In a refreshing change of pace, How I Met Your Mother's "Platonish" took us back to the fall of 2012, when Ted, Barney and Robin were all in relationship limbo. Obviously, these love triangle episodes carry an inherent stigma with them, and depending on your personal preference, they're gonna hit you in one way or another. Still, this episode had some really great, classic moments-- and, as per usual, a few duds.
Starting with the reprise of Ted and Robin's "cutesy-tootsy" saluting bit, it was clear that this episode was looking to set a few things straight in terms of the Ted/Barney/Robin dynamic-- but not before addressing the most platonic pair-up of all time: Marshall and Robin. The writers may have been pushing it with that dynamite-strapped-to-Lily bit, but the idea that Marshall and Robin have zero sexual chemistry is still pretty amusing. It occurs to me that I can't think of many storylines where these two did something together one-on-one (save for the dance-off in last season's "The Time Travellers," and the old Minnesota bar episode, maybe a couple others), so it was kind of fun to see the gang poke fun at that idea.
Ted and Marshall's basketball game scenes were also somewhat interesting, as they talked about Ted's own "platonic" relationship with Robin. I liked the idea of Marshall trying to convince Ted to make his move, but this storyline kind of felt more like the writers covering up their tracks than actually fleshing out Ted's motivation, since his decision not to rush things is pretty contrary to his usual line of thinking. However, these scenes did include a few humorous referee insults from the guys, as well as Marshall's faux-impressed reaction to Ted's blue french horn idea: "Hey, everybody! We got a, uh, celebrity in the crowd over here. We got, uh, Nicholas Sparks!".
Of course, the real pinnacle of "Platonish" was the return of Bryan Cranston as Ted's old boss Hammond Druthers, who was calling to offer Ted a unique job opportunity in-- aha!-- Chicago. Here, we got some hilarious interplay between the two former coworkers, as Hammond tried to convince Ted to come work for him-- "and I won't take no for an answer." "No." "I don't think you heard me, Ted." "No." "Come on, Ted!" After Ted's decided refusal, I also loved Hammond's shift into social media threats, declaring, "I will LIVE on your Facebook wall!".
Meanwhile, Barney's various challenges were a mixed bag of jokes that ranged from "kinda funny" (garbage bag and no "E"s) to "super lame" (pure dolphin-speak). But the highlight of this subplot was Barney's first meeting with the Mother at the drug store, which took a nice "real talk" approach to Barney's childish escapades. I also thought it was rather fitting that the Mother was the one who inspired Barney to go after Robin again and concoct his final play. Overall, I dug the serendipitous meeting between the two of them.
Also, this dovetailed nicely with Ted's storyline, as it depicted the contrast between both men and their drive to win Robin back at that time. Frustratingly, though, back in the "present," it seemed like Ted was having some serious regrets about his decision not to rush things with Robin. While "Platonish" did a good job of filling in a few blanks, particularly for Barney, it still put us back exactly where we were, with a final confrontation looming in the pre-wedding air.
THE VERDICT.
How I Met Your Mother: "Platonish" featured solid storylines for both Ted and Barney-- although each one had its drawbacks. Meanwhile, return appearances from Cristin Milioti as the Mother and Bryan Cranston as Hammond Druthers were high points.