Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Kristin Newman
One Paragraph Synopsis: After Ted and Robin get into a fight, Ted decides to spend the night off from her and uses his occupation as an architect to impress women. Without intent to sleep with any, mind you. Robin becomes increasingly more jealous as she follows Ted's footprints and realizes how much she cares about him. It turns out, though, that it was Barney using Ted's name and occupation to impress a woman, and that Ted actually went back to the office to work. After Robin comes up and sees the blueprints for his project, they fix their problems for the time being.
Yep, another night where I attempt two reviews before passing out! Cause why not, right?
But seriously, I haven't talked too much about Robin and Ted's relationship since they started dating. At least without treading the same water that I have before. When I see the couple now, obviously they still have their differences, but they do fit each other pretty well at this point in time. Robin is rising up in her career, but isn't quite high enough to forgo outside responsibilities, while Ted, no matter what he says, isn't ready to domesticate himself to begin with, so the balance works.
It also seems as if Ted needs someone like Robin to be a ray of sunshine for him after dealing with less fun ordeals at work, which is where a big part of their fight stems from (along with Robin's opinion on Field of Dreams, which I'll just skip right by- Barney and Marshall's response to Ted's retelling of the film is a classic moment, though), as Robin isn't exactly sure how to fill that position. While she likes being Ted's partner, there's only so much she can do for him, and otherwise, she isn't all that crazy on the idea of having to rub Ted's metaphorical back for him. Robin is just too independent of a person to have to put anyone's life before hers 24/7, even if they mean the world to her.
Ted wants this, though. He's willing to sacrifice everything for Robin, and wants at least half of the dedication he can promise her back, which just may never happen. Robin does lead to a compromise at the end, but he'll always be the pusher.
But Ted may not push as much as Barney, who gave him the idea to use his architect name to impress women. I've said before that Barney is pure id, which holds true tonight. He knows exactly what could happen if Ted went too far with his attempt to impress women, and he loves it. Of course, Barney goes too far himself, as he is wont to do, which is reflective of his chauvinistic traits, and makes for a hell of a twist for this mystery solver episode. It's also worth noting that Barney's note at the end of the episode is one of his funniest moments thus far, allowing him to make the audience crack up with only his narration.
But back to Ted, I do think that he learned his mistake from the Victoria ordeal, and won't cheat on a girlfriend again. He's also in a better place now than he was with Victoria, as his girlfriend is still in the same area, so I never suspected that he would have cheated on her. The brief attempt he had at impressing women with his career was enough to satisfy his ego.
Whatever doubts Ted may have had about Robin at this point seem eradicated, as him sharing his vision of a skyscraper is proof that he trusts her completely. Ted may be many things, but confident isn't a phrase that I would use to describe him. He knows enough of the right things to say to a lady, but he needed the support from someone he respected as much as Robin to get the courage to share his work to the company.
That's one thing that Ted, despite his flaws, has, respect. He treats Robin with great admiration, but now that he has her as a partner, doesn't put her on a high horse. This is perfect compromise, as his love doesn't go beyond blind devotion, which is a mix your mate absolutely deserves. Robin tries her best, but she doesn't give Ted the same amount of respect, since it's not what she's used to. The ending here gives a hopeful hint at her stepping up a little, though.
Usually, Ted isn't among my favorite characters. I think he is more misogynistic of a person than he realizes, so I rarely ever side with him. I also do feel that after a certain point, it's okay to tell someone, even a person you really care about, that they're going in circles if you're tired of hearing someone complain about the same thing over and over again. But Ted has the more concise idea of the relationship here, which makes me ultimately favor him over Robin in this episode.
But Robin does mean well. She may not be ready to use the word yet, but I'm sure that she loves Ted. Right now, she needs to reorganize her priorities, or at least allow herself to open to Ted.
But wait, I didn't touch on Marshall and Lily! Their roles are meant to help the other characters, but both have their strengths here, anyway. Marshall's material at his law school party is a great reminder that even though he and his fellow students are serious about their work, they're still young adults, and have as much of as much of right to party as anyone. The combination of frat party cliches that Marshall's cohorts engage in, followed by their future credentials, is among the episode's smartest gags, which only could have worked in this show. Lily, meanwhile, does well in an episode where she's mostly removed from Marshall, and instead mediates in Robin's dilemma. Lily has some great lines which makes her a highlight here, and her Footloose crack in particular never fails to crack me up.
"Ted Mosby, Architect" is a step in the right direction for the season. It stops to give Ted and Robin some development as characters and as a couple, while never ceasing to make great jokes in HIMYM's perfected quickly-paced style. And it's not even among my major favorites of the season!
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