HIMYM 5×04 — The Sexless Innkeeper”: I’m kinda late in getting this week’s recaps posted, but I was on vacation and am just now cleaning out the TiVo. I have to say that this episode of How I Met Your Mother didn’t do very much for me. There were some funny moments for sure, and I laughed in several spots, but the ep seemed totally out of place. None of the plots had anything to do with the season-long or series-long story arcs, the characters didn’t act like themselves, and it just felt all wrong.
– The idea of the sexless innkeeper was funny, but the execution sucked. I didn’t like the “old man” get-ups that Barney and Ted donned for the flashbacks, and thought Barney’s poem was cheesy (though Ted’s was ok).
– Ted trying to pull off the professor look was definitely in character. That bit could have been a lot funnier though and didn’t necessarily have to be tied in to the sexless innkeeper. I hope the writers go back to the tweed again sometime soon.
– I love how in sync Robin and Barney are already. When she went through the motions of blowing her brains out after that awful night with Marshall and Lily, Barney wiped the fake splatter off his face without missing a beat. That was great!
– Some of the songs were funny, particularly Marshall’s stuff about his mother-in-law’s cat, but a couple weren’t, which made the gag sort of forgettable in the end.
– Is it just me, or is Neil Patrick Harris really hamming it up a lot this season? Some of his expressions and deliveries are just over the top (in a bad way). I love Barney, so I hope he doesn’t turn into a total caricature, or this could spell bad things for the show!