How I Met Your Mother Recap: Season 7, Episode 3 "Ducky Tie" (9/26/2011)
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Tonight's epsiode of How I Met Your Mother is, in many ways, a welcome blast from the past. Its central jokes pop with new vitality, but its main plot points are new visions of returning themes and characters. At the heart of this reflection is, of course, Victoria, who just bounced back into Ted's life last week. As Ted tells the story of his reunion with Victoria, we learn a bit more about the overall arc of the upcoming season. I had a great time with "Ducky Tie" and I have a hunch that you did, too. Let's make with the summary!
So Ted's telling everybody the story of how he reconnected with Victoria, but keeps getting interrupted by a more recent development: Lily's "pregnancy boobs" have arrived at last, prompting Barney to roll out a mad scheme whose true nature is revealed brilliantly as the episode progresses. The setting for Ted's storytelling ends up being a hibachi place called Shinjitsu... more on that later. Anyway, in the story, Ted tells Victoria he still feels guilty for cheating on her while she was abroad in Germany. To help make amends, he offers to help her with her dishes before she catches her bus for a vacation to the Hamptons. While he's working, Ted catches up with the last six years of Victoria's life and discovers that his ex-girlfriend is now engaged. Well, almost engaged, at least. See, Victoria discovered an engagement ring hidden away in her boyfriend's sock drawer, and now she's certain that her trip will end with her beau popping the question.
Good news, right? It's more complicated than it sounds. Turns out Victoria's boyfriend is none other than Klaus, a guy from her class with whom she'd told Ted she was close. Ted freaks out and demands to know whether Victoria cheated--she explains that she wasn't technically unfaithful, but that she did wait just a day and a half after breaking up with Ted to hook up with Klaus. Ted gets emotional, Victoria gets emotional, and pretty soon they're both explaining why their relationship mattered so much to them. From there, it takes just a drumroll (remember drumrolls?) to get them sharing a kiss.
Both Ted and Victoria quickly regret the kiss, and soon Victoria's rolling out on her bus. Ted ponders hypotheticals as Victoria boards but, in the official version of the story, opts not to have Victoria share her thoughts on why their relationship couldn't work. In the version he tells his kids, older Ted includes Victoria's answer: Robin is the dominant presence in Ted's life, and he can't keep pretending to be friends with both Barney and Robin when he still has so many complicated emotions related to her. Victoria thinks it doesn't work and older Ted agrees, but his younger self has yet to discover why as of the current timeline.
This episode's B plot is absolutely nuts, with Barney executing a sort of Xanatos Gambit that he's planned for over five years. It involves Pavlovian conditioning, exhibitionism, shrewed negotiations, and a shrimp toss that falls just short of amazing. Bottom line: Barney does get to see Lily's pregnancy boobs, though only for a fleeting second--his chance to touch them, the original prize of the wager, destroyed by his momentary fascination. The penalty for losing said bet? Barney has to wear Marshall's ducky tie for a year. (See? THAT's how he got it.) Barney's intricate plot was one of his best moments in a while, and Lily was totally adorable. I approve.
SumOlogy: Serious emotional business, with a side of hibachi hilarity.
Grade: 8.5/10
Leftovers
Ducky tie!
Long live the bangity bang song.
Ted is sort of a player. He's still one of the most amiable dudes on TV!
I wonder what games Ted and Marshall are playing when they play Xbox 360.
"The Girl Who Beat You Up? The Girl Who Ruined the Photo With Slash? The Girl Who Made You Get the Butterfly Tattoo?" "You guys make it sound like I dated a series of Stieg Larsson novels."
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