Decent set up to the ending. I did appreciate the explanation that no matter what Ted did, his relationship with Zoe was destined to end poorly, and the rest of the group confronting him about that with the imagine spots made it work. I even appreciated the juxtaposition of the Arcadian and Ted's relationship as landmarks destined to be demolished. Sure, the metaphor wasn't exactly subtle, but it was a nice way to go. Ted giving his a Zoe's relationship a "last meal" so to speak was a nice beat.
On the comedy side, Marshall's rhymes got a chuckle out of me, and Barney's conversation with Arthur, especially their humorous jumps back and forward in time were amusing. That said, the whole plot twist with the tape recorder and the lions head stonework was pretty cheesy. It's a lot of narrative convenience, but it did what it needed to do. To be frank, most of the whole Zoe story has been pretty half-baked and full of misfires from the start, so it's no shock that the landing here was a little bumpy. Still, some good moments that made it worth watching at least.
Shout by dgwVIP 10BlockedParentSpoilers2022-04-10T23:00:36Z
Uh, near the end of "Natural History", Zoey said, "I erased the tape. I don't need it." So how does she have it now?
Edit: And IMDB approved it as a goof in 5 minutes flat: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1795965/goofs?item=gf6265438