photo: cbs
Symphony of Illumination
Original Air Date: Dec 5, 2011
Caitlin – Associate Staff Writer
caitlin@thetwocentscorp.com
After what happened two weeks ago, you may be anxious about how things to tonight. With a title like “Symphony of Illumination”, this isn’t an episode to take lightly. (Get it? Illumination? Lightly? I know. I’m sorry.)
Robin just told Barney her big news, which I’ll put under the cut just in case. How does he react? How does she react? We’ll find out when this episode starts right where it left off.
…Well, not exactly. First we get a scene of Robin talking to her future children and telling them how she met their father- presumably Barney, since she and Kevin never had sex. Yeah. And on top of that, Barney, after making some jerky comments and getting punched out a couple times, is happy Robin is pregnant. Or at least that she thinks she is. I’ll let that sink in while you pick your jaw up off the floor.
Robin, on the other hand, isn’t even slightly happy. She can barely be around kids. And soon enough, Barney feels the same way. Never fear, though. She isn’t really pregnant. While they celebrate, Marshall plans to turn his and Lily’s house into one of those massive musical light displays and recruits a kid named Scott who refers to him as Mr. Erikson. But then Robin gets a call from her doctor. Not only is she not pregnant now, she’ll never be able to have kids.
This should be good news, right? But of course it isn’t. She doesn’t want to tell anyone because she knows all they’d all react. (Her visions of them are hilarious and probably true.) So instead she tells them she’ll never be able to be a pole-vaulter. Somehow, they believe her. At least until she runs out of a baby store crying. Also, Marshall gets left up on his roof by Scott, who seems to be very different from the nice kid “Mr. E” took him for at first.
Lily and Ted try to figure out why Robin’s so upset. They joke about her having slept with Barney, but eventually decide she wanted to go home for Christmas. At the house, Scott dissuades Marshall and charms Lily just enough to escape from the mess he left. Back in the city, Ted offers to take Robin to Ohio. It doesn’t help because, of course, that’s not really why she was upset. Those kids she was talking to were fake. But before we fade to black, Ted does manage to at least show his concern for her.
When I first heard Robin was pregnant, I was annoyed that they were possibly taking her away from being a strong woman who didn’t need to have kids. But as I prepared myself for the possibility the pregnancy might be real, I got more accepting of the idea. To have her talking all that time to kids who weren’t real was just cruel. I don’t know what this means for her and Barney, or what it means that she was crying in Ted’s arms. And then there’s the fact she’s still with Kevin, who still doesn’t know she cheated on him. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again- man, has this show become depressing.
Follow @Cait4TTC
TheTwoCents 
I absolutely agree with you. I thought the episode with the cheating and Barney ending up alone was bad, but this episode trumps it all. Whatever happened to the HIMYM that we all looked forward to each week with the banter and the Barney act? I felt so sad after I watched it. I really hope things get better although I have this sick feeling that they can only get worse. I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop with Kevin and for the group to split. Is this a way of showing that the characters have matured and that they are going to embark on a different phase in their lives and relationships? And I don’t see how we are any closer to cracking the mystery of the mother. For several episodes now, it hasn’t been about Ted. I hope the Robney drama comes to an end soon. It is KILLING me! 😦
Remember when Victoria set up the whole Ted/Robin story for the future? I think this episode set that up for us. I still truly believe Barney and Robin end up together but not before Robin and Ted try it one more time. I think Robin will tell Kevin what happened, he’ll leave, she’ll get back with Ted (I mean look at what he did for her!), they’ll date for a bit while Barney dates Becki Newton (he’s done playing around…that’s why we don’t see cheating bad Barney anymore..I sort of like it!) and then in the end, everyone will realize the truth and Barney and Robin get together. Don’t forget, Ted meets the mother at the wedding, so we still have a ways to go!