The Top 10 Episodes Of How I Met Your Mother

Now that it's been a few weeks since the How I Met Your Mother finale aired, the dust has finally started to settle. It'll likely take quite some time before fans stop arguing about one of the most polarizing ends to a sitcom ever, but there's no changing the show now. What we've got is what we've got. Instead of continuing to dwell on the finale, now is as good of a time as any to look back on the show as a whole. That's right, it's finally time to figure out which episodes of HIMYM were the best. Through multiple re-watchings over the years and one more time going through the series before the finale, I was finally able to whittle down the more than 200 episodes into the ten that I thought were perfect examples of How I Met Your Mother at its best. It wasn't easy to choose just ten, and I definitely struggled several times. But, in the end, I think that these handful of episodes represents the show's shining moments. So, without further ado, here are the 10 best episodes of How I Met Your Mother. 10) The Best Burger In New York While Marshall is usually hilarious, he also has some of the most emotional storylines on the show. There's obviously the breakup with Lily and the death of his father, but one that isn't quite as overt is the continuing plot of how he's forced to work jobs that are very different from what he originally wanted to do. One episode that best showed his struggle at balancing his morals and his job is "The Best Burger In New York." The storyline here sees Marshall recalling the best burger he ever ate, one that he found his very first weekend in New York. On a quest to satisfy his taste buds and make up for his terrible string of job interviews that he's had, Marshall sets out searching for the mysterious restaurant where he had the burger. Along the way there are great moments from all of the characters, flashbacks to when Ted and Marshall were young, and some heartfelt moments delivered by Jason Segel. The episode also features an absolutely hilarious cameo from Regis Philbin. Every single burger place in New York has a picture of him in it, which is funny enough, but then to watch him yell in rage at Barney and call Ted "Satchel Mouth" for not being able to find the proper burger place, well, that's on a whole other level. 9) Murtaugh As a huge Lethal Weapon fan, I'm definitely a bit biased, but there's no HIMYM episode that I've re-watched more than "Murtaugh" The episode's core theme goes well with this tale of Ted's life as he gets older: There are certain things that you're eventually too old to do. With that in mind, Ted has formed a list of things that he, like Roger Murtaugh, is getting too old for. The man-child Barney thinks that list is hogwash and insists that he's able to do everything on it in one weekend. On the other hand, Ted believes if life is a meal, old age is the dessert. Watching Josh Radnor act like a cranky old man and yell at the neighborhood kids is as funny as watching Neil Patrick Harris with pink hair. In addition to the Murtagh story line, Marshall takes on coaching Lily's kindergarten basketball team. He doesn't agree with her philosophy that participation matters more than winning, but eventually he gives in and tries to be cool with letting the kids have fun. Unfortunately, the other kindergarten team is all in their twenties and includes a teen wolf, so Lily's class gets absolutely demolished. 8) Come On "Come On" took place at a time when it seemed like Ted's relationship with Robin could actually be feasible, despite the way the pilot ended. Unfortunately for Mr. Mosby though, Robin is set to go on a camping trip with her co-workers, and one of them has a thing for her. In an effort to cancel the trip, Ted turns to desperate measures and does a rain dance on the roof. Against all odds, the rain does come back and Robin's trip is canceled. Watching Ted stand out in the rain, yelling at Robin to come outside, shows off the pure jubilation and hope that Ted Mosby is all about. It's this episode that made me wish Ted and Robin would actually end up together, even though it had already been clear that they wouldn't. This episode also introduced one of my favorite aspects of any sitcom relationship: Marshall and Lily's pause technique. Any time they would have a fight, they'd be able to just say "pause," and then carry on with their day until they were ready for the fight to resume. Unfortunately, the reason that's introduced in the first place is because they're in the middle of a huge argument, one which might lead to them breaking up, which makes this one of the saddest episodes in the series. The reveal of their breakup serves as a stark contrast to Ted's jubilation about finding a way to make things work with Robin, and it's this contrast that makes the episode a great picture of how life works. When Ted's at his happiest, he gets home and finds out that Marshall and Lily have broken up. It's the slap to the emotions that HIMYM is so good at, and it's a poignant picture of the way life works most of the time. Rarely can something be completely good. As Craig Thomas told EW, "To me, that's like the essence of the show and why the show works, because it's life all happening at once. It's joy and it's sadness and it's reality. 7) The Time Travelers The format of How I Met Your Mother allows for quite a bit of time-play. The fact the entire story comes from Ted's memory leads to confusion in his head and the occasional case of purposeful deception. For the most part, that technique worked quite well throughout the show, but there wasn't an episode where it was better than "The Time Travelers," in season 8. Picking up at a very tumultuous time in the lives of everyone, the episode delved into how life was for Ted at that point, a point where everyone seemed to be going through major life changes while he remained relatively stagnant. This episode was also the one that really spawned the theory of the Mother's death. I'm sure that ending had been brought up before, but it certainly wasn't wide-spread until Ted gave the speech to his kids about how he wished he had those few extra days with the Mother. I'll admit, at the time I thought people were reading to far into things, but it turns out that speech absolutely meant what many thought it did. While most of season 8 is rather terrible, "The Time Travelers" is a quality episode and truly memorable for a number of reasons. Even after multiple viewings, it's still able to evoke nostalgic feelings and strong empathy for Ted's sadness. Plus, you can't beat Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris singing "For The Longest Time." 6) Girls Vs. Suits The show's 100th episode was the closest that Ted ever came to meeting the Mother (before he actually did, of course), giving many a reason to think that the reveal was just around the corner. Even though we just see her ankle, knowing Ted was that close helped to refocus the show, which at its core was supposed to be the story of how Ted met the mother of his children. Cindy was a pretty great girl for Ted, too. Even though she had a major roommate complex, she's one of my favorites among Ted's exes. Rachel Bilson and Josh Radnor have some great chemistry together, and every time I re-watch this episode, I wish that Ted hadn't fallen in love with her roommate and found a way to make it work with Cindy, if for no other reason than to have Bilson on the show a bit longer. The other great part about of "Girls vs. Suits" is the new bartender who's so hot that she makes Barney pretend to give up his suit-wearing ways in order to sleep with her. When she does come over for a night and stumbles across Barney's closet of suits, she presents an ultimatum: her or the suits. Instead of Barney just considering this for a moment, it leads to a full blown musical number where he proclaims that nothing suits him like a suit, which is easily one of How I Met Your Mother's funniest scenes. 5) Ten Sessions One of Ted's most popular girlfriends, at least among the fans, was Stella. Before their great relationship though, and before she left him at the altar, Ted had to get a butterfly tattoo removed from his lower back. It's taboo to date your doctor, especially when you have to see her again. Despite this, Ted was determined to find a way to make things work with Stella, the doctor tasked with removing his tramp stamp. She doesn't date patients, but Ted sets out to win her over anyway, confident that with ten weeks he can find a way to make her fall for him. Eventually she confesses that her life is so busy due to her job and her daughter that even if she wanted to date him, she barely has two minutes every day to eat lunch. Ted's solution? He throws her the world's greatest two minute date. It's a supremely romantic gesture from one of the most romantic fictional characters of all time. This episode introduces Sarah Chalke as Stella, and regardless of how you feel about Ted's relationship with her character, there's no denying that the actress was a great addition to the cast. Many may also remember this episode as the first time Britney Spears appeared as Abby, and I know I'm not the only one who was impressed by her performance. "Ten Sessions" had everything: humor, romance and the introduction of one of the most significant ladies in Ted's life. 4. How I Met Everyone Else While the show is called How I Met Your Mother, the majority of the episodes are actually focused on Ted's relationship with his friends and the memories that they made together. In "How I Met Everyone Else," we finally get to see how those relationships first began, which is truly a treat for longtime fans of the show. The episode is set up by Ted bringing a new, crazy girlfriend to the bar, who's embarrassed about the way they met. They actually met online,but she wants to tell a much more romantic story, which leads to Ted telling the tales of how he met the rest of his friends. Each meeting is quite memorable, with the highlight being when Marshall thought that Ted, his new roommate at the time, was the dean of the college. "How I Met Everyone Else" is an excellent look at the relationships of these characters and it gives fans something that they had been wanting for a long time. 3. How Your Mother Met Me After eight seasons of trying to guess the identity of the Mother, when Cristin Milioti was finally introduced, some fans were upset that the show didn't delve into her character more. The one episode where we actually do get to see something about her past though is absolutely excellent. It's the 200th of the series, and much like the 100th, the writers tooks all necessary steps to guarantee that it would be one of the most memorable episodes of the show. Picking up on the night when Ted's story began, the episode runs through what has happened for the Mother over the last 9 years. It highlights all her and Ted's almost-encounters, and quite a few other moments that were important to her ending up in the right place at the right time. We see her attempting to deal with the loss of her boyfriend, trying to get back into the dating game, nearly losing her band and finally rejecting a proposal since she's still not ready to move on. Milioti's entire performance in this episode is stunning, but it almost seems pointless to talk about anything other than the scene where she’s proposed to. Any time anyone leaves during a proposal, things are usually going to get fairly serious, but I had no idea just how hard the Mother’s time to think was going to hit me. It’s even more remarkable when you realize that her sadness is over a character whose voice we’ve never even heard. That’s right, not only do we not see Max, but we don’t even hear him. All we know is that she thought he was the one. And yet somehow that’s enough. Well, that and Milioti’s tear-lined monologue to the sky. It’s written perfectly, and she somehow finds a way to deliver it in a way that’s even better. Absolutely phenomenal. 2. Slap Bet How I Met Your Mother had plenty of great running gags, but one specific episode in season two introduced not one, but two of the very best jokes that the show would ever feature. Not only was this episode the first time we get to see Robin's previous life as teen pop sensation Robin Sparkles, but it also was the introduction of the slap bet, a hilarious and painful way for gentlemen to wager. The episode begins with Barney wanting to take everyone to the mall. For some odd reason, Robin refuses to go with. This spawns a series of ideas as to why she wants to avoid malls, with the two dominant ones being that she did porn in a mall (Barney) and she got married in a mall (Marshall). Since it's much more exciting than a monetary wager, the two agree to the true gentleman's bet: a slap bet. To help settle the score, boyfriend Ted confronts Robin about this, and she confesses that yes, she was married in a mall. Turns out that Robin was only pretending to be married in order to avoid a more embarrassing reveal - the reveal that she actually was a pop star in Canada. The "Let's Go To The Mall" video plays, and it does not disappoint. That serves as the jumping off point for plenty of further exploration into Robin's prior life, but there's no better Sparkles episode than the first. Of course, the fact that Robin didn't actually get married in a mall or do porn leads to some confusion about the slaps that should have been rightfully doled out. Commissioner Lily decrees that Barney can either be slapped in the face ten times in a row or five times to be delivered whenever Marshall chooses. Barney opts for the latter, a mistake if there ever was one, and for the next eight seasons he had to cower in fear of Marshall's mighty palm. 1. The Pineapple Incident Finally, my pick for the best, most legendary episode of How I Met Your Mother is the most open-ended of all episodes: "The Pineapple Incident." Ted's the epitome of an over-thinker. He has every aspect of his life planned out, and over the seasons a lot of his internal turmoil came from his plan not playing out as he imagined it. He's been that way since the start of season one, but in this episode, Barney insists that he turns his brain off. Five shots later, Ted stops thinking, starts doing, and almost instantly blacks out. Instead of showing the events of the night as Ted experienced them, he has to find out what transpired through a series of stories from his friends who all saw different parts of the night. The main goal is to figure out who the brunette in his bed is, but there's also the mystery of what happened to his ankle and why there is a perfect pineapple on his nightstand. Like many romantics who get drunk, Ted spends most of the night wanting to call Robin, but it's the other things he does that lead to the most laughs. Between singing Cheap Trick and asking Carl if he's a vampire, there are plenty of memorable moments here. "The Pineapple Incident" is clearly the premier episode of season 1. It's got everything I love from How I Met Your Mother and without a doubt it is my all-time favorite episode of the series. Tell us, what do you think of our list? Are there any episode that you would've rather seen in the top 10? Head on down to the comments section to share your thoughts on your favorite episodes of How I Met Your Mother.