Woooo! Second blog of the night! Turns out Noel is stuck in Chicago, so there's no reason to rush this one. Well … there's one reason. It wasn't really great. But maybe I'm just worn out from all the blogging, so if you disagree, make your case.
Just do it without the double entendre, wouldja? Sheesh. First Leonard's romantic rival talks about nailing Penny, then Barney sits right in the gang's booth and says that "nothing makes me happier than filling an opening," with reference to Ted's sister Heather. Yes, I know that's small potatoes compared with the Christmas carols (and one Hanukkah carol) that Barney sings before he even meets Heather; pants drop, boobies are played with, women get on all fours. Back me up here, though, people. It's one thing to talk in the crudest terms about having sex with a third party who is not present. Is it not quite another thing to make such statements in the presence of said third party?
Maybe I'm just old fashioned. But I expected a little more from standard sitcom plot 3J: Hitherto Unseen Relative Visits. Ted has some good moments being overprotective of Heather; I related to his compunction to tell her how to perform simple tasks ("that door's a push, not a pull — there you go"). But the switcheroo she and Barney pull to paradoxically convince Ted that she's grown up? Weird and cruel.
Our B-story finds Robin pining for the fjords, or whatever it is they've got up there north of the border. So Marshall takes her to his favorite Minnesotan bar, where everybody wears Vikings jerseys and the mini-burgers are regular-burger-sized. Robin immediately falls into standard sitcom plot 4F: Stealing The Bar. She gets the high score on Fisherman Quest ("we've got a possible gill screen!" enthuses a patron) and borrows Marshall's own '99 NFC championship story, all to insinuate herself with the barflies. Marshall is forced to reveal her biggest secret — she's from Canada, the land where everybody's afraid of the dark.
That's the best moment of the night, of course. Robin's monologue defending Canada is classic. Our neighbors to the north gave us Trivial Pursuit ("you're welcome, earth!"). And strip bars there serve alcohol! It does sound like a great place. You can't get the strippers at the Hoser Hut, where Marshall takes Robin to show her that she can have a little bit of Canada in New York, but you can get complimentary donuts under a photo of Paul Schaefer. Which is the perfect way to forget about Heather and her forgettable storyline.
Grade: B-
Stray observations:
– Barney rented a chair to bring to Ted's apartment for the big Heather meetup because "I needed one that swivels."
–Wardrobe Note: Didn't care for the skinny "I'm not cold because I'm Canadian" costuming on Robin, but that cabled hoodie vest on Lily with the frog closures? Very nice.
– The strangely appealing forced-perspective blocking we saw in "The Naked Man" when Ted and prospective girlfriend are feinting at the elevator returns, as Barney leans in front of hte camera, out of focus, to translate Ted's lingo: "Now he's just stating a fact."
– "All New York guys are like 10% girl."