Thanks to my friend and BAI frequenter Jenn for the recap this week. I’ve talked to Jenn for a while now and she is Legendary! She even got to visit the HIMYM set once! Color me jealous. Check her on on twitter too!Thanks Jenn!

Hey folks Jenn, your subtitute recap bro, here to recap and review Episode 4. – Subway Wars. As someone who was born and raised a New Yorker I really appreciated and loved this episode. Despite the fact that it’s not a  “journey to meeting the mother” episode (Carter and Craig we’re waaaaiting) it really highlighted the gang well they had 5 converging and diverging storylines throughout the episode.
Let’s start at the beginning shall we. Marshall gets a call from his law school buddy Max (does anyone else miss Brad – damn that True Blood) that Woody Allen is eating at the restaurant he is at, Robin gets excited and wants to go. The gang gives Robin a hard time because she hasn’t seen Woody Allen in New York nor has she:
            1. stolen a cab from someone who needs it
            2. cried on the subway and didn’t give a damn
            3. killed a cockroach with her bare hand
Which all mean she is not a real New Yorker (I guess I’m not a real New Yorker because the only cockroaches that I’ve killed with my bare hand are here in Alabama).
Robin suggests they all take a cab to see Woody Allen and the gang each say a different mode of transportation would be better: bus (Ted), subway (Lily), run (Marshall), ambulance/towncar/rickshaw (Barney). They challenge each other to see who gets there first.
And they’re off – as illustrated by a hilarious GPS/map with their faces. I also loved the use of split screens throughout the episodes, great use of storytelling.
The gang each tries to make it to the restaurant first – all with various successes, failures and flashbacks.
Many of the great moments of the episode are listed below. This episode had a lot of small moments. In the end Robin got to the restaurant first and in the process stole a cab, cried on the subway and didn’t give a damn, and killed a cockroach with her bare hand.  Thus proving that she is a real New Yorker despite the fact that Woody Allen wasn’t at the restaurant after all, it was Maury!

Moments of Awesomeness

Why X needs a win and Olde Tyme music
Pregnancy test Marshall
Maury Povich…EVERYWHERE
Marshall’s “Marshall versus the Machines” Folk Song
Ted’s great reviews floating on screen from grademyteacher.net (Ted also got a chili pepper on the screen shot of his page which means he is “hot”)
Barney “choking” at the restaurant
Rangit and him repeated “orders” from the gang
Intro of Laura Beth Bundy as Robin’s new anchor Becky, especially her “eclipsing” Robin
Marshall and Ted pushing over the calculator guy
Marshall and Lily’s sweet “cradle list” moment
Barney letting Robin win

Legendary Lines (Quotes):

“Face. That’s your weirdest nicknames for boobs yet” – Ted
“She’s so sad and defenseless. Anyone have a condom?” – Barney
“Is anyone else craving green eggs and ham?” – Robin
“Suck it Gran-butt” – Marshall
“Turrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrned green”  -Marshall’s song
“A boat. (laughs) oh wait that’s how you say it” – Lily (it took me watching it a second time to get this one)
“Carrots and Peas” – Barney
“Machines are over-rated someone needs to take them down a peg” – Marshall
“Stay sad, I’ll be back” – Barney
“I grew up here, I speak conductor” – Lily
“Elizabeth”  – Barney
“Brought that jukebox back with his Fonzerelli arm” – Marshall’s song
“If you can’t spot the crazy person on the bus it’s you” – Ted
“The machines have won” – Marshall

Lingering Questions

Does Max have any real significance?
Are Marshall and Lily now going to get pregnant because the pressure is off?
When are we getting more “mother-centric” episodes?
I know I’m no Aaron, but I hope you enjoyed. I got to live out my Entertainment Weekly writer fantasy. What quotes did I miss? What other lingering questions do you have? Hope to see you on the discussion board! Jenn