HIMYM Review: The Poker Game

How I Met Your Mother 

"The Poker Game" Review

Last weeks HIMYM ended with The Karate Kid's Billy Zabka not amused by Ted's returning role as Barneys best man. Immediately I anticipated a slapstick episode with a "war" being waged between the two to follow. Interestingly this did not happen but instead a different war had sparked, this time between Robin and the Stinson family.   

With Barney and Robin's plot they were once again in a bit of a repeated situation, still testing the strength of the relationship. In this case James was making bad jokes about the issues of marriage. Although it did not seem to be affecting Barney negatively in any way making him uneasy at all, Robin was still concerned that it could amount to Barney getting cold feet. Ultimately Robin's hand at a poker game, stripping what was left of James dignity by acquiring his wedding ring proves to be her tactic of revenge.

This situation seemed peculiar at best. It was understandable that James was upset with his divorce, but it wasn't to be expected that he would try and make Barney question marriage. especially as in the previous episodes he was trying to help the couple out.

The same can be said for Robin. Yes she has been known to have a harsh side to herself, but taking her brother-in-laws wedding ring was a little too much to prove a point.

The addition of Loretta (Barneys mum) did not add much to this simply satisfactory story. Her instant distaste in Robin was a little odd seeing as the two seemed comfortable in each others company at the end of Season 8's The Bro Mitzvah. To add insult to injury Barneys outlandish denouncement of his brother and mother at the end was far too crazy. This only seemed to act as an excuse for the war to be officially waged between Robin and Loretta.

As for the remainder of the cast, Ted, Marshall and Lily 's story was actually a lot better than anticipated.

It all begins with Ted bragging that he bought three wedding gifts for Robin and Barney only for Lily to be furious as Ted had supposedly not given her and Marshall a present for their own wedding. 

The structure of this plot was reminiscent of the standard episodes of the previous seasons with multiple flashbacks to uncover the actual truth behind the series of events. Not only was it nice to have flashbacks of the times spent in the apartment, on the roof and in the bar (particularly as I noted last week that the Farhampton location is getting somewhat stale) but the plot was actually funny; from both Ted and Marshall's assumptions that each one had understood their subtle hints, to the present day immature little innuendo's.

A great addition was the return of some old friends, Claudia and Stuart. Although they did not play a tremendous part in the scheme of things, it was intriguing to question why they're not together anymore. (Unless Stuart's shower partner is actually his mistress! if so it could cause some dilemmas during the wedding. But this is just speculative)   

Another nice touch was small glimpse of the Slutty Pumpkin, A nice little memento to keep up with the continuity of the show and to highlight that Ted did not pay that much attention in the search for her for all those years.

Overall The Poker Game would not have survived without the forgotten wedding present scenario. Barney and Robins situation seems to be in a constant state of repetition and was neither interesting nor funny. Luckily the secondary storyline was the opposite, creating a little bit of curiosity about the truth of the gift and providing a fair amount of laughs. 

It has to be noted that the cast of HIMYM stated at the San Diego Comic-Con that their roles in season 9 would remain minimal in order for Ted's part to play as the main focus again. This does not seem to be the case yet. Additionally it is really unfortunate that the mother has not made an appearance again after that lovely introduction and fair amount of screen time in the initial two episodes of the season, ultimately it now feels like a major tease.

7.1/10