This is a middling-at-best episode. There are a few laughs--James's faux hetero bit is amusing; Heidi Klum of all people had surprisingly good comic timing; and the conclusion that they never went to the gym again is wroth a chuckle--but there wasn't much meat on the bone.
The A-story was pretty weird. There's something to the idea of Barney losing his mojo when he realizes that the event that set him down this path was founded on the lie, but instead of using that to have Barney evolve a little, they just double down on the sleaze without much of a twist (even if there's a feint to that effect). I don't mind Barney as an amoral casanova on this show. He's usually cartoony enough that I don't take it seriously. But there was something a bit gross about his whole deal here, and it feels like too much of a retcon even for a show that does well at annexing backstory when it serves the episode.
Similarly, the gym bit was mostly just a serious of unconnected, mostly cliche observations about working out. There were some cute moments here and there, but nothing especially engaging or funny. Pretty meh overall.
Only losers stop going to the gym when they themselves decided to start going in the first place. I'm probably never going to go to a gym in my near future so I guess that makes me more of a loser.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2016-03-10T05:57:37Z
This is a middling-at-best episode. There are a few laughs--James's faux hetero bit is amusing; Heidi Klum of all people had surprisingly good comic timing; and the conclusion that they never went to the gym again is wroth a chuckle--but there wasn't much meat on the bone.
The A-story was pretty weird. There's something to the idea of Barney losing his mojo when he realizes that the event that set him down this path was founded on the lie, but instead of using that to have Barney evolve a little, they just double down on the sleaze without much of a twist (even if there's a feint to that effect). I don't mind Barney as an amoral casanova on this show. He's usually cartoony enough that I don't take it seriously. But there was something a bit gross about his whole deal here, and it feels like too much of a retcon even for a show that does well at annexing backstory when it serves the episode.
Similarly, the gym bit was mostly just a serious of unconnected, mostly cliche observations about working out. There were some cute moments here and there, but nothing especially engaging or funny. Pretty meh overall.