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How I Met Your Mother Review: “Lobster Crawl” (Season 8, Episode 9)

The majority of sitcoms attempt to recreate real life on some level, but where How I Met Your Mother has made its mark is by being one of the most relatable shows on television, avoiding over-the-top moments purely for the comedic merit. So far, seasons 7 and 8 have been the most realistic of all, deviating from the amount of comedy audiences are used to, in order to have more serious, real-life moments to propel the plot along.

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With all the problems the Robin chasing Barney plot had, it was a relief that the rest of the episode wasn’t all that bad. The parts of the episode with Ted, Marshall, and Lily, and also with Barney on his own, were decent, but by no means great.

The episode begins with Barney spilling a spot of ketchup on a red tie. An old red tie, that was close to retirement, so old in fact, that very morning it told Barney it was “getting too old for this shirt.” Barney is distraught throughout the episode, even skipping lunch since his office ordered Thai food. He has no idea what to do until he attempts to eat lobster and realizes that a bib would’ve saved his tie. It can’t be any bib however, it has to go with suits, so he creates the “Bro Bib.”

Barney makes a whole line of these bibs, including a bib that matches Ted’s outfit and one called “The Robin Williams.” Lily loves the idea, and attempts to invest for the whole episode.

Mickey (who’s been missing from the last month of episodes) has the sniffles, and so he can’t watch Marvin. They bring him to the bar, or as they call it, a restaurant that happens to have a bar, since there’s no one to watch the baby. Ted volunteers, and Marshall and Lily quickly accept, without thinking about Ted taking care of their baby.

The first day Ted watches Marvin something remarkable happens, Marvin crawls for the first time. Lily is distraught she missed it, but Marshall is able to calm her by saying that they’ll just see it next time it happens. As the episode goes on, Ted gets more and more involved, and Lily gets more and more upset. Marshall is indifferent until Ted buys Marvin a Cleveland Browns outfit, the taboo act which prompts Marshall to fire Ted.

They later apologize to Ted, and allow him to take Marvin to his swim class, which is where Marshall has arranged for the headhunter to meet with Ted in the hopes that Ted will have something to work on again after he put all his blood, sweat, and tears into his last building.

Tonight’s episode wasn’t as much of a letdown as some have been this season, but it certainly wasn’t as enjoyable as fans have come to expect. If the season is to make up for this unsatisfying start, Ted needs to again be brought into the emotional moments of the show.

As much as people love Barney, and Marshall and Lily are great as a couple, Ted is the cornerstone of the show. People want to know who the mother is, and how he meets her. It’s the moments when we get closer to this that provide an emotional response for the audience, not meandering around Robin and Barney ending up together, as we’ve already been told they will.

When How I Met Your Mother remembers that this is Ted’s show, that’s when the show will again reach the glory of past seasons, until then we’ll be stuck with episodes that are far below average.

Other Random Notes

  • brobibs.com Enough said.
  • Robin almost pulled off the Jolie look, for a split second I thought it may have been Angelina herself.
  • A watched tot never crawls.
  • It was nice to finally see Lily and Marshall as something other than perfect parents. Bringing the baby to the bar was something that was long overdue.
  • The best bit from the scrapbook was the building’s first spaghetti.
  • It’s nice to know Marshall doesn’t want to put any pressure on Marvin, he’ll still love him even if he runs in a touchdown for the Vikings as opposed to passing it.

Check back next week for my thoughts on the next episode in the eighth season of How I Met Your Mother.