HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Double Date

rab some dollar bills and trim that goatee because it’s time for another rousing episode of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. Last night Ted got a glimpse of his former self, Marshall got a look at a dirty version of his wife, and Robin saw first hand that Barney will be Barney.

Forever on the quest to find the woman of his dreams, it seems that Ted hit a stumbling block. He went on a blind date with a woman that he went on a blind date with seven years ago.

At first Ted thought he was expereincing a bit of déjà vu. Sure Jen looked a little familiar, but it wasn’t until after he made a horribly bad pun that it hit him.  He wasn’t having a “déjà vu” moment, he was reliving their first date – the same restaurant, the same food, the same conversations.  Uh oh. Ted has officially dated all the single ladies in NYC and now he’s starting all over again. This can’t be good.

After the initial shock of the date do-over, Ted and his date Jen (played by Lindsey Sloane) decided to use this mix-up to learn from their dating mistakes. What first date tactics turned them off to each other the first time around?  For Ted it was Jen’s obsession with her cats and her ex-boyfriend.  For Jen, it was Ted’s bad puns and his snobbery. As they relive their first date, they realize that the second date is much better. All seems to be going well but then Ted realizes that he remembers why he didn’t call Jen after their first date.  He doesn’t want to be with someone that just tolerates his idiosyncrasies. He wants someone who like Ted for Ted.

Future Ted tell us that the future mother of his children laughed at his bad pun…at least a little.

Meanwhile Barney kidnaps Marshall under the pretense of a Star Wars exhibition. Everyone knows it’s in Houston this year, come on Marshall. Instead, Barney takes Marshall to a strip club where he learns that Marshall has a difficult time fantasizing about women. Poor Marshall. We learn that he can’t fantasize without creating the most elaborate story in order for his daydreams to soothe his guilty conscience. He truly loves Lily with every fiber of his being and won’t even allow Daydream Marshall to cheat on her.

But all bets are off when a stripper at the club turns out to be Lily’s doppelganer! The guys rush back to MacLaren’s to tell the girls.  Lily is thrilled and can’t wait to go see the stripper version of herself. Robin is less than pleased.

Barney was under the assumption that Robin would not only be fine with him at a strip club but would join in on the fun. If Barney had truly believed she would have been cool about it, he would have just told her. Honesty, Barnana, honesty.

I felt bad for Robin in this episode. Barney refused to acknowledge anything she said last night. She complained about the strip club and it went in one ear and out the other. Communication, Barnabus, communication. Barney hasn’t been in a relationship in a decade and doesn’t understand the basics. I hope he can learn to listen to Robin’s feelings or Robarney will go down the tubes.

I think my favorite part of the episode is learning that the entire gang has doppelgangers! So far there is Lesbian Robin, Mustached Marshall and Stripper Lily. Can’t wait to see the dopple’s for Ted and Barney.

And it must be said – was I the only one that screamed, “DAMN!” when they saw Alyson Hannigan in that outfit? Aly just had a baby and she’s looking top-notch.

Now I want to know your thoughts on this episode. Did you like stripper Lily?  Would you liked 2002 Ted or 2009 Ted? Did this episode defuse any worries that Robin and Barney’s romance would overtake the show?

Jen is our resident HIMYM guru. Unlike the Jen featured in last night’s episodes, she abhors playing dress-up with animals, is more of a dog person, enjoys pointing out mistakes on signs and in menus, smiles at puns and has her own doppelganger roaming the Boston-area.