Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Brenda Hsueh
One Paragraph Synopsis: As per usual, Ted spends his Halloween wearing his increasingly dated Hanging Chad costume at the same annual party he's been going to for five years now. Why? In hopes of meeting his "perfect girl" again, the Slutty Pumpkin. Barney hopes to break Ted out of his Halloween funk, to no avail. Downstairs, Marshall and Lily go on a double date with Robin and her current beau, and get a taste of her romantic tendencies, or lack thereof.
This is probably the strongest episode since the pilot, mainly since it gives everyone something important to do, and just about everything will keep true to the characters in the years to come. It's also a mighty funny episode, but at the same time, I don't think any of the previous ones have been empty on laughs, either.
Granted, Ted's story isn't all that unique, as it continues his trend on being a hopeless romantic, but it works well enough to justify the slight bit of repetition. This is the biggest act of commitment to his passion yet in the series, as we get a glimpse into his mindset during that lonely, disappointing Halloween night. This isn't the first year that he'll come up to this party and wait for a girl that ultimately won't show up, and (spoiler alert) it won't be his last. Even before he confesses it to Robin at the end of the episode, it becomes slightly apparent that he knows that the Slutty Pumpkin won't return, in her original costume or not.
It's the concept that keeps Ted alive, not just hope. This is something that has been on the surface for a while, and comes full center here. Ted acts like he only believes in absolutes, but in reality, he prefers the fable to the fact. In his mind, Ted may know that he won't meet the Pumpkin, or the one, that night, but in his heart, something good is bound to happen regardless. Delusion can break a person, but it can sometimes also keep them going.
But enough about Ted, let's talk about Barney for a change! He's still being given bit parts in the story, but NPH continues to show off his massive charm as the character despite the less meaty material. His subplot of changing costumes to get a second and third impression on the girl he flubbed on before reeks of an unwarranted attempt to turn a no into a yes, but I can't help but find it funny anyway, especially as he rightfully screws up by letting his perverse side come in too soon. The fact that the joke is more on him rather than on her doesn't necessarily make his method okay, but it does allow for sincere laughter to come out without having to ponder the repercussions of supporting an outdated trend. In other words, the joke is that Barney is making an ass out of himself, not that he's manipulating this woman, which is less creepy.
It's also worth noting that for just as much purpose as to get the luau girl, Barney stays at the party to help get Ted out of his funk. Whether or not he understand Ted's psychological reasons for staying at the party, Barney does show true concern and aspiration to help Ted live life, and even when he fails, you can see Barney stay around until the very end. This girl wasn't coming, but he'll still be there for Ted when he needs someone around. Before this episode, Thomas, Bays and crew have attempted to explain to the audience that the reason Ted and the gang are friends with Barney is because he keeps things exciting for the gang, but that isn't the only reason- Barney really does care about his friends. He may have dark, obsessive traits, yet I don't have a doubt in my mind that Barney means well to these people.
On the other side of the spectrum, let's look at Robin's storyline with Marshall and Lily. This is the first we've been given substantial romantic time with the show's core couple, and it helps to give the audience of how they function together- Lily and Marshall are equally dependent on each other, and at this time, there isn't a hierarchy in the relationship. In the real world, Lily may be the one who's working, but Marshall won't be in law school forever, and he'll soon be pulling more of his weight around. Together, both just click marvelously. At this point, the two know practically every thing about each other to the point that they'll prepare for what the other has for dinner in the prospects of food sharing, they coordinate Halloween costumes together remarkably well, and they don't have to force any awkward coupley activities into their mannerisms- their activities are completely genuine.
Everything they have, Robin and Mike obviously don't yet. To be fair, they don't have 9 years of experience at dating as Marshall and Lily do, so it's definitely a fair point that Mike was trying too hard to force sweet nothings on Robin during their date. I'd say more than fair in fact, as Robin clearly does like Mike, but doesn't seem to feel or know how to recuperate the emotions she has for him in the way he'd want her to. It becomes increasingly painful to see Mike come on way too strong, while Robin doesn't seem sure about doing so with him. Like many a relationship on the show, Robin and Mike don't make it past the episode, and while it's meant to show that she's at fault for having to leave the bar alone, I'd say that it's a 50-50 split. Robin may need to open herself up to PDA a little more, but Mike obviously needed to back down after a certain point.
But I think it's here that Ted and Robin do correlate, in the way that they're both, disappointingly, going home alone tonight. Their reasons are different, since Ted clearly likes being a team player, while Robin has more of a foot set into reality, but these two young people are walking in the wrong direction if they want to further their chance of a happy relationship. Ted needs to let his mind speak for him moreso than his heart, as Robin should learn to compromise in some ways. Both will, at some point. Tonight, another Halloween goes by without the Hanging Chad winning over the rightly curved Pumpkin.
Continuity Errors: According to this episode, Robin never played team sports, only singles tennis. It becomes a part of her character that she did play hockey into her teens, however. But let's give the crew the benefit of the doubt, since they haven't nailed down Robin's Canadianisms yet. Also, in season 8, it's revealed that Ted is supposed to dress up in coordination with Marshall and Lily every year, which we obviously see that he's hanging on each year to the Pumpkin. Or maybe he only dressed up with the two before 2001, I haven't seen that episode in a while.
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