Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Stephen Lloyd
One Paragraph Synopsis: Barney ropes the gang into helping him pack for Loretta, when he and James reminisce over their childhood. In actuality, their mother lied frequently to the both of them, but Barney's naivety allowed him to believe everything, right down to Bob Barker being his father. This is about to change when they find an undelivered letter to Sam Gibbs from Loretta, which contains a picture of the boys, stating that this is his son. They find where Mr. Gibbs lives in hopes of tying up loose ends, as James finally meets his father. Barney, still as clueless as ever though, believes Sam Gibbs to be his father, as he joins along in their catching up, until he comes to Loretta later. He doesn't find out who his father is today, but Barney doesn't need to- he has a pretty fine mother already.
Okay, is Barney's mugging racist? All signs point to me, being a white person, not being the right person to judge this at all, but for my view, this is similar to Steve Martin's opening bits in The Jerk. There isn't enough actual blackface to knock the material down,
Plus, like Marshall noted, Barney kind of just needed the afternoon. If he seriously thinks that Sam could have been his father, shit, let him live in his delusion for a little. It's also worth noting that the most problematic moment might be the robot voice spoof at the end, which besides that, goes on for too long.
It's a touchy subject, but the episode is tight, which is why I might give it more of a pass than usual. The plot is written quite well, Lloyd at his best as he sticks to the Stinsons' emotional cores. Not just Barney, either- it shows how strong Loretta and James are as characters that they're given plenty to handle themselves, and make it all work.
James works well as the gay, black, more in-control Barney. He's a little neurotic and cocky himself, but James is calmer and cooler usually. Getting the chance to meet his father is a good character move, allowing him some necessary closure. While the reveal of his father isn't as big of a deal to the audience as meeting Barney's would be, it's still a touching moment when James and Sam light up as the realization hits.
But the hit Barney has when he realizes that Sam isn't his father is definitely palpable. He's ready to admit that Bob Barker isn't his father, but life isn't ready to work out that way for him, which must hurt. And that's where he snaps, allowing himself a day to be black. Problematic as this might be, it gives Barney the chance to heal his wound briefly before it all comes out.
And it results in a great moment from Barney and Loretta, who herself is a good character. She still lives with some of her past lies, but is doing everything in her power to allow her sons the happiness they deserve, even if it's years removed.
Loretta lied to Barney and James to ensure that they kept their innocence, even when she wasn't the most innocent person around. There are cases where lying to your children is wrong, but usually her intentions were good, which is what Barney admires now. True, hiding her children from their fathers was not a great thing to do, but all that needs to be said is done when Barney dodges Loretta's reveal- Barney loves and admires her enough to keep the lie going, at least for now. More power to him.
If there's one problem with the episode, the aforementioned iffy taste in judgment aside, it's that there isn't a whole lot for the other characters to do. Ted and Robin have a cute little subplot in which she attempts to hook him up with a coworker, but it goes nowhere and lands towards a slightly offensive jab at her appearance, which hurts it a little more. Which is at least more than Lily and Marshall get, who are only offered a good line or two on the side.
That said, this is still a strong outing, one that's beneficial towards Barney's character, and hopefully telling that this is going to be a great season. Keep it up!
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