Anantha Krishnan
5. The Playbook (Season 5, Episode 8)
‘The Playbook’ is all about Barney: the womanizer he is and the tricks he uses to lure women his way. This episode manages to smartly take its viewers off guard regarding Barney’s new ploy to attract women, just like he does to his friends. The Playbook, an important prop that would shape several stories in the later episodes of the show is introduced for the first time here, and the regular style of the show is executed with a particular brilliance, which makes me adore how it all wraps up by the end. Cunning, clever, and hilarious.
4. Slap Bet (Season 2, Episode 9)
The in-jokes of HIMYM have gone on to become extremely popular, and a good number of them stemmed from this one episode. Regarding a strange quirk of Robin’s relating to her dislike of shopping malls, ‘Slap Bet’ dives in to offer another one of the show’s greatest mysteries, being that Robin was in fact, a super-star in Canada back when she was a teenager. The 5 slaps to eternity and the ‘Robin Sparkles’ persona reveal are both very well carried out, and this episode proves to be quite the entertainer.
3. Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM (Season 1, Episode 18)
HIMYM tackled some very personal issues with its storyline. ‘Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM’ is about loneliness and bad decisions, and how the two are interlinked. I love how this episode humanises the protagonists to perfection. As viewers, we are aware that Ted, Robin, and Victoria are all good people, but they are still capable of making bad decisions, fueled by silly things such as a spark of infatuation or even a superstition about nothing good happening after the clock strikes 2 in the morning. This one’s plain amazing, and a little discomforting.
2. Symphony of Illumination (Season 7, Episode 12)
‘Symphony of Illumination’ breaks the storytelling pattern of the show up until then, and for a moment, captures an imaginary retelling of the HIMYM format from the perspective of Robin, who suspects a pregnancy come her way, with Barney being the possible father of her child. Tied into this is a hilarious subplot involving Marshall decorating his house for Christmastime. The episode is mostly sad though, and the uplifting ending is one of my favourite scenes in the entire show.
1. Three Days of Snow (Season 4, Episode 13)
‘Three Days of Snow’ is one of the cleverest episodes of the show. It also accounts for one of the warmest, fuzziest storylines of HIMYM, with three separate events that take place during three consecutive snowy days in New York. The Barney-Ted arc of the plot involves their crazy scheme to try and impress two young who they agree to meet up with by taking over the McLaren’s Pub for a night. The Lily-Marshall bit is so cute I can’t even go on to describe how it makes me feel, especially with that final scene. The non-linear structure works very well with the quick-cut style of the episode.
Read More: Best Friends Episodes
