photo: cbs
How I Met Your Mother
The Ducky Tie
Original Air Date: Sep 26, 2011
Caitlin – Associate Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com
Last week, Victoria walked back into the show after so many years of there never quite being closure between her and Ted. We got closure of a sort tonight, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
Besides that drama, the rest of the episode was mostly composed of knife twirling, pregnancy boobs, and manipulation worthy of Ivan Pavlov. All in all, the kinds of things we’ve come to expect from this show.
The gang, with Marshall’s encouragement and Barney’s opposition, decides to go to one of those theatrical hibachi restaurants. There, Barney bets Marshall that he can pull off the fancy techniques used. If he’s right, he gets to touch Lily’s breasts. If he’s wrong, he has to wear a rubber duck-printed tie for a year. With the track records of bets between these two, we can guess who will win.
All the while, Ted tells them about meeting Victoria. Save for Robin making things cringingly awkward, it went well. He apologized for cheating on her and offered to do the dishes she left behind at her restaurant. Later, though, she says it’s weird that he hangs out with both Robin and Barney, given their history. And then she tells him she’s getting married.
Ted is understandably taken aback by this news. I’m not sure he has much room to be annoyed, but Victoria did start seeing this guy almost immediately after they broke up. Regardless, their conversation leads to them kissing. She admits she wasn’t completely sure how she felt, and that the kiss was something of a test. She leaves to get on a bus back home.
Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily realize Barney isn’t drunk like they thought and seems to know how to work the grill. His subtle actions actually got them to go to the restaurant. Or did they? Just as Lily’s about to let him see her breasts to drop the bet, they realize that may have just been what he wanted them to think. They go back the grill and she flashes him anyway. He soon sentences himself to one year imprisoned in a duck tie.
The episode ends with Victoria leaving again, though I doubt we’ve really seen the last of her. She says she actually thought the reason they never worked was Robin. Now there’s something I didn’t see coming. In the last scene, future Ted reflects back on him, Robin, and Barney while recalling Victoria’s words and saying “it didn’t work”. Just what is that supposed to mean?
So, most of this episode was a lot of fun. I still love Victoria, and who doesn’t love hibachi grills? But what about that last line? We’ve always known Ted and Robin will never end up together and that they’ll all still be friends by the time Ted has kids. I’d like to think it was a tricky way of saying Robin and Barney won’t (just) be friends; they’ll be together, but it just seemed so ominous. I hope I’m just being paranoid…
Follow @Cait4TTC
TheTwoCents 
I still like Victoria too. I think we will see her again. Also hoping to see Robin and Barney together again.