Monday night’s episode of How I Met Your Mother was really more of a lead up than an episode in its own right. In two weeks we’ll get to watch the two-part season finale, “The Magician’s Code”, in which Lily will have her baby, hopefully Ted and Robin will smooth things over and, fingers crossed, we’ll find out who Barney marries. I’m looking forward to that. But “Good Crazy” kind of felt like the prep work.

“Good Crazy” featured everyone in the gang rather out of sorts. Ted and Robin still aren’t speaking, and he couldn’t get her face out of his head – literally, every girl he went on a date with morphed into Robin in his imagination. Barney and Quinn got into an argument because Barney wanted Quinn to quit stripping and take a fake, well-paying position with Goliath National Bank. (Can I get one of those? I can check my scruples at the door for a big paycheck and no responsibilities.) And Lily sent Marshall off to Atlantic City with Barney after they got into a big baby related fight – Lily thought Marshall was going overboard preparing for the baby while Marshall thought Lily wasn’t taking it seriously enough.

And that’s how, at the end of the episode, Lily ended up going into labor while Marshall was drunk in Atlantic City with his phone turned off. Remember that shot we saw previously of Barney in the ducky tie and Marshall in a Marshall+ Steph 4-Ever T-shirt? Yes, that was this.

Ted left MacLaren’s realizing that he really didn’t want to lose Robin as a friend, and bumped into her outside. That’s where she told him Lily was having the baby. I have a feeling that being the only two people around to support Lily during the first part of labor will help reconcile them, but I’m sure Barney will find a way to get them there in time for the birth. (In fact, there are a lot of pictures around The Interwebs from the season finale to tide you over until May 14.)

I didn’t dislike this episode, but I found it a tad predictable and slow. But I have high hopes for the season-ended double-header and I like what has been set up for that. What did you guys think of “Good Crazy”?

Favorite Quotes and Stray Observations:

• “It’s 2012! What do you expect, to meet a cute travel agent while reading the newspaper at a book store? None of those things exist anymore!” – Barney
• I refuse to believe that Ted still hadn’t tried online dating at this point.
• Barney thinks “laying low” means 39-ing with a short woman.
• Quinn tells Barney that the cage at the Lusty Leopard is only cardboard, which ruins cage night for him.
• Quinn: “What’s an executive strategy coordinator?”
  Barney: “It’s three corporate sounding words, which when added together equal a fake job, for which you get a real paycheck in the amount of exactly what you make stripping. Plus dental! You’re welcs.”
• “Okay this is real, it’s not a false alarm. This is real, I’m in labor. I kind of need you to call me back now…Where are you? Call me!…If you’re trying to get back at me you have chosen a wildly inappropriate way of doing so!” – Lily

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Couchtime/~3/1c01WNbhh2c/