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How I Met Your Mother: Single Stamina
(S02E10) Last week's episode, "Slap Bet," was a tough one to follow; even an extraordinarily funny episode would have paled in comparison. So to say this week's episode was a disappointment would be an overstatement. But it really wasn't as sharp as some of the others this season have been. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm really starting to think that introducing guest stars disrupts the chemistry of the show too much. The last time there was a lame-ish episode, Jane Seymour and Bryan Cranston were guesting; this time around, it's Wayne Brady, who played Barney's brother James. You'd think a guy who uttered the line "Does Wayne Brady have to choke a bitch?" would be able to do well playing a black, gay version of Barney. But he was just... meh. Let's just say he could have been a lot better.
First of all, I wonder if networks aren't setting us up for a long run of repeats from now until February; we're already almost halfway through most seasons, and episodes this week are even Christmas- or winter-themed. It's winter in HIMYM world already, and the couples on the show are in hibernation. No matter what Barney proposes, whether it's a rave in a tire warehouse in Newark or a beer downstairs, no one wants to move. Awwww.... isn't that the cutest thing about being in a couple? The fact that you can just hide away in your apartment and not come out because you're not forcing yourself to go somewhere and meet people? Yeah, it can get comfortable and boring, but for homebodies, curling up with a loved one and a DVD is so much better than going to some annoying club, right? Who's with me?
I guess that I don't have "single stamina" anymore, even though I'm still single. I liked how they contrasted the body language between singles and couples in a bar. It's true; you can always tell who in the bar are couples by those "I just want to be be in my nice warm bed" looks on their faces.
Anyway, there were nice little side jokes going on in this episode, like the fact that Marshall loves to drink pink drinks with fruit in them but can't because it makes him look less than manly. The crazy straw in the drink he gets at the gay bar was a good little touch. Robin and Lilly loving the gay bar because they don't get hit on -- and the guys hating it because they do -- was a nice role-reversal. The scenes where Barney and James play each other's wingman were also good, at least as far as timing and chemistry was concerned. And James' pep talk to the couples about how bored folks in Wyoming were, just sitting in friends' basements and wishing they were young and in New York, was pretty good.
But the whole thing with James just wasn't that funny. Maybe the Best Barneyism of the episode was his unique reason why he disliked gay marriage. He finds out that James -- gulp! -- has a fiancé, and he freaks. He doesn't like gay marriage not because gays will ruin marriage; it's because they'll ruin singledom. "Once the gays do something, everyone will start to do it." Maybe it was a subtle dig at the people who were against gay marriage, and maybe it was a little nod towards Neil Patrick Harris and his recent public outing. It definitley made Barney look more vulnerable; but he definitely lept out of character when James told him that he and his intended were going to adopt a baby (did Barney say "A gayby?" or did I mishear it?). Anyway, I guess it was good to see Sensitive-ish Barney, but S-ish Barney isn't a Funny Barney.
A few more notes:
- At the wedding, which takes place a year after the rest of the episode, the implication is that Marshal and Lilly are married. Maybe Robin and Ted are still together; they dance together and seem to get along, but when Marhsall and Lilly ask if they're going home, they respond separately, as if they didn't come to the wedding together. Huh. Anyone catch that? (A couple of commenters said they had that "single stamina." Makes sense to me.)
- "And that's how Barney became 'Uncle Barney.'" Hmm.... Very interesting. Is Ted's family tree starting to fill in a little?
- Loved seeing the Atari 2600 in those flashback scenes where Barney's and James' mother tries to explain how they're related. Notice we never find out, by the way. Guess the mom was as loose as Eric Cartman's mom, huh?
- James' son can really "suit up," can't he?
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