The imminent Barney-and-Robin pairing reached new heights in last night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother. Robin and Barney didn’t get together yet but after waiting for several months for Barney to charmingly yet subtly pursue Robin, it was nice to see Barney step it up and proclaim his love for the greatest woman on the planet – well, sort of.
There were many things going on in “Mosbius Designs.” The episode saw Ted (Josh Radnor) starting his own architecture firm out of his apartment and hiring PJ as his intern to help him get the company up and running. But pursuing Ted’s lifelong dream proved to be challenging especially when PJ starts dating Robin, much to the dismay of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris). It’s funny how Barney easily freaks out when it comes to Robin (Cobie Smulders) and last night’s installment was no exception.
In the episode, referring to Robin as the greatest woman on the planet, Barney goes off topic while scolding Ted on how much of an idiot he is for bringing in a hot guy in his apartment. Marshall tries to pacify Barney by asking why he’s so upset and Barney almost blurts out his feelings for Robin but says that he’s hurt because he loves…Ted…and wants him to have sex with women. He also claims that he’s a very dedicated wingman. Lily’s (Alyson Hannigan) the only person Barney can talk to about this kind of stuff but now that she’s out of the picture (she’s still upset about the peanut butter and jam joke Barney told earlier), Barney has no choice but to air out his frustrations to Marshall (Jason Segel), who apparently already knows that Barney’s in love with Robin.
It’s actually sweet to learn that instead of laughing behind Barney’s back the whole time, Marshall and Lily have been trying to bring Robin and Barney together (they’ve been sitting on the same side of the booth so that Barney and Robin would be forced to sit together). With dating a friend, there’s always a possibility of ruining the friendship so hearing Marshall say that Robin and Barney are perfect for each other is a big pat on the back, the kind of encouragement you wouldn’t normally expect from a group of friends with so much history. But the odds seem in favor of the Barney-and-Robin tandem just like thousands of How I Met Your Mother fans who can’t wait for the show’s womanizer and the Canadian tomboy to finally get together.
By the end of “Mosbius Designs,” Marshall saves the day by hiring PJ as a paralegal at his company, consequently keeping him away from Robin. Marshall isn’t the manipulative type so it was really fun seeing him fill in Lily’s slot as the diabolical puppet master who can manipulate any situation.
With Barney’s love for Robin unfolding gradually (and more people learning about it), it’s only a matter of time before Barney comes clean to Robin. But it seems that Barney is still not keen on completely stepping it up just yet. While Barney already marveled on how much he misses Robin when she’s not around, thinks about her all the time, and imagines the two of them running towards each other in slow motion, his friendship with his best friend Ted (Robin’s ex) remains his main concern, along with evading the risk of being rejected by the love of his life.
P.S. Potentially NSFW due to strong language: What’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
