Episode 8 - The Duel
25 March 2012
Synopsis: Lily’s apartment is turned into a Chinese restaurant. She hasn’t been home in three months and so didn’t know about it. She moves in with Ted and Marshall and some friction develops. Soon they are forced to confront the issue of who will get the apartment when Marshall and Lily get married. Ted and Marshall decide that a sword fight seems like a sensible way to deal with this issue. Meanwhile Barney decides that the world of dating needs a “Lemon Law.” Robin foolishly disagrees with him, so he sets her up with an unsuitable guy at the bar.
The Good: The sword fight is a creative way to make Marshall and Ted arguing seem more entertaining. It’s also pretty plausible that they would avoid having such a serious conversation so as not to upset their friendship. The use of the flashback to explain Marshall falling off the table was clever and brought things to a conclusion.
The idea of Ted leaving things for “future Ted” to sort out is a nice one. Along with the “Lemon Law” it shows the writers penchant for unusual and memorable ways of looking at everyday situations. It’s a similar concept to day guy and night guy (Seinfeld 503).
Once more Barney decides to test Robin out and see what she’s made of. It’s nice to see Barney’s character has thought through his insensitive behaviour. Both his argument for cutting a date short and her argument for letting them run their course make sense. It’s a shame that story didn’t have more time to develop.
The Bad: I would say this was the first bad episode of the show. The show has built a theme of characters talking in what I consider an inconsistent manner. Marshall and Lily in particular suddenly break into bouts of metaphor involving “bitch slap” and other choice phrases which sound a bit forced. Most of the time they are being silly together so it is easier to buy into.
But having Marshall and Ted have a sword fight is surreal enough. Once Ted starts saying “Awesome”, “Totally!” and “Rad” I believe the scene starts to lose authenticity. Yes guys can suddenly switch lexicons when with their buddies but the acting doesn’t match these expressions. He sounds like he is trying to be blokey and failing. Same goes for Ted’s passive aggressive acting as Lily’s arrival makes him uncomfortable.
This awkward acting and dialogue also jars slightly with the picture of Ted we have so far. He has been sensible and straightforward so far in the show. To suddenly see him taking on new characteristics feels a little unconvincing. Marshall by contrast seems convincing throughout because he is silly all the time and so he can slip back and forth between different tones with convincing ease.
Whether you find Ted’s new insecurities convincing or not, to build the main plot around them doesn’t make for the most interesting viewing. And as innovative as Barney’s “Lemon Law” is, it isn’t a thrilling subplot either. He dumps a bunch of women and then gets dumped. Robin’s date with a geeky guy needed more time to become something interesting. And he rather ruined his credibility as a character by suggesting one day cows may be our rulers. When Robin called Barney and said naughty things to him the writers really didn’t seem to be trying. Almost anything else would have been funnier than the clichés she came out with.
Comic Highlight: The Chinese restaurant that has taken over Lily’s apartment is making creative use of her possessions. When “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba (the song playing in the restaurant) ends, Marshall’s voice can be heard saying “I love you Lily. Happy Valentines Day 1998.”
How I rate your episode: Not good. In general these two stories are just dull. But the writing and acting didn’t help much either.
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