7.5/10. Since I've been a Robin/Barney skeptic from the beginning, So this should be in my wheelhouse, right? Well, kind of. The idea that Barney and Robin aren't right for each other is a drum I've been beating for a long time, but this didn't really get at why. It posited that two awesomes cancel each other out, which could be a roundabout way of saying the same thing as that Barney is a cartoon character and Robin is a more realistic, self-respecting woman, and that both of them are too (as Marshall diplomatically puts it) independent for them to ever really make a go of being together. Instead, the thesis seems to be that they just suddenly turn into a lame nigh-married couple? We've seen Robin in relationships before, and (very mild spoilers) we'll see Barney in a relationship again, and it never really goes this direction, with little to indicate why it did in the first place.
Maybe that's the issue? The show is kind of wishy-washy about the whole thing. There's the implicit concept that the two of them fight all the time ("every moment's a battle") but have just settled into a groove, but I don't know that even the prior fight-episode adequately built up to that point. The best you can say is that their "think of it as two freinds getting back together" exchange is very sweet, and in my humble opinion, the best arrangement for Barney and Robin.
But you know what elevates the episode despite that? The scheming from Ted, Marshall, and especially Lily to break them up. From Ted's amateur attempts that end up blowing up in his and Marshall's face, to Lily's faux-retirement and then Machiavellian plan to remind them of their biggest fights, to the hilarious sequence in the stake out sttion wagon, with debates about porn, stake out vans, pizza, Alan Thicke, and how Crazy Meg knows so much about everyone's lives. There's a really comedy caper vibe to that portion of the episode, and it really makes the entire thing much more fun and laugh-worthy than it has any right to be. Not a great episode, given the muddled quality it's steeped in, but still a good one given the comedy and at least sticking to the idea that Barney and Robin don't work.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-04-22T22:55:12Z
7.5/10. Since I've been a Robin/Barney skeptic from the beginning, So this should be in my wheelhouse, right? Well, kind of. The idea that Barney and Robin aren't right for each other is a drum I've been beating for a long time, but this didn't really get at why. It posited that two awesomes cancel each other out, which could be a roundabout way of saying the same thing as that Barney is a cartoon character and Robin is a more realistic, self-respecting woman, and that both of them are too (as Marshall diplomatically puts it) independent for them to ever really make a go of being together. Instead, the thesis seems to be that they just suddenly turn into a lame nigh-married couple? We've seen Robin in relationships before, and (very mild spoilers) we'll see Barney in a relationship again, and it never really goes this direction, with little to indicate why it did in the first place.
Maybe that's the issue? The show is kind of wishy-washy about the whole thing. There's the implicit concept that the two of them fight all the time ("every moment's a battle") but have just settled into a groove, but I don't know that even the prior fight-episode adequately built up to that point. The best you can say is that their "think of it as two freinds getting back together" exchange is very sweet, and in my humble opinion, the best arrangement for Barney and Robin.
But you know what elevates the episode despite that? The scheming from Ted, Marshall, and especially Lily to break them up. From Ted's amateur attempts that end up blowing up in his and Marshall's face, to Lily's faux-retirement and then Machiavellian plan to remind them of their biggest fights, to the hilarious sequence in the stake out sttion wagon, with debates about porn, stake out vans, pizza, Alan Thicke, and how Crazy Meg knows so much about everyone's lives. There's a really comedy caper vibe to that portion of the episode, and it really makes the entire thing much more fun and laugh-worthy than it has any right to be. Not a great episode, given the muddled quality it's steeped in, but still a good one given the comedy and at least sticking to the idea that Barney and Robin don't work.