HIMYM: Barney Wants Ted to Get Married...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I think it's safe to say that this episode was NOBODY's best work. The jokes were mediocre, I apparently completely forgot that Barney had a half-sister floating around, and even the song-and-dance felt a little "blah." This isn't the first show to joke about how girls off the market are largely ignored, but it might be the first to have a character wind up with an enlarged, Muppet-like hand in an effort to keep his new-mother wife interested in being intimate. But, I gotta say, the jokes about Lily's breasts being "Snap" and "Crackle" while her nether regions were "Pop" were a bit much. Similarly, Barney and Robin's constant displays of affection are becoming sickening. I will hand it to Barney, though... he did get the best scene of the episode in his staged wedding! But, remember, it all started with Ted's black leather cuff...

facebook.com/HowIMetYourMotherCBS

How I Met Your Mother "Ring Up" (S08E14): Ted saving an elderly woman from harm is nothing in comparison to the fact that he's dating a 20-year-old, Carly. [hitting on a salesgirl is one thing. buying her product is another. proceeding to get around Manhattan on rollerblades at all hours is another thing entirely...] Ted tries acting young, staying out late, ignoring the cold, and using hipster jargon, but once Carly mentions her admiration got his grey eyebrow hairs, he begins to feel bad. [haha at having five-year-olds dancing in the club!] The gang says that he should dump her, though Barney secretly demands that he stay with her so he can live vicariously. [haha!] Ted and Carly don't have anything in common with books, TV, or sports, but they can talk about Star Wars, albeit only the latest three films. [how is the fact that she can't legally drink not a bigger problem? also, bifocals and shuffleboard, hahaha!] However, tragedy strikes when Barney sees pictures of the girl - she's his half-sister! [whoa! glad that I saw no spoilers about that one!] He decides to stage a quickie wedding, but Ted helps Barney realize that he's actually over one-night-stands. That said, Ted is not beyond dating young girls, trying to use a hat to woo them. [odd, but still better than that cuff!

Now, Marshall decided to try out the cuff, attracting Lily's attention. Unfortunately, he has an allergic reaction that he ignores until his hand is badly swollen, smells terrible, and he gets woozy. [SUPER GROSS!] 

And, with the title of the episode, Robin realizes that wearing an engagement ring prevents her from receiving preferential treatment everywhere she goes. She toys with taking it off to get attention, but in the end learns to just enjoy Barney doing things for her. [not sure that really fit Robin's character, but I think we're supposed to believe that she's trying to become something that she's not...]