REVIEW - How I Met Your Mother - S09E05 - ‘The Poker Game’

It’s Robin versus the Stinsons and Ted versus Marshall and Lilly in this week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother.

After finding out that Ted is getting Barney and Robin not one but three wedding gifts, Lily is outraged because she thinks Ted did not get her and Marshall a wedding present. Of course it’s not as straight-forward as all that, because Ted is certain that he gave Marshall and Lily a wedding present, and is annoyed that they never sent him a ‘thank you’ note for doing so. In order for this mystery to be solved, cue the entrance of recurring characters Stewart and Claudia...

Meanwhile James keeps making cracks about how awful marriage is, and Robin takes issue with this (understandably). Robin has words with James, who runs to mummy (Loretta). Loretta is not going to let Robin be nasty to her son, and tries to take Robin down in a poker game. Robin wins, leaving Barney in the uncomfortable position of ‘choosing’ who to side with, his future wife or his family. Being Barney he is not able to deal with such emotional turmoil, and can’t seem to make things right between anyone. Loretta takes it upon herself to solve the problem by declaring war on Robin.

How I Met Your Mother has certainly been setting up many issues to be dealt with in later episodes, so I am curious to see what will be the biggest of them all/whether they will perhaps snowball somehow. Anyway, next week’s episode looks interesting with Barney apparently stealing Marshall and Lily’s story of how they met and passing it off as his and Robin’s. This looks quite entertaining, but I am still hanging out to see the mother meeting more of Ted’s friends...

Review by Heather Bale.