I know I spent last week's recap freaking out about all the references to my alma mater Wesleyan, but I've got to take a moment for some more Wes appreciation: the law firm wooing Marshall, Nicolson, Hewitt, and West, is named for three Wesleyan dorms; one of them, if you were paying attention, is the one where the Ted/Lily makeout--might have!--happened last week. It's like those episodes of Arrested Development where they throw in Easter eggs for the people who have been paying attention the whole seasons, except HIMYM is giving shout -outs to a disparate collection of college graduates who may or may not even watch the show!
Anyway. I think this week's first highlight is abundantly clear:
1.John Cho, a.k.a. Harold! I've been reading up on the news about Harold and Kumar 2 (OK, primarily just the poster, which heavily features Neil Patrick Harris, a.k.a. Barney), so I immediately shouted "Is that Harold?!?" when John Cho showed up on the screen. As sorry as I was not to see Harold and NPH in a scene together, I guess we'll all have to wait for H&K 2 for that sweet, sweet satisfaction.
2. "I just want him to know that I'm rooting for him."Lily's storyline was probably my least favorite this week-- haven't we seen enough purse and shoe addiction on Sex and the City and its knockoffs to last a lifetime?--except for the part where she texts Marshall on the toilet, for some reason. Don't you feel like you know at least two super-dependent couples who would do something like that? While Lily has never exactly been a paragon of female dependence-- she did coin the phrase "Marshmallow", after all-- she had that jaunt to San Francisco, and has always seemed pretty determined to follow her own path. Devolving into a standard-issue purse and shoe addiction just seems like a step down for Lily, not to mention for Allyson friggin' Hannigan. You know that in a contest she's probably cooler than the rest of the HIMYM cast put together.
3.OK, except for Barney. "400 years from now some high school drama class will be doing a plucky, spirited production of ‘Beef Party 7.” Yes, you would expect Barney to stick up for porn, but by comparing it to Shakespeare? Brilliant. He gets the chance because Ted discovers there is a porn star operating under the name Ted Mosby, which it turns out is an homage to Ted himself, who saved the future porn star from bullies back in middle school. Ted, naturally, convinces the guy it was Lance Hardwood who saved him, which inspires the next film’s title: Lance Hardwood, Sex Architect, starring Ted Mosby. Do I even have to tell you that Barney serves as the location scout, and finds a certain prime Upper West Side apartment for the shoot…
4. Robin and her knowledge of Jude Law. Robin remembers that back in 2005, Jude Law was in practically every movie that came out, much like Ted Mosby the sex architect! Hey, me too Robin! There’s nothing wrong with storing valueless Hollywood information in your brains!
5. “I’m sorry, I thought you said Tuckahoe Fun Land, the magic factory where dreams are made." Why yes he did Marshall. And even when Marshall sells out to the man, who will eventually be arrested, he represents only Tuckahoe Fun Land—“The least awful company ever”—until, of course, it poisons everyone, including Marshall, with E. Coli-infected corn dogs. Oh well. At least selling out to the man will pay off Lily’s crazy credit card debt. And at least they finally explained how Lily dresses so well on a kindergarten teacher’s salary!
All in all, nice episode, suitably weird without any real plot development. You’d think with this week being Halloween we might get some nice costume-related antics, a la the Slutty Pumpkin of legend, but I’ll settle for porn stars and Ferris wheels, won’t you?
Here's this week's "How it Really Happened" clip - Lance Hardwood - Sex Architect.
