The Lighthouse

Marriage is a big commitment, not only to the person you’re with, but to the people involved with them – and especially their family, whether you like them or not. Sometimes you get lucky and find a family who is more than willing to take you in. Sometimes you end up in a war with your mother-in-law-to-be over scrambled eggs and a sparkly blouse. Unfortunately for Robin this week, it was the latter.

Robin finds herself embroiled in a fight with Loretta Stinson when Barney says he would choose Robin over his family. Finding herself on the losing side of a verbal spar, Robin challenges Loretta to a face-off with Robin’s mom over who can make the best scrambled eggs. This is a mistake, according to Barney, who informs Robin that in her heyday as a groupie, Loretta was known as the queen of scrambled eggs, inspiring the original versions of the later-retitled songs “Scramble On” by Led Zeppelin, “The Yoker” by Steve Miller and “She’s Got Eggs” by ZZ Top. Also, if you listen to Dark Side of the Moon while eating her eggs, they line up perfectly.

Turns out the queen still had her touch, and what’s more, Robin’s mom wouldn’t be coming to the wedding after all, because she was too afraid to get on the plane. After Robin’s own fumbled attempt to cook eggs (“Where’s the egg opener? No worries, I’ll pre-scramble them,” she assures, shaking the un-cracked eggs), Loretta makes an off-handed comment about Robin not being able to cook for her kids, inadvertently hitting a sore spot – Robin is infertile.

Though I seem to recall that we already knew about Robin’s inability to have children, the fact serves as an important character point for Robin. After all, she was always the one who didn’t want to marry and couldn’t tolerate kids. Her very subtle drunken revelation to Barney after exiting a club one night, and the sweet hug that they shared afterward, shows that the knowledge hurts Robin more than her tough image would suggest, especially because she didn’t even have her own mom be there for her. But in the end, when Loretta comes to comfort Robin with a simple and sweet hug, it’s clear that Robin will at least have Loretta on her side.

Meanwhile, a probably drunk and angry Lily convinces Ted that he should stop seeking perfection in a woman and instead settle for the “normal-sized” girl that Ted strove so hard to get rid of at pre-wedding drinks. Desperate to get to see the top of a Farhampton lighthouse (which the concierge wouldn’t let Ted go to alone because he feared the romance would be far too much for him) he brings her along. Cut to Lily later reflecting, “Well that was some bad advice.” When she sprains her ankle on the way down, Ted has to carry her to the top of the lighthouse – and when he gets to the top, he pukes. Later, he laments that he ruined the place because he brought the wrong girl. But at the end we get to see a flash forward to him getting down on one knee with the mother and it seems maybe the place wasn’t ruined after all. Yet another piece of their story puzzle has been filled in, and yet we still have no idea how the two of them will meet.

Tid-bits

  • A great C-plot: After Ted’s hippie stepfather stowed along for the ride to help Daphne and Marshall in conflict resolution, Daphne convinces Marshall to find his inner confidence. Inspired, Marshall sets his jaw and pulls away before turning on Daphne in what was by far the best moment of the whole episode. Slowly, through gritted teeth, he states, “You threw a live grenade into my marriage. You screwed up my whole world. So from now on, we listen to my music.” And then we hear the first glorious notes of (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles by the Proclaimers. “I hate this song,” Daphne complains. Retorts Marshall, “Give it time.”
  • I am loving these little throwbacks to the best details of How I Met Your Mother. Bringing in a nod to one of the defining songs of the show and Marshall and Ted’s many pizza road trips in the Fiero with the broken stereo was a wonderful moment for this episode.
  • “Morning bitches! Like my new blouse?”
  • Barney, on Lily’s morning drinking: “You wanna make this brunch a drunch? You do you, I’m not gonna judge.”