James Canellos ‘17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
After 208 episodes, thousands of rounds at MacLaren’s and what seems like an endless amount rules in The Bro Code, the 2005 series How I Met Your Mothercomes to an end this Monday. As the narrator/ protagonist Ted’s journey for love approaches the finish line it makes a long time fan reminiscent of some of the show’s greatest inside jokes, sweetest moments and the best concepts in this series’ playbook.
10. “Subway Wars”
Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders and Jason Segel in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Subway Wars.” Photo Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS.
Usually the show hits its high points in hilarity when the gang is together, but this episode decided to split them up. After hearing a rumor that Woody Allen is in a restaurant seven miles away, they begin to bicker about what makes a real New Yorker. Now that everyone wants to prove themselves they make a race out of it to see who can get to Woody first. Each of them has to take a different mode of transportation and each member, especially Robin (Cobie Smulders) has their own motivation to win. Plus the use of talk show host Maury Povich is brilliant.
9. “The Pineapple Incident”
Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor and Alyson Hannigan in the How I Met Your Mother episode “The Pineapple Incident.” Photo Credit: Robert Voets/ CBS.
Some would say that this episode would become blueprints for the film The Hangover, as Ted (Josh Radnor) tries to remember what happened the previous night after downing five shots. This was one of the first episodes where Ted relies on what others are telling him and it makes the scenes all the more funny when one story picks up where the other left off. The worst, but also best thing about this episode is that we still don’t know how that pineapple got there.
8. “Intervention”
Cobie Smulders, Alyson Hannigan, Josh Radnor and Jason Segel in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Intervention.” Photo Credit: CBS.
A classic in terms of a recurring inside joke as the gang pokes fun at the concept of interventions and how silly they can be when in the right hands. The best one was their intervention for themselves, from having too many interventions. As Ted, Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Robin begin to fear the what lies ahead in the next phase of their lives, the intervention plot was used very well as a means for them confronting their anxieties. Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) acts as a secondary role in this episode but each scene he’s in escalates so much higher in terms of comedy from magic tricks to a hole in the wall.
7. “Best Burger In New York”
Regis Philbin and Neil Patrick Harris in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Best Burger in New York.” Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS.
Like “Subway Wars” this episode had Regis Philbin on as a guest star and they utilized him in the best possible way. Philbin plays a burger obsessed version of himself as Marshall gets the gang to go search for the best burger in New York. A recurring theme on the show has been the characters distracting themselves through a great adventure and this quest did not disappoint. No commercial for any restaurant can make me want their food as much as I wanted the burgers Marshall consumed.
6. “The Naked Man”
Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders in the How I Met Your Mother episode “The Naked Man.” Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS.
Should we have sex without love? That is the topic of debate in the MacLaren’s booth after Robin sleeps with a guy she barely knows after he performs “The Naked Man”. A move where a guy who just wants to have sex, strips down after their date leaves the room and hopes she’ll follow. Apparently it works 2/3 of the time, but we’ll get to that later. The concept of this move gets the gang talking about their own sex lives and if it has lost touch with why we should do it.
5. “Ten Sessions”
Sarah Chalke and Josh Radnor in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Ten Sessions.” Photo Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS.
After Ted got drunk and gets a butterfly tattoo in the season premiere he goes to dermatologist, Stella to get it removed. During the ten sessions Ted tries to get her to go on a date with him. While Britney Spears made for a pretty good guest star as the receptionist and the gang’s advice to Ted is pretty funny, all of this is nothing compared to the date Ted takes Stella on. To anyone who complains about Ted as a character, there is no denying he would be the greatest boyfriend after taking Stella on a two minute date done in one beautifully long take on the same block. A classic moment of the show that would put all other first dates to shame.
4. “The Final Page: Part 2”
Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris in the How I Met Your Mother episode “The Final Page Part 2.” Photo Credit: Ron P. Jaffe/Fox.
The first part of this episode was a great opening to what becomes a game changer so late in the series as Barney forces Ted to keep his engagement to Patrice a secret. Or as Robin would say “God damn you Patrice!”. Ted knows Robin should be with Barney and tells her to stop the proposal; much to her surprise Patrice isn’t where Barney planned on proposing. In her place is the final page of Barney’s infamous playbook, reading how Barney’s entire relationship throughout the season with Robin’s hated co-worker was a ploy to get Robin to that rooftop to ask her to marry him. Manipulative? Yes. Surprisingly charming and hilarious? Yes. Robin’s answer: Yes.
3. “How Your Mother Met Me”
Cristin Milioti in the How I Met Your Mother episode “How Your Mother Met Me.” Photo Credit: Ron P. Jaffe/Fox.
Even with a few episodes left before the finale, the show can be inventive and poignant. The only episode that was ever told through the eyes of a single character is also where we finally learn about who The Mother is as a person. In 23 minutes she puts naysayers to rest by proving she is the perfect Mrs. Mosby. Whether she’s turning down The Naked Man, giggling at Professor Mosby’s joke or singing Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie En Rose’, The Mother solidifies herself as a member of the gang before she even meets Ted.
2. “Slap Bet”
Cobie Smulders in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Slap Bet.” Photo Credit: CBS.
Not one, but two classic How I Met Your Mother moments were born in this episode. After Robin refuses to go to the mall and starts acting suspicious about the subject, the gang is now fixated on finding out why. Marshall thinks Robin got married at the mall while Barney thinks it’s involved with porn. The two create the slap bet, where the loser has to get slapped in the face by the other. Eventually Barney finds a video and after mistaking it for porn Barney slaps Marshall. But it wasn’t porn, it was Robin’s Canadian alter ego Robin Sparkles a pop singer who’s first hit was a song titled: “Let’s Go To The Mall”. The punishment for Barney’s premature slap is either 10 slaps right there on the spot or 5 slaps whenever Marshall felt like it. Barney chooses the second option and thus begins an on going joke that never got old along with Ms. Sparkles.
Watch The Music Video:
1. “Three Days of Snow”
Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan in the How I Met Your Mother episode “Three Days of Snow.” Photo Credit: CBS.
What this show has always been good at is fusing tenderly sweet moments with pure hilarity and absurdity. No episode does all this and delivers on all cylinders like this three-day blizzard. Lily is arriving into the airport and secretly hopes that Marshall will continue their tradition of bringing a six-pack of beer to the airport. Meanwhile, Barney and Marshall get to run the bar while Carl is out, thus creating the name Puzzles. “Why’s it called Puzzles? That’s the puzzle”. This episode may be a little confusing at first, with the jumps through time. But with the grand moment of Marshall coming to the airport with a marching band and the six-pack, it just makes the show all the more legend- Wait for it…
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