How I Met Your Mother: The Broken Code

Hello my dear readers. Did you think I had dropped off the face of the earth and had forgotten to write? I'm alive and well. Um, a family member passed away last week so writing a blog was not really a priority. Trying to move forward with my life was the first thing I had to do. But I am coping and I am off for a week so I am here to catch up on all the reviews I missed, so let's start with last week's How I Met Your Mother to prepare for tonight's episode.

What Worked:

1. Barney Showed Up: And the hearts of Barney and Robin fans everywhere sang and rejoiced while holding hands via the internet. At least that's how it went down for me and my twitter friends. As stated in a previous blog post nothing grinded my gears more than the out of character interpretation of Barney in "Something Old". The implication that he would rather play laser tag than to go and help Robin never made sense because he would always drop everything for her. So this episode left me delighted at the idea that he actually did show up to help her. He regretted not showing up early in time for her. In the episode they say he was enjoying beating twelve year olds which could have been re-written as he wanted Robin's father to like him... but I will take what I can get.
   
   
   
   
2. Marsh-Pillow 2.0: Oh Marshall, get to Farhampton as fast as you can because the dynamic without the core five isn't the same. Sure he is "there" via technology but it isn't like when he is actually there in human form. The only negative part about the structure of this season is Marshall road-tripping from Minnesota, because each episode only displays a few hours of time, it's going to be a few more episodes until he's physically there. The Marsh-Pillow return was a great way to make it feel like he was there. Using an Ipad and having Marshall Skype in with the gang brought a sense of realism to the show because I know from a personal side I have skyped with many people no matter where I was in the world. I loved how Marshall helped Barney and Ted sort out their "Bro Code" issue.. but more on that mess later.
   
   
   
   
3. Robin and Lily: My girls. I love the dynamic between these two ladies, there is something very real and endearing about their relationship. I know for a fact this relationship would be a great one to have in life right now. I think this whole "Robin has no girlfriends" scenario is true and stuck to the continuity of the show because besides Lily there really weren't any other women in her life. She has hung out with Nora and the two other ladies from work in "Desperation Day" back in season six. And was unwillingly forced to hangout with Ted and Barney's new flames whenever they came around but she's never really had other girls. You could argue she hit it off with Zooey but I'm sure that's the last person Ted would want to see right now, not that it's his wedding but anyways. I think this sets up the mother to be Robin's new girlfriend, which I am on board for. Bring it on now. 
   
   

What Didn't Pan Out:

1. Ted vs. Barney: My favourite men how you frustrated me. Alright kids this "fight" between Barney and Ted about Robin has needed to happen for YEARS. There has been so much pent up feelings and animosity that I was hoping for a big blow out and was left feeling completely letdown. Sure on one hand I am glad they didn't fight and ruin their 10 year + friendship but on the other hand I wanted them to let it all out. This "fight" had been building up for a long time now and I think it just didn't work out the way I envisioned it. Although Ted still does have the locket so God only knows what the outcome of that is going to be so.. hey maybe my fight is still on the horizon. I did however enjoy the speech Ted gave about wanting to turn off his feelings but not being able to because he was a human being. It was a great callback to season 1 when Ted and Robin kissed on the roof and he realized he couldn't turn off his feelings. Considering she crushed his feelings back in season 7 I do not understand how they are still lingering... but with that being said I have never been in love myself so I can't judge or even try to understand.
   
   
   
   
2. Robin's Point of View: Does it even matter? Does she even have one? Robin is my favourite character on the show... and I'm starting to get a little upset because her point of view is not being written. She is the bride and one of the main focus points of this particular story this season and I am left wondering will we ever know how she feels about everything? Like how did she feel in that moment with Ted at the park? What would her reaction have been to Barney coming to the park for her? Does she even know? Has she told Barney about the kids thing? If not, how come? Like there is so much that could be written for her that she is taking a seat on the back burner and is almost an accessory to this love story. And what I mean by that is we are seeing more of Barney's point of view than anything else, hopefully.. it changes.

Favourite Quotes:

• "What up?" "Nothing up, everything down, all parts of me down." (Barney and Ted)
• "I have girls, I gave you the list." "This list: tall girl from work, mouth breather from coffee shop, average girl from that place...." (Robin and Lily)
• "So you are mad?" "Of course I'm mad, holding hands is like the fourth grade of equivalent of banging, well in your case twelfth grade. Self-five." (Ted and Barney) 
• "I don't know what to say." "Just be yourself, say something nice." "Which one, I don't know how to do both." (Robin and Lily) 
• "You know what? That's why I only need you because  you're a psycho. My psycho." (Robin)

So those are the thoughts for 9x04 let me know if you agree or disagree and tell me why. Thank you so much for reading. Happy Thanksgiving Monday to all my Canadians, Happy Columbus Day to all my Americans and an overall Happy How I Met Your Mother Monday xoxo.