How I Met Your Mother Review- "Twelve Horny Women"

Twelve Horny Women (8x08)

Directed by Pam Fryman

Written by Chris Romano & Eric Falconer

One Paragraph Synopsis: The big trial against Gruber Pharmaceuticals is here, as Brad prepares to use the information he took from the last episode against Marshall, who puts everything he has into his case. The thing is, the jury is entirely full of women who are attracted to Brad, as well as a (possibly) bi judge, who side with his case. Marshall does eventually win though, as Brad himself has proof of how the lake they're protecting is contaminated, as Gruber has to pay... a significantly smaller amount than what Marshall's firm was asking. This is why he submits himself to become a judge. In between the trial, the rest of the gang trade stories of their adolescent rebellious periods, most of which is heavily over-exaggerated.

Really, I like this episode for its reference to The Wire. There's also a deleted scene from later this season that references the show again, so my guess is that some of the staff had just watched it. Good stuff, and it gives the show more nerd credit than Big Bang Theory ever had.

I do find some of the cutaways to be cute, but the whole subplot is a little superfluous and doesn't add much to the arc or even episode at large. It is nice to see Scooter again, though, and any chance we get to see Robin Sparkles is a good one.

The ending cap on Robin and Barney's future feels a little forced, but not necessarily without redeeming qualities. Robin's "huh" shows potential, but Barney's speech doesn't compare to his in "Splitsville". Probably because he's still into her.

As for the main story, I resent the episode title, and the way Romano and Falconer wrote how Brad was able to swoon everyone. It's cheap, and doesn't add very much in terms of plot and character. Or at least shouldn't. While I do like Joe Manganiello's portrayal of the character, I generally shrugged during his appearances.

Marshall's future, however, does excite me. While it seems very unlikely that he can apply to be a judge so soon in his career, this is a good step for him. And it shows that he's not done saving the world just yet. Not by a long shot. Now just save the show, Big Fudge.