Episode 12 - Benefits
22 January 2009
Review
Synopsis: Ted and Robin are having rows over household chores. They end up having sex to stop arguing but the news makes Barney increasingly angry and frustrated. When Ted realises that Barney has feelings for her he puts a stop to the arrangement. Meanwhile Marshall feels judged for “reading a magazine” at work and goes in search for a bathroom where he can “read” in private.
The Good: The Robin-Barney-Ted love triangle story is an old familiar one, where one party bites their tongue and pines away. But because Barney is a unique character this feels like a fresh take on that story. Barney’s growing frustration is played out logically and his television smashing routine is a creative visual to show him coping.
The best part of the episode is the clever idea to have Robin and Ted call off their arrangement and then to relapse so quickly. That is a pretty logical and familiar idea to anyone who has been in a relationship and the way Marshall and Barney are incorporated into the relapse is pretty clever.
Most men at least will probably sympathise with Marshall’s desire to poop in private with a magazine. It’s a common theme in Larry David’s comedy (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiams) and so it’s a logical storyline for Marshall. The equally logical punch line that Barney had a private bathroom all along is a fun moment.
Only rich, unconventional Barney could plausibly buy televisions and dish washers just to avoid his feelings for Robin. The fact that Ted immediately sees through his behaviour is pleasing because to not would have been ridiculous. And Ted is a nice guy and backs off Robin immediately. Finally Robin’s comments about friends hooking up being a bad idea is about as predictable as television can get as a plot device to keep Barney’s feelings quiet a little longer. Fortunately what Robin says makes perfect sense so again the story is logical and not irritating.
Robin and Ted saluting “Private Thing” when it comes up in conversation is nice continuity (from 309).
The Bad: As ever with How I Met Your Mother the humour and the contexts involved are so exaggerated or foolish that they ruin the humour.
Barney buying a television just to smash it is a funny thought. But why does he need to have a discussion about which television is best to watch? The writers clearly think it will add to the joke but it doesn’t it ruins the punch line by stretching it out too long. Barney has no reason to discuss the merits of the television, that’s not the joke, that just makes you think about how stupid it is that he would buy a television just to break it in the first place. Had it been done quickly the laugh would have been there and it would have been just about plausible for Barney.
Similarly there is no way Lily would have let Barney into her classroom in the first place, let alone light a cigarette while telling children about his sex life. It’s a joke which has no basis in reality and makes the show as unrealistic as can be. Lily is then scripted with a horrible line telling one of the children that his parents are getting divorced and then trying to distract him with colouring. If those events actually transpired Lily would be fired and it might even get into newspapers if the truth came out. It’s such thoughtless writing and doesn’t fit into the otherwise logical story being told.
Marshall’s poop story lacks a proper believable context. For a start why doesn’t he just tuck the magazine into his belt under his jacket so no one can see it? Second is that his entire office are standing in the hallway when he walks to the toilet. That isn’t very realistic and again makes you ask why he doesn’t just go when no one is around. The third and greatest problem is just that this story doesn’t fit the context of the How I Met Your Mother universe. The majority of the show is the five friends talking like real people in their booth in a bar. When those friends have problems they tend to deal with them by being honest and upfront (even if they flap about before reaching that decision). So to see Marshall behaving like George (Seinfeld) or Larry (Curb Your Enthusiasm) just doesn’t sit right. It feels like comedy written for an insecure or neurotic character and not for happy-go-lucky Marshall. His campy emotions throughout the episode don’t help either. When he is in the booth he reacts like a normal human but when walking to the toilet he swings his arms like he is in some spoof commercial.
Again why would Ted tell his children that he used to have sex with “Aunt Robin” to avoid cleaning and tidying?
Comic Highlight: There is a nice (and for once subtle) exchange between Ted and Marshall which exposes the stupidity of pretending his situation with Robin is normal:
T: “So last night Robin left the pizza box out on the floor so we had sex three times.”
M: “Sure.”
T: “And then this morning before I left for work…we kissed.”
M: “Oh that’s weird. That is weird.”
T: “Right?”
How I rate your episode: Purely in terms of logic this is ok. But the out of context humour torpedoes the ship once more.
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