"How I Met Your Mother" season 8 continued Monday, Feb. 11, with episode 16, "Bad Crazy," which saw Ted's (Josh Radnor) relationship with Jeanette (Abby Elliot) continue—despite the fact that she was crazy—and Robin (Cobie Smulders) trying desperately to avoid holding Marvin.
"HIMYM" has established that Ted's going to meet The Mother soon; the date is set, it's been said that Jeanette was the last girl he dated before he met her and was the one who made him say—and mean—he was ready to settle down. But it wasn't so easy for him to end that relationship even though he knew he had to. Even though she was breaking his things. Even though they were holding séances (and talking to Marilyn Monroe's cat? Oh, Ted). Even though they were taking her dog to an exorcist. Even though he knew she was crazy. And so he told Marshall (Jason Segel) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) that he had ended things with her, but when they let her into his apartment to get a book from his room, the truth slowly came out (including that Jeanette was a police officer, which may have been the biggest surprise of the night). So even though he said he had ended things, he hadn't. It was advice from a "wise old lady" Robin met (more on that with her storyline) that revealed some truths about that relationship. When dealing with a crazy girl, it's best to look to the guy she's dating. Ted was why Jeanette was acting the way she was, but Lily (Alyson Hannigan) suggested that he needed to be with her. She may have been insane, but so was Ted at the moment. And once it all went down in flames—actual flames (which there were)—they'd be there for him.
Meanwhile, Robin was avoiding holding Marvin, to the point where Lily ran after a bus to get his binky and she let a stranger hold him to stop his crying instead. While she told Lily that there hadn't been any problems, over the years through flashforwards, the truth was revealed. At first, it was a strange old woman who picked up Marvin, stopped his crying, took them to a strip club to calm Robin down, and whom Robin left Marvin with while she went to the bathroom. But then (17 years later) she confessed that the "wise old lady" was actually Mike Tyson (or "Senator" Mike Tyson, as Lily called him when she said she couldn't believe it took her that long to tell her she met him). In the end, Robin did hold Marvin, but that was just because Lily handed him off her to her while she was busy talking as everyone sat downstairs in Ted's living room while Jeanette was crazy upstairs. And after that, it wasn't so easy for Robin to put him down.
Was some of "Bad Crazy" very predictable? Yes. We had a feeling that Robin would eventually hold Marvin and then not be so willing to put him down. Yes, we knew Ted wasn't going to just break up with Jeanette like that. But it worked. And Ted's storyline is taking him that much closer to being ready to meet The Mother. Lily was right; in the present, he needed to be with crazy. He needed that experience; it's hard to imagine Ted going from the person he was before meeting Jeanette to the person ready to settle down. It may still be a bit hard to believe, but everyone needs to have that one last relationship before settling down, and Ted's the kind of person who needs to have one that's very "bad crazy."
"How I Met Your Mother" season 8 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBS. What did you think of "Bad Crazy"?
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