 |
| "The Rough Patch" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 7 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | Chris Harris |
| Production code | 5ALH07 |
| Original air date | November 9, 2009 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Rough Patch" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 95th episode overall. It originally aired on November 9, 2009.
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(May 2014) |
Future Ted explains the gang's apprehension as Barney and Robin entered the later months of their relationship. Barney gives Ted all of his porn. Marshall can tell Barney is serious about Robin since he has developed "relationship gut" – weight put on when in a stable relationship from eating so much food. While trying to dispose of the porn after Marshall and Lily leave, Ted ends up watching a movie called "Archisexture", but the movie is suddenly overlapped by a message from Barney. The message assumes Barney is either dead or in a committed relationship, which he tells Ted to save him from. After showing the tape to Lily and Marshall, Ted starts to agree with the past Barney. Barney and Robin now have a declining attitude towards each other and their relationship, with Barney becoming morbidly obese and lethargic, and while Robin becomes haggard and snaps at him unreasonably (although Future Ted admits he is exaggerating and that they only let themselves go a little). Lily and Marshall just think the couple is going through a rough patch, and convince Ted not to interfere.
At MacLaren's, Marshall watches Barney eat an entire plate of ribs and asks him directly if he is happy. Not giving a proper answer, Barney describes his relationship in a depressing manner, convincing Marshall that he is unhappy. He and Ted ask Lily to help break up Barney and Robin, given her experience in plotting breakups. [1] Since Lily has reformed her ways, Ted plans a repeat of what broke up his relationship with Robin, involving champagne and a wedding ring. [2] Much to their surprise, the plan results in the couple mutually surrendering to the idea of matrimony, and after they announce it in the bar, Lily agrees to break them up properly.
Lily has a plan to remind the couple of their four biggest arguments: dirty dishes, [3] Barney's ex-girlfriends, Stormtroopers, and a Canadian-American war. She contacts Robin's friend, Alan Thicke, to meet the couple at their usual diner, along with one of Barney's insane one-night stands, Meg (April Bowlby), a passing actor dressed as a Stormtrooper, and a busboy carrying dirty dishes.
The gang stakes out the location in a rented station wagon. Marshall is annoyed at Ted for being too cheap to rent a proper stake-out van, Thicke and Meg arrive and apparently know each other, and Lily was unable to find a Stormtrooper and instead finds a man dressed as the robot from Lost in Space , as she thinks Stormtroopers are also robots. As they argue over the station wagon and a pizza delivery, Barney and Robin look right in their direction. Ted and Marshall think their cover is blown, but Lily executes the plan anyway. As the plan unfolds, they notice that neither Barney nor Robin are angry or arguing, and they kiss each other before leaving the diner.
In MacLaren's the gang share a beer with Thicke and the pizza delivery boy, and Robin stops by and explains that she and Barney have broken up. What the gang thought was Robin and Barney looking at them was really the couple aghast at their own reflections. The realization makes them examine their relationship and they agree that "two awesomes cancel each other out", making them less than they want to be, so they break up. Barney laments that they will not be able to go back to being friends, but Robin tells him not think of it as a break-up but as getting back together as friends. They quickly avoid all of Lily's traps and kiss each other goodbye. Although Robin says it might take Barney a while to recover from the breakup, he appears as his old self, catching enticing glances from most of the women in the bar and declaring "Daddy's home".
Before he leaves, Thicke reveals that he and Robin starred in a short-lived Canadian variety show. Barney runs off to find the footage.
Reviewer Scott Tobias from The A.V. Club , though skeptical of fat suits for what he describes as the Norbit Rule , felt it was worth it thanks to the "I'm my own wingman tonight" quip, and thought everything Alan Thicke related was funny. He is disappointed to see the show retreat back to where it was before but accepts Barney and Robin are not same characters unless independent. He gives the episode a rating of A− describing it as a near-classic. [4]
Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode 7.8 out of 10. [5]
Joel Keller of TV Squad notes this episode makes particularly effective use of Future Ted (Bob Saget) and the exaggerations and distortions he lends to the story, from fat Barney and haggard Robin, to the video flying magically into the player. [6]
Eric Hochberger of TV Critic really enjoyed the ArchiSEXture idea. [7]
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends in New York City's Manhattan. As a framing device, Ted, in 2030, recounts to his son, Luke, and daughter, Penny, the events from September 2005 to May 2013 that led him to meet their mother. How I Met Your Mother was a joint production by Bays & Thomas Productions and 20th Century Fox Television, and syndicated by 20th Television.
Lily Aldrin is a fictional character in the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother. Lily is portrayed by American actress Alyson Hannigan. She is married to Marshall Eriksen and is the best friend of Ted Mosby, Robin Scherbatsky and Barney Stinson. Lily is a kindergarten teacher and an amateur painter. In the eighth season, she gets a job as an art consultant. Lily is also the only member of the original main cast of the series who has not appeared in every episode because Alyson Hannigan took leave after giving birth to her first child.
Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Cobie Smulders.
"Miracles" is the 20th and final episode of the third season of the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother and 64th overall. It originally aired on May 19, 2008.
"The Fight" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother, and the 74th episode overall. It originally aired on December 8, 2008.
"The Stinsons" is the 15th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 79th overall. It originally aired on March 2, 2009.
"Sorry, Bro" is the 16th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 80th overall. It originally aired on March 9, 2009.
"The Front Porch" is the 17th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 81st overall. It originally aired on March 16, 2009.
"Murtaugh" is the 19th episode in the fourth season of the television series How I Met Your Mother and 83rd overall. It originally aired on March 30, 2009. In this episode, Ted and Barney feud over what activities are appropriate for their age, while Marshall and Lily disagree on how to coach Lily's students.
"Double Date" is the second episode of the fifth season of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 90th episode overall. It originally aired on September 28, 2009.
"The Sexless Innkeeper" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 92nd overall. It originally aired on October 12, 2009.
"The Playbook" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 96th episode overall. It originally aired November 16, 2009. A book based on the episode was published in 2010.
"Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 97th episode overall. It aired on November 23, 2009.
"The Window" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 98th episode overall. It aired on Monday, December 7, 2009.
"Last Cigarette Ever" is the 11th episode of the fifth season of the CBS situation comedy How I Met Your Mother and 99th episode overall. It aired on December 14, 2009.
"Rabbit or Duck" is the 15th episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 103rd episode overall. It originally aired on February 8, 2010. In a nod to CBS hosting that year's Super Bowl, the episode features NFL commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in guest appearances as themselves.
"Of Course" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and 105th episode overall. It originally aired on March 8, 2010.
Barnabus Stinson is a fictional character portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris and created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014).
"P.S. I Love You" is the 15th episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 175th episode overall.
