'The Time Travellers'

The Bar Explodes with Time Travellers and it's Marshall vs. Robin Time!

From left to right: 20 Years From Now Barney, Present Ted, 20 Minutes From Now Barney, 20 Hours From Now Ted, Present Barney, 20 Years From Now Ted

Really good episode alert!

At the bar, Barney invites Ted to go to Robots vs. Wrestlers: Legends but Ted declines. Barney insists if they go that twenty years from now, they would remember that legendary night. Ted closes his eyes and then he finds 20 Years Later Barney sitting next to him ("S'up?") (because Barney can do anything). 20 Years Later Barney confirms that his present self is right and that Ted should go to Robots vs. Wrestlers. Ted still doesn't believe this... until his 20 Years Later self turns up ("S'up?"). 20 Years Later Ted confirms what the Barneys said and that Present Ted won't regret it. They are about to go when 20 Hours Later Ted appears: hungover and regretful. The others convince him that Present Ted doesn't have to drink too much tonight so they once again prepare to head off... until they are stopped by 20 Minutes Later Barney, with a spaghetti stain on his shirt (Present Barney: "Eheheheheh you look stupid" while the other Barney is all >:( ). Sure enough, Carl arrives with spaghetti (complete with giant meatball) for Present Barney and later he ends up with the stain (where was your BroBib Barn?!). Anyway, the reason why 20 Minutes Later Barney arrived was to point out someone who comes into the bar: the Coat Check Girl from seven years ago (we last saw her in the Season 1 episode 'Okay Awesome' - wow that was a long time ago!).
Ted goes to talk to her when he is dragged away by 20 Months Later Coat Check Girl (who represents two people = two possibilities: she goes crazy and he becomes sick of her, or she gets sick of him). Ted is saddened to learn any relationship with CCG is doomed, and that any other relationship he has had so far didn't turn out any different, as he watches Present CCG walk out.
At the end of the day, Ted thinks he'll just go home and he expects Barney to protest. Instead, Barney tells him: "Ted, this moment already is gone. The whole Minnesota Tidal Wave thing happened five years ago, it's just a memory. And the rest of this? Never happened. Right now, Marshall and Lily are upstairs, trying to get Marvin to go back to sleep. Robin and I are trying to decide on a caterer. And you've been sitting here all night, staring at a single ticket to Robots vs Wrestlers because the rest of us couldn't come out. Look around Ted, you're all alone."

 

That's right guys: it was all in Ted's head!   

This is when the episode turned depressing: seeing Ted all alone in the deserted bar. Future Ted (Narrator Ted) reflects what he would have done if he could actually go back to that night in April 2013: he would've gone home, and see the gang too. But first of all, he would run all the way to the apartment where the Mother was living (if he knew the address at the time, that is) and say a sweet, sad speech about how much he loves her and how much he can't stand an extra 45 days without her - even if he can just spend those 45 seconds talking to her before her boyfriend shows up and punches him in the face would be worth it. Aww! (cute and sad way)

During Ted's imagination time, Marshall orders a cocktail (that is totally not girly!) that he believes he invented... until we see the identical "The Robin Scherbatsky" on top of the bar's cocktail menu: Robin has had ordered the drink so much Carl the bartender had named it after her ("You're Zuckerberging me?" - Marshal). And Robin likes the situation, saying she likes having her name on something (this coming from a former teenage pop-star and someone from the media). Marshall attempts revenge by writing Robin's number in the guys' toilets, but we know Robin can just stroll in there and rub it out! In her turn, she writes something in the ladies' toilets and Marshall braves the moral confrontation to read a long message: "Dear Marshall, I know this is a strange way to apologise, but I'm sorry I let Carl name your drink after me. Why didn't I say something? Gosh, I guess that goes back to my childhood..."    But if you took the time to read the rest of hilarious message, it continued to say:

 

"Did you know that for the first two years of my life, my dad treated me like a cat? Seriously. I wasn't permitted on the furniture, I had to bathe myself, and I was only allowed to poop in a box. Ironic that this all comes out in a bathroom. A place that for so long I yearned to be. This tiled prison that eluded my saddened grasp was a haven. The unreachable. When I finally did demand a bathroom visit, my dad applauded my moxie. And that's the only time my father ever said he was proud of me."

 

The message goes on to reveal she wrote this so Marshall would spend the time reading it, therefore giving time for a girl to come in and freak out Marshall to hide in the stall, only to force his way out with a bunch of screaming girls. Eventually though, it is battled in Marshall's favour: a dance-off.

 



THE MOST AMAZING MOMENT OF THIS EPISODE, IF NOT EVER: in the end scene, the three Teds and the three Barneys all together singing a capella of Billy Joel's "The Longest Time", especially since it's really only two different people singing it (multiplied thrice!)
Watch it while you can!

 

This was definitely the one of the better episodes of Season 8. It had rivalry, time travel and a tint of sadness all mixed together that pretty much blew my mind. If you're not paying attention, you will certainly get confused by the overload of future people or even with what was real and what wasn't.

In fact, how much of this episode was actually real? Only seconds? Nearly all of the episode played out in Ted's imagination so you could generally say, in plot terms, nothing happened at all (except knowing that Ted is quite depressed and lonely. I knew he would eventually go crazy with his solitude.).

I did have some minor suspicion about the whole time travel thing during this episode before it was revealed to be fake. Like how 20 Years Later Ted and Barney wore futuristic suits yet in 2030 Ted's kids look perfectly normal. Or how they just appear randomly and so conveniently, and disappear with as much explanation when the rest of the gang approach the booth (and even sit where the future guys sat just a second ago). Or like when 20 minutes went past since 20 Minutes Later Barney turned up and Present Barney didn't just disappear to become 20 Minutes Later Barney 20 minutes ago. Or even how no one else even turned an eye towards them (especially in that end scene, seriously?). But the possibility of time travel has been established already in HIMYM, so that was why I didn't rule out reality when I watched this episode.

I think Ted's speech at the end is the start of the Ted/Robin shippers' doubts. The show is finally going to prove why Ted and the Mother are the greatest match, and when the time comes tears will be shed from everyone: whether out of bitterness that it wasn't Robin or happiness that it wasn't Robin and instead it is someone who is better suited to Ted.

So what do you think Carl's last name was? I was betting on Carlson (you know, from 'The Simpsons').

 

New Mother Info:

1. She is currently living at 317 West 115th street, Apartment 7A.

2. She is also dating a guy named Louis.

3. According to Future Ted's imagination, if the Mother saw her boyfriend punch her future husband at her front door she would say and do absolutely nothing about it.

 



Pre-episode prediction: I couldn't help reading the episode's description and guess that Future Ted and Future Barney wanted them to go to Robots vs. Wrestlers because, since the Mother paints pictures of robots playing sports, she would be there painting the event, but of course Ted wouldn't meet her then. Damn, the one time I had a good theory!

 

Three weeks until the next episode! Three! At least I have 'The Longest Time' to listen to over and over again until then.

 

Check out the promo if you haven't already.