I said I was a fan of How I Met Your Mother and I am, but there just hasn’t been anything on the show this season that would compel me to write about it. Tiny moments for Swarkles (Swarley and Robin Sparkles…I saw that somewhere, cutest thing ever), but the show has already been renewed for two more seasons. I’ve said it before, there is no reason to rush these things. Done properly, it’s more fun to watch a ‘ship build slowly, and it gives the writers plenty of time to make it seem natural instead of slapped together sitcom-style.
But this isn’t about Swarkles.
Last night’s episode “Landmarks” was centered around the final end of Ted-and-Zoey, never a favorite of mine. I didn’t like the fact that their relationship dissolved a marriage, even a weird one, and the idea that Ted would choose some tail over the chance at his dream job seemed all wrong. Is he so desperate for marriage that he’d trade everything else about himself for a shot up the aisle? I guess it is refreshing to see a male character act this way for once. I’m sure Steven Moffat would find him incredibly unrealistic.
Snarky, unrelated comments aside, I’ll come to the point: I get that Ted might throw his own career away for the chance at a relationship, but the fact that he was willing to let Barney lose his job just threw me for a loop. I know that when the show started, Barney was the shallow friend and Ted never seemed sure he wanted to keep him around, but over the years I think he’s proven himself to all of them. He’s the one who made sure that Lily and Marshall got back together after their short-lived break-up; he’s the one who made sure Robin got a new job so she wouldn’t have to move back to Canada; and he’s also the one who got hit by a bus running to reach Ted’s side when he’d been in a car accident. Even the other characters didn’t freak out on Ted for his sheer selfishness and that struck me as insane. It seems like the group, with the exception of Robin, still treats Barney like they’re doing him a favor by letting him hang around.
Don’t agree? Let’s say you’re Barney. You stake your reputation on the line to get your down-on-his-luck friend the job he’s always wanted, because you won’t allow him to give up on himself. Not your style; shouldn’t be his. You do this despite the fact that the last time you tried to help this friend get a job he misjudged his client so badly that he was fired. Now you find out that he’s planning to illogically betray the project so his new girlfriend will keep liking him, and if he does this you lose your job. No need to freak out, though, because naturally your friend won’t jeopardize your career for his however-many-months-old relationship, right? I mean…that would be crazy.
I guess that makes Ted crazy, because he calmly decided to stay his course. In fact, when he finally does change his mind, it has nothing to do with Barney; he just remembered that turning down the chance to design a building in NYC would be brutally idiotic. So, I guess Barney should be thankful that Ted’s one self-interest overcame his other self-interest. I wonder if Hallmark makes a card for that.
I guess it sounds like I’m taking this pretty seriously, but this little show has become a favorite of mine. I think all four actors have hit their stride by now, outdoing each other with some fantastic delivery. I guess this is more of a writing complaint then, because I really didn’t like this new side to Ted’s character. By the time Zoey delivers her betrayal-smack-down, I wasn’t even rooting for him.
Somehow after all this time, Ted still doesn’t treat Barney as a best friend…or even just a close one. In season 1, it made sense because nobody knew that Barney had a soul. But season 6?
Not cool, Ted. Not cool.
Otto the Fangirl 