The How I Met Your Mother Blog

Something occurred to me last night while watching Spoiler Alert. Robin has been relegated to the role of “heckler”. Let’s discuss.

Throughout S1, Robin served as the object of Ted’s unrequited desire. She was rarely the focus of an episode (with the exception of the great “Nothing Good Happens After 2am”) and most of her plot revolved around the will they/won’t they between her and Ted. In S2, she was Ted’s girlfriend and still didn’t have much to do on her own (save for the also-great “First Time in New York”). A lot of people have been complaining that Robin hasn’t gotten a lot of screen time this season. I disagree. She, for the first time really, has had her own subplots–her relationship with both Gael and the single Dad. While those weren’t my favorite plots, she’s gotten screen time.

Without a boyfriend we’ve seen the move toward Robin-as-heckler. Last week she harangued Ted about his childhood detective work. This week she made fun of…everyone. She’s always been kind of a bitch but it’s really been amped up lately. That being said, she’s still adorable. It’s a testament to Cobie Smulders that she can pull off being so cantankerous and still be likable.

So, some of you may be wondering about the title of this post. If you know who Statler and Waldorf are already, kudos. For those who don’t, they’re the two elderly guys in the balcony on The Muppet Show who would heckle Kermit and the rest of the gang. They’re signature one-liner puns were always followed up with a hearty “oh, ho, ho, ho” laugh. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.

About halfway through last night’s episode the correlation clicked for me. Robin is the Statler and Waldorf of HIMYM now. From that moment on every quip Robin spoke was followed, in my mind, by those Muppet’s laughter. Watch the video below then re-watch Spoiler Alert, you’ll see what I mean.

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