How I Met Your Mother: Not a Father’s Day

Posted by Mike

Synopsis: At the beginning of the episode, Barney receives the worst news a guy like Barney can get — he is going to be a dad. Or at least he thinks he is, since he is too awesome to not have impregnated someone. He’s relieved to find out that he’s wrong, however, and in celebration he decides to create a new holiday: Not A Father’s Day. With all the talk of babies, Lily and Marshall decide that they want one — that is, until Lily shows up drunk at Marshall’s office ready to get the project started, and Marshall gets a taste of what’s it’s like to have to care for someone who can’t take care of herself. More surprisingly, Robin, who tried to talk Lily out of the whole baby thing in the first place, reveals that she’s having second thoughts about her own anti-kids stance, which should make things interesting since she’s going to be moving in with Ted for a while during her job search. Even Barney sees his paternal instinct kick in by the end of the episode, when he ultimately realizes that his holiday is kind of lame. So, to sum up, everyone wants kids now except for Marshall and Lily. Makes perfect sense.

What We Liked:

– “Dinner is a baby.” — Lily, showing the danger of not being careful with mixed metaphors

– Comparisons between Marshall’s head, a late August watermelon and a 1950s space helmet

– notafathersday.com

– Robin’s defense that Lily must have put the stolen baby sock in her purse as a joke. “That bitch be da-runk.”

– Barney’s karaoke performance of “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin (or, if you prefer, Ugly Kid Joe)

What We Didn’t Like:

– Barney describing his sperm as little Michael Phelpses

– Ted’s dorky dad jokes. “Shredded tweet” sounds like something johnnysweeptheleg would have come up with.

– Lily demanding that Marshall put his melon-headed spawn in her belly

Best Barneyism: “The Cheerleader Effect,” the phenomenon in which a group of women appears hot but only as a group. Also known as the Bridesmaid Paradox, Sorority Girl Syndrome and, for a brief window in the mid ’90s, the Spice Girls Conspiracy.