4x19 Murtaugh

8.3/10. There's nothing terribly deep or meaningful in this one, but it's so much fun even as it leans into the cheese that it keeps a winning style throughout. Barney trying to do things on the "Murtaugh List" (and hell, the very idea of a Murtaugh List) is, as usual, a fun take from the show when it comes to dramatizing the feeling of growing older and not being able to do the things you used to do. Also as usual, NPH goes whole hog, selling both Barney's impish determination and his sheer inability to rise to the challenge, even with the added bonus of Robin coaching him up.

The twist of Ted doubling down on the bet by trying to check things off a corresponding old person behavior list is a neat way to escalate the comedy, and the observation that despite how often Murtaugh said his catchphrase, he just kept doing "stuff" is a nice beat to end on.

Marshall coaching the kindergarten basketball team as "dad practice," and Lily blanching when she sees the no-nonsense style he learned from his own father isn't as successful, but it's still cute enough, and the "Teen Wolf" bit is a fun bout of HIMYM's usual magical realism. That kind of harshness feels out of character for the typically sweet and sensitive Marshall, but they got their laughs, so it's hard to hold it against them too much.

All-in-all, not the most insightful episodes the show's ever done, but one that succeeds on pure fun and comedy.