If you haven’t heard about what happened on this week’s How I Met Your Mother do not read any further. Normally I like to recap and make observations about what worked and what didn’t work but still manage to keep the jokes and plot twists somewhat hidden, but this week has left me no choice but to discuss the spoiler ending. The writers have done a great job with balancing the comedy (which all sitcoms must have, right?) and the drama. You’re wrong if you say drama shouldn’t be in a comedic series. All great series have some sort of dramatic element. This season promised there would be a shift in the characters’ lives, and boy is there.
Before I spend countless words on the last five minutes of “The Rebound Girl” here’s a brief recap of what led up to it.
Ted and Barney, who are in a depressed state for their own respective reasons, decide to adopt a baby together and be bro-parents. It’s one of those there’s-a-goat-in-the-bathroom plots that will go down as one of the most absurd in the show’s history. Meanwhile, Robin is upset—no, devastated—that Marshall and Lily want to move to Long Island into the house that was given to them by relatives a few episodes back. There’s a lot in between, so check out the episode if you haven’t already (and if for some reason you haven’t seen the episode and are still reading this, please stop like I told you to).
Everything is fine and dandy. There were laughs along the way leading up to Robin locking herself in the Long Island house’s bathroom. Why? Well, Marshall discovers that Robin’s pregnant.
Let me repeat: Robin, who is dating Kevin, but had a one night stand with Barney, is pregnant.
Everything we know about the HIMYM universe has just been flipped upside down. First, is it Barney’s? Or Kevin’s? It has to be Barney’s, right? Or does it? We know that Barney is the one to get married at some point in the near future, and this baby has everything to do with it.
If it is Barney’s baby, maybe he rushes into marrying Robin because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Or if it is Kevin’s baby, Barney realizes he can never be with Robin and dashes to the alter out of fear of being alone. There are dozens of ways this can unfold, but those two seem to be easy favorites.
While the imminent wedding seems to be the most vital plot affected by this baby bombshell, think about what this season has promised us: the Ted-Robin-Barney triangle will change forever and their lives will never be the same. Does that mean this baby will tear Ted and Barney apart for good? Think about it: Ted was madly in love with Robin and has really never gotten over her. Now his best friend may have knocked up the girl of his dreams.
My head is swimming with ideas even as I write this. Last night I immediately hated what the writers did. I saw so many Facebook statuses and tweets about fans’ opinions, and I know there are some who absolutely love this plot twist. Now I’m not so sure if I “absolutely hate” it or not. What I will say is that this is the most important five minutes of the characters’ lives; maybe more important than Ted actually meeting his future wife.