Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Chris Harris
One Paragraph Synopsis: Marshall sets up a game night with the gang, introducing his new game- Marshgammon, which combines the best of every game (only including the "gammon" from Backgammon, leaving the rest of it in the trash where it belongs. Segel's delivery on the line works better than my text). In typical Marshall and Lily fashion, though, this game is used as an opportunity to quiz Victoria to see if she's right for Ted. But this night is actually about Barney, after the discovery of an embarrassing tape brings a tragic time in his life to the gang's life. Along with the encouragement of the group via their own embarrassing stories, Barney tells just how he got to where he is today.
I can't tell when the Barney Stinson character started to take over the show. It seemed pretty clear from the beginning that he was meant to be the breakout personality, given that a lot of the best lines from the pilot were his. Even as the show kept Barney to the back to focus on Ted's titular story, Neil Patrick Harris continued to find a way to shine as a highlight. It's worth mentioning that Bays and Thomas initially wanted a Jack Black type to play Barney, but NPH came to the audition and owned it to the point that they okayed the character to adapt to the way he is at this point in the show's run.
The previous episode gave Barney his most substantial role yet, while this one gives him an even bigger one, the main story. Thankfully, "Game Night" passes the test as not only potential for more A-story Barney episodes, but as another very strong episode. There's also room for the others to shine in here, as well.
Although I want to still focus on Barney, the thing that must come out first is this episode's pacing, which is typically fast and detailed for the series. The time spent between flashback and present day is evenly mixed, portrayed well thanks to the episode's framing device of Barney pausing his story to make everyone tell theirs. This works well to never make the audience feel as if there's too much time being set on one scene, but not necessarily cutting away too fast from anything. Your average scene is set and used in a consistent frequency.
"Game Night"'s use of storytelling between the gang is particularly noteworthy, as this won't be the last time we see the show use this method of pacing to keep an episode going. Having frequent flashbacks to the characters' pasts, like Lily's story where she and Marshall made love on a blanket his mother made for him while Judy is on the phone herself, not only helps to set up great jokes that wouldn't feel as authentic from verbal retelling, but they help to expand the world behind these characters as well.
There's a surprising amount to learn from the additional stories being told as to how these characters work, like how Lily's relationship with Judy is spotty, which is admittedly something that we've already learned from "Belly Full of Turkey", but is presented well again here. It's clear on the surface that Lily wants things to go well with her soon to be mother-in-law, but Lily and the Eriksens simply come from different environments, despite her best efforts to not allow this to clash. This also proves that maybe Lily doesn't try hard enough though, as she's quick to mock Judy's efforts to keep in touch with her son's life, and should be something that Lily attempts to resolve in the near future.
Marshall's story, meanwhile, tells us that he's fairly modest and tries to keep a good face, even when he falls on it. It's not that hard to interpret, really, since who wouldn't be embarrassed if they accidentally mooned a class of kindergartners? As for Ted's story... well, I'll save that for later. And if you've seen the episode, you know that there's no need to talk about Robin or Victoria here just yet.
But seriously, poor Barney. I think? Barney Stinson is far from the only chauvinist with a heart of gold story to make its way into the media, but the story somehow makes sense here. No backstory can fully justify someone's heinous actions, but I don't have too much to judge Barney's character on with this episode, so I'll spare that. As an attempt to put the puzzle of what makes Barney tick together, though, this works marvelously.
So far, we've seen that although he clearly can be selfish, Barney has a good streak at heart, which makes the reveal that he wanted to volunteer for the Peace Corps legitimate. It's quite jarring, though, to remember that two episodes ago, Barney used the Corps as a pick-up line at the wedding, yet it does give off the implication that Barney hasn't forgotten his earlier self at all. While he does boast about sleeping with Shannon at the end of his story, leading to tears of happiness from a life well spent in decadence, I do find genuine feelings of regret that his life turned out so differently. Of the five main characters, Barney seems the happiest in his current place in life, but that may only be due to the fact that we knew the least of his life before this episode. This still seems to be the case, but I still see a trace of Barney the dreamer in him. It also proves my theory when the ending hits, and Barney is seen alone, drinking and feeling empty before he finds a girl to hit on. This is his life now, for better or worse.
It really is fascinating to see how Barney changed from his experience with Shannon and her guy, from a peaceful hippie type (with a zine, to boot!) to the suit and tie, womanizing machine that he is today. Knowing all about Barney's story to come as the show progresses, I'd rather not reveal it to newbies, but there is a logical progression throughout. But as one can see, a man of confidence is all it takes to change the mind of someone, no matter how dedicated they may be. The catalyst in Barney and Shannon's relationship knew what he wanted in life, and knew how to get it, as opposed to Shannon, who was simply living the college student life, and quickly persuaded her onto his team. Barney was merely a byproduct of this untimely transaction, as he so obviously changes himself for what he considers the better to get everything this man has in life, and more.
But speaking of Barney, his "call" to the leg warehouse, and more importantly, Lily and Marshall's reaction to it, brings one of my favorite aspects of the show to the front- the fact that the gang can laugh at each other's jokes. This is something so rare in other comedies until you notice it, but most sitcoms do maintain that their actors keep in form throughout, even when a great line is being shared among them. HIMYM is an exception, in that it's often encouraged to show the others laugh along with each other. It really does help to bring the excellent chemistry behind the cast to form, as well as make the characters as fun to watch as they believe they are.
As for Ted, well, we're back to his feelings for Robin, although to be fair, the re-return took place during the pilot. But it should be clear to most everyone that he still has some remnants of feelings for Robin, even now that he's happy with Victoria. If there wasn't any fuel left in the fire, he wouldn't have cared as much about Victoria discovering Ted's history with her. At the same time, it's hardly a secret that Robin is now into Ted herself, although it is gross how she calmly insults Victoria during the game. Still funny in Smulders' delivery, but slut shaming is a tiresome act.
I'll have more to say about this quasi-love triangle later, but for now, I'll conclude my thoughts on "Game Night" by saying what. Now everyone has to drink, possibly while enjoying this awesome episode again.
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