Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Maria Ferrari
One Paragraph Synopsis: As the title says, it's moving day for Ted and Robin, but just when Ted has completely packed, Barney has taken his moving van. While Ted lives up to Barney's demands to get his stuff back, he and Robin decide on something before the day's over- they're not moving in. At the same time, Lily and Marshall realize that their place isn't the same without Ted. Especially since he took care of most of the stuff for them.
"Moving Day" is, like a decent amount of the show's episodes, a story of love. Whether the gang realizes it or not is another point, though.
It may seem a little strange to say, since the fact that Ted and Robin decide to not move in together indicates that they won't last, but I didn't necessarily mean this was meant to show a booming, passionate love. While it is alarming that Robin and Ted can't find it in themselves to move in successfully, they still recognize and care enough about their bond to try to keep the relationship going, even if they do in separate houses. Besides, if you need to move in to determine if your relationship is worth keeping, it probably isn't to begin with. As Ted and Robin step out before going through with the test, they technically skip this test completely.
If you're confused about my previous paragraph, I'll just say this- Ted and Robin love each other. They do today, they will tomorrow, they probably will long after they break up. There's no denying this. Sometimes, though, love isn't enough, which seems to be the problem here.
Because what exactly is love? You can ask twelve random people this, and get twelve different answers. My personal belief is that love is a mutual understanding of two or more people, where the parties involved recognize but can look past the other party's faults to see something worth dedicating part of their life to in the person. By this standard, not only do Ted and Robin pass, but so do the core five among each other.
But first, back to Ted and Robin. Again, their love is definite, but the fact that neither of them can find any sort of agreement towards their living environment is telling. Robin refuses most everything Ted wants to keep in her place, while Ted wants at least some sort of statement that shows he lives here now. Both cases have solid points here, but Ted is more willing to back down, allowing Robin to keep her dominance in her building. It's a good move on Ted's part, as he isn't reverting to sexism to get his way, but shows a lack of trust on Robin's to not budge with her decision.
Robin herself has her own changes to make, like how she handles her gun enthusiast magazine subscription, done in a cute scene. There are certain aspects of her life that Ted doesn't approve of, which flexing these herself should make for a good compromise. If Robin can cut back on her love of guns and stop smoking regularly, it shouldn't be too hard for Ted to allow Robin to keep her place the way it is, right?
Life doesn't always work like that, though. On the surface, this seems like a nice compromise, but Ted and Robin are too invested in their ways to budge. Robin loves to shoot and read about guns, Ted likes his sword being present in his living space. These aren't issues that are make it or break it to a relationship, but might still be reflective of the two not being ready to be together. At least not now.
As much as he may hate to admit it, Barney was right. The fact that Ted called the apartment "Robin's place", not his or theirs, is proof that moving in was a mistake. It also says that they aren't ready to go the next step, since their directions aren't placed together correctly. Sometimes you just can't fight destiny. The love is there, but their paths don't seem to be. Now, it's up for them to decide if they can mutually meet up.
Besides, without Ted, Marshall and Lily are screwed. Now, their love has been proven time and time again on the show, and has rewarded them in a bond that many people would kill for. With their wedding coming up, I'll save skip over this again for now.
But it really is true that they love Ted as much as he does them. For one, without commonly addressing it, he fills the role of caretaker for them in a succinct way. Ted owns most of the household essentials that keep a happy environment together, like the microwave. But he also bought the groceries, and arguably more important, kept them essential company. As much as Lily and Marshall love their sex time, they can't keep at it forever, not when they had someone to occupy like Ted. Or vice versa, since he knew how to entertain them just as well as they him.
Just like the other sword, Ted really kept the place together. When they're officially married, Marshall has a steady job, and they're getting closer to being ready for children, then it'll be time for the couple to stray from Ted. Right now, they're still the three amigos, Wesleyan alums that compliment each other quite well at this phase. Their story makes sense on this account, and it makes for some fun jokes, my favorite being their naked time, which comes off as harsh, but lovingly fair
Barney, similarly, loves Ted as a friend, just as he does Marshall and Lily (love may be a strong word for Robin right now, but they're pretty good friends by this point, and he sure sees the beauty in her). But right now, Barney is seeing himself being the only one in the gang to not change their ways. He's not engaged, like Marshall and Lily, nor is he moving in with his significant other, like Ted and Robin. Barney is still pursuing women at the bar in hopes of the perfect lay, just as he was when he met Ted 4 years prior. And this terrifies Barney. Maybe not his stagnancy, but that his friends are growing beyond him.
Ted doesn't have a ring on him, which is why Barney attempts to sway him back into the game, partially explaining his actions. And to be fair, Barney doesn't try to get Ted to leave Robin, but only play laser tag and be Barney's wing man for a change. It allows for some fun bonding between the two, bonding that Ted admits to enjoying, although I'd argue that their material isn't the strongest, only by default. There are some good gags, but the brief flashes of Robin's mediating alone time and Lily and Marshall pondering their life without Ted work better for me.
But it I do like the reveal of Barney using Ted's moving van as a place to consummate with a date at. It's a concept that makes sense within Barney's GTA charge, and it allows for punishment to be dealt upon him by his date, even without him really doing anything wrong to him. Sometimes karma like this just works.
"Moving Day" is yet another strong, enjoyable episode from a strong, enjoyable season. Much is done for these five characters, and there is enough good material used sparingly throughout to not let it drag even briefly. I'll admit that Ted and Barney's time isn't as fun as the rest, but even that has some strong jokes, and a good plot for the two. With only four episodes left to go through, I can't wait to delve into what's left for the season to to throw at us.
Continuity Errors: Er, or is it? While Robin is shown as a smoker here, in actuality, Ted has been smoking the whole time. So have the whole gang, as shown in season 5's "Last Cigarette Ever". Ted was able to keep this from his kids the whole time, but the way that he plainly reveals Robin's habits contrasts from the shock reveal of the same thing in that episode. I can buy that Future Ted would make Robin's smoking a bigger issue than it really was, especially if she was a more active smoker than him, but the result comes off as a tad confusing. Hmm.
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