HIMYM: Where Do You See Yourself in 3 Years?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Booo! While the concept for this episode had "classic" written all over it, it just didn't work out. In fact, it's probably one of my least-favorite episodes of the season. I think it's the depictions of Robin and Lily that really make this episode fail - just the guys probably would have worked out better. Now, while Barney has different girls with different names in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012, Ted and Marshall don't. Ted has Cobie Smulders dressed in different outfits with different hairstyles, accents, and names each time. It was funny once, but we already know he's going to find someone better, so why does he keep envisioning Robin all the time? Plus, it's an awfully fine line with the whole "Robin and Ted won't see each other for a long time" idea that we left off with last episode. I'll buy it this time, but they better have something better in mind for the remaining episodes this season. Now, having Marshall constantly imagine that Lily will be pregnant was funny... once. After that, it became a stupid gimmick that was blatantly obvious - with Alyson Hannigan pregnant, they can't show a non-pregnant Lily unless they had her carrying bags, sitting with pillows, or using any of the ridiculous conventions utilized last time the actress was expecting. Anyway, enough gripes. Here's what happened...

How I Met Your Mother "Trilogy Time" (S07E20): The guys decide to watch the Star Wars trilogy (which they do every three years) while they predict what they'll be doing in three more years. [I really thought that the predictions could have been better all around.] In 2000, Marshall thought Lily would be pregnant by 2003, plus he'd be a fabulous lawyer. [whoa. He was really set on that girl...] Turns out, in 2003, Marshall hasn't even gotten accepted into law school yet. [did I miss the fact that Marshall spent several YEARS applying to law school? This fixes the complaints I made a few times about the age discrepancies, but I really don't remember this taking Marshall so long...] The vision for 2006 includes Marshall spending three weeks on Wheel of Fortune and another pregnant Lily. But, in 2006, Lily had left Marshall (who, at least, was in law school) and Robin is with Ted. Ted, of course, thinks that he'll still be with our favorite Canadian in 2009, while Marshall thinks Lily will be pregnant by someone else by then. [what was with Robin acting like it was the 1950s? was that a throwback joke I missed?]

Photo: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS

In 2009, Robin and Barney are secretly dating, Marshall and Lily are back together, and the plan for 2012 includes a married Ted (after all, he'll be 34 by then). [poor Ted. It's times like this that remind me how much he wants to have a family.] This only leads 2012 (current) Ted to believe that something is seriously wrong with him, and that, in 2015, he'll be bald and lonely, calling anyone who will listen to him, and living amongst newspapers. [yeah... because every 37-year-old single does that...] Marshall thinks Lily will be pregnant with #4 or 5 by 2015, and perhaps Robin will be married - to the guy who impregnated Lily in the future-2009 scenario. [the crazy Robin hypothesis aside, how does Marshall intend to have Lily pregnant three or four more times in three years? PLUS, those kids looked much older than preschoolers...] And, for the first time, Barney doesn't want to imagine himself with another girl - he only wants Quinn from now on. [this is really the only revelation made this episode.] Marshall suggests that 2015 will be Ted's year, and we see true-2015 to include the guys watching the trilogy with Ted's baby daughter. [So the baby is born in 2015 (maybe the latter part of 2014), and Ted is telling "the story" in 2030, so yeah, at least they did the math this time! oh, and that popcorn bucket was ENORMOUS!]

There's a second story going on with Quinn and Barney. [while the neighbor stalking Barney's trips outside to release gas was a little funny, they made it out to be much too big of a deal.] Quinn has moved into Barney's place, and she got rid of most of her things in the process. She does, however, want to use her coffee mugs over Barney's, but he's not willing to make the switch. [...really? she's THAT attached to her coffee mugs? I suspect that she just wanted to get some leeway and chose a small, meaningless item to see what would happen...] Of course, the gang diagnoses this as Barney being afraid that the relationship will eventually end and he'll be left without things. [and, in this moment, I'm grateful that I've never lived with a man besides my husband, as I definitely would have been afraid to get rid of any of "my things." I was sad enough to sell my bed, television, bookshelves, and dresser when I got married!] Barney tries claiming that he needs to "assert his dominance as a man," which everyone yells at him for - first, Lily and Robin, then Marshall and Ted. Later in the episode, Barney hugs Quinn and accidentally breaks wind, making it now "okay" do do so in front of one another. [...yeah...] He also smashes his mugs as a sign that he wants to be in it for the long haul.