5.5/10. I'm rating this one so low not because it's uniformly bad or even "meh," but because it has such an odd mix of really good stuff and really bad stuff. On the one hand, you have this really touching, well-done story about Barney acknowledging that his dad is not Bob Barker, but that he needed the self-esteem boost, and the way he appreciates all the lies his mother told him as a child because he realizes it was her way of protecting him and loving him. At the same time, Barney's brother finding his real dad is a touching moment as well that both actors completely sell.
The problem is that the other half of the episode is ridiculously broad and cartoony. Barney thinking that Sam Gibbs is his father despite the obvious disparities is a bridge too far. Even setting aside the "white guy pretending to be black" humor that has its own separate can of worms, it's just a really cheesy attempt at comedy, which is true for a lot of the episode, and cringe-worthy as much for how dumb the humor as is as much as anything.
I do like how the theme about how whether lies are good or bad extends to Lily and Marshall's debate about Santa and Ted and Robin's story about overselling to a blind date. But each of those sort of peters out and has a lot of gags that fall flat in the interim. Some great stuff here, but taken as a whole, it's not the best episode.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2016-06-05T16:56:19Z
5.5/10. I'm rating this one so low not because it's uniformly bad or even "meh," but because it has such an odd mix of really good stuff and really bad stuff. On the one hand, you have this really touching, well-done story about Barney acknowledging that his dad is not Bob Barker, but that he needed the self-esteem boost, and the way he appreciates all the lies his mother told him as a child because he realizes it was her way of protecting him and loving him. At the same time, Barney's brother finding his real dad is a touching moment as well that both actors completely sell.
The problem is that the other half of the episode is ridiculously broad and cartoony. Barney thinking that Sam Gibbs is his father despite the obvious disparities is a bridge too far. Even setting aside the "white guy pretending to be black" humor that has its own separate can of worms, it's just a really cheesy attempt at comedy, which is true for a lot of the episode, and cringe-worthy as much for how dumb the humor as is as much as anything.
I do like how the theme about how whether lies are good or bad extends to Lily and Marshall's debate about Santa and Ted and Robin's story about overselling to a blind date. But each of those sort of peters out and has a lot of gags that fall flat in the interim. Some great stuff here, but taken as a whole, it's not the best episode.