The How I Met Your Mother Blog

113 Comments to “Season 5, Episode 12: Girls vs. Suits Discussion”

1.  JD | January 12, 2010 @ 1:48 am

   I just read the comments on the preview and High Hoper, I love you man but I call bullshit. This episode was awesome for all the reasons you love the show in the first place. Ted was in the same room as the mother, we know who she is now, there’s no more stupid games as to whether or not any girl Ted sneezes on will end up popping out his kids. That’s epic. We had a rare supporting actress who could hold her own and some solid, not gimmicky, progress toward the mother.

   Barney’s storyline was a snickers bar of hilarity that satisfied the hunger inside me for classic HIMYM humor. This storyline beat out other NPH focused episodes by a good bit.

   Even the others had something to do, if not very much.

   Overall, I thought it was a solid episode and if it disappointed you then shame on you for building up too much expectation because it was episode 100. What do we know about the show? Don’t build it up, don’t expect it to over deliver from what it originally promised-meaningful emotions in a solid sitcom. The show’s wings are wax, we’ve always known it. Don’t make it fly too close to the sun.

2.  Alex | January 12, 2010 @ 2:23 am

   I think the clothing brand is Ever – http://www.ever-us.com.

3.  Hani & Combs | January 12, 2010 @ 2:31 am

   Thank-you! Finally someone else agrees with me that Pacsun is overrated.

4.  Jack Package | January 12, 2010 @ 2:35 am

   I don’t always agree with you, but you’re right in regards to HighHoper’s response. It wasn’t the best episode of HIMYM but it was damn good and the reason most people tune in. If you disagree, then I doubt anything they do will satisfy you and suggest you watch House or The Bachelor.

5.  Bgeo | January 12, 2010 @ 2:44 am

   That’s a pretty god damn good review jd. I liked the format of it, breaking it down moment by moment. The shirt Barney is wearing, I believe, is Habitat which is a skateboard company. I could be wrong but that’s what it looks like to me. Great episode. When Ted mentioned the crosswords I also thought of bays’ Twitter account

6.  Bgeo | January 12, 2010 @ 2:54 am

   @Alex

   I stand corrected. It is Ever clothing, I was wrong. Good eye

7.  katie90 | January 12, 2010 @ 3:54 am

   sadly, i have to agree with high hoper and the other two in the preview comments section who said they didn’t like it. come on, take your excitement about the musical (which was totally awesome, by the way!) and the few (but sadly throw-away) clues to the mom away and what do you got? like all season now, all of them just sat around making lame jokes.

   robin’s jealousy is getting annoying. season 1 robin wouldn’t have to be jealous of hot girls cause she used to be so cool it made her the hottest girl in the room. now all she does is sit around and complain about hotter women. lily’s finding-women-hot is getting equally annoying, come on, people, you’ve milked that joke all that you can!! marshall didn’t have ANYthing to do this week except for profess his love for lily which he’s constantly doing nowadays (though in real life i doubt if anyone could stay with the new, annoying lily).

   and i swear, as the jokes get lamer, the canned laughter gets increasingly louder. or they put it in after jokes that really weren’t funny at all so you notice it a lot more than you used to. anyone else feel like that?

   so, i’m sorry to disagree with most of you, but in my opinion this wasn’t any better than most of this season. except for the musical of course and that could’ve happened in a promo or something, they didn’t even really need the set up from barney’s story line.

   weeeell. i promised myself i wouldn’t let this season ruin the whole experience of the show for me, though that ist exactly what it has done so far. since these last couple of episodes, i haven’t even popped in a season 1 dvd or anything which i used to do frequently. i’m stopping now and slowly starting to ease back into the greatness that once was himym (can’t dive right in from this to the good old times, you’d die from shock). i’ll watch the last episode and the revelation of the mom, other than that that’s it for me regarding new episodes.

8.  Ryan | January 12, 2010 @ 4:14 am

   The two things that could cause that kind of commotion are her two boobs.
   That’s what they meant by that. It’s funny because you were expecting two different things.

9.  SophiaVonMatterhorn | January 12, 2010 @ 5:10 am

   omg i LOVED it, the musical part? hello!!! and all the stuff about the mother had me sooooo exciterd. i loved loved loved it.

   but uhm the set from natalie/cindy(?) also totally looks like stellas living room? ok ill rewatch

10.  SophiaVonMatterhorn | January 12, 2010 @ 5:14 am

    no, ok im stupid, doesnt look like stellas living room at all.

    but….doesnt look like natalies either…

11.  sweet haircut | January 12, 2010 @ 5:24 am

    I hate to say it, but I agree with EVERYTHING katie90 said. I love the show and always will, but like a lot of episodes this season, I forced myself to laugh at some of the jokes. SOME of them are getting kinda lame.

    I’ve seen better than that from the same writers so it’s disappointing. I’m not saying I could write better jokes, but I am saying that THEY could write better jokes.

    By the way, I don’t build episodes up so nobody can say it’s my fault. Everyone besides Ted and Barney has changed. It’s different than when characters change in shows (for example The Office) because I understand that those characters are evolving. In this case, only their attitudes and reactions have changed.

12.  Fon | January 12, 2010 @ 5:48 am

    I think episode has everything to make it a great one, but I just feel like there’s something missing! It’s good to know that the mother was so close and the musical was hilarious, but I just don’t feel like I’m in to it like the previous episodes. Still, really I do like it!

13.  High Hoper | January 12, 2010 @ 6:33 am

    Wow, I cannot believe that writing my thoughts would carry a trail of answers like that, really.

    JD, I like the things that you point out in the review. But for me, this episode was like “oh, it’s the 100th, so we have to get some mother info, and we have to do a musical”. The rest of the episode doesn’t make it for me. I nowadays find Lily reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally annoying, to the point I cannot wait for her to stop appearing and talking. And Robin lost all of her charm to me, now it’s a slut who complains that she’s hotter than anyone. Come on, she wasn’t like that on first two seasons, and you know it.

    Marshall has grown old, really old.He seems almost in his 40′s. And don’t make me start talking about the main character of the show… barney. Because he is now the main character, we almost can forget Ted. They could have changed the name from “how i met your mother” to “life and miracles of barney stinson”, that would be more accurate.

    And, about the episode itself: yeah, we watched a foot of the mother. It normally could end the whole series this season. Imagine this:

    Mother sees the umbrella in her home. Asks roommate how it got there. Roommate knows where to find ted. End of story.

    Also, umbrella short story: Mother loses it on a party. Ted finds it and 2 years later and dates her roommate. It’s back to her. They will run into each other 2 years from now (why can’t this show end this season before it gets worse?) and that’s it. It would be WEIRD that Ted gets it again, the same umbrella.

    Well, I’ve complaint a lot. I’ll rewatch it again today, but I kinda lost the emotion for a new episode of this. From now on, I’ll have zero expectation about it and I will try to watch it normally, but I won’t feel another thing that “lame jokes and canned laughter louder than ever is the rule today”.

14.  KR | January 12, 2010 @ 6:59 am

    katie90, I was one of those in the other thread who expressed my dislike for the episode, and have to emphatically agree with everything you wrote.

    “I know this is a story told from the future with an untrustworthy narrator and blah blah, whatever. Sitcoms are just wish fulfillment for guys who would give their left foot for a girl that looks like Rachel Bilson to say something so direct, plucky, and door-opening. It never happens in real life. I’m not complaining, I love the wish fulfillment, but sometimes it’s so sweet it gives me the vapors. How do girls even like this show?”
    Ah, JD. As a girl, I like this show for everything BUT its tendency to over-romanticize just about everything. The ‘almost exclusively’ line was kind of clunky, in my opinion, partly because no one would ever say that, and partly because I think (I’d have to rewatch) it really looked like Bilson was putting a lot of effort into getting the word ‘exclusively’ out correctly. It didn’t flow, it’s like she was concentrating too much.

15.  Tove | January 12, 2010 @ 7:28 am

    I loved it, to put some positive input here! And I love Rachel Bilson. And the musical number was sweeeet. And – of course Robin Marshall Lily couldn’t have too much to do when Ted & Barney had so big storylines. Cmon people don’t bash it too much!
    Yay to Carter & Bays to make it to the 100th, and haha, totally thought of Carter’s twittering when Ted said the New York Times Crossword thing as well! Good review JD!

16.  Tove | January 12, 2010 @ 7:31 am

    hmm obvsiously mean Bays & Thomas!

17.  Marcy | January 12, 2010 @ 7:55 am

    My, it’s been ages since last posted anything here (though I NEVER stopped reading what was written here. This is still the first site I look up after watching a HIMYM epi every monday – ok. tuesday over here in Europe), but this episode kind of made me want to write something again.

    First, I’m sorry to say, but for me, this epi was also kind of “meh”. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad, as in really bad. It was just not as good as I imagined it to be.

    O.k., the Ted- mother- mother’s roommate storyline was awesome. I loved it. I loved that Ted was back. Ted as in the same Ted I loved so much in the first seasons. It was worth watching this episode for this alone.

    And let’s not foget the musical number, which was great. I loved the fact, that it actually happened in Barney’s head and was not incorporated into the real world (but i don’t know why, it kind of reminded me of the song NPH sang as the shoe fairy on sesame street…).

    Oh and Tim Gunn. That was just legendary!

    BUT, I honestly didn’t see any sense in the “the sexy bartender is not as sexy as my wife” subplot. What was that all about? It wasn’t funny, it did not move anything forward… In my opinion it was simply unnecessary.
    I will not go on about how annoying Lily has become this season (and yes, she has), because hey, we actually KNEW this was coming. We’ve seen future Lily in the past episodes and in my opinion making her gradualy more and more annoying is keeping true to what was told earlier. But come on, Marshall doesn’t seem to have anything to do AGAIN (and this is sad, because Marshall is such an awesome character!) and those few lines he did have in this episode were unimportant.

    And Robin? She used to be this hot scotch drinking, cigar smoking, gun carrying chick, and now? She gets only a few lines and those are used up in a totally wrong way. I mean come on, Robin doesn’t have to underline she is hot. It seems kind of out of character. The only thing that saved the Robin scenes was the “a female bartender is always hot” theory. It reminded me of the cheerleader effect.

    And there was the Barney and suits storyline. It was a good idea, a logical one, because let’s face it, it’s so Barney. Still, it bugged me, that Barney (though I aore that character) got so much screen time, while Lily, Robin and Marshall sat around in the bar with nothing important do do. But I have to admit, that this did not make the Barney plot less funny.

    O.k., I’ll stop now. Just my two pence about the 100th episode which was good, but not great, but also not bad.

18.  Thomas | January 12, 2010 @ 7:59 am

    When I think about the episodes this season that did suffer slightly, that didn’t quite get me like HIMYM has done in the past, it has usually been when Ted hasn’t been so involved. Obviously he isn’t going to always be in each episode’s main storyline, but it is usually when his story is at the heart of the show I enjoy it most.

    This has been the case this season and it was again with ‘Girls vs Suits’. I was genuinely excited with the reveals we got with this episode and it was in keeping with so much of what they have built up throughout the years. The themes of Ted’s dream girl (especially liked she was a bass player, I had forgotten his fondness for them!) and the whole idea of fate and missed opportunities.

    The rest of the episode complemented this well. It was classic Barney throughout, the musical number was very entertaining and I loved how the rest of the gang played off his ‘torment’. Though I’m not really familiar with Tim Gunn so that kinda went over my head a bit.

    At times this season has been underwhelming but I can’t help but feel that is also partly due to high expectations. I don’t think there has ever been a sitcom that has been consistently hilarious throughout its run so its unsurprising that HIMYM now might lack the punch it once had. But for me along with The Office its still one of the freshest sitcoms on TV and if nothing else is still extremely watchable. Thats what I want out of a sitcom, its not the same as some of my favourite dramas like The West Wing, The Wire, Friday Night Lights etc, where a drop off in quality can have a greater effect.

    But like I said I found this episode really funny and enjoyed it a lot. Also JD I liked the new format for the recap. Wasn’t sure a ‘play by play’ type thing would work but you’ll a good enough writer to keep it interesting. And so ends what turned out to be a pretty epic post by me! Haha it is the 100th episode after all!

19.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 9:30 am

    @marcy

    “And Robin? She used to be this hot scotch drinking, cigar smoking, gun carrying chick, and now? She gets only a few lines and those are used up in a totally wrong way. I mean come on, Robin doesn’t have to underline she is hot. It seems kind of out of character. The only thing that saved the Robin scenes was the “a female bartender is always hot” theory. It reminded me of the cheerleader effect”.

    WOW could no agree more…

    aside from that…i thought it was a great episode… the musical part was just fenomenal..though i agree with some people saying it could be a promo or some sort…

    As for Ted’s going out with the mother’s old roomate, if you think about it, they didn’t even meet face to face, so it won’t be that much of a problem for the writers i guess. they could easily meet outside that appartment and not even know they were once so close to each other.

    LET’s see how it goes from now on….loved the review nww format JD.. keep it going!!

    Fabio

20.  Trevormac98 | January 12, 2010 @ 9:51 am

    Wow,

    Some varying views. I thought the show was great. However, Robin looks terrible and Lily was annoying. I also would have liked to seen more Marshall in the musical. Overall, the whole cast did really well in that part, even Lily (they said Allison didnt want to sing).

    JD: you state that only the sleazy a-hole gets the hot bartender, but since this is wish fulfillment, they wouldnt show that. Barney is that and does get the hot bartender, so I disagree. They showed it.

    Glad to have the reviews back. Thank you for what you do.

    I am not sure how they can carry this season on for 8 seasons now that the umbrella is back. However, the show is called How I met your mother. The guys will probably have Ted meet her somewhere without us knowing that she is the roommate and they will carry on a relationship. Then Bilson will come back for an episode to connect the roommate thing. We then continue to see progression and marriage, then the show would end. It would be a shame for us not to see how they dated, because we need to see the interactions and story develop.

21.  Sara | January 12, 2010 @ 10:27 am

    I love how this episode finally moved the mother plot forward. I only wish Ted had dated the mom’s roommate for longer and THEN found out about the roommate/mother. That would have been a nice surprise. I think the episode rushed things a bit.

    Also, those girls must have a LOT of money to be able to afford a nice apartment like that. Either that or they got a great deal.

22.  Kooper | January 12, 2010 @ 10:30 am

    I hated this episode. The musical number was funny and there were some great jokes but it was more treading water holding out for the end. The show needs to declare an ending the same way Lost did and get it over with. I prefer that the show end at the end of this year with a nice meeting and the story line rectified rather than beating this dead horse.

    I had been a fan of the one offs until now but this one has put me over the edge.

23.  Dan | January 12, 2010 @ 10:38 am

    Rachel Bison’s “Almost Exclusively” could have been a callback to Seinfeld. The episode where Jerry waits by the elevator to meet a women and George invents Art Vandalay – Jerry asks if she dates immature men and she says “almost exclusively” (Ep: The Stakeout)

24.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 11:02 am

    @Trevormac98

    my thoughts exactly on how they’ll introduce the mother

25.  David | January 12, 2010 @ 11:13 am

    Amazing episode, truly a season1-season2-kind-of episode. It just remind me of those good old days. By far the best of this season, and probably between the TOP 3 of seasons 3,4 and 5 all together.

    Keep it coming baby!!!

26.  TrueFan4Life | January 12, 2010 @ 11:36 am

    Okay, I have no idea why I feel like I’m such a minority when I say this, but this has got to be one of the best episodes on this series. All the parts of the classic HIMYM were there, the ones that have made this show so great.

    First off, I am one of those people who agree that Barney has been by far the most interesting character of this show, so obviously I loved the emphasis the writers put on Barney in the 100th episode. The writers have been listening to its audience. But they haven’t lost sight of the main thread of HIMYM either. Cmon, we got four of the best things that this show has: 1) A day in the awesome life of Barney Stinson, 2) Getting three inches closer to finding out Ted’s future wife, and 3/4) Boobs!

    As for those who complain about Robin, well, you guys are forgetting the future laid out for her a few weeks ago: something good will be happening for her love life in three months. We’ve been waiting to find out how Ted meets his wife for 5 years now. Let’s have a little patience for Robin. In hindsight, showing her in this slow period in her life will show us how how much happier she will be later on. Plus, although I’m not a girl, I’m pretty sure there’s been a time in every girl’s life where she feels as if her ‘Prettiest Girl in the Bar’ crown is under threat. It’s just a part of life, something that HIMYM so vividly and accurately depicts.

    Why is everyone so annoyed at Lily? If anything, it should be Marshall for his pathetic inability to take off his Lily-goggles. Other women other than you wife CAN be hot, sir. I’m not saying that Marshall’s bit wasn’t funny. Just when I thought writers on TV these days cannot escape making the cheap, overused gay joke, the writers find an innovative way to make me convulse in uncontrollable laughter. Perfect delivery, Jason Segal. Marshall is an awesome character. Let’s be patient for his time under the spotlight to come. Right now let’s just enjoy the Barney Stinson show.

27.  Colm | January 12, 2010 @ 12:22 pm

    I never watch or read previews for the episodes, so the musical part was completely unexpected, and it was awesome.

28.  Ernie the Dancing Weasel | January 12, 2010 @ 12:29 pm

    I, for one, loved this episode, as I’ve loved the previous 99. The very worst episode of HIMYM is better than 97% of the drivel that is network television. Try sitting through an episode of “Cougar Town” or “Gary, Unmarried” and tell me I’m wrong. And don’t get me started on the cynical network philosophy that brought us the Leno debacle.

    With am ensemble cast, you’re gonna have episodes where certain characters don’t get a lot ove face time or dialogue. Considering the past year as a whole, and factoring in CS and AH’s pregnancies, it’s been remarkably even. Further, NPH’s star has been shining pretty brightly of late, and this could easily have turned into a “Family Matters” type “Urkel” situation. To the producer’s credit, it hasn’t. Everyone’s star shine brightly in this little corner of the TV schedule.

    Me? I’m gonna try not to over analyze it and just enjoy the show. That, and I’m only a few more songs away from having an AW…wait for it…SOME collection of music from the show (and the producers’ band, “The Solids”) to fill my iPod. You DO know “Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit” is available on iTunes…right?

    Peace out, folks…

29.  jen209 | January 12, 2010 @ 12:38 pm

    I too loved the theme (which has really been present through the whole show) of you never know who’s going to come into your life eventually – ie, the person whose foot you saw 3 years ago ends up being the mother of your kids. It totally happens in real life! When I was in college, I spent a semester abroad in London. I lived in South Kensington and hung out at the Imperial College pub a lot. 2 years later, my roommate was a fellow grad student who I met through the student housing listserv. We discovered that we not only studied in London the same semester, but that we lived in the same area and hung out at the same pub. We HAD to have run into each other several times, but we had no idea that 2 years later we would be friends and living together. Furthermore if I had gone to London a year later, I would have undoubtedly run into the guy I am now dating, as he lived and hung out in the same places I did. Weird and awesome.

30.  Canadianwingman | January 12, 2010 @ 1:14 pm

    This episode was not bad. It was very enjoyable, full of laughs, great plot twists and an awesome musical number. However, I feel like Ted’s story was pushed all into one episode and ran way too quickly. The best part about early episodes is how things weaved together so well.We have barely seen any progress with Ted’s story this season, and suddenly we go 100 mph into the mother’s apartment? Where was the build-up? Where was Ted dating this girl for a few episodes and then figuring out he was interested in the room mate and moving on? Like come on, we got one whole season of build-up to dating Robin, and we can’t get more than ONE episode to this key girl in Ted’s meeting his wife? I just feel like this was done was too quickly. The Rachel Bilson angle could have been stretched over one angle at least.

    I have been one of Bays and Thomas’ advocates. I love this show, they write it so well. But, I am concerned about the quality of the show if they go to all regular sitcom-type episodes from here on in. Marshall, Robin and Lily have had little to nothing to do all season and that’s only going to get worse with non-serialized episodes. I don’t know what will help things right now, but I think a few tweaks are necessary in the writing process.

    Like I said, I loved the episode, just everything in this season is so disjointed and the time is flowing so terribly. I hope the second half speaks to me a little bit better than the first half did.

31.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 1:27 pm

    some insightful views here…

    @colm: the musical came as shock to me too ahhahahahaha it was so awesome!!!

32.  aaron | be awesome instead | January 12, 2010 @ 1:53 pm

    The clothes they wear are from EVER (ever-us.com) to confirm the suspicions/poll from other comments. I’ve talked to a few sources and not everything is but definitely Barney’s tshirts from tonight and a lot of Ted & Marshall’s clothes. Also, in case you want to buy…they are insanely expensive. If you can afford that then cudos!

    JD. Love the stream of consciousness writing. It’s cool to read through the episode like that. A ton or your favorite moments were mine as well. And I did notice that she called the bartender Carl…. Definitely not Carl! Where is Carl! or Wendy for that matter.

    Also, I completely agree that I wish I didn’t know about the musical number before hand. It would have made it even more epic. Still, I loved the song… I even downloaded it last night!

33.  Trevormac98 | January 12, 2010 @ 2:19 pm

    I agree, where is Wendy. She is a hot bartender. Way better than Stacy Keibler.

    @Jen209. I have the same story. My girlfriend and I both went to the same university, studied in the same hall and on the same floor. She also worked at a store I frequently shopped at. However, we never bumped into and talked to each other. THen on black friday one year, we are standing in line at Target waiting to get in the store and we talked for three hours and found out how much we had in common in where we went to school, play… So this is so realistic.

34.  JT | January 12, 2010 @ 2:28 pm

    I watched this episode with a lot of expectation, and I’ll have to say that not just the musical, but the plotlines were well played. I’ll have to even admit that sometimes the way they cut the episode, it seemed that the bartender (Stacy Keibler) was the mother. Bays, Thomas, and Cast/Crew of HIMYM, bravo!!

    I’m a season 1-2 lover, myself, and I definitely emphathize with a lot of people on how the story has “waned” off the charm that was present in those seasons, but I’ll play devils advocate here (and this is how I have learned to appreciate these latter seasons), and ask “How can you tell a story of this kind for 100 eps?”. For me, I had to ask or challenge myself to the following:

    1) How realistic would it be if the mother really was involved in each episode (either clue, hint, runin, event)? Okay, now for people who might be a little more in the hopeless romantic category, rephrased: How realistic would it be to create every episode to include the mother without seeming out if this world? I think that Bays & Thomas are trying to keep the magic with a dose of reality.
    2) Can Ted, with his personality, lead a sitcom simply by himself? Personally, I think no. Josh Radnor is a great actor, but the way that Ted’s written doesn’t divulge enough “personality” without supportive actors to have him drive every story line. However, he’s the necessary backbone that keeps it together.
    3) Name 100 (at least 1 per episode) romantic ideas/concepts/cliches that exist and then intertwine them in a creative way that includes comedy/cliffhangers/originality. I know I couldn’t, but If you can come up with an answer that can beat what I see Bays & Thomas have come up with so far (which is pretty damn good), I’ll give you kudos!

    And JD – Stick with the “on the whim” commentary. It looks like a lot of work, but I think a lot of us (including myself) definitely appreciate it. I loved the 15:08 reaction, but mine involved the S-word haha.

35.  Snorremans | January 12, 2010 @ 2:29 pm

    loved the episode, and how awesome was the song

36.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 2:39 pm

    where can i download it guys?

37.  jons | January 12, 2010 @ 3:56 pm

    hi guys, i’d like to say that they should end the game with this season and give all they got left, give the best in the next lets say 10 episodes, doing so, himym would remain the best show in the last years, there is no need to ruin it by trying to make more seasons..sorry for my english..but then again, i liked the episode, along with “the playbook” the best episode of the season in my opinion..i think is time we meet the mother, at some point the game has to end and the end has to be magnificient…if it is gonna be so, there won’t be a single regreat, and himym could possiblie become the serie we’ll show to our kids and remember it as the best and funniest story ever told

38.  Ernie the Dancing Weasel | January 12, 2010 @ 3:58 pm

    Fabio, it’s available on iTunes. You’re looking for “Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit” under music. 99 measly cents…pretty good freakin’ deal.

39.  @0mega21 | January 12, 2010 @ 3:58 pm

    I loved the episode. I love the fact that they got two amazingly hot women to be in the show. (Stacey Keibler and Rachel) I would have loved to see Rachel Bilson be the mother. She is the only reason I watched The OC. And there is truth that a girl behind the bar makes her hot. I often hangout with bartenders as I am a club promoter and they are just not as hot as when they are behind the bar.

40.  BGeo | January 12, 2010 @ 3:59 pm

    @dan

    as soon as rachel bilson said “almost exclusively” i flashed back to Seinfeld. It was absolutely a call back

41.  Justin | January 12, 2010 @ 5:33 pm

    @katie90:

    “and i swear, as the jokes get lamer, the canned laughter gets increasingly louder.”

    It just seems that way because you’re laughing less. I noticed the laugh tracks more than usual in the bar scenes last night, even though those were the scenes I liked the most. Barney’s storyline was the best of the episode.

    It was nice to get some progress with Ted and the mother, but the way it was delivered was so outlandish… yet it was easy to see it coming as the episode progressed. Once Ted picked out the first of the roommate’s items, I knew he’d fall head over heels for the others. And of course he was going to leave the umbrella behind. They seemed to be in a rush to give away a lot of information about the mother and the dialogue in that part of the storyline was predictable and tiresome. I know there had to be a big revelation at some point, but it was too much last night. That part of the story stays interesting when just a little hint is given and we’re left guessing until next week. At this point, I hope we never see Bilson’s character again and cut straight to the mom. Just rip off the band-aid and get it over with.

42.  JOTM | January 12, 2010 @ 6:32 pm

    after 99 great episodes it was hard to land a big shoot for the 100s. but the writers done good job. it was a solid episode, nothing more nothing less.
    Check out the Bro Code Quiz.

43.  JeremyHXS | January 12, 2010 @ 7:19 pm

    I don’t get the hate for this episode. I loved it to bits. Barney’s character fit perfectly to the “I will do anything to get laid” attitude, and we had probably his biggest sacrifice ever. And the musical number? Priceless.

    How about Ted’s storyline? Rachel Bilson played a perfect role as in we want her to be the mother, but she wasn’t, but in a way also helped set things up big time with the actual mother.

    Marshall, Lily & Robin’s storyline might be throwaway, but it was entertaining to be nonetheless. It was obviously to let the other cast members get some time in over the two big stories, which isn’t always the best formula, but one that people must understand would be disasterous if they didn’t use it and let them serve as side characters for the episode.

44.  Brody | January 12, 2010 @ 7:22 pm

    Who died and made everyone professional critics? Everyone’s talking like they could do the show better than the people who already do it. I’ve taken film & television classes, both on production, writing, and post production. With that experience I can honestly say that HIMYM is just as good as it always has been, which is an above average sitcom. Last night’s episode was everything HIMYM. I think everyone has put the first couple seasons on a pedestal. If you look back, sure they were a lot more mother focused, but they weren’t the based. For example Cockamouse. That episode sticks out as a sore thumb. It’s funny, but it doesn’t fit with the other episodes. That’s because they were still trying to find the tone of the show. And then something crazy happened. People liked the show. So now they have to spread out the mother focused episodes so they can continue making the show. If you really want the show to reveal the mother than do what some of you have threatened to do, stop watching the show.
    I hate it when people boycott a show when it doesn’t cater to their every whim. Get your head out of your ass.
    Sorry for the harshness.

45.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 7:29 pm

    Ernie thanks !!!

46.  TheMix | January 12, 2010 @ 7:31 pm

    “robin’s jealousy is getting annoying. season 1 robin wouldn’t have to be jealous of hot girls cause she used to be so cool it made her the hottest girl in the room. now all she does is sit around and complain about hotter women.”

    Katie, I’m confused. You Don’t want the characters to change seemingly from their old selves, yet you think the jokes are growing stale and lame. It’s a duplicitous argument.

    I, for one, like a change in Robin….and it is deliberate, no doubt about it….not just writer’s malaise. They’re setting something up. I like the change because it’s to see her vulnerable and weak side. Reminds me of how wonderful she was in “Nothing Good Happens After 2am”.

    I loved the show. Can’t say much more than that. It was wonderful.

    Just a thought,
    Jason

47.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 7:39 pm

    “i have never, ever, scored a hot bartender..until tonight”…. i guess they consider Wendy The Waitress a regular girl…. and have no shame to say it!! lol

48.  kiki | January 12, 2010 @ 7:44 pm

    well said brody!!

49.  Purple Giraffe | January 12, 2010 @ 7:55 pm

    @Brody I totally agree with you. Some people are so whiny about this show. Every show that has been on for several years is going to evolve and will have kind of a different feel to it at some point, but that doesn’t mean it has gotten worse. Of course this episode didn’t feel like season 1. It isn’t season 1, it’s season 5. Deal with it. The show is still good, people just need to get over themselves.

50.  Jazzer | January 12, 2010 @ 7:59 pm

    How dare any of you say bad things about this episode! You, make, me, sick!
    ======
    That aside. I’ll tell my part of the story.
    ======
    Benig a life-devoted fan of HIMYM, the 100th episode was A MUST in my book, no matter what it takes. Thing is, I have no internet at my house at the moment. Meaning I had to go to great lenghts to actually see the episode in all of it’s glory.

    It took me over aprox. 7-8 hours to download the episode, and actually watch it.
    =======
    This, was, priceless.*Speaking in the heaven burger speech way Jason Siegel did in SE04EP08* The Barney bits, were just, so perfectly executed, and so beautiful to watch.*Speaking in the heaven burger speech way Jason Siegel did in SE04EP08*

    It really brought back the Barney we all came around to know and love in the very first Season. Heck, the primary talk on suits was so epic, that there are no words that could describe the epicness this episode delivered.

    And not only did it revolve around Barney and his dispute with the weitress (I think she was in Third Watch [1999-2005] as the girlfriend of Maurice Boscorelli, 83% sure], but it featured the final story about Ted, and how he is supposed to meat the mother of his children.

    This was, THE 100th episode. And how could’ve I forgotten about the musical. There was a sneak peek, which happens every week which is basically where CBS releases a short few seconds of the new episode, yet I decided not to view it. To keep the tension and awesomeness even more bigger. The musical bit was, genius. There are not enough words in my vocabulary that can describe…

    Aaargh… This was soooo freakin’ good… The phrase [Finger Lickin' Good] comes to mind at this time.

    I don’t know what to expect from the future episodes. They will, for sure, retain the awesome parts, the show now got back. I just hope, it doesn’t go away.
    =======
    Epic moment JD didn’t mention:

    Lily: “Between World peace and…”
    Barney: “C’mon Lily, you know I’m gonna say suits. And get your head out of your ass.”
    =======

    This is just my opinion, and everyone has the right to one. I do not want to get in a dispute, on what was a good, and what was bad, this was just, unadulturated awesomeness.

    Good to see you all.

51.  Tove | January 12, 2010 @ 8:35 pm

    Word Brody! And Fabio, Wendy the waitress is, like the name implies, a waitress and not a bartender.

52.  High Hoper | January 12, 2010 @ 8:44 pm

    Brody,

    I have not taken classes on film or television. I am just a normal musician, who studies at a university and has made his first two short films. I understand nothing technically. But there are two things I do know: When I like something and why I like it.

    And I didn’t like the 90% of last episode.

    I don’t need to create a report based on how this show is made nowadays and comparing it to seasons 1&2. I know that those seasons were almost perfect and that 95% of the people who still watches the show, does it because those 2 first seasons were amazing and incredible.

    And I quote you here:
    ‘I hate it when people boycott a show when it doesn’t cater to their every whim. Get your head out of your ass.’

    I can say WHATEVER I want. If I like it now, if I don’t like it, why I like it or why I don’t, and I can honestly say that this show is nothing compared to what it was. I think it’s bloody rude that you write that way. Don’t know if JD has anything to say related…

53.  Jazzer | January 12, 2010 @ 8:53 pm

    ^ Oh, and wait, you did not know the fact that the more a show get’s older, the more different it gets? The characters evolve, ideas don’t come by that much, everything is already used, etc etc.

    I knew that from the beginning. And as a person who rewatched tons of satirical TV shows [Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Married... With Children, Step by Step, Family Matters, Malcolm in the Middle, According by Jim, Living with Fran, Home Improvement, The Nanny, The War at Home, Full House, Scrubs...] I know it happens, and it happened in basically every show.

    Sure, the show isn’t what it used to be, but it shouldn’t be the same. It’s been 5 years. Things do need to change, even a little bit. Sometimes for good, sometimes for the bad. Live with it.

54.  Brody | January 12, 2010 @ 9:04 pm

    Hey High Hoper,

    I apologized for sounding harsh, but I can’t help defending my favourite show. Historically the show has always been just above average critically, and they way you talk about it, it seems like that’s how it’s been for you. It’s too bad you aren’t that big a fan of what the show has become. You definitely have put the earlier episodes on the pedestal, as I consider the fourth season to be the best, but that’s just ones opinion. And I’m sure you’ll argue that you’re just showcasing your opinion. You have every right to. But you’re biased against the show now, with expectations that might not be met. If that’s the case, then maybe you shouldn’t watch the show. Find something else to like for a couple years and then drop it when starts doing things you don’t like. Shows change man. That’s just life. Learn to adapt.

55.  Fabio | January 12, 2010 @ 9:09 pm

    Hahahahaha @Tove…. WOW cant believe i missed that…. thanks!!

    @Brody – well said dude…well said.

56.  Spencer | January 12, 2010 @ 9:15 pm

    JD, I loved the bit you wrote for timeline 17:05. I printed it out and hung it on my office wall. Great, great words.

57.  Nonblonde | January 12, 2010 @ 9:22 pm

    After giving it alot of thought, I’ve decided that I really really liked it. I was a bit torn because I can’t deny that Katie and Highhoper are right to some degree – some of the jokes do feel kinda lame. And yes, Lily IS a bit irritating, and yes, it did feel like it was more Barney-show and yes Marshall doesn’t have the screentime he should..

    But still, as others pointed out, it does feel like a natural development of the show, and somehow, realistic as well. It’s not the first time the writers let one or several characters “have a day off”, you know just letting them exist the way we all do the days when nothing really happens in our life.

    Like, Lily and Marshall aren’t quirky and cute 24/7 – somedays they are going to be bored and discuss things they’ve already discussed before, and even the most wonderful people are occasionally annoying or stubborn (she MUST have reminded you of that delivery-girl you fantasized about Marshall, so bartender girl is OBVIOUSLY your type?!!)

    And Robin isn’t on top of her game everyday. It’s natural for everybody to be insecure about their looks, and we have to believe that even gorgeous Robin (even though she kind of looked like she needs a new wardrobe and a good nights sleep, poor thing) has her moments. Besides, all of us hate typical sitcoms with their clichés and what is more sit-comy than the illusion that EVERYTHING in sitcom-life is perfect all the time?

    Am I making sense to anyone? I might over-analyze this sure, but it’s just that the reaon I fell in love with HIMYM in the first place is how true it is to real life – it has never felt fake or fictional to me.

    But yeah maybe I’m wrong and I guess that’s okay, but… I don’t know. I don’t mind episodes where one or more characters are a little bland – look at me, I’m considered a funny person but god knows I’m not a riot everyday… And I like to think that Ted and the others are humans with mood swings, occasional depressed thoughts of how their life sucks, insecureties, weight gaining and bad hairdays…. Even though the writers don’t have to make that a part of the plots – it is a sitcom after all – sometimes it’s good to just sit back and relax and watch everyone else captain the ship. Sometimes it’s just one of those days.

58.  Nonblonde | January 12, 2010 @ 9:23 pm

    Crap I just realized I ranted… Sorry!

59.  Brody | January 12, 2010 @ 9:24 pm

    nonblonde, you get the show incredibly well. Thank you

60.  BGeo | January 12, 2010 @ 9:26 pm

    It feels like all of the negative responses to the 100th episode is taking away from the celebration of 100 episodes. I am quite surprised because I felt this episode had a lot of what makes up a great himym episode.

    I also agree with Marshall in regards to the hot bar tender… meh

61.  High Hoper | January 12, 2010 @ 9:57 pm

    Guess I’ll have to find another sitcom to watch for 2 years…

62.  Nonblonde | January 12, 2010 @ 10:30 pm

    Brody: No, thank YOU! I’m relieved someone finds me cohesive haha… And High Hoper: if you really are going to stop watching the show, I’m assuming you’ll be leaving the site too? That would suck, I’ve enjoyed reading your point of views :/… I really hope you change your mind about the show!

63.  JD | January 13, 2010 @ 12:43 am

    Jazzer, you’re fantastic. Great comments.

    High Hoper, it really sucks you aren’t into the show as much anymore. I’ll admit that I too feel like it’s lacking a certain magic from season two, I guess I just don’t expect it to maintain that kind of impact over time. There’s always a peak and then a settling into a routine. This is just a routine I still like. All around me other things are peaking and in a few years time those will be routine as other things peak. It’s like anything else. I don’t think you’re wrong, I only hope to pull you back into a little more enjoyment. I’d hate to see you go buddy.

    Spencer, I’m so touched that you’d print out what I wrote. It was a thought I’ve had for a long time and was finally glad to get down in writing, I’m glad it could connect with you in that way.

    Nonblonde, you make a good point about the show having the balls to show some characters can be boring, or annoying, or suffer from a lack of self esteem. It is more realistic and I think it’s great the writers go to that length for characterization. You aren’t rambling at all!

    Believe it or not this format for episode recaps is easier. This is how I take notes in the first run through of the episode. I usually then put it on a second time while I edit the post into the traditional format. Posting this is skipping a step, I’m glad you guys like it.

    Thanks to you all for commenting and I think it’s about time we do appreciate that there are 100 episodes of this wonderful show. I know I’m thankful for getting to share a majority of them with you all.

64.  IWantABlueFrenchHorn | January 13, 2010 @ 1:01 am

    Um, correct me if I’m wrong…but isn’t the guy who kicked Robin out from behind the bar, Carl the bartender? Only, you know, with hair? Take a real good look…and his voice is the same too

65.  Dandolion | January 13, 2010 @ 1:44 am

    JD
    While we do recycle/rework and reuse sets that apartment was not From season 1 trust me it did not exist. (Though some parts were from the apartment from “Sorry Bro”) The Restaurant we had never used before and was completely different from the “Double Date Restaurant”. The colors of apartment were similar to Stella’s.

66.  pizzaboy | January 13, 2010 @ 2:00 am

    This is only my third time posting but I’ve been following this awesome blog since season four. I love reading JD’s reviews and I’ve also always enjoyed reading the comments because both clue me in on things I miss or provide a perspective that I would never have thought of on my own. All the bickering recently has disappointed me a bit because I don’t like the idea of the comment section turning into the comment section from youtube. I like to think that any himym fan is a reasonable person and I have high hopes that we won’t ever sink to that level.

    That being said, I agree that this season has not been the same as the previous seasons but I think that that’s ok and that there is a reason for it. After everything that happened with Stella it makes sense that Ted would put his love life on hold for a while. How would anyone respond to being left at the altar. I think Ted used to think he had it all figured out and that really shattered his view of the world.

    I also have a theory for what is happening to Robin. I feel that her and Barney’s relation ship took a bigger toll on her than we’re being led to believe. Robin used to be the showstopper. But I think the break up left her really hurt. I think this will be addressed later.

    Barney’s still awesome. Nuff said.

    As for LAME… They’re the one thing I don’t get. Lily has been really annoying lately and maybe her crazy behavior will be explained later as well. I really hope so. And Marshall definitely needs more to do, although I must say that Jason Segel can take the simplest lines and deliver them like nobody else.

    It has been an awesome run so far though and I hope the show keeps it up. And the same goes for JD with this site.

67.  bagga | January 13, 2010 @ 3:21 am

    this episode was the best of season 5 … the song specially… I watched it thrice… just lovely…

68.  bagga | January 13, 2010 @ 3:22 am

    it was all in all a Barney-Go-Merry show

69.  bagga | January 13, 2010 @ 3:23 am

    here is the last 25% of the only suspicious character of HIMYM lol http://have-you-met-ted.com/wp-content/uploads/girlsvsuits-feet.jpg

70.  dude | January 13, 2010 @ 4:12 am

    So look at the end credits. That is Carl! I had to re-watch it to make sure, I didn’t think that it was him. I was quite upset when Robin called him Carl… Credits show “Joe Nieves as Carl”

71.  Luis Cotovio | January 13, 2010 @ 5:27 am

    Sorry JD but the bartender that kicks Robin out from behind the counter IS Carl. And for a double whammy he also had a part in this weeks episode of Castle as Boyd Gamble, a small time drug dealer.

    This was the best episode of this season, not only does the mother story get some development (and a lot of them to boot) we got NPH doing a musical number. That song had me ROFL. NPH is awesome at this stuff.
    Let’s hope they keep it up.

72.  JS | January 13, 2010 @ 6:04 am

    I love this show and have followed this blog for a few months without posting before. But I just had to say that this episode was awesome.

    I started watching HIMYM a bit late, it’s only this year that I’ve gotten really into it, and maybe that’s why I don’t understand the fuss about season 1. I think that all of the seasons have been equally awesome. I was actually kind of surprised when I started reading this blog and found out that so many had the first one as their favourite. And when it comes to season 5 … I mean, every show has good and bad episodes, so personally I don’t think it’s really fair to judge a season just by its first half. At least I’m not going to. The last couple of episodes have been great, and as I said before, the last one was awesome.

    Sorry, didn’t mean to write so much, but just got to say that I do exactly the same thing as Lily did in this episode. If my boyfriend says that I’m hotter than some girl who I know is more attractive than me, I just get irritated. So I don’t find Lily annoying … but maybe that just means that other people thinks I’m annoying. lol

    Anyway, great site, JD! love from Sweden

73.  Math Geek | January 13, 2010 @ 9:12 am

    I have been a fan of HIMYM since season 3, and this is my favorite sitcom of the CBS bunch. Granted, there have been points of frustration in the series where the jokes weren’t right enough for me or the stories seemed to be pointless and elongated, but there have been many episodes that have outweighed my paltry complaints.

    This episode is my favorite by far this season. The musical number had me rolling, all the while Ted finally got to the point where he nearly met mommy. I have noticed that this show mimics realistic human interaction rather well. Those just missed things are memorable but you’re clueless about how it plays into the overall tapestry of your life. I’ve had some events like that in my life, which may be the root reason why I like HIMYM and this episode in particular.

    Some have complained about how Robin, Lily and Marshall have been underused. Robin’s time will come again I think because Narrator Ted said she’s going to date her lazy co-anchor. I also feel that Marshall and Lily will have more to do in the future, though I can’t say what for sure. This show is told uniquely from one perspective (that of Narrator Ted) and that limitation may explain why those three characters have fallen by the wayside.

    As for the main storyline, I feel the reveal is due at the end of this season or somewhere in the next season (hopefully the show is renewed). I could see Carter and Bayes changing the storytelling perspective to the wife and we get to see how they interacted in the first year of their relationship (the fights, the first breakup, the first makeup et al). To have such a buildup to the reveal and then to shut down production after that seems to be a huge robbery for the fans. It would be interesting to see how Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney react to her presence and how it falls out from there. I am not omniscient, but those are my thoughts.

    Am I right or wrong? We’ll see what happens I guess.

74.  nt | January 13, 2010 @ 12:15 pm

    did anyone else notice the royal diner from bones in the musical scene ? i knew bones and himym are using the same set, but i didnt expect to actually see the diner. angel/agent booth could have been sitting there in that moment.

75.  Toby | January 13, 2010 @ 12:22 pm

    I personally loved this episode. The song was awesome, and I have watched it like 20 times, and still love it.

    I do agree with Katie and others who had an issue with Robin. I think that they have really dumbed down her character this season. I thought she was great in Definitions, Robin 101, and Bagpipes, but otherwise she has been super annoying. AS has Lily and Marshal.

    I was thinking about it today, and the only thing that is bugging me about the episode is that a very similar scenario happened on friends: where Joey was on a date with some girl and he had a sense of de ja vu and it turned out he had slept with the girl’s roommate. I hope that Carter and Bays didn’t rip off that idea from them.

76.  Toby | January 13, 2010 @ 12:23 pm

    oops, I meant Bays and Thomas

77.  Dandolion | January 13, 2010 @ 1:05 pm

    nt,

    the fox new York street is very small. If you look for it you will see it in commercials and print adds in addition to house and bones and himym. We do have to covert the Royal Diner signs with our own signage. You should have noticed that it was the White flag diner in rough patch and that is was the white flag diner in this episode as well. In the first shot of the song you can see house support trailers and trucks.

78.  nt | January 13, 2010 @ 1:16 pm

    Dandolion

    i didnt realize it had another name, thanks for the reply. i think in the behind the scenes video its still the royal diner.
    i didnt mean to criticize the usage btw, as a tv-geek im just happy to notice details like that.

79.  Dandolion | January 13, 2010 @ 1:29 pm

    nt
    no offense taken. We do what we have to do and the fact that this is the first time. (to my knowledge) that it has come up in this blog is a testament to how effective our redressing and shooting of the street really is. the nerd stuff is fun. we had to shoot wider than usual because of the size of the dance and that combined with crane shots makes it more clear what the layout of the street really is. When we were rehearsing the dance the street was not dressed yet. btw the store the clothing rack comes out of is “founding fathers” from bones as well. Yes you can actually see “founding fathers” from inside “the royal diner” someday they could do a shot of bones and booth standing in the middle of the street deciding where to go.

80.  Winterboy | January 13, 2010 @ 2:09 pm

    hey does somebody know why barney has the shirt with the text “die neue wohnung” on it. its german and means something like “the new apartment”. is one of the authors german or why have they chosen that?

81.  Kevin K. from D. | January 13, 2010 @ 3:27 pm

    Not just awesome. It was a awe-quite a lot episode.
    And everytime I watch the ending when Barney sings the last “Suits”, I’m getting goosebumbs all over my body. It is one of the best episodes ever made by the authors and cast of HIMYM. The highlight so far in Season 5.

82.  Jazzer | January 13, 2010 @ 4:47 pm

    Just a second ago I finished viewing the Barney Catchphrase Reel JD posted a few months ago. Some genius collected all the legendary parts of the four seasons into one, 9 minute clip.

    This was my, cca 20th time to watch it. It reminds me of how much the show has changed my life, the way I go through it, and the way I look at things It changed me personally, and things around me.

83.  Trevormac98 | January 13, 2010 @ 4:49 pm

    Just to inform everyone, on iTunes, under Season Five for How I met Your Mother, the song Girls Vs Suits is available for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!

    . And it is the video of it from the show not just the song. I downloaded mine and it is great.

84.  Trevormac98 | January 13, 2010 @ 4:49 pm

    ITs Called Nothing Suits me like a Suit

85.  katie90 | January 14, 2010 @ 1:34 pm

    @The Mix: “Katie, I’m confused. You Don’t want the characters to change seemingly from their old selves, yet you think the jokes are growing stale and lame. It’s a duplicitous argument.”

    i never said i don’t want them to change. i don’t mind change if it’s going in a good or at least believable direction. taking robin, a once totally cool chick, and dumbing her down, slutting her up (in season 4 — Toby, i’m not gonna write the name of ted’s assistant again, you know i’m gonna get it wrong ) and basically taking everything away she has going for her. just think back to robin in sweet taste of liberty, when she and lily went to the bar and she was fighting off guys. that robin never would’ve been jealous of another girl cause she simply wouldn’t need to be. but the way she’s behaving now..

    also, i never meant to say the jokes were getting stale as in used up or old or something. they’re just getting plain bad, those characters make jokes simply to make jokes (which, in earlier episodes, only happened when they wanted to point out a really bad joke like some sexual puns barney does or robin’s bad jokes like “..or a reeeally sick dad” from the three days rule).

    and please, oh please, everyone who says it has to do with expectations, watch a couple of season 1, season 2, even season 3 and 4 episodes and then pop one of season 5 in immediately after. the whole group chemistry has gone downhill. these used to be five very awesome people. now lily’s annoying and only talking about how hot she thinks robin or some other girl is, marshall’s just married-marshall, ted is still ted only with less to do and barney..well, i agree, it has kind of become the barney show, which is good in some eps (playbook) and bad in others (like the barney/robin episodes). at this point in the show, would any of you wanna hang out with any of those guys? heck, i wanted to BE one of them in season 1

86.  katie90 | January 14, 2010 @ 1:37 pm

    forgot the end of a sentence
    “taking robin, a once totally cool chick, ….. is no change i want to see”

87.  Toby | January 14, 2010 @ 1:42 pm

    Katie, I agree the show isn’t what it once was, but it is still one of the best shows on TV despite it going downhill.

    Personally, I think it has always been the Barney Show! NPH is directing this coming episode, so I imagine he will have little screen time so it will be interesting to see the show without him.

    I recently got all four DVD sets and have been watching them, and I have to say my favorite is season 3;

    I also want to say that I am super frustrated with the fact that they are acting like the Barney and Robin thing never happened. It is like they realized it was a stupid idea to do it so soon into the series (this should have been done during the last season), and they are trying to unring a bell.

88.  katie90 | January 14, 2010 @ 1:43 pm

    and toby: thank you!! my mind immediately went to that friends episode! i kind of thought the girl’s apartment looked like the one joey had had dates with those roommates..weird

89.  Andrew | January 14, 2010 @ 2:26 pm

    Hi there, I’m a long time lover of HIMYM, and long time reader of haveyoumetted.com and to answer your question JD, I don’t know about the ladies clothes but Marshall and Ted (and in this episodes case, Barney) wear Lucky Brand clothing. I work at Lucky Brand and a few friends and I have a little competition to see who can buy the most clothing worn by the cast members. I know it’s kind of stupid but its fun.

90.  Actual Sized Barney | January 14, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

    Here’s the thing… there’s still a billion girls who Ted can sneeze on, or be sneezed on by who can end up being the mother… as you’re assuming that the mother will still live in the apartment when she meets Ted (easy enough fix)

    She can move to the apartment across the hall from Ted next week… every girl could still be the mother. Bilsson’s roomate could be Victoria or Trudy for all we know… (granted they’d have to also be students of Ted’s that night, so that probably doesn’t fly)

    They gave us tons of stuff but in the end gave us nothing. All we know is that some girl that used to room with Rachel Bilsson will end up being the mother.

    They gave us nothing but intrigue and that is why Bays/Thomas are creative geniuses!

91.  Leigh | January 14, 2010 @ 9:38 pm

    I have a few thoughts on the episode. I really enjoyed it, and think that everyone who gets their panties in a twist that the show isn’t the same anymore should just stop watching and stick to the dvds. Personally, I still love it and look forward to where new plotlines will take us.

    The Musical – I loved it, but did anyone else feel like it really “separated the men from the boys”? NPH’s talent far outshone the work of the others’ in this scene. Even Segel, who is a musical kind of guy, fell far short of NPH. All in all though, great.

    The Mother – FINALLY all of the groups who are convinced that Robin/Stella/Victoris are the mother can give up. Robyn is not Rachel’s roommate (obviously), and Ted would have mentioned that Victoria was in a band and read the same books as him, and we know that Stella is in LA with Tony. Speculators, cool your engines!

    Robyn/Marshall/Lily – I think that their characters reflect the changes that people go through in life. Even the most awesome people go through less awesome stages. Marshall is clinging to his ‘my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world’ bit, which is annoying, but feasible. Lily is still into hot women and has her lesbian tendencies, I really don’t see how she has changed to much. And to those who said that Robyn was way cooler in the first two seasons – people change. Robyn has been dealt some blows to her self-confidence lately (failed relationships, crappy/no jobs, etc.) and now this bartender is trying to take her Hot Girl Crown?

    I realise that this makes me sound like an idiot who thinks that the characters are real people, but I’m just trying to point out that maybe the writers are trying to write characters who evolve, and not keep it like the Simpsons, where the characters are static and never age or change.

    JD, I loved the format this time!

92.  Jenn- GCWOK Approved | January 15, 2010 @ 12:12 am

    I think that Ted’s “best romance story he’s ever heard” or however he described it in the episode The Window is going to be how the “universe” was trying to get him and his wife together all along. I think there will be a cool montage put to music of how they almost met at the St. Patrick’s day party, almost met that first day of school, almost met when she was his perfect match at Love Solutions, and almost met in the apartment with her roomate. There will probably be tons of other times they almost met where they re-film various moments we’ve seen and put her in only feet away. Kind of like in You’ve Got Mail where they walk down the street close to each other and the grocery store and things like that.
    I still love the show and think it’s fabulous. And I like Robin SO much better now than I did the first 2 seasons! I did not like her then. She was too cold.

93.  katie90 | January 15, 2010 @ 4:43 am

    “think that everyone who gets their panties in a twist that the show isn’t the same anymore should just stop watching and stick to the dvds”

    my thoughts exactly, so that’s what i’m gonna do from here on in.

    rewatched the episode though and did found some bits funny: barney in the suitwater-skiing and him going “yes, we’re into the rhyming section now”

    and, leigh, i think those people who seriously think robin/stella/victoria/lily(!) is the mom will cling on to their ideas until someone beats them over the head with it. they’ll just go on saying robin secretly moved or something. i mean, i’ve read on imdb opinions of people that said ted’s probably not even the dad or weird stuff about artificial insemination..when it comes to “who’s the mom” himym fans get really freaky and usually can’t be convinced

94.  Fabio | January 15, 2010 @ 6:55 am

    “i’ve read on imdb opinions of people that said ted’s probably not even the dad or weird stuff about artificial insemination..”

    how do people come up with stuff like this? LOL

95.  Ana | January 15, 2010 @ 11:36 am

    It’s the first time I’m writing here. I just saw the episode (I’m portuguese) and I already did it like 5 times.

    OMG – I loved this episode. I think it was really funny, smart way to show us the mother without doing it.

    I have to say that today I’m even more fan of the show that I was yesterday.

96.  Bdubs | January 15, 2010 @ 3:10 pm

    I LOVED this episode, and I like the way you blogged about it. Is it just me or have they made Robin look horrible lately? She looks soooo nasty. I hope they turn her around, because right now her lines about being one of the hot girls are so ridiculous.

    I’m excited that we’re getting closer to meeting the mother but I too wonder, how are they going to weasel their way out of this?! I keep hoping the writers will know a good thing when they see it and actually plan out the whole mother thing instead of showing her to us in the very last episode-or worse, not at all.

97.  JD | January 15, 2010 @ 7:57 pm

    Bdubs, thanks for your comment! It was a great episode.

    As much as I like Cobie Smulders on the show and in person, she’s not what you’d call “my type” so it’s difficult for me to really comment on rises and falls from a personal point of view. That being said, she still looks beautiful to me. Especially considering she had a child and is back to working full time, that’s enough to earn my respect, no matter what she looks like.

    The show’s entire cast is much more believable as real people than most shows (save for NPH who is ripped) which adds to the enjoyment of the show. Any group of regulars in a bar would have one woman who was “the hot girl” that might feel jealous if a new bartender entered the mix.

    I’ve said it a lot before but I don’t think you’ve commented before so I’ll catch you up. Be wary of what you say on the Internet as it has a way of making it to people to whom you would not say the same thing to their face. “She looks soooo nasty” does nothing for your credibility, which is unfortunate because it was a great comment otherwise!

98.  guest | January 16, 2010 @ 1:02 am

    i just watch it the second time & i have to say, it really is a good episode! i mean, at first time i really feel like something is missing, but in the second time, i watch it without much expectation, so maybe, i might expect too much from this episode, but it really didn’t disappoint!

99.  Dandolion | January 16, 2010 @ 1:54 am

    @Guest

    I have to say my main concern was that expectations would be un-achievably hi. I am glad to see that many enjoyed it.

100.  Reginald | January 16, 2010 @ 2:26 am

     Enough has been said about the good and bad things about this episode and i agree a bit with both arguments. I think there were some great moments here. I thought Ted’s scene with Bilson in her room was very well-crafted and shows why Ted is the same character we came to love in the earlier seasons. The situations were great, the plot line interesting, so what is the ‘ingredient X ‘ that woudl have made this good episode legendary? I do nto if this is the right answer but the way the characters talk to each other has changed. In the previous seasons, the characters talked like normal people who,albeit, were remarkably funny in their conversations. the jokes were embedded in the conversation. Sample this:
     Ted to Robin (in season 1) “Besides, if I go out, who will watch your show? I am half your viewership.”
     RObin: “I am flatterd that you think we have two viewers”

     That exchange was neither hilarious nor fantastic. and yet it was these little delightful moments that added to the charm of the show. I feel like we have lost those witty, yet believable, exchanges. It is a lot less funny when everyone is trying to deliver a punchline all the time.

     My thoughts. Loved the review format though. In my mind, I review shows the same way- by what I feel at each moment. JD, it is really great that you wrote it in a such a relate-able way.

101.  katie90 | January 16, 2010 @ 9:48 am

     reginald: “In the previous seasons, the characters talked like normal people who,albeit, were remarkably funny in their conversations. the jokes were embedded in the conversation.”

     YES!! thanks, that’s exactly what i’m trying to say and basically what i mean by “the jokes seem forced” or “the just sit around actually making jokes”, cause it used to be so different. those were cool, funny people that happened to be caught in funny situations

     wouldn’t agree with robin looking “soooo nasty” but i, too, wondered what happened to her in that episode. i mean, she was basically back to (healthy) skinny after having her baby but in this ep she looked a lot bigger to me, maybe it was the outfit

102.  Josh | January 17, 2010 @ 12:35 am

     Just speculating here, but would it be ridiculous for a season finale where Rachel Bilson’s character feels bad about the break-up and her roommate complex, realizes that Ted and her roomie liked the same things, and introduces the two of them….only it’s the very end of the finale, and she says I’d like you to meet my roommate…and then we fade out for the year? Would that be too direct for Carter and Bays (now we’ve got to meet the mother at the start of next year with the spoiler that we know it’s her)? It’s not like she and Ted won’t ever see each other at school, right?

     Does anyone know if Bilson is scheduled to be back again this year?

103.  Kade | January 17, 2010 @ 9:39 am

     I really Love Rachel Bilson, too, so i was sad when i heared that she is not the mother but her roommate is.
     So wouldnt it be awesome if her roommate is actually her twin sister, played by Rachel Bilson as well?

104.  Andre | January 17, 2010 @ 7:38 pm

     hey, Dandolion, what’s your connection with himym? that is, if you can tell us. but thanks for the insider information, it’s really cool to have someone connected to the show posting here

105.  Dandolion | January 17, 2010 @ 9:52 pm

     I’m the set designer working for Steve Olson (the Production Designer) I do the construction drawings and help supervise the Carpenters and painter s etc.
     I have only been on the show since the beginning of season 3. As for insider info:
     I watched a dvd of the next episode on friday and It is great. I knew nothing about amanda peet before we shot and now am a big fan.

106.  Amy | January 17, 2010 @ 10:33 pm

     This ep. was great, beyond great. I love anything that even sort of hints about the mother. So I was squealing away with every small hint. I wish the gang would have complained about Barney ruining the bar like they did with Wendy, oh sweet Wendy how I miss you. I am a firm believer in bringing regular non main characters back over and over again. I feel like it makes things more realistic. We all know that our favorite bar has a staff we know and love.

     This show is still my favorite and everyone whom I have introduced to it still loves it as well.

     I’ve said this before to all of those who rant on the show becoming terrible. Your hopes get let down because once you have been watching/reading something for such a long time you believe you know the characters so well that you could write it better or think up a better outcome in your head. And maybe that outcome would have been amazing, but at the end of the day you have to realize that someone else created this book/show and that THEY get to decide what happens to the characters that they created. I hate not being able to control the show to the outcome that I wish it, but I trust in Bays and Thomas and I know that this show will always bring a smile to my face.

107.  Fabio | January 18, 2010 @ 7:09 am

     @Amy

     I like what you said here: “Your hopes get let down because once you have been watching/reading something for such a long time you believe you know the characters so well that you could write it better or think up a better outcome in your head”.

     I think sometimes i do that. Nice point

108.  How I Met Your Mother – Girls vs. Suits « Whinose, picking the good stuff | January 18, 2010 @ 2:41 pm

     [...] was already legendary, what really made it special was the review given by Justin Dickinson of the Have You Met Ted-blog. Here’s some knowledge for you. “Another truth of Manhattan: you never score the hot [...]

109.  Rey | January 19, 2010 @ 2:23 pm

     The musical was gayer than actually being a homosexual.

110.  stefany | January 28, 2010 @ 7:50 pm

     it felt like a classic. the suits thing was great, but if you really pay attention whats driving the conflict of this eps was Ted and liking the roommate’s stuff. great plants (the yellow umbrella, the school bus) and awesome misleads (the book, guitar). it was classic carter/bays teasing us with mother info, but leaving the mystery open…

     i agree that lately the show has felt like “the life and miracles of barney stinson” but barney’s eccentricities have stolen the show since season one (sweet taste of liberty, cmon, he was in a suitcase). and it works because he’s an entertaining character and NPH is brilliant at bringing him to life. the musical number was AWESOME (mostly because that was the gayest barney has ever been, but also because barney would totally have insane fantasies about suits).

     the thing that is bringing me down the most (for all of season 5 actually) is robin. what is up with her?? she’s totally lame now, her jokes aren’t funny, and shes constantly acting like a sad puppy. what happened to gun-totein’, scotch-swilling, red meat eating, New Yorker Robin?????

111.  BorisTheSpider | February 20, 2010 @ 6:29 pm

     Does anyone know which is the song heard when Barney suits up in Mac Laren’s toilets ? Thanks.

112.  Theodore | March 7, 2010 @ 1:50 am

     “robin’s jealousy is getting annoying. season 1 robin wouldn’t have to be jealous of hot girls cause she used to be so cool it made her the hottest girl in the room. now all she does is sit around and complain about hotter women.”

     Katie, I’m confused. You Don’t want the characters to change seemingly from their old selves, yet you think the jokes are growing stale and lame. It’s a duplicitous argument.

     I, for one, like a change in Robin….and it is deliberate, no doubt about it….not just writer’s malaise. They’re setting something up. I like the change because it’s to see her vulnerable and weak side. Reminds me of how wonderful she was in “Nothing Good Happens After 2am”.

     I loved the show. Can’t say much more than that. It was wonderful.

     Theodore

113.  Sinead Deevy | May 1, 2010 @ 11:14 pm

     I really liked this episode! And even though you didn’t like the build up to the singing, it made me want to watch this even more, like I was hanging onto the edge of my seat going COME ON!!!

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