(S05E20) It figures that right after I do a long post about the prominence of silly standalone episodes on 'HIMYM' this year, Bays and Thomas come back with an episode that could both stand alone and be part of the "mythology" of the show. And it gave us a new drinking game, to boot.

Of course, the problem with most mythology-centric episodes on this show is that they center around Ted, whom most fans acknowledge is the least interesting character in the gang. But when he gets support from the rest of the group, the stories are much more palatable. So think of this episode as this year's version of last year's finale, 'The Leap,' even though Ted's big life leap forward takes place with some episodes left this time around.

The character who gave Ted the biggest assist this week was Marshall. Not only did he have Ted's back as everyone else was telling him how stupid he was to buy that flea trap of a house, he created the instant classic game, "Drunk or Kid?" It's just way too true that the dumb stuff you do when you're drunk is indistinguishable from the dumb stuff you did when you were a kid. Though I was happy to know that when Marshall drove his brother's car the wrong way down the interstate he was a kid. Making the answer to that question "Drunk" would have been one of those step too far jokes that most sitcoms do a good job of avoiding.

Speaking of a step too far, ya gotta love Barney's storytelling abilities. Interesting that the writers got no notes for saying the words "Your penis is enormous" twice on an 8PM show. I liked when they brought the joke back during Barney's story about trying to seduce Ted's mom. I'm just thinking that he was trying to cover for crying at Clint's silly dragon song at Ted's mom's wedding. But the fact that he went that step too far not once, but twice, earns the stories my Best Barneyism of the week.

Somehow, despite the fact that the room in the scene of the kids on the couch we've been seeing for five years looks nothing like the house Ted bought, my fiancee just knew that they were referring to Old Ted's house. Maybe the plot development wasn't that hard to figure out, given the nature of the series, but I never would have made the connection.

It's the time in life where people do things like this, isn't it? Ted's not 29 anymore. You get in your mid-30s, see your mom remarry -- and "eat more sandwiches" than you -- and you do things like buy a nearly-condemned house. So as full of romantic fancy Ted is, as much as he likes to plan his life out, him buying his future house doesn't seem wildly out of character at this point. Too bad it'll take him until he's fifty to renovate it.

More fun stuff:

-- The creepiest line of the night? Seeing the painting of Clint and Ted's mom and hearing Old Ted tell his kids, "There was no guitar."

-- I wonder if all men would like to have a home inspector come in and inspect their girlfriends or wives. I like how the inspector said that Marshall was "never going to fix" Lily's outspokenness. Also liked the inspector's suggestion that Marshall would be better in something "Spanish" than a "Gothic."

-- Loved everyone saying in turn as Ted looked in horror at the painting: "Best. Wedding. Ever!"

Hopefully, we're starting on a good late-season roll. We'll find out next week, won't we?

[Watch clips and free episodes of 'HIMYM' at SlashControl.]