Kids, some "HIMYM" episodes are better than others. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” that will forever be legendary and those we’d rather slap out of existence.
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00:00Marshall, why can't you be more like your wife? Lily's stamp is gold.
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the episodes of How I Met Your
00:08Mother that will forever be legendary and those we'd rather slap out of existence.
00:18That's one.
00:20Number 5. Timeless. How Your Mother Met Me.
00:23Some of the best How I Met Your Mother episodes put a fresh spin on Ted's story of meeting his
00:28future wife, like this Season 3 episode that adds more background to the gang.
00:33You know who else has a really cute story of how they met? Marshall and Lily. You guys should tell
00:36that story right now. Yeah. All right, but spoiler alert, it ends with everyone saying,
00:40aw. Aw.
00:42Starts with a two.
00:43However, they perfect this tactic in Season 9 with an episode that beautifully ties
00:48Tracy's story to events we've already seen, this time from her perspective.
00:53When I got to the club, it had already closed. By the next day,
00:56some super inconsiderate person had taken my umbrella.
00:59We follow her through love, loss, and more as she and Ted keep narrowly missing one another.
01:05In just one episode, the writers make us root for Tracy just as much as we have for the gang
01:10all these years. Ted might always go on about destiny and fate,
01:14but this episode makes you believe he could be right.
01:275. Forget. Field Trip.
01:31There's not much to love about this episode. The one saving Grace might be Marshall convincing his
01:36boss not to give up on Mother Earth. I'm here to turn down the 24,000.
01:41Well, I can maybe get you 24,500.
01:44Not good enough.
01:49Meanwhile, Ted takes his class on a painfully dull field trip that Barney hijacks because,
01:54for a very fickle reason, he suspects Nora is lying about her age.
01:58Although, watching them use the class to settle their petty disputes is pretty funny.
02:03Is macaroni salad really a salad? Hands up if you say no.
02:09Jacob or Edward? Who says Edward? See, I told you. It's Edward James Olmos.
02:14But Robin's storyline is one we'd rather forget.
02:17Little creepy, bro.
02:18Okay, it's not creepy.
02:21It's creepy.
02:22Class, show of hands, who thinks it's creepy to date your therapist?
02:27Polster.
02:27Beyond the ethical issues of a therapist dating their client,
02:31it's hard to see how they'd move past the awkwardness of that relationship shift.
02:36Robin flipping the rules to level the playing field doesn't make it any better.
02:40Sit down.
02:41Okay. Okay, but I must warn you, as a professional, I'm amused.
02:47Tell me about your mother.
02:48Everything she says is a manipulation.
02:50Number four.
02:51Timeless.
02:52Swarly.
02:53This episode is so wholesome that it never fails to make us smile.
02:57Sure, Marshall and Lily are still broken up,
02:59but his cheesy interactions with barista Chloe are just too cute.
03:03At first, anyway.
03:04Every time I come in here, I do totally crack her up.
03:07Marshall, here's your pumpkin latte.
03:09Wow. How'd you fit a pumpkin into this little cup?
03:14Also, let's not forget the hilarious Swarly running gag that never gets old.
03:19Honestly, it's a shame Swarly didn't make more appearances.
03:22I got a call for Swarly?
03:25Is there Swarly here?
03:27You weren't interested in my suit at all, were you?
03:29Swarly!
03:30The crazy eyes plot point isn't great, but it wraps up sweetly.
03:34Chloe might turn out to be a bit intense,
03:37but Marshall learns that while the eyes may be the window to the soul,
03:40they don't define the heart.
03:42You have crazier eyes than anybody that I have ever met.
03:50You shouldn't even be going back.
03:51Come here, you're out of your mind.
03:53Even if Lily has the craziest eyes ever,
03:55they're the ones he wants to look into forever.
03:58Number four.
03:59Forget.
04:00The Stamp Tramp.
04:02So many Barney moments gave us the ick that it's hard to choose just one.
04:06The perfect week.
04:08Seven nights, seven girls, zero rejection.
04:11However, just as we thought maybe this character was starting to show some growth,
04:15they hit us with some of his most offensive moments yet.
04:18Episodes like The Prenup, Nannies, and The Stamp Tramp are all kinds of wrong.
04:23In the latter, after breaking up with Quinn,
04:25Barney gets pursued by other adult entertainment venues,
04:29leading to a storyline that objectifies women
04:31while Barney rakes in freebies with Robin's help.
04:34You are killing it at this agent thing.
04:36I just got a big box at Yankee Stadium from the ladies at the big box.
04:41One question, Golden Oldies just sent me a fax machine and a Charo calendar.
04:46Meanwhile, Marshall's faith in people is shattered
04:49after he sticks his neck out for a friend.
04:51Elsewhere, Ted spirals over whether his stamps of approval ever meant anything.
04:56Somewhere in here there's gonna be proof that I am not a piggyback stamper.
04:59I have my own original ideas.
05:01Didn't you only do the video diaries because of Winona Ryder and Reality Bites?
05:05No. I don't know what you're talking-
05:07Shut up.
05:08Number three.
05:09Timeless.
05:10Spoiler alert.
05:11Any moment the gang gets competitive is always hilarious.
05:14Just forget about it. Who cares? I mean, there's no way to find out who's right anyway.
05:23First person there wins.
05:24Doesn't matter how you get there.
05:25It's also pretty funny when they turn on each other like they do here.
05:29Oh man. Honestly, dude, that's the meanest thing you've ever done to me.
05:33I really thought you knew. We had ribs the other night. It sounded like Jurassic Park.
05:37Ted dates a chatty Kathy, literally her name is Kathy, who his friends find annoying.
05:42This leads to everyone sharing the things that irritate them the most about each other.
05:46Once all those little quirks are out there,
05:48it doesn't take long for everyone to be at each other's throats.
05:52I literally want to rip your head off.
05:54You mean figuratively.
05:56No, I literally mean literally. Literally, literally, literally.
06:02Oh my god. Lily, what are you eating? Gravel?
06:05In a subplot, Marshall loses the password to check if he passed the bar,
06:09but his habit of singing everything ends up saving the day.
06:12Apple, orchard, banana, cat, dance, eight, six, six, three.
06:17See, we know that one because once you sang that for like three hours. What the hell is that?
06:24That's my password.
06:24It's a sweet episode that shows the strength of their friendships
06:27while serving up plenty of laughs.
06:30Number three, forget the bracket.
06:32The whole turning a no into a yes thing with Stella in 10 sessions
06:36was more painful than lasering off a butterfly tattoo.
06:40Give me 10 sessions, I'm gonna turn that no into a yes.
06:43Equally brutal is the following episode,
06:46where Barney tries to figure out which of the women he slept with is sabotaging his plays.
06:50Come on, lighten up. I mean, any girl who's gonna be with a guy like Barney and do
06:54this or that or this and that or do this with those in that.
07:00I mean, she should have known what she was getting into.
07:02Robin shaming the women Barney lied to is bad enough,
07:05but the group turning the search for the saboteur into a game is worse.
07:09It essentially turns into a montage that just reminds us how disgusting Barney can be.
07:14The fact that it's all played for laughs makes it even more uncomfortable.
07:17Evil twin.
07:18Prince of Norway. How can it not be Prince of Norway?
07:22Barney, you're the tiebreaker.
07:24I'm going with evil twin.
07:27But I did sleep with that girl twice.
07:29Frustratingly, Barney faces no real consequences,
07:32and it definitely doesn't make him change his ways.
07:35Number two, timeless slap bet.
07:38The slap bet has to be one of the best running gags in the series,
07:42and it's not just because it gave us this song.
07:56It also introduced us to Canadian teen pop singing sensation Robin Sparkles.
08:01When Robin gets all weird about going to a mall, Ted makes it his mission to find out why.
08:06Meanwhile, Marshall and Barney bet on what she might be hiding.
08:09What the hell's a slap bet?
08:10Whoever's right gets to slap the other person in the face as hard as they possibly can,
08:14but no rings.
08:15Are you really gonna do that? That's so immature.
08:17You can be slap bet commissioner.
08:18Oh, I love it. What are my powers?
08:20Eventually, Robin comes clean, introducing her friends to her alter ego.
08:25Now Barney, who preemptively slapped Marshall, ends up with a new proposition.
08:29You go with the ten now.
08:30No way, why get ten when you can get five?
08:32Yeah, but the constant fear of knowing that at any moment you can get slapped in the face
08:36would drive you crazy.
08:36I'm gonna go with the five for eternity.
08:38Good call.
08:38Horrible call.
08:39We have to side with Ted on this one, but we're certainly glad Barney didn't.
08:43Also, let's go to the mall as a banger.
08:58Number two, forget the burning beekeeper.
09:02The main problem with this episode is that it's way too chaotic.
09:05Someday you're gonna throw a party,
09:07and you might find yourself worrying that something's gonna go wrong.
09:11Well, don't.
09:12What you should worry about is everything going wrong.
09:14The creators are typically pretty smart with their storytelling devices,
09:18but here it felt like they were trying to pack too much into one episode.
09:22Set during Marshall and Lily's housewarming party,
09:24the episode keeps showing the same time frame from different rooms.
09:28I don't know if I can handle a life that's just one crisis after another.
09:32Lily, listen to me. I'm gonna give you a little piece of Gouda.
09:36God.
09:37Crisis?
09:37Crisis.
09:38This leads to a bunch of disjointed scenes that all build up to one big moment.
09:43We could have forgiven the messy structure if the episode had been funnier.
09:46In a Reddit AMA, co-creator Carter Bays admitted that this was the episode he regretted most
09:51because the rushed production didn't allow them to do the idea justice.
09:55Guess it's kind of nice you're such a badass.
09:59It's pretty badass you're so nice, Ted.
10:03Was I supposed to close the basement door?
10:06Before we unveil our top picks, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:10Timeless.
10:11Bad News.
10:12A brilliantly innovative use of a countdown that ultimately shattered our hearts into
10:16a million pieces.
10:17Something's happened. Um, your father, he had a heart attack.
10:25He didn't make it.
10:27Forget.
10:27The Naked Man.
10:29We estimate that two out of three people would prefer to forget this move ever existed.
10:34Two out of three times.
10:35Two out of three times.
10:37Just have to pick your spot.
10:39The Naked Man is best used as a last resort.
10:42Kind of a Hail Mary on a first date when you know there's not going to be a second one.
10:45Timeless.
10:46The Final Page Part Two.
10:48A perfect snapshot moment in Barney and Robin's relationship.
10:52Will you marry me?
11:00Yes.
11:06Forget.
11:07The Slutty Pumpkin Returns.
11:09This episode felt as forced as their relationship.
11:12Saying things felt good that didn't just...
11:16I thought saying it was good would make it feel good but...
11:21It always felt off.
11:22Number One.
11:23Timeless.
11:24The Pineapple Incident.
11:26We'd argue that this episode was the moment we knew we were hooked for the long run.
11:29While Ted is busy pining for Robin, Barney convinces him to stop overthinking.
11:34It's gonna keep on happening until you power down that bucket of neuroses in nebriation style.
11:40So what, you want me to do a shot?
11:43Oh no, I want you to do five shots.
11:46With some liquid courage, Ted takes his advice a bit too well.
11:50The next morning, he wakes up to find a mysterious woman in his bed and a
11:53pineapple on his bedside table.
11:55The gang jumps in to help Ted piece together what happened the night before.
11:59Well that explains the ankle.
12:00And then we brought you home and put you to bed.
12:03Was there anyone else in there with me?
12:05While the woman's identity is eventually revealed,
12:07the pineapple mystery takes several seasons and a deleted scene to explain.
12:12This episode perfectly captures what made How I Met Your Mother so beloved.
12:16A great mix of humor, a clever storyline, and cringeworthy relatability.
12:21So I came over here.
12:23And now I'm really, really embarrassed.
12:28Damn it, Trudy, what about the pineapple?
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12:461. Forget
12:50Slapsgiving 3. Slapointment in Slapmara
12:53Let's be honest, we wish we could forget most of the final season.
12:57It was mostly filler leading up to one of TV's most divisive finales.
13:01You made us sit down and listen to this story about how you met mom.
13:04Yet mom is hardly in the story.
13:07No, this is a story about how you're totally in love with Aunt Robin.
13:11We had to slog through episodes like No Questions Asked and Bedtime Stories,
13:16which even a Lin-Manuel Miranda cameo couldn't save.
13:30Still, perhaps the most offensive of all was the Slapsgiving episode.
13:33Marshall concocts some story about training to execute the slap of a million exploding suns.
13:39You're claiming there's a mountain in China in the exact shape of a hand.
13:44Everyone knows that, right guys?
13:46I backpacked there in college.
13:48It's the largest of the Slapalation Mountains.
13:50Intended as a parody of martial arts movies,
13:52it instead relied on lazy stereotypes and offensive tropes.
13:56This led to an apology from the creators after How I Met Your Racism started trending.
14:01The only bright spot was the boys-to-men appearance at the end.
14:04Which How I Met Your Mother episode do you think is a rabbit and which is a duck?
14:18Let us know in the comments.
14:22You have to say it.
14:25Duck's good.
14:30Rabbit's bad.
14:31Do you agree with our picks?
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