Rabbit or Duck? So which is it? I’ll answer that as soon as my phone stops ringing… Do your ears hang low do they… Isn’t this fun?

    I don’t know what everyone else thought, but I felt this was one of the funniest episodes this season. All the story lines were great tonight and I rarely like them all, where to Start first, let’s go with Barney. 

   If you watched the Super Bowl last night then you saw the Call Barney Stinson sign with Barney in the stands of Super Bowl 44. Tonight’s sign had a different number but wow, how clever are these guys? Even my friend who didn’t watch the show wanted to know what the message said. Barney usually carries a lot of the comedy but tonight he may have been most visible but having Ranjit with him made it so much better. Near the end, when Ranjit carries Barney from the bar while wearing the red scarf, hat and such that he knitted, I almost lost it. The best part of Barney’s story tonight was that despite being the center of attention other players shined.

     While Ted, Robin, Lily and Marshall were all lumped together with Barney passing through tonight, they each had distinct parts. Ted, passionately arguing for the duck, accompanying Robin, preparing for his arranged date/marriage and succumbing to the temptation of the magic phone. Marshall and Lily were together all night but still had time to forget to arrange Ted’s date and come through at the end…both for his date and to dispose of the phone.

   Meanwhile, Robin was repelling the opinions that she liked Don. We all know that she and Don become a couple eventually, but it’s nice to see the transition there. Plus, we got the see Robin passing on the naked man this time despite falling for it earlier. The fact that Don found the move on “some guy’s blog,” maybe mine…but probably Barney’s made the reference even funnier.

   All in all it was quite a solid episode. Lots of laughs, lots of call backs and a ton of what makes HIMYM the best comedy on TV…I don’t care what the polls say.

   Enough about me, what did you all think?

Music

see the music from every episode on the How I Met Your Mother Music Page

• Turkey in the Straw –

(the ringtone on Barney’s phone.) I’ve managed to round up the mp3 and iPhone ringtone for it so enjoy!
–mp3 version
–m4r ringtone

• Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn – (plays while Robin cleans & tells Ted to go meet his “future wife”)
• Someday by Haroula Rose – (Ted and Robin drink together on the couch at closing)

Legendary Lines

Ted: Well, that explains where Barney is.
Robin: Dibbs on his wings.

Marshall: What would your viewer think?

Barney: Does she text her mother with those fingers?

Ted: There’s always a hotter girl. Isn’t that the problem in a nutshell.

Marshall: Have you ever been in a fight with a duck? Ducks are jerks!

Marshall: Who carries around a duck foot for good luck?

Ted: Permission to say lawyered?
Marshall: Permission Granted.
Ted: Lawyered!!!

Barney: No Please! Please! Please! It could be an emergency! She could be trapped in a giant bra!
Ranjit: Barney, Barney, Let it go…to voicemail.

Moments of Awesomeness

• Ranjit! I love it when Marshall Manesh makes an appearance on HIMYM. And tonight he had so much screen time! Knitting during Barney’s travels to and from the bar, arguing in his native tongue about Rabbit or Duck, carrying Barney out of the bar…simply awesome.
• Barney’s Super Bowl payoff from last night. PLUS!!! We got call backs to the Super Bowl tradition from Season 2’s Monday Night Football, The Naked Man from Season and a reference to Barney’s Blog!
• Robin’s glass of Scotch… wow.
• Teddy “West Side”…and Ted’s nice blazer
• The most intense arguments the group has ever had. Marshall had all the good points/lines in the Rabbit vs. Duck fight btw. And Ranjit arguing and leaving was hilarious!
• The jokes and lines about Robin and Don weren’t that great But their story line was.  The Naked Man he pulled and the re-return moment were great. Plus we finally got the see Don in pants.
• Lily & Marshall put so much thought into Ted’s future wife. I mean Marshall even got mased for the cause. Their approached were so different too. Classic.

The Re-Return

Don apologizes to Robin…not for pulling trying the Naked Man, but for not caring about being her co-host.

Now she sees him as a duck, not a rabbit.

Robin: Aww Duck.