Barney Stinson: International Man of Mystery

by Ivey West

How I Met Your Mother‘s Barney Stinson, most simply put, is The Man. Awesome. Legendary. Never met an occasion that didn’t call for a suit, he’s also never met a catchphrase he didn’t like. He’s successful, well liked by women (well, at least in the first eight or so hours he meets one), funny, and wise. Surprisingly, however, I think his most telling characteristic, is that he’s a pretty impressive friend.

Barney wasn’t always the suave ladies man we know and love (loath?) today. It was only after he lost his first true love that he started down a long path that recently passed the 200 mile marker (and by miles, we mean: Oh, gross!). While the list is long, I think it’s two that matter the most. That first true love, Shannon, whom I think all of this is just a way at getting back at, and, unsurprisingly, Robin.

Barney isn’t defined solely by his prowess with the ladies. First, he’s got the best one liners and catch phrases in all of television (We call them Barneyisms; he obviously loves a good suit — including a good birthday suit, right, “Naked Man?”). He is also an accomplished business man, though we don’t really know what he actually does (other than working for the largest producer of tennis ball fuzz, and now a bank). A cigar and and a rousing game of Laser Tag rounds out an evening for him. Now he’s found the perfect girl to do those things with.

His relationship with Robin has certainly been a slow build. As early as the first season, we could see how much they had in common, with their “bro-ing it up” in the first season’s “Zip, Zip, Zip.” This past season has been all about Barney’s unrequited love, which came to a head in the finale. In true How I Met Your Mother fashion, nothing was yet resolved.

Again, though, I really define Barney by the kind of friend he is. Sure, he’s not the best wingman to have, as he’ll end up going in for the kill himself. But he is a friend the best way he knows how. When Ted and Robin broke up, Barney was constantly pushing him to get out of the house. Most tellingly, though, is when he thought Ted was in the hospital: he dropped what he was doing, and literally ran until he couldn’t anymore (getting run over put a stop to that trip). All things considered, Barney is the kind of friend I’d like to have. I’d gladly be his Vice President of Awesome.

Listen, Barney is a great guy. He would tell you so himself if this were his blog. This is the man who gave us The Bro Code, the Lemon Law, and the Vicky Mendoza Diagonal (Look it up. It is 87.3% likely to change your life). What we sometimes miss, is how good of a guy he is. You know, under the 18 layers of not so much.