Directed by Rob Greenberg
Written by Kourtney Kang
One Paragraph Synopsis: Lily sets Robin up with the father of one of her kindergarten students, which sounds pleasing... until she realizes that he has a son. Despite her dislike of children, Robin decides to date him, anyway, and even tries her hardest to warm up to little Doug (fun fact- this is also the same kid that harassed Marshall in "Monday Night Football"). Just when Robin starts to really like the kid, though, she starts to feel smothered, which results in an awkward, surprising break-up. Meanwhile, Barney and Ted compete to see who has more game, as Ted wins over a girl that Barney had previously slept with. All Ted has to do is sleep with her himself to win, but something else happens- he really starts to fall for Stacey, the girl in question. Visions of Barney's exploits ruin that chance for Ted to win, however. Except, Barney lied, and damn.
"One, we agreed to never say 'brah'. It was a good week, we had fun, it's over."
You know you're in for a good episode when a line like this is dropped. But really, the episode is full of choice dialogue, another knock-out for Kang. She may not be the show's most consistent writer, but she has definitely made some winners, this one being up there.
So what do I like about "Little Boys"? For one, Robin gets the A story for a change, which has almost nothing to do with Ted and results in important development for her. While she's still not completely ready for raising children, her take on warming up to Doug proves that the idea may not be such a scary one in the foreseeable future.
It's been proven before that Robin has just never been great with kids, with an earlier flashback in this episode proving that to be true even when she was a kid (this is the last we'll see or hear from Katie in a LONG time, btw). Robin is a fairly high-maintenance person, and while that makes for good parental skills for some, children only seem to just annoy her. This can likely be attributed to her father's raising of Robin, in which she was treated as a boy in many ways, and such feminine ideals were taken away from her. Parenting isn't just a feminine ideal, though, which only proves sexism on her father, and Robin's own childhood's, part. It's a fascinating, if incorrect, method of thought to consider.
Some people were born with a maternal or paternal instinct, always having that push towards raising and bettering children for the future in them. Others take their time to grow into such instincts, and yet some others never obtain it at all. There is nothing wrong with any of this. You aren't required by anything to procreate, but the world is always welcome for well-raised children. For Robin, there's no appeal to childbearing, and when you put it the way she does by comparing birthing a child to pushing a Ferrari out of her vagina, I completely get her viewpoint.
People change their minds, though. Many people who never planned to have kids, but didn't use protection correctly end up as great, loving parents, while many people who do want children are actually rotten at parenthood and end up regretting their decisions. And you never know what you can have until you find out that you can't. Robin still has time before anything like this can become an issue, so it's interesting to watch her timeline from the show's beginning, and see how, or if, her mindset has changed. As evident here, I do think that Robin is a little open to being a mother.
Although, I think this is only the case as Robin doesn't really act motherly to Doug. She makes him cereal and keeps him company, but almost like Robin is a big sister, or even a babysitter. Robin doesn't drive, make any more complicated food, clean, etc. We don't even see the two of them together with Doug's father, to indicate what they would be like as a parental unit. The lack of serious responsibility is what helps Robin warm up to the kid, but give her more to do and see how she'll react.
Although I think Robin recognizes this, which is why she tries to call off her time with Doug and his father. Right now, Robin knows that she can enjoy the company of a little kid sporadically, but regularly is another issue. Ted digs on Robin earlier for not liking kids, but that isn't necessarily true. She likes kids, at least now, but the birth and daily responsibility might be too much for her right now. Again, there is nothing wrong with this, as it's only a human reaction. Not everyone is as fatherly as Ted is. Also, she deserves better than being a side hoe.
This is a strong concept to build a story on, and Greenberg, returning to replace Fryman since his endeavors in the previous season, does a good job of pacing Kang's script. There are many great jokes added into their time together, but the emotional core isn't forgotten when needed, right down to the tight ending conversation between Robin and Lily, which is framed wonderfully. Greenberg keeps the camerawork traditionally strong while Fryman is away, just as he gets the right idea behind his actors' various inflections. Almost nothing is left out of place.
Particularly Future Ted's ending delivery, which is wonderfully edited with shots of drawings featuring the future aunt and Ted's kids. This is an adorable sequence that is paced considerably well, and again contains great narration from Saget. I wouldn't call this a tearjerker by any means, but there's no denying that when HIMYM goes for a gentle moment, it often succeeds. Now if we can only learn a little more about their mother.
Which clearly is Stacey, but who was expecting that to begin with? Still, Ted and Barney's B plot is similarly great, even if it is much less meaty. But the jokes almost entirely land, which is all you can ask for.
It is interesting to see how Ted and Robin are coexisting after the break up, though. Robin is successfully brought into a blind date, while Ted is dared to hook up with a girl, only for both to become serious relationships before long. Different methods, not so different results. But that is how life works.
Like most one-off dates, there isn't much to discern from Stacey as a character. It's established that she does yoga and plays bass in a reggae band, the latter of which being a big plus for Ted (the bass, not so much reggae). Otherwise, it takes context clues to see what Ted sees in her, and she does seem rightfully sentimental for him, which on top of her bass skills is good enough for Ted's sake.
But how is this funny? Ted and Barney's opening discussion about their wooing skills is written quite well, not allowing either one of them to come off as favorably, but does give them both a chance to share choice lines. You can't ask for much more than great dialogue sometimes, which is sprinkled throughout in the episode.
Especially when you factor in Marshall's contribution to the episode, which is clearly more tied to Ted and Barney than Robin and Lily. His quest for game affirmation is pathetically hilarious, while keeping true to Marshall's increasingly shattered hopes of being one of the boys. He still is, but Marshall's duty as a husband comes before dickwaving with Ted and Barney. To be fair, though, one of the funniest bits of the episode comes from Marshall's confirmation from the man in the nice shoes, which is how you do a funny, tasteful gay joke. Take note, writers.
Also hilarious is Barney's twist, which as dark as it may seem, makes sense for the character and works as a useful twist against Ted. While Stacey seems lovely, it wasn't fun to see Ted win so well in the episode, especially since the framing makes it clear that their relationship wasn't meant to last. But a reminder of Barney's intuitiveness and charismatic devilishness is always welcome.
Although I don't think much would have been lost if the scene of miniature Barneys dancing on Stacey's body was removed. Same with a miniature Ted doing the same in the tag, especially since it's obvious that the two of them never made intercourse, but it is good vengeance for Barney's sake.
Still, talk about a hell of an episode. HIMYM is only continuing to get smarter and likable with its characters, as "Little Boys" is evidence of. This doesn't appear on many people's favorite episodes list, but it's gold worth digging through.
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