Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Joe Kelly
One Paragraph Synopsis: Before getting a chance to step out of line with other women, let alone sleep with them, Barney is getting stopped cold, usually with a slap to the face, and he doesn't know why. Until a random blonde woman comes to Lily and tells her to beware of Barney, having previously slept with him. As Lily didn't get to know the woman, Barney takes it upon himself to make a bracket of the 64 most likely candidates to sabotage his future, leading him to meet the top 4 possibilities and make amends. When none of them end up being the women in question, Barney eventually apologizes to a mystery woman that he thinks is her, but is merely just a friend of Robin's. Ah well, he'll find out who is responsible some other day.
In hindsight, I should have done this review side-by-side with "Ten Sessions". While they don't have much in common in terms of material, there is one thing that they definitely share that would be worth critiquing together- the lack of a b-plot.
The series has been sticking to one-story episodes for a surprising amount of episodes this season, without losing much in the process. On the one hand, "The Bracket" is a little slower than your average episode in spots (the moments with flashbacks bring the show to its more common place speed), but the show's fast editing and quick, but succinct timing is still in tact. Instead of taking away from making more plots where the other characters can have their own allotted time, this episode keeps the rest of the gang in tow and allows for their time to shine even if Barney and Lily dominate this particular story.
Ted and Marshall, in particular, have a great sequence in the opening that explains how they get the blackboard, excellently brought back by a passing line from Lily later on. While their story is solved early on, it is for a good cause, as Ted's delivery of "I didn't know they were playing today" is uncanny, all you really need to settle the plot.
Robin, meanwhile, has some strong delivery of her own, first with some necessary screaming during the bracket breakdown that comes out funnier and more jubilantly than the rest of the gang, which not only shows Smulders' comic abilities, but also gives an idea of just how much fun the gang has on the show. Also strong from Robin's part is her giggling from lying that occurs when Ted calls her out on it, a trait she carries well into the last act and doesn't come off as forced. Considering how often laughing can indeed come off as forced, this is a thing to be proud of. Along with her look from Barney's whisper. Damn.
Of course, that's something which makes the episode so fascinating, that the gang, while still morally against Barney's actions, seem to have a lot of fun partaking in the bracket. Despite the general grossness of Barney's attitude towards women, the gang do seem to enjoy him. Or perhaps inspite, as delving into some of the awful things Barney has done to women remind them, and even ourselves, that no matter how badly we may screw up, we're not as awful as Barney Stinson.
This is important to consider, since Barney confesses to some terrible things in this episode. The character still remains to be the fan favorite even after saying that he might have traded a woman for a car. As a feminist, I find this absolutely disgusting. Yet the line still gives me a dirty laugh.
When I think about it, the joy of experiencing entertainment, be it literature, film, music, or in this case, television, is discovering something we don't necessarily relate to, but can find human logic in the idea. This is a big part of the appeal of science fiction, and also makes for a big part of comedic lasting power. People enjoy laughing at the idiosyncrasies of the Seinfeld gang, the depravity of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's cast, and Barney Stinson's disturbing take on ethics. As long as the jokes aren't too tasteless, and there are times where that can be an issue, and done well, it's easy to enjoy laughing at, or even sometimes with, an unlikable character.
This is important to consider, not just for comedy, but all media. If the problematic character's actions aren't meant to be rewarded, but to show how problematic they are, then it's less of an issue of standards, but just how it's presented. A white character that is meant to be likable wouldn't use a racial slur, for instance- when it's shown that Quentin Tarantino's character in Pulp Fiction has a black wife after he repeatedly uses an offensive term in regards to the color of her skin, it becomes more than clear that he's a miserable piece of shit, and nothing is made to prove otherwise during the movie. Similar logic is made for Barney's misogynistic lifestyle, at least in this episode.
I also give Barney some credit for the show's attempt to change him, even if it isn't complete yet. While his apology at the end comes off as completely sincere, thanks to NPH's consistently excellent performance, his lack of interest in apologizing prior says enough. It is fun to see the conflicting mindset that Barney portrays, but also surprising to remember what Barney was like a decade prior. It's almost day and night.
But the episode gets a lot of mileage out of the aforementioned apology. Seeing Barney realize how terrible he has been to women over the years, to the point that someone he doesn't even remember is hurting, wow. Of course, he doesn't remember the woman because they've never met, but this little reflection must have been an eye opener to Barney, one that all of the women he did screw over wasn't enough for yet. It's a bittersweet coda, but all the more effective.
And also effective for Lily, who might be the episode's VIP. She revels at every time Barney's ass is about to be, and finally is, handed to him, feeding her desire to see Barney get his comeuppance. After his gross history, it's totally rational to want to see it, which is why Lily makes a scrap book out of the best moments. But after all of their time together, bad and good, Lily really does still seem to care for Barney, which is why she becomes so elated to see him come up and admit that he must have done wrong.
The Barney and Lily friendship is an oddity on the show that isn't explored enough, but always welcome whenever present. As the other three characters are only given so much to do, this allows for the two to have more time together, resulting in a fun endeavor between two oddly-matched friends.
But overall, while there are moments when I feel bad for enjoying such an episode as much as I do, this is a very fun episode. I'm not sure if I'd call it among the show's finest, as more than one outlet has, but the third season really has been keeping itself steady throughout. Unlike Ted and Marshall's March Madness statistics.
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