There was a Frasier-esque quality to this one, with a gigantic secret that everyone's trying to keep, and the assembled throw themselves into loops trying to preserve it when they inevitably hit some bumps in the road, and then, of course, the secret comes out and leads to an emotionally resonant moment. But that's not a complaint, and I think it works well with HIMYM's silly sensibilities.
The conceit that Barney has hired a pair of actors to pretend to be his family is a little out there, but Ted's pretentiousness the Barney's "wife" was a hoot, and so was Robin comisserating with a delightfully world-weary Grant/Tyler. Throw in the riffs on NPH's child-acting past, and a nice little B-plot about honesty and Lily hating Marshall's mom, (not to mention Loretta's confessions of being "a filthy whore" and you have a recipe for great comedy. Plus, the nice beat with Barney and his mom sends the episode out on a high note, even if the Robin-Barney hinting was a bit heavy-handed here. All-in-all, a quality episode.
Shout by LineageBlockedParent2019-05-09T22:44:44Z
Like mother, like son. Barney definitely got his nature from her.