"Therapisted!"

So last year, I posted a few posts about how disappointing How I Met Your Mother had gotten and how it had moved away from the edgy, interesting comedy that I had initially fallen in love with and more towards a traditional CBS sitcom style. There is this one post (you can read it here) in particular that for some reason people have been commenting on for months. Months! And they still are all irate that I said that a show that I love has been declining in quality. Mind you, I never said I hated the show - it's actually a very balanced post, and I am continually flabbergasted that people (a) care enough to comment on a post from MARCH and (b) obviously don't actually read the post because if they did they would know that I really love this show and these characters and what makes me sad is when it feels like they're not given enough to do or that they're not being written well. Ah, well, such is the internet. (Also, (c) I think it's hilarious that somebody commented to defend Ted's dumb house. Sorry, dude, even the other characters think that Ted buying a house was dumb and totally crazy. That is part of the joke.)

Anyway, as I've been watching this season, my thoughts on HIMYM change with every episode. Sometimes Barney makes two really cheap, pretty gross fat-girls-are-ugly-and-sexless jokes before the intro. Sometimes there is Nora (ugh). Last week's Slutty Pumpkin episode was remarkably disappointing (Katie Holmes should not ever try to do comedy). But the addition of Kal Penn has been wonderful, Marshall and Lily have been given more to do this season, and even Ted is more bearable for whatever reason (maybe because he's not the main character most of the time anymore?). And then sometimes there are episodes like "The Ducky Tie" that are so great (let's hear it for bottle episodes!) that it renews my hope for the series. "Disaster Averted" was one of those episodes.

But you know why it was so great? Because it hearkened back to the Slap Bet, which I maintain is my favorite thing about this show. Other than "Swarley", all of my favorite HIMYM episodes involve slaps. The relationship between Barney and Marshall is quite possibly the best, and there is just something about seeing Barney get slapped in the face and the joy Marshall gets from slapping him that warms my heart. I can't fully explain it. So yes, I enjoyed that, and yes, I am very, very excited that they devised a way to give Marshall more slaps. More slaps for everyone!

My absolute favorite is the look on Marshall's face at Slapsgiving when Lily tells him he can administer the third slap.

And, alright, the rest of the episode was also pretty great. Jason Segal is The Best! I would see him get attacked by a bear any day. "Disaster Averted" used one of the tropes has become a hallmark of HIMYM, where we flashback to a previous instance and the two plots intertwine and connect. Sometimes it works better than others and this was one of those times (Also: bottle episode!). And I am enjoying the Barney-and-Robin-are-obviously-in-love-who-are-we-kidding thing, especially now! Mackage!!! Oh, I love it when Barney and Robin are together, I can't wait for the wedding!

So I think both the problems with the show and the greatness of the show lies with the writers. Sometimes the writers who get it right have more influence, and sometimes the shitty, offensive, jerkface writers have more. I'm just hoping that the good writers can keep up this fantastic streak they've been on, because I really do love these characters and I want to love the journey they're on just as much. But regardless, this episode marks a definite upswing for HIMYM, and I can't wait for next week to see where it takes us (hopefully, to a Nora-free place). Don't disappoint me, guys!

PS I love how Marshall jumps up into the air to deliver the second slap. That there is a man who loves a good slap.

Notes & Quotes

"You're a tropical depression"

"Death...is all around us"

"No one wakes up and says, 'Today I'm gonna star in a YouTube video."

"You've said that at least half a dozen times!"

"You...may...knot. With a K. Little tie pun."

"Je m'appelle Marshall"

I really like how Robin and Barney's daddy issues bring them together. Just get married and have babies already!

"I wish I had branched out and made more friends in my twenties"

"I think I should go home and reevaluate the way I make decisions"

Images via WeGotThisCovered, AOLTV