Throughout season five of How I Met Your Mother, protagonist and narrator Ted has been resigned mostly to the background. Occasionally plotlines about him and his new career as a professor of architecture come into focus, but by and large season five is all about the new relationship between supporting characters Barney and Robin. Tonight’s episode was the epitome of this change in dynamic, and is the strongest argument yet for How I Met Your Mother’s overhaul back to the early seasons’ glory days.
In any successful sitcom, the main character must be an identifiable yet flawed everyman. Someone who encounters problems on a weekly basis then solves them in twenty-two minutes. By and large, these problems are associated with the protagonist’s quirky friends, wacky neighbors, or offbeat coworkers.
It’s these supporting characters that are the truly memorable TV roles. Tim Taylor had Al Borland, Jerry Seinfeld had Kramer, Jim Halpert has Dwight Schrute, etc. Because they are allowed free range for characterization, unburdened by requirements like relatable personas or realistic scenarios, their quirkiness grows exponentially. The show’s hero carries the show every week, while the supporting cast sits back and effortlessly entertains the viewing audience.
In turn, the surging popularity of these secondary characters results in more screen time and more substantial storylines. Because of their increased exposure and popularity in comparison to the vanilla leads, the paradigm of the show shifts. Suddenly the crazy cohort is getting more central plotlines, more character development, while the already established lead patiently plays straightman until the fandom demand quells. Practically every new episode of The Simpsons is guilty of this, dedicating a full episode to a tertiary background character, relegating the Simpson family to the dugout to analyze their life and attempt to fix their problems while hijinks ensue.
The problem with this scenario is these secondary characters were not meant to have depth. On How I met Your Mother, Barney Stinson was created solely to be an arrogant, hedonistic womanizer. During season three, while Barney was rising in popularity and Ted was romantically bouncing between the female guest stars of the week, the writers decided they had had enough, and introduced a subplot where Barney and Robin have a secret relationship unbeknownst to the rest of their cast. This relationship percolated throughout season four when, quite literally, Barney suddenly decides one afternoon he is finished with his womanizing ways and sets out for a new adventure: maintaining a healthy and lasting relationship with Robin.
Tonight’s episode features Marshall and Ted, the two sensitive male leads, well-versed in healthy relationships, chastising Barney for his condescending know-it-all-ism concerning dating and romance. Marshall and Ted claim Barney is simply in the “honeymoon” phase of his relationship, where problems are non-existent.
Also serving as contrast to Barney’s relationship rhetoric is the b-plot of tonight’s episode. Marshall and wife Lily have a disagreement on the proper time to do dishes: when the meal is complete, or when the sink is full. Barney, conceited by his own illusory perfect relationship, interprets the disagreement as a marriage-ending argument just waiting to erupt. Barney urges Marshall to confront Lily, using a silver-tongued monologue dripping with Don Draper-esque bravado as a guide. Marshall, having never been a man of words, bumbles the argument with Lily, beginning a halcyon of arguments, evolving into a monsoon of inescapable spats.
Eventually, as the episode plays out, Barney’s expert strategy for avoiding confrontation with Robin is revealed as simply walking away whenever arguments were brewing and then returning when Robin was calmer. When the roles were reversed, Robin would remove articles of clothing until Barney’s temper was defused. Sadly, these tactics were merely stalls, and eventually the argument burst out in full force, ending the honeymoon phase. For the happily married Marshall and Lily (who had been championing communication to Barney throughout the episode), after talking, apologizing, and checking their egos, their arguments were resolved, and the status quo was reestablished (at least until next week).
Returning to my original point, Ted helmed the c-story of tonight’s episode. Aside from being present to provide quips and zingers at expense of the other four, Ted’s role in tonight’s episode was confronting his neighbors about “playing the bagpipes,” a typical How I Met Your Mother euphemism for objectionable behavior (in this instance, ridiculously loud intercourse). And that’s it. The lead character has been forced into the backseat of his own show while those around him have uncharacteristically interesting adventures.
How I Met Your Mother is one of the smartest, sharpest comedies on television. Even during tonight’s lackluster episode, there were many visual gags, quips, and humorous moments to be enjoyed. Even the bad episodes are good. However, the well of clever lines may eventually run dry, and if these trends continue, there may not enough story left to appropriately end the series. If that happens, we the fans will feel cheated regardless of what special guest stars will be appearing on tomorrow night’s series premiere of The Barney Stinson Show.
