7.5/10. "Do I Know You?" basically splits our heroes into two groups for the episode. You have Ted, Marshall, and Stella addressing the issue of how well Ted and Stella know each other and Ted's affection for Star Wars, and then you have Barney and Lily addressing Barney's infatuation with Robin. In my book, the former is much more successful than the latter.
The Ted-Stella-Marshall storyline could easily have been another true but trite "it's what you're like, not what you like" kind of story, but instead, as is the show's specialty, it turned into a creative way to dramatize that part of a relationship where you're figuring out what you have in common and what you go along with because you love someone. The fact that Stella was totally onto the game of the Star Wars test is another nod in her favor, and Ted and Marshall were stewing and fretting in Ted's room was great comedic fodder. The end note with Marshall giving Stella his blessing was the perfect beat to end on.
And then we come to Lily trying to help Barney act on his feelings for Robin. I didn't like this story when I first watched the series, and I still don't like it now. NPH sells it as best he can, but it just feels out of character for Barney. The show's done a good job of giving him depth beyond his sex-scheming ways by this point in the series, but his obsession with Robin felt like too much of a flip to be in keeping with what we know about Barney. Could he develop feelings for Robin? Absolutely? Is he going to turn into Ned Flanders or, god forbid, Ted overnight because of them? That's a bridge too far.
Considering that's the premise his whole story rests on, it falls flat. Lily's trying to set Barney on the path to being a decent guy has its moments, and Robin's confusion and attempts to bring out the old Barney are kind of cute, but they can't save the fact that the entire plot is premised on a version of Barney that in no way feels like a natural transition from the lothario the show established over the prior three seasons. It's love by fiat, and has none of the natural ease that the scenes at the end of "Sandcastles in the Sand" did to spark this whole big mess.
So it all averages out to a good but not great episode, that has one really good story on the one hand, and one very mixed bag on the other.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2016-03-16T06:02:38Z
7.5/10. "Do I Know You?" basically splits our heroes into two groups for the episode. You have Ted, Marshall, and Stella addressing the issue of how well Ted and Stella know each other and Ted's affection for Star Wars, and then you have Barney and Lily addressing Barney's infatuation with Robin. In my book, the former is much more successful than the latter.
The Ted-Stella-Marshall storyline could easily have been another true but trite "it's what you're like, not what you like" kind of story, but instead, as is the show's specialty, it turned into a creative way to dramatize that part of a relationship where you're figuring out what you have in common and what you go along with because you love someone. The fact that Stella was totally onto the game of the Star Wars test is another nod in her favor, and Ted and Marshall were stewing and fretting in Ted's room was great comedic fodder. The end note with Marshall giving Stella his blessing was the perfect beat to end on.
And then we come to Lily trying to help Barney act on his feelings for Robin. I didn't like this story when I first watched the series, and I still don't like it now. NPH sells it as best he can, but it just feels out of character for Barney. The show's done a good job of giving him depth beyond his sex-scheming ways by this point in the series, but his obsession with Robin felt like too much of a flip to be in keeping with what we know about Barney. Could he develop feelings for Robin? Absolutely? Is he going to turn into Ned Flanders or, god forbid, Ted overnight because of them? That's a bridge too far.
Considering that's the premise his whole story rests on, it falls flat. Lily's trying to set Barney on the path to being a decent guy has its moments, and Robin's confusion and attempts to bring out the old Barney are kind of cute, but they can't save the fact that the entire plot is premised on a version of Barney that in no way feels like a natural transition from the lothario the show established over the prior three seasons. It's love by fiat, and has none of the natural ease that the scenes at the end of "Sandcastles in the Sand" did to spark this whole big mess.
So it all averages out to a good but not great episode, that has one really good story on the one hand, and one very mixed bag on the other.