The writers seem to have realized that the more they portray failed relationships for Ted, the more strung-along the audience feels with the question "Who is the Mother?" Personally, I'd rather they not focus on Ted's love life much at all until the Mother finally comes along, as long as the rest of the gang's storylines stay interesting.Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. As I've said before, as long as we get entertaining episodes like this that smartly feature the rest of this great ensemble cast, I'm totally fine waiting for more movement on Ted Mosby's perpetual search for his future kids' mother. The analogy was funny in itself but wonderfully capped off when Marshall told Robin to pick up some frozen waffles, "and in that case frozen waffles are frozen waffles." It'll be very interesting to see where Robin's storyline goes with new co-worker Don ("Dammit, Marshall"). Even better was Marshall's long-winded story about how whenever he looks for frozen waffles he doesn't find them, but when he's looking for something else, he finds waffles. Ted and Marshall's rundown of the people they know who made that statement and were now either in a marriage or civil union was very amusing, with my favorite being the Star Trek wedding photo in Federation uniforms. Robin's declaration resulted in Ted and Marshall constantly telling her that now that she's not looking for a relationship, she's going to be getting married, within six months. The only non-Barney-related storyline this episode was short but well done, involving Robin stating that her career is her number one focus right now. Unusually ordered episodes like this, along with the tongue-in-cheek, winking-at-the-camera "Playbook" tips set HIMYM apart from other sitcoms, and when it all comes together it shows how fun this show really can be. Everyone watching wondered who the random blonde girl was, hanging out with the gang at McClaren's mid-episode (and even joined in a round of singing "Hell no"), and by the end we learned her name was Claire and she was the target of Barney's latest scam. While I could see the ending coming when Barney got his friends to vouch for him, the way the overall episode was structured was brilliant.
#Playbook barney stinson series
Series co-creators and writers Craig Thomas & Carter Bays smartly crafted the entire episode around "The Scuba Diver," and it all paid off at the end of the episode. However, none of the aforementioned scams were as intricately planned as the best con of them all: "The Scuba Diver." Stinsfire," which was a mildly amusing plan that seemed to exist just as a reference to Mrs. Most of Barney's bamboozles were less creative than "Van Matterhorn" but nonetheless amusing: "The Don't Drink That," "The Snasa," "The Cheap Trick," "The He's Not Coming," "The Ted Mosby," and "The My Penis Grants Wishes." The only flim-flam that fell a little flat for me was "The Mrs.
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phone." The fake webpages displayed had some wonderful little tidbits in them, from Lorenzo's listing as the Balloonist World Record of "Awesomest Flight - Forthcoming" on The Balloon Explorers Club to the doctors journal Extremities Quarterly likening Van Matterhorn's penis to "a tree trunk", "the length of anchor rope," and "a barber's pole" before informing the reader that "science can't help him" (all next to a very Doogie Howser-ish picture).
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One of the best cons was "The Lorenzo Van Matterhorn," which required "basic knowledge of web design," "a really good fake name" and "preferably a girl with a real nice. The scams, cons, flim-flams, strategems and bamboozles illustrated ranged from creative to barely trying, but they all fit perfectly as creations of Barney Stinson. If, like me, you can't get enough of NPH and Barney's ridiculous get-laid-quick schemes, then this week's episode was like a gift from the writers to make up for sitting through some rather subpar episodes this season. Your enjoyment of this episode depends heavily on how much you enjoy Neil Patrick Harris's Barney.
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The rest of the cast took a backseat as the gang obsessed over Barney's latest creation: " The Playbook." Poor Ted barely had a role to play aside from deciphering MILTSWANCAs as "Mothers I'd Like to Sleep With And Never Call Again" and his confirmation that Barney's scam named after Ted does indeed work. This week's How I Met Your Mother makes no qualms about its focus: lovable lothario Barney Stinson.