I never really knew quite where I stood with the Barney and Robin relationship on How I Met Your Mother but I finally found out this past week.

 

Barney is legend—what for it….I hope you’re not lactose intolerant cause the next word is—dairy. But seriously, he’s one of the main reasons for the awesomeness of this series. And while his womanizing ways are entertaining, it was interesting to see him settle down with Robin. The best part of this pairing was that Robin really is the female version of Barney, just less slutty. Robin continues to be the character whose comedy grows on me more and more each episode so I assumed these two would be perfect.

 

The weird thing was they kind of were. I can’t help but compare HIMYM to Friends so I’m going to. Monica and Chandler ended up being one of the best couples on television who nobody saw coming and I had some high hopes that Robin and Barney would be too after last season, but I still wasn’t sold on the idea. And then “The Rough Patch” happened.

 

Once again, there were so many parts of this episode I loved. Alan Thicke’s guest appearance was random and hilarious (especially the ending bit about him and Robin’s variety show). I also always love when Lily is badass and scheming so seeing her come up with the ultimate break-up plan was wonderful. Then again, the break-up scheming really rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that Ted, Marshall, and Lily know their friends fairly well and therefore could see that the relationship was harming them both, but it seemed cruel. It’s one thing to break Ted up with his annoying girlfriends, but breaking up two of your closest friends seem so wrong.

 

HIMYM was also reminiscent of Friends tonight with the fat suit. Barney pulled it off just as well as Monica. What could normally be used as a last ditch comic device actually worked in this episode. I loved watching Barney scarf down food and look generally unappealing. Robin’s aging had a similar effect.

 

This blog entry seems kind of random, but that’s sort of how I feel about this episode: mixed up. I find it hard to believe that Barney and Robin would break up because of some mutual desire to be free from one another. After spending an entire season with Barney realizing he liked Robin, it was all too fast-paced to have them break up in one episode. It should have been more drawn out and dramatic. I know this is a comedy but I feel as though the break-up trivialized their relationship as simply a friendship with sex. Granted, there’s a good chance the pair will reunite in the future (are they the new Ross and Rachel?), but as for now I’m disappointed….and for a show that always makes me happy, this is one ending I cannot be satisfied with.