6.9/10. Definite mixed bag, leaning toward "good." It's a ridiculous set up, but Barney coaching Ted through various plays worked surprisingly well, if only for the difference between generally good-natured Ted trying to muddle his way through Barney's typical sleaze. "The Kidney Donor" in particular, with Ted's "I understand that" one-sided argument with Barney before dropping the lewd line was a particular comedic treat.
The problem, of course, is that Robin finds out that Barney lied about burning The Playbook, and even after she establishes that it was that moment which let her know he was the type of man she could marry, she still stays with him. I've already beat this horse to death, so I won't belabor the point, but it continues to strain credulity that Robin would be with, let alone marry Barney. His whole "all I do is lie, but the truth is that I love you" is a pretty weak handwave to show that Robin would accept that kind of excuse. Frankly, the show would be better off just not drawing attention to it instead of trying to account for it in such an unsatisfying manner.
The B-story, about Marshall trying to hob-knob with fancy art people while Lily is attempting to cozy up to an up and coming artist The Captain is interested in was goofy and unambitious, but pretty fun. The whole skittles set up was amusing, and the reveal that the artist related to Marshal's nerdy interests, and turned out to be Lily's entree into his inner circle despite Marshal's otherwise embarassing behavior was a bit easy, but still a nice resolution.
Overall, some good comedy, and interesting storytelling (thankfully it's mostly the end of the whole Jeanette thing), but the emotional/relationship part of the episode drags it down a bit.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-08-29T04:49:35Z
6.9/10. Definite mixed bag, leaning toward "good." It's a ridiculous set up, but Barney coaching Ted through various plays worked surprisingly well, if only for the difference between generally good-natured Ted trying to muddle his way through Barney's typical sleaze. "The Kidney Donor" in particular, with Ted's "I understand that" one-sided argument with Barney before dropping the lewd line was a particular comedic treat.
The problem, of course, is that Robin finds out that Barney lied about burning The Playbook, and even after she establishes that it was that moment which let her know he was the type of man she could marry, she still stays with him. I've already beat this horse to death, so I won't belabor the point, but it continues to strain credulity that Robin would be with, let alone marry Barney. His whole "all I do is lie, but the truth is that I love you" is a pretty weak handwave to show that Robin would accept that kind of excuse. Frankly, the show would be better off just not drawing attention to it instead of trying to account for it in such an unsatisfying manner.
The B-story, about Marshall trying to hob-knob with fancy art people while Lily is attempting to cozy up to an up and coming artist The Captain is interested in was goofy and unambitious, but pretty fun. The whole skittles set up was amusing, and the reveal that the artist related to Marshal's nerdy interests, and turned out to be Lily's entree into his inner circle despite Marshal's otherwise embarassing behavior was a bit easy, but still a nice resolution.
Overall, some good comedy, and interesting storytelling (thankfully it's mostly the end of the whole Jeanette thing), but the emotional/relationship part of the episode drags it down a bit.