HIMYM – Wait for it … has a completely new meaning

I wasn’t sure what I would think about How I Met Your Mother introducing another “serious” love interest for Barney so soon. He’d just come off of a relationship with Nora, and another aborted attempt at being with Robin. Does the Barnacle really need to be weighed down so quickly? You’ve got to let Swarley be Swarley! My reaction to their pairing, though, came as a great surprise. Something you should have seen coming, however, is my reaction to the Ted/Robin kerfluffle, and more so to another weak Marshall and Lily C-story.

I’m not sure where this came from, but I actually like Quinn and Barney together. As a card-carrying member of the Barney and Robin ‘Shipper Fan Club, I didn’t think I’d ever appreciate another “manufactured obstacle” to my favorite ‘ship. But they just work together. Maybe it is a byproduct of them being so alike and being such an excellent evil-scheme-team. Or maybe it is because they’re both incredibly good looking. Or, it could be because I hate the direction of Robin’s current story (more on that in a second). Regardless of why, I’m on board the Quinn-Train, woot woot! Even the awkward conversation they shared about Quinn “hanging up the G-string” wasn’t as nearly weird or condescending as it could have been. She is obviously the tease for who we’re supposed to think Barney will be marrying in the season finale, but that doesn’t mean they’ll walk down the aisle together.

When you can take the whole “Legend … wait for it … dary” bit and turn it on its ear as succinctly (and sexily) as she did, how can you not get behind Quinn? (That set up, for dirty-minded readers out there, was brought to you care of Barney Stinson).

Sometimes I really hate future Ted’s hints, especially when they aren’t exactly positive. Case in point, hearing that present Ted wouldn’t see Robin for a very long time. I don’t know what that means, and I  don’t like the implication. I wasn’t a fan of Ted and Robin revisiting the idea of their relationship, nor do I like the fallout the storyline seems compelled to follow. When Ted and Robin broke up originally, they handled things so much more smoothly than they’re handling this. HIMYM has a wonderful ensemble dynamic – it doesn’t work nearly as well when there is real conflict within the group.

I know there were good intentions with Marshall and Lily’s whole “sex stories” storyline, but it just didn’t work for me. Fortunately for both of them, this gag really did:

As did this one:

What do you think? Am I being a little harsh on the Ted and Robin dynamic? Do you like Quinn as much as I do? Chime in in the comments, and let me know how you feel!

Notes & Quotes

• “Wait, are they chanting ‘Bro?’” – Ted
  “I got some local monks to record this. Yeah, I’ve got a monk guy. Cool right?” – Barney
  “It actually is, yeah.” – Ted
  “I’ll burn it for ya, just remind me after the Broath.” – Barney
• “Repeat after me … I, Ted EVELYN Mosby …” – Barney
  “I, Ted Why-Did-I-Ever-Tell-You-My-Middle-Name Mosby … ” – Ted
  “ … do solemnly swear not to tell our friends that Quinn is a stripper.” – Barney
  “… do solemnly swear not to tell our friends that Quinn is a stripper … who duped you out of lots of money.” – Ted
  “You’re only supposed to repeat after me!” – Barney
  “You’re only supposed to repeat after me!” – Ted
  “Stop it!” – Barney
  “Stop it!” – Ted
  “SILENCE!” – Barney
• Love Ned, Martin and Lily and their sandwich!
• “Lily, you’re snooping through her stuff?” – Marshall
  “No, it’s like the first thing you see … when you jimmy open the desk drawer with the letter opener her grandfather left her, according to her diary.” – Lily
• “I was once with a dude who couldn’t even fantasize about a threeway. He was all, ‘Oh, she’s your best friend!’” – Lily
  “What now?” – Robin
• “ … and then he banged like a hundred chicks, and invented a salad. True story.” – Barney, describing Caesar’s assassination attempt, Broman Style
• “Fine, I’ll fill her in. And I’m so angry, I am not even going make a joke about ‘filling her in.’ Which I did last night, three times last night. Self-Five!” – Barney
• “Unless it’s an issue of health, national security, or he’s about to get up on a fatty.” — Yeah, that happened

Clacked by Ivey West
on Mar 19, 2012 @ 21:30 EST5EDT