Personally I would call that Episode the Microsoft Sponsored Episode. You really don't need to watch it because Ted shows on a Microsoft Surface some stuff and they want to go on a Place showed on Bing Maps. They said they need to be the first because they have some problems except Barny but yeah if you just skip that Episode you won't miss anything.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-06-06T17:02:20Z
9.4/10. Definitely a nice one after a couple of mixed-bag-at-best episodes. "Subway Wars" combined three essential ingredients in the HIMYM stew -- inventive storytelling, well-observed details of life, and good character-based comedy and heart.
To the point, a race to figure out who can get to a spot fast enough because of disagreements over what the quickest method was feels true to the wacky adventures the gang gets into, and led to some fun storytelling where we jumped back and forth across the city to see their individual attempts go forward and intersect, but also felt like a natural, if exaggerated extension of the kinds of conversations people in New York City have. The same goes for the standards for becoming a "true New Yorker."
But at the same time, the show grounded all of the well-tuned broader comedic elements in deeper themes and character. The idea that Robin felt like the city was rejecting her like a bad organ after a transplant after what happened with Don and her being literally eclipsed by Becky was a nice way to give the story some heft. Barney ignoring her when she was trying to confide in him, but then conspiring to give her the win gave it some emotional stakes as well. And in other major part of the story, Marshall and Lily each feeling like their bodies were letting them down and thus they needed this win to help reassure them that they could conceive was a nice way to go with it, especially in the twist that Marshall was feeling the same things Lily was. This show's never failed by doing an open and honest conversation between the two, and it's often some of the best written material on the show.
Plus, the comedy really worked here too. Ted being the guy annoying everyone on the bus was a little silly, but worked, and the same goes for the presence of the ever-reliable and amusing Ranjit, plus the nigh-magical appearances of Maury Povich everywhere around the city. On top of that, there were tons of little in-jokes about the city, like the subway PA system being almost indecipherable that were fun, and the times when the effects of one slice of the episode were felt in another were great as well, like the lady Robin stole a cab from later sitting next to the Ted on the bus. Overall, a great, great episode.