Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Gloria Calderon Kellet
One Paragraph Synopsis: Days before the wedding, everyone is out to try a new challenge. When the others call out Marshall and Lily for being too codependent, they decide to sleep alone before the big night. At the same time, Lily has lost too much weight to still fit into her wedding dress, so Robin attempts to help her gain weight for it rather than pay $300 to fix the bust, or much more to replace the dress. Ted tries to write a suitable best man speech, but each result fails in Marshall's eyes. But to top it all, Barney is training to score big for his appearance on The Price is Right, both to win gifts for the wedding, but more importantly, to impress his "father"- Bob Barker.
Although Barney's Price is Right stint is among the show's most iconic moments, it isn't all that funny. At least not in comparison to the rest of the episode, anyway, because it is a joy to see Barney dismiss his fellow competitors' bids, and Bob Barker is wonderfully game as he keeps a straight face. There are just moments that are even more fun to get to.
Still, this fits in with a somewhat shared theme of other sitcoms crossing over with actual game shows. Cheers with Jeopardy, Friends with Pyramid, Boy Meets World with... some forgotten 90's MTV show. Even Full House had Vanna White appear in an episode. It's a different way to try to find some humor in a less explored location for the writers and bank in on a recognizable ideology to tinker with as a result (many other comedies have game show episodes, but usually stick to familiar parodies or thought-up mixes to coin a gag. All of these, meanwhile, are the real deal. And yes, there was a Boy Meets World episode where they competed in one of these aforementioned made-up game shows. It had a chance to go in both routes, but at least with different characters and circumstances.). The telling thing about this episode style, however, is that Boy Meets World aside, all of these shows had their game show episodes a bit later in their runs than HIMYM does.
But does that mean this is a lazy concept? If the episode was meant to mostly be about Barney mugging it up on The Price is Right, this could have easily been a fun, if unimportant, endeavor. But I think that each of the connected storylines are just as tight, if not tighter, to make this wacky episode hold up among the best the show has to offer. Even Barney's material is more meaty than I initially gave it credit for.
It's a joke that Barney thinks his father is Bob Barker, clearly, but it addresses one of his core characteristics to the front- as big of a game Barney talks, he never really grew up. The child that blindly believed his mother about Barker being his father and would show him report cards via the TV screen is still alive, in adult form. Between all of the heavy drinking and sexual prowess, he may never truly leave, as Barney is still held by an umbilical cord after years of questionable parenting and an inability to see beyond what's on the surface. It's an interesting character trait, one that certainly helps for Barney to be among the best sitcom characters of them all.
That's not the only interesting character trait explored here. Barney's dedication to his friend is also present, after a strong turn in the previous episode. Each of his gifts went to Lily and Marshall, even the dune buggy. Barney could have easily kept everything for himself, but he knew that this was an opportunity to make his friends happy as their wedding date gets close, which indicates a good heart, which his friends should be blessed that he ultimately has.
But even more interesting is how Barney was able to succeed at remembering each and every item's price range. His immaturity has been present pretty regularly on the show, but there's a little more to Barney's character- he's actually quite smart. Or at least, he is able to maintain information very well. The guy was able to get each item down to the cent, for crying out loud!
It's just a well made game show subplot that works for Barney as a character and the plot with no reservations. But the thing is, every other addition to the episode works just as well, if not even better.
Lily and Robin's time together only proves how strong they are as friends at this point. Robin sees that her best friend has an issue, and does everything in her power to help. Which includes Robin digging at Lily like a pent-up grade school coach, resulting in one of my favorite moments of the episode where Lily cries while eating as Robin screams. Her little piggish squeal on top of the crying is just perfect.
This helps to solidify Robin and Lily's friendship by showing their determination for each other. And their ties make sense, as Robin sees the gang as her closest friends since moving to the New York, with Lily in particular playing the part of a gal pal for her very well. Lily, meanwhile, has welcomed Robin in as some much needed estrogen to the group's manliness, but has grown to find everything there is to Robin's person to be someone she is glad to consider her bud. Both of the women have spent enough time together to find their particular quirks, and make them match together. Lily admires Robin's dedication to reaching her goals, while Robin sees Lily's own passion, and hopes for her to find the same happiness. So it comes as no surprise that they'd be willing to help each other gain weight when needed.
Ted and Marshall's stuff is just joyful, though. Both of Ted's honest stories are hilarious, and seem like things that definitely would have happened. Road head is a mythic thing, something no man would mind getting a ticket for. Granted, the reveal here is pretty obvious, but that's the fun, seeing how they'd get caught. And the Funyuns story? The brilliant thing here is that Marshall did, in fact, love Lily by this point, so his confession was sincere. But it's another great little look into the trio's college life, but it probably isn't as fun as Ted's last failed attempt, a story so lame and obvious that it couldn't help but fail. Besides being a nice callback to the end of "Swarley", this is just delightful to see how Ted fudges up the truth for everyone's sake.
But at the end of the day, the most important best man speech that Ted came up with was the final one. There isn't a better definition of Marshall and Lily's relationship than the picture Ted paints for the reception, with the couple curled up together in secret, helping Lily fit into her wedding dress. You wouldn't have guessed that they split up almost a year ago, since their spark hasn't gone off at all, as evident here.
This is the spark that has helped to keep How I Met Your Mother as exciting of a ride as it is. The love that these five people feel for each other has been enjoyable to watch and write about again and again, as the show continues to surprise even someone who's seen it as many times as I have. "Showdown" is a fantastic episode, and we have two more episodes from this great season to look at first.
Heads-Up: I have a trip coming up on the 9th of December, and a lot of stuff to take care of before then. For various reasons, I think that I'll write about the last two episodes together, rather than in separate entries and start season 3 up after I return from my trip on the 16th. If I have enough time before then, I might also try to redo my review of "The Limo", and I'll post an update on my season 2 finale review if I do, so stick around.
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