jim’s pranks on Dwight on The Office, Barney’s McLaren antics continue to get better and better. Barney dressed up like he was in his 80s and using Future Barney as a wingman: priceless! Though, I was a tad creeped out at the 22-year-old biting Old Barney’s lip. *shudder*

While Barney is occupied, the rest of the gang goes upstairs to the apartment to pack so they can all start to move forward. Ted is moving to New Jersey to be with Stella; Marshall and Lily to their apartment Dowisetrepla; and Robin to Tokyo to start her new job. Going through all their old stuff and reminiscing, Marshall brings up the security deposit and all the damage that Ted did to the place. Robin’s 12-pack Molson bender is the most hilarious Robin-thing since the discovery of Robin Sparkles. Her accent came out in full-force.  And I loved seeing Lily come out with the oven mitts defending goal (the door), arguing with drunken Robin, then the gloves literally coming off and the girls fighting. But Ted went against what I assume disobeys the laws of the Bro Code* and broke up the fight leading Barney to punch a hole in the wall.

I love when they are just being themselves and doing random typical things because it always turns into something memorable. It is so realistic. We all have a story about a friend getting drunk and doing something insanely ridiculous. Lately whenever the show has some subtle comedy centered on something trivial with Robin, Colbie shines – Robin really hungry so she trash picks and licks stamps; slapping Ted to help Future Barney’s story to Cindy – they finally found Colbie’s strengths and are writing to them.

We also learn about the gang’s little addiction for interventions. What started off as a method to stop Stewart’s alcoholism, turned into a way for the gang to nitpick at each other’s foibles in order to get them to stop. Marshall’s Dr. Seuss-esque hat (Robin’s Seuss poem, again, hilarious), Lily’s weird fake English accent due to a Bond marathon, Robin’s spray tan and Barney’s magic tricks, specifically those involving fire, and even interventions themselves were all just a few of the focuses of the past interventions.

But they never got to do a certain intervention planned specifically for Ted. An intervention to stop Ted from marrying Stella. Every episode continues to highlight why Ted shouldn’t marry Stella. It seems like Bays and Thomas are trying to convince the viewers that Ted and Stella aren’t right for each other. So why are they continuing this relationship that just seems doomed? Why are we inching closer toward the alter when it seems to me that it is inevitable that they are not meant for each other?

Marshall’s intervention letter maintained his position that Stella and Ted don’t know each other well, Barney’s of course was against marriage of any kind and the girls’ letters were irrelevant to the entire cause. But it doesn’t matter now because they love Stella. But Marshall’s letter buzzes in Ted’s head. Marshall is right. Does Ted know Stella well enough to get married, to commit to raising a 7-year-old? He’s not doing Stella, Lucy or himself any favors by rushing into this. Which leads to Ted’s complete freak-out and start to unpack his stuff.

At that moment they all get freaked out. Marshall doesn’t want to leave the comfort and warmth of the apartment, Lily doesn’t want to move into the “black hole where dreams die” and Robin realizes she doesn’t even speak Japanese. They all don’t want to move on. They embrace the affection of the familiar and head downstairs to McLaren’s. When they see Old Barney and the 22-yeard-old, they all come to the realization that they need to change. They can’t continue to live the same life. They are all coming to a certain age, they need to evolve and they need to move toward a life that is less dependent on each other.

Big transitions can be really terrifying. They are all moving apart from each other and it can be extremely difficult. So they make a pact. A year from that day they would meet up at the bar, no matter what, having saved $10 a week to purchase the most expensive bottle of Scotch and toast each other, their lives and the changes that have happened. As we see a year later, they keep the pact, but it is insinuated that not everything has changed. Someone is still living in the apartment upstairs. We know Robin lives there around Ted’s 31st birthday. Maybe she is still there when they meet up for the Scotch pact. I think Ted and Robin are living together, platonically in October 2009. [GMMR:  And did anyone else notice that it was one year later and Ted still wasn’t wearing a wedding ring?]

There are a lot of changes happening to the gang. What else can be around the corner? Marshall and Lily thinking about kids? Barney taking action before Robin leaves for Japan?

— posted by Jen

*”The Bro Code” Book is in stores today, October 14th.

Our HIMYM aficionado Jen is tirelessly thinking about what is in the future for her favorite McLaren customers. When she’s not thinking about television, she continues to find more candy from her last vacation to Italy.