(S05E21) By now, it's not much of a stretch to say that most 'How I Met Your Mother' fans have moved on from both the Ted-Robin and the Barney-Robin relationships. They're both over, kaput, donezo. Robin's moved on, and the guys have moved on, and we're all ready to explore how the gang conducts their lives as just friends.

Which is why, despite the fact that this episode had a number of good laughs, I just sat there for the entire 22 minutes thinking, "I don't buy this." I know that a sitcom like this needs romantic tension in order to survive, but what went on this week felt pretty contrived, as if Bays and Thomas couldn't think of another romantic direction for Ted, Robin, and Barney, so they decided to tread on old ground not once, but twice.

I can almost see Barney wanting Robin back; he had those longings during the last scenes of 'Of Course' (aka 'The Episode Jennifer Lopez Used To Promote 'The Back-Up Plan''). And, his feelings are definitely more in the immature, "I just want what I can't have" vein that Ted thought it was.

But why all of a sudden is Ted smitten again? Because Robin wants to settle down with Don? So, is this just him acting out his increasing desperation to find a mate, something that seems to happen to a lot of people as they reach their mid-30s? Or is he yet again truly in love with Robin?

It all just feels like an artificial obstacle Bays and Thomas threw out there, just to liven things up. It doesn't even come close to having the resonance either bro's relationships with Robin had. Then again, Robin's romance with Don hasn't felt all that great either.

It's a nagging problem the writers have had over the last few years; because they're concentrating so much on getting the members of the gang their own stories, lines, and jokes, they've neglected just about every relationship that's occurred outside of the group. Think about what happened with Ted and Stella, for instance; it seemed like, two episodes after lasering off Ted's tramp stamp, they were close to getting married. There weren't enough episodes in between to let us get used to the idea of them as a couple. And the same thing has happened with Don and Robin; it didn't seem like that long ago that Don was the guy who cared so little about his job that he read the news in his tighty whities.

So how long is this romantic dark alley, and Robin's self-imposed exile from the group in order to make sure things work with Don, going to last? Into next season? Or will it be over next week? For some reason, I'm hoping it's the latter, because I'm not that interested in seeing both Ted and Barney pine after Robin for an extended period. Been there, done that, wrote the recaps.

More fun stuff:

-- Ah, doesn't every couple fantasize about sleeping in twin beds like a '50s or '60s TV couple? Man is meant to sleep on his or her own, not spooning someone else. Anyway, loved a) that Marshall kicking Lily out of his bed got her angry enough that she was ready to "push them together" -- and we're not talking about the beds, and b) Marshall kicked her out after the pushing as if they were on a one night stand.

-- It was a weird Barney week; there was lots of Barney-related humor but not a lot of it was good. Did you guys think NPH and Josh Radnor did good drunk acts? I'm not sure; I did love Barney calling himself "Barn Door" to Robin and saying he was "open" (the Best Barneyism of the week), but the rest of the time Barney and Ted sounded more fake-drunk than drunk.

-- How come Don was the only one in the history of the series (correct me if I'm wrong on this) to think Ted was gay? Some of the examples given -- "I didn't know the Jets had new costumes" -- might have been a bit over the top, but there was plenty of other empirical evidence over the years. Yet no one put it together. Hm....

-- How many letters about Karen has Past Ted written Future Ted? He can probably fill a binder with them.

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