Hard to believe and not very funny, “Bad Crazy” breaks HIMYM‘s recent winning streak.
Most times, I can accept the less-than-logical plot points of How I Met Your Mother. Such as, how Ted can possibly have attracted 30-plus women all while being really awkward and kind of obnoxious. Or how Barney manages to escape so many one-night-stands without any apparent venereal diseases. Or how Ted could possibly have told this whole story in one day. But I accept these stretches because the characters have made me believe that these things could be true, or at least have made me laugh pretty hard even when I don’t.
I like to think of this episode as a series of plot stretches that didn’t really work so well.
The trouble really begins with Ted’s new girlfriend, Jeanette, who is so crazy that it’s impossible to believe that Ted has gone on more than one date with her, let alone remained together with her for so long. Sure, maybe Ted is desperate, but she’s not his type, and I’m not buying it. Then, Ted can’t even properly break up with her, and I don’t buy the exceptionally poor advice that Lily delivers to Ted at the end of the episode like some message of pure wisdom. They’re not good together, he’s not benefiting by staying with her. (Even if we’re going to believe Mike Tyson’s belief that a crazy woman is a product of a crazy man.) Telling him to be with her so they can fuel each other’s supposed craziness and then literally end in flames is not the advice a good friend would give. Instead, it’s an excuse to prolong another of Ted’s relationships and cause some sort of delayed eureka moment when Ted realizes he’s hit the bottom and he needs to find The One.
Robin’s plotline, however, is pretty fitting. We’re seeing her develop from someone who could barely see herself being married to someone who’s engaged and seems to be experiencing some maternal longing. She has long avoided holding baby Marvin — even going to the lengths of pouring wine on herself in a moment of panic — because she’s afraid of dropping him. But when Lily and Robin are out and Lily realizes she’s left Marvin’s favorite binky on the bus, (I am NOT gonna let this be the reason he resents me later in life), she goes to retrieve it, leaving Robin with a crying, affection-hungry Marvin. Then it all goes to hell as Robin allows a stranger to hold Marvin, lets the stroller roll away, takes him to a strip club, and then leaves Marvin with the stranger so she can go to the bathroom. Oh yeah, and the stranger was Mike Tyson. The joke went on for far too long and really only for the tiny reward of seeing the whole scene replayed with Mike Tyson awkwardly cooing baby sounds and weird relationship advice.
Barney and Marshall have funny moments as apartment stockers and guarders and relationship advice givers (if you count pointing out the obvious and coming up with the rational solution as advice) but not in a way that really carried this episode. (I knew it was a bad omen when I couldn’t get down a funny one-liner in the opening bit. The best I got was: “No more dating, I’m ready to settle down.” Oy.)
This was a disappointing low moment for amidst otherwise improving string of episodes. Clearly Jeanette will be around for at least one more episode, but hopefully the writers will find a more creative end for their relationship than just Ted dumping her and her going berserk (again).
Tidbits:
–Things the guys keep in Ted’s Clubhouse: Canoe, cotton candy machine, Boba Fett costume, an arcade game, a scooter, and a horse.
–The past two episodes have made use of self-aware audio effects, and they’ve both been pretty funny. This week, Barney’s guise of fixing his old Swiss cuckoo clock that sung out every time Ted revealed a fact about crazy Jeanette was perfect.
–“Maybe the old lady with the face tattoo is right.”
–On Ted’s red cowboy boots: “So did Lily leave these boots here, or was it some other bitch?”
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