How I Met Your Mother – Recap & Review – The Exploding Meatball Sub

photo: cbs

How I Met Your Mother
The Exploding Meatball Sub

Original Air Date: Apr 11, 2011

Caitlin- Associate Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com

After several weeks without many episodes, How I Met Your Mother is finally back and ready to take us through the rest of the season. Though not as major an episode as some, this week saw Marshall pursuing his dreams of being an environmental lawyer.

The episode featured three plots, all connected. Barney and Robin’s came from Marshall leaving GNB, and the show’s established and current couples played off each other in the differences between their relationships.

What differences? Primarily the fact Marshall and Lily agree on everything, while Ted and Zoey, well, don’t. This means that Lily is eager to support Marshall as he prepares to finally leave GNB, much to Barney’s dismay. It also means that Ted is determined to be happy with Zoey, even when she works with a landmark preservation foundation to try and save the Arcadia- and kill his building plans in the process.

Robin realizes Barney is upset over Marshall leaving because of issues with his father, while Lily hears her husband announce his new job is a volunteer position, that their home will play host to an environmental party, and that he wants her to pick up an ecologist from the airport. Still, she shows support for Zoey and Ted, which makes Ted realize he’s not at all happy. She’s taken him to help her pick up the ecologist- or rather to make him do it himself, because she’s leaving on a trip she and Marshall had planned to Spain, unable to handle more sacrifices for him.

Seeming over Marshall’s new work himself, Barney asks him to lunch. When Marshall refuses, though, he destroys his office, all in front of Robin. As Lily tells Ted she’s upset about many things (like saying she’s okay with waiting to have kids) and seems to jet off, Robin tries to get Barney to tell her the truth by telling him a totally made up story that is clearly based off The Telltale Heart (it even sounds like Poe). And Barney confesses…that he was upset he never got to prank Marshall with an exploding meatball sub.

As you might expect, Lily doesn’t actually go to Spain. She shows up just as Ted is about to break the news to Marshall. Once she does return, Marshall tells her he’s going to try to find a job with an actual income. As everything goes back to being okay for them, Ted realizes he can’t be with Zoey. Unfortunately, this realization triggers “graduation goggles”, a concept explained by Robin after Marshall’s wistful last day at GNB that means you miss something the moment you’re about to leave it, no matter how damaging it used to be.

Tonight’s episode had a nice blend of drama and comedy, not being as overwhelmingly serious a several previous ones. I was mildly disappointed we didn’t get another serious moment with Barney at the end of the day, but I think the writers made the right decision- Barney’s been the way we’ve known him for a long time, and it wouldn’t be good to change him too quickly. I didn’t really like the episode end tag, though- making his friends think he’s dying is cruel, even for him. Above all, I just loved the concept of graduation goggles- from my own experience in high school, I can confirm they’re true.