Barney complains the pickings are slim at MacLaren's and when his friends point out an attractive group of young women, he tells the gang about the Cheerleader Effect (and several of its permutations). Basically, sometimes women look hot in a group, but when you look at each one individually, you realize it was just an illusion. Soon after, he gets news that a recent lover might be pregnant. The Hell!?! This episode is supposed to be about Lily and Marshall, and I've been expecting that. Bracing myself for it, even. But Barney? Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh. (Grr. Arrgh.)
Marshall and Lily have come down with baby fever, thanks in part to their Dowisetrepla neighbor, Charlotte, and her bouncing baby boy, Jeremy who's leaving his bewitching socks all over Dowistrepla. On the night they've set aside for their first attempt at conception, Marshall has to stay late at work for a teleconference with China, so Lily has Ted and Robin over to Dowisetrepla to talk about the big baby decision. Marshall only seems to see the cute side of babies like their socks and sockless feet, while Lily's been getting insider information from the strung out, sleep-deprived, sex-deprived, adult-conversation deprived Charlotte, so she's less gung-ho. Ted's pro-kids and Robin's not, so Lily pours herself a(nother) big glass of red wine (just like me!) and listens to their arguments, which are what you'd expect. After downing the whole bottle of wine by herself, Lily is aboard Robin's train of thought, until she finds one of Jeremy's socks and melts into a puddle with a blood alcohol content that would get you arrested. Baby socks are like that. Baby toes are even worse. Er…unless you find them lying around your apartment. Anyhow, while Robin and Ted argue about Lily's future, Lily disappears.
Barney, meanwhile, is so excited to find his…er…lady friend is not in the family way, that he decides invents a holiday: Not A Father's Day. He's even set up a website where people can get T-shirts, mugs, greeting cards, and bless the creators, they've done it again. Check out NotAFathersDay.com (sponsored by GNB, no less). Uninformed about Marshall and Lily's latest discussions, he of course shares this celebration with Marshall at every turn.
Ted and Robin bicker all the way to MacLaren's where they hope to find Lily, but instead find Barney inducting men into his new Not-A-Father cult. He's baptizing them with Scotch, and making them recite a pledge (which you can read at the website). Back at GNB, Marshall's beginning his teleconference with China, while Lily's outside the conference room, performing a suggestive pantomime, and eventually disrobing. Marshall can't concentrate on his presentation, knowing Lily is raising Cain in the hallways of GNB, so he makes his excuses and goes after her. When Lily wants to go dancing, he remembers that whenever she gets drunk, she falls asleep in the cab, so rather than arguing with her, he agrees, and she passes out immediately. He has the cabbie do a couple of rounds around the block for good measure.
While Robin's in the MacLaren's lady's room, Marshall calls Robin's cell phone to let her know he's got Lily. Ted takes the liberty of answering it, and finds Jeremy's sock in her purse. Even Robin can't resist the pull of the baby sock. She has a heart to heart with Ted. She's unemployed and homeless, and sleeping on Lily and Marshall's couch has her down. Ted invites Robin to move into his spare bedroom. Barney joins them at the table, and tells them about his latest Not A Father's Day ideas. He thinks his new gang of bros are cool, 'til Robin and Ted point out he's just fallen victim to the latest permutation of the Cheerleader Effect. Once they've convinced him, they're off. Robin leaves behind the sock, and it casts its spell over an unsuspecting Barney.
The day, Lily makes Marshall a special breakfast to atone for her drunken behavior. Marshall confesses that caring for her while drunk helped him to realize he's not ready for the commitment yet. They decide to wait a while, but will have fully protected sex, just as soon as Marshall's eaten his bacon. Thanks for sharing, guys.
End Tag: Barney's singing a particularly angsty version of "Cat's In the Cradle" at some club on open mike night. As part of his big finish, he pulls Jeremy's sock out of his hand. Oh, Barney. You're think you're torn up, now. Wait 'til you find out Robin's moving into Ted's place.
Wait for it... Wait for it... the full weecap is coming on Wednesday. Until then, see our favorite HIMYM catchphrases.
Barney is unimpressed with the talent at MacLaren's tonight. "And the more I drink, the less attractive they get. I am one scotch and soda away from the Cantina scene in Star Wars. Watch it, Barney. You keeping going in that direction and you'll end up talking yourself into marriage. Ted points out six attractive young women occupying the rounded booth in the corner. Barney says they're not hot. Lily disagrees. She knows they're hot because she hated them as soon as she spotted them. "In fact, I hated them almost as much as I hated Robin when I first met her." In her savant-like way, I think she just nailed Barney's issue with the talent. They're not Robin. Robin says, "You hated me?" Lily replies, "A lot." Robin, who is looking particularly hot tonight, is touched. Marshall thinks the women are hot, too. Barney's disgusted at his friends' lack of discernment, and tells them they've just become victims of the Cheerleader Effect. "The Cheerleader Effect is when a group of women seems hot - but only as a group. Just like with cheerleaders - they seem hot, but take each one of them individually? Sled dogs." When Ted says that's insane, Barney encourages everyone to take a good, hard look at each woman. And oh, my. Sled dogs on the way to Hell. The last one shown is played by Jason Segal, and you know all I can think is that I'm grateful I don't have to look at his real hair for a moment (although it looks better in the cold open than in most of the episode). Marshall and Lily both agree that last one is kind of cute. Hee.On the way from the barstools to their table, Barney lists some permutations of The Cheerleader Effect: "The Bridesmaid Paradox; Sorority Girl Syndrome; and for a brief window in the Nineties, the Spice Girls Conspiracy. Scary Spice, indeed." Oh c'mon. Who's scarier than Posh? Once they're seated, Barney's phone rings. After intentionally mumbling his name, he has a short conversation. "Oh, hi! Okay. Got it. Great, we'll be in touch." After he hangs up, he simply says, "Huh." Ted says, "What?" Barney says, "Apparently, I'm going to be a dad."
Theme song!
That kept your ass on the couch, didn't it? Ted says, "What do you mean you're going to be a dad? How did this happen?" How do you think, Ted? Oh - look, Robin's giving him the "How do you think, Ted?" look. Thanks, Robin. Barney explains it was some girl he hooked up with a few weeks back. She's not sure yet; she's going to the doctor in the morning. The more interesting story, and the one we never hear, would be how this woman got Barney's real name and phone number. Lily suggests the pregnancy could just be a false alarm, but Barney's ego won't hear of it. "Lily, no part of Barney Stinson does anything less than 110%." Oh, Barney, don't be that guy. I don't mean with the women; I'm a realist. I mean with that 110% garbage. You get 100 or less, you hear? "If one of my little Michael Phelpses got loose - he's swimming for the gold." Voice shaking, Barney stands. "Oh, this is a nightmare. I don't want kids. Who in their right mind would want ever kids?" Hand to forehead, he walks out of the bar.
Marshall and Lily's sly looks at one another answer Barney's question, as does Saget!Ted, who explains that when you're 30ish and in a couple, you start to see babies everywhere. Flashback to Lily and Marshall sitting on the Dowistrepla stoop, oohing and ahhing as women push carriages down the sidewalk - first one baby, then twins, then triplets. I went to church with a guy who was a triplet. His mother had her babies like that, first a singleton, then twins, then triplets. I like to imagine she then performed the first at-home vasectomy on his father. I always wanted children (and have three), but if I'd seen triplets when my husband and were first discussing starting our family, that would have sent me running for an IUD, a tubal ligation, and a hysterectomy, on my way to the pharmacy to pick up my birth control pills and a box of sponges. Triplets outnumber you from the start. Anyhow, a mom walks by with a baby in one of those front-pack baby carriers. She's got a dog, which is soon followed by four adorable puppies. Marshall says, "Oh, come on." In these days of pooper-scooper laws, I think I'd go for the baby before I went for the dog. Eventually, the baby's going to take care of its own excretions.
Saget!Ted explains that Marshall and Lily's baby fever is being helped along by their new neighbor Charlotte and her baby, Jeremy. As Lily and Charlotte talk, Marshall (whose hair looks worse than it did in MacLaren's) holds Jeremy on his lap. "Did you lose a sock there, little dude?" Marshall retrieves the sock from the floor. "Oooh, that is without a doubt the cutest little thing I've ever seen." Lily looks distracted as Charlotte coos and comes over to retrieve Jeremy, but soon Marshall and Lily share a warm look. That night, they have the talk. Lily tries to be serious and responsible, wondering about their work schedules and their debt, but Marshall's in full on baby thrall. I blame the sock. He finally says, "Let's have a baby." Lily doesn't answer, but they kiss, and Marshall lays her down on the couch. She says, "Ooh, right now? Oh-okay," as Marshall chuckles.
Saget!Ted says there was just one thing in their way, as Robin walks into the room, wearing her jammies, carrying what looks to be a bottle of beer and a quart of ice cream. "Scooch over. I TiVoed The View." Saget!Ted adds, "And that thing happened to be unemployed and sleeping on their couch." Robin then pours her drink onto her ice cream and starts mixing it in, so I'm going to decide right here and now that it's root beer, because the thought that it could be regular beer is making me gag. When Marshall asks Robin how the job and apartment search is going, she snarks, "Oh you didn't hear? I'm the lead anchor on CNN. And? I got a penthouse, overlooking Central Park, made of gold. Get your head out of your ass, Marshall." I like slightly depressed and edgy Robin. She cuts some of the Marshall/Lily sweetness - like bacon with your pancakes. Saget!Ted says Marshall and Lily realized if they were going to start a family, the had to plan ahead.
Flash forward to MacLaren's - it's the same night we saw in the cold open. Lily shoves Robin off on Ted for the following night, because she's "cooking Marshall dinner." Marshall's face is all, "I'M HAVING THE SECKS!" Robin warns Ted that he'd better not be as uptight as Marshall and Lily about her shooting beer cans on the roof, and mocks them soundly. Marshall says, "Enjoy her, Ted. She's in a real good place, right now." Lily pats Ted's arm.
Cut to Barney, in church. No, the roof hasn't caved in. He's ramping up to make some big promises. "God, it's me, Barney. What up? I know we don't talk much, though a lot of girls call out your name because of me. Awesome!" No lightning yet. Huh. "But God, if you could get me out of this, I swear I will never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ev..." His cell phone rings. A handful of elderly people in front of him turn and glare. He puts God on hold with a, "Oooh, hang on, Bro." Still no lightning. He leans back in the pew and gestures for the other parishioners to get back to their business, then answers the phone. "Go for Barney." His eyes grow wide. "Really?" Cut to outside. There's happy Hollywood Musical Dance Number-style music playing, as Barney does a fantabulous dance out the door of the church and all the way down the sidewalk. It's definite rewind material. When he dances his way into Marshall's office, he says, "Marshall, great news. I'm not a father." Marshall congratulates him, but I think Barney should be doing the congratulating, considering Marshall's hair isn't at its most hideous in this scene. Instead, Barney blathers on about how wonderful it is to not be an expectant father. He's so happy, he's creating a holiday: Not A Father's Day (Barney: Title high five!). He reasons that everyone else gets a day: "Mothers, Fathers, Bastilles. Why can't there be a day for people who are single and like it that way?" The parents in the audience whisper, "That's everyday." Marshall says, "Oh well now you just sound like the chubby girl on Valentine's Day." Heh.
Kevin Arnold's father walks in and makes me realize how much I like narrated shows - this one, The Wonder Years, Pushing Daisies are just a few. Dan Lauria is playing Marshall's boss, Nolan. Barney asks him how his kids are, then laughs a nasty little laugh. He asks Marshall if he's ready for tonight and the "big merger." Marshall gets all bashful and says that's between him and his wife. Nolan reminds them they have a teleconference with Mr. Li in China. Marshall protests that it's supposed to be a breakfast meeting. Nolan explains that it is a breakfast meeting...in China.
Cut to Lily cooking up a storm. Marshall calls. "Hey babe, it's breakfast time in China." Lily puts on a sexy voice. "Yeah it is." Marshall says, "Not a euphemism. I--wait, what would that even mean?" Lily says, "I don't know. Hot buns, spicy pork - there' something there. You're not coming home tonight, are you?" Marshall, much like my youngest child, shakes his head no, even though he's communicating via telephone. Lily says, "Are you shaking your head 'no'?" Marshall nods his head yes. Lily says, "I thought so." These two are so cute I could eat them with a spoon.
Nighttime at Dowistrepla. Lily's drinking a big old glass of red wine. Since Marshall aborted their dinner plans (bad word choice?) she has invited Robin and Ted over to get their input on the big decision, but she can't get out the word "baby" and keeps talking about her plans with Marshall for "dinner" and not knowing whether she's ready for "dinner." When Ted says he had an early lunch so he's ready for dinner, Lily blurts out that dinner is a baby. Ted's still ready. Robin gasps and clutches her hand to her chest. "Lily, that's horrible!" Is Robin already drunk? Lily explains she needs their help in figuring out if she and Marshall are ready to have a baby. Ted says they can't make the decision for her - it's huge. Robin says, "You know what else is huge? Marshall's head. That thing's the size of a late August watermelon. Marshall's baby coming through there? Yowza!" Instinctively, I cross my legs. Ted gives Robin a look and asks Lily what Marshall thinks. Robin's on fire tonight. "Probably a lot in that 1950s space helmet of a head he's walking around with." Lily explains that Marshall only seems to see the cute side of having babies, while Lily's been getting insider information on the hard parts, from the strung out, sleep-deprived, sex-deprived, adult-conversation deprived, tear-stained mother Charlotte, which explains Lily's look when Jeremy bewitched Marshall with his stray sock and naked baby toes. Lily pours herself another big glass of wine as she frets that she's going to be more strung out than Charlotte, whose husband works at home - dealing pot - but he's a very involved parent. Oh, dear. She's afraid with Marshall's work load that all the baby work will fall on her.
Barney and a couple of co-workers, all with beers, find Marshall in the conference room, setting up for the meeting. Barney announces that Not A Father's Day is a hit. He's even set up a website where people can get T-shirts, mugs, greeting cards, and God bless the creators, they've done it again. Check out NotAFathersDay.com (sponsored by GNB, no less).
Back at Dowistrepla, Ted says Lily is just panicking and focusing on the negatives, while Robin thinks Lily is being realistic. Since Ted's pro-kids and Robin's against them, Lily pours herself another big glass of red wine and has them present their cases. Ted thinks you never feel ready and should just go ahead and do it. If your life is stable and you and your partner want to have children together, he's pretty much right. You're never ready enough for the big stuff - marriage, buying a home, having a baby. No matter how prepared you are; it's still always more of a leap than a step. Robin and Lily mock him that he only thinks that way because he's a total dad already - corny jokes, guilt-laden lectures and all. All he needs are the kids. Lily says Robin's kicking his ass so far, and that it's time to go negative. Nooooooooooo. The election is over. Don't do it. Ted's not listening to me. He says Robin's problem can be summed up in three words: "Scared of babies." He might as well have said, "She's a socialist." Ahem. Anyhow, he explains Robin's freaked out by Ted's cousin's baby, Lily's friend's baby, and even the talking baby commercial. Does Ted underestimate the creepiness of that commercial? Ted reminds Lily how much she loves children and how much they love her back. Robin reminds Lily that she has plans: grad school, teaching art at the college level (really?), and she thinks Lily ought to focus on Project Lily before she starts on Project Baby.
A now drunken Lily is aboard Robin's train, until she finds one of Jeremy's socks and melts into a puddle with a blood-alcohol content that would get your arrested. Lily announces, "I'm having a baby." When Robin raises objections, Lily can only reply, "But...sock!" Baby socks are like that. Baby toes are even worse. Ted makes a corny-dad joke about the sock being the "sock-out punch." Robin says, "Shut up, Dad." Ted says, "You shut up, baby-hater." Um, good one? Robin tells Ted that babies are scary with their giant eyes. "And come on, the soft spot? If there's going to be a self-destruct button, at least hide it somewhere it won't accidentally get pressed." While Robin and Ted are arguing about Lily's future, Lily disappears. I remember feeling like I'd disappeared when my babies were little, but I digress. (Not really, babies. And hey, what are you doing reading this? Send your therapy bills to Saget!Ted. He's going to get so many; he'll never notice a few more.) Ted and Robin notice she's gone, and that the wine bottle is empty, even though neither of them had a drop.
Meanwhile, at GNB, Marshall's got five minutes before his big meeting. Even his boss is nervous about meeting with Mr. Li, so he tells Marshall to bring his "A-Game." Marshall goes to his office to find Lily, well in her cups (and a pretty short nightie), lying across his desk, telling him to put a baby in her. "Put your melon-headed spawn in my belly." You can tell Alyson Hannigan is pregnant, because she is working some nice cleavage here. Marshall panics and draws the blinds after Lily starts waving to men in other offices who are looking at his drunken, scantily clad wife in heavy seduction mode.
In a cab, still not driven by Ranjit (boo), Ted frets about losing Lily. Robin says this is why she's not having kids. "You can't let them out of your sight for even a second.
At GNB, Marshall can't find the file he needs for the teleconference, while Alyson Hannigan suffers through playing the world's worst, least convincing drunk (but to be fair to her, the writers are stretching the point of how caring for the inebriated and caring for a baby are similar - when everyone knows it's toddlers that are the real dry drunks). Cut to the cab, while Robin says, "They just sit there with their stupid bottles." Cut to Lily drinking wine straight from the bottle in Marshall's office. Cut to Robin saying babies cry. Cut to Lily crying like a baby when Marshall takes the bottle from her - so he gives it back. Cut to Robin saying babies spit up. Cut to Lily heaving in Marshall's wastebasket. Cut to Robin saying, "And that's why kids suck." Ted says it's a good think they broke up. "I'd forgotten how totally psycho you are on the kids thing." Robin says, "I'm psycho? Every time you even hear the word kids, you get two little lactation stains on your shirt." Hee! Ted says, "Thank God you're not a mom. Any baby nursing from you would get brain freeze." For a sensitive guy, Ted can be stunningly insensitive. That was a little mean. Funny, but mean.
Ted and Robin bicker all the way to MacLaren's where they hope to find Lily, but instead find Barney inducting men into his new Not-A-Father cult. Robin makes the (valid) point that there are plenty of normal people who don't want to have kids, and not to sermonize, but she's right. I can't remember not wanting to be a mother, but I admire people who have the presence of mind to know it's not what they want. Robin and Ted pause to watch as Barney swears his latest inductee into his new cult. He has the man lay his hand upon a box of condoms and recite the pledge: "I, (state the fake name you give to women), vow to always choose wet T-shirts over wet diapers..." And Mr. "Johnny Banana" begins his pledge as Ted snarks that Robin is in great company. She ignores that last dig and says she's going to look for Lily in the bathroom. "While I'm in there, I'll grab you a tampon." Ted says, "Great, great, and when you're done shaking off at the urinal, maybe you could ask the wizard to give you a heart." These two (actors and characters) are having entirely too much fun bickering, I tell you what. Robin says, "You know what, maybe I should find somewhere else to stay this weekend." Ted says he's not arguing. Robin says, "Fine," and walks off. Meanwhile, Barney welcomes his latest inductee, "To our fraternity of non-paternity," and baptizes him with scotch. Barney shouts, "He is one of us!" and the crowd of men surrounding Barney cheers.
Back at GNB, Marshall begins his teleconference with China, only to see Lily rolling down the hallway backwards in an office chair powered only by her drunkenness and an ejaculating fire extinguisher. Marshall says, "Whoa," and then tries to cover that he just thinks Nolan looks nice today. Lily comes back down the hallway, performing a suggestive pantomime. Nolan notices that Marshall keeps looking out into the hallway and asks what he's looking at. Marshall says, "I am looking at the future of our two companies and it looks very..." Lily has disrobed and peeks from behind the corner, waving her nightie in the air. "Naked. Excuse me, just for a brief second." My word, I hope he keeps this job. Their debt has me tense. In this economy? I'd let her flap in the breeze, and would deny ever having met her. It's not like she has I.D. tucked in her belly button. Nolan is freaked when Marshall walks out. Via teleconference, Mr. Li says, "Did anyone else see the drunk chick?"
At MacLaren's the guys present Barney a picture of himself -- with no kids -- framed in a macaroni art frame. Robin returns to the table where Ted is seated, announcing that Lily wasn't in the ladies' room. Ted tells her that her phone rang while she was gone, so he answered it. "I hope you don't mind." Robin says she doesn't. It was Marshall saying he has Lily and that she's fine. And I'm sure she is, but how's his career? Ted's eyes take on a soft look as he regards Robin, smiles and nods. She says, "What?" Ted tells her that when he was putting her phone back, he found something else in her bag. Robin says, "I have a permit for that. And the other thing was a gift!" Ted says, "No. This," and takes out the baby sock. Robin is speechless. Ted tilts his head and gloats, in a sweet way. "You stole Jeremy's sock." Robin denies taking it at first, but finally admits it. She picks up the sock and gazes at it. "It's just...so cute. Sock." Ted asks if she's warming to the idea of having children. Robin says, "No. I don't know. Maybe someday. When I'm like seventy. Science will catch up." Maybe so, but you won't be able to keep up. Having a baby only takes nine months and one very hard day. Being a mother is forever. Robin tries again. "Look, I'm just confused lately. I'm unemployed. I'm living on a couch." Ted acknowledges it's been a rough couple of months for both of them, then invites Robin to move into his spare bedroom until she finds a place. Robin says, "Really?" Ted says, "Yeah." I say, "Rebound Sex Five!" Robin says she already has some leads so it will only be a couple of weeks at most. Saget!Ted says, "And that's how your Aunt Robin moved in with me." We'd better get the goat story this year. I'm just saying.
At GNB, Marshall carries Lily back into his office. She's dressed in his suit jacket. She says she's bored, and wants to go dancing. "Or, let's rob a liquor store." Marshall says they're not going anywhere. "Whenever we go somewhere when you're drunk, you always fall asleep as soon as we get in the..." The music of I've Got A Brilliant Idea plays as Marshall gets a brilliant idea. Cut to outside. Marshall puts Lily in a cab and I think he's going to leave her there and go back to his presentation, but no. She scoots over rambling about partying all night long. We jump ahead a few minutes and she's snoring. Marshall whispers to the cabbie. "Hey, can you circle the block a couple of times, just to make sure she's really down?" I hope so, because this was a pretty good episode, except for the heavy-handedness of the Drunks Are Just Like Babies parallels, and I'm ready for it to be put to bed, aren't you?
At MacLaren's, Barney joins Robin and Ted and tells them about his latest Not A Father's Day brainstorm. "A pregnancy test, but instead of a little blue line, there's a little blue Barney going like this." He gives double thumbs up and smiles. You can see a prototype on the website. Ted says, "Barney, Not A Father's Day is lame. It's a holiday for losers." Barney disagrees. He thinks his new gang of bros are cool, 'til Robin and Ted point out he's just fallen victim to the latest permutation of the Cheerleader Effect. At Robin's bidding, he looks at each guy individually. They're every bit as fugly as the women in the cold open, and again, the last one is played by Jason Segal, and OH MY EYES! OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! I'll try to stop bitching so much about Marshall's hair. Just turn it off. I get it. I get it. Things could be worse. Uncle. Make it go away. Make it stop. Jason's hair is nearly gone in this scene, but what's there is long, stringy, greasy as hell, and straight as a stick. He's sucking on a lollipop and picking a hair or lint or something out of his mouth. Oh, the humanity. My brain is broken. I only hope it was in service of convincing Segal that he needs a new 'do. Robin points out, that these "geniuses aren't childless by choice, my friend." Once they've convinced him, Robin and Ted take off. Barney grimaces as he looks to his cult members, and then turns toward the table, where he finds Jeremy's sock, which casts its spell over poor, unsuspecting Barney. "Sock!"
The day, Lily makes Marshall a special breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes (which do nothing for me - too much sweetness) and bacon (yum) to atone for her drunken behavior. She apologizes profusely and explains she was just freaking out about whether they were ready to be parents. "But you took such good care of me, I know you're going to be a great dad." Marshall closes his eyes for a second, then looks up at his wife. "I don't want to be a dad, right now." He confesses that it was too much balancing work with "Drunk baby Lily" (in case you missed the parallels - which I can only imagine happening if you didn't watch the show, and skipped to this paragraph of the weecap). "I've just started this job, and I'm working such long hours. I mean..." Let's hope you still have a job, my friend. Marshall tells Lily he loves her and that he wants to have kids someday, but just wants to be ready for it. Lily agrees, because the magical sock of enthrallment is no longer in their apartment. She adds that when they are ready for it she knows Marshall is going to be amazing. Marshall says, "You, too." They kiss and Lily suggests they go have completely protected sex right now. Marshall agrees. Lily says, "Do you want to finish your bacon first?" Marshall looks into her eyes with great intent. "You are the perfect woman." My husband laughs and we fade to black.
End Tag: Barney's on stage at a nightclub, on what must be karaoke night. Do they still have those? Really? Why? Mustering all the angst he can, he works out his Bob Barker issues in song. "And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon. Little boy blue and the man in the moon. When you coming home, Dad? I don't know when. But we'll get together then, son. You know we'll have a good time, then." He's in tears as he makes his big finish (that's what she said), and pulls Jeremy's sock out of his hand, then pushes the mike to the floor and stumbles off stage. Oh, Barney. You think you're torn up, now? Wait 'til you find out Robin's moving into Ted's place.
Do you think they'll work Alyson Hannigan's pregnancy into the season? E-mail me at CynthiaMcLennan[at]gmail.com, and let me know.Learn all the catch-phrases that HIMYM has introduced to the lexicon with our How I Met Your Mother: The New Verbiage gallery.