By Matt Ern, Columnist
How I Met Your Mother- “The Stinson Missile Crisis”
Grade: B
“How I Met Your Mother” has been having a stellar season so far. After seasons of wheel spinning where nothing really happened, they have jumped back into the running narrative and mythology that made the show’s early seasons so popular.
In just four episodes the plot has advanced in leaps and bounds: Robin loves Barney although he is now interested in Nora, Lily and Marshal are having a baby, and Ted is actually starting to grow as a character (if only just a little).
That said this episode was the season’s first stumbling block. It wasn’t bad at all, but coming after last week’s excellent episode and a strong premiere the week before, there was a lot to live up to.
“The Stinson Missile Crisis” begins with Robin in court ordered therapy for assaulting a woman (presumably Nora). The rest of the episode is told in flashbacks as Robin explains the events leading up to the assault.
Robin sees an opportunity to get closer to Barney when Nora has to go out of town. Barney is determined to stay faithful to Nora, but has set in motion a variety of ongoing ploys to convince women to sleep with him. So Robin volunteers to help him dismantle them.
Despite Robin’s efforts to win Barney back, he only sees her as another “bro,” so when Nora comes back from her trip early Robin sends a woman after Barney to sabotage him. After learning a lesson from Ted (who’s been busy in the B plot taking a birthing class with Marshal) Robin saves Barney and Nora’s date by assaulting the woman outside a café.
The episode was certainly funny, but it paled in comparison to last week’s “Ducky Tie” which featured a heartbreaking scene at the end where Ted is forced to come to terms with losing Victoria again and wondering what their life might have been like together.
Every once in a while “How I Met Your Mother” is able to pull off a great emotional scene like that, but I worry that they won’t be able to make me care as I did the Ted/Victoria story line last week.
Happy Endings-