Cobie Smulders in How I Met Your Mother's "Tick Tick Tick". Photo courtesy of Fox Television.
“Disaster Averted” left HIMYM fans (and staunch Stinson/Scherbatsky supporters) elated: Barney and Robin, after months of playing games and suppressing their feelings, finally kissed on a shared cab home (well, Robin was supposed to be going to work, but in our excitement we dutifully ignored this minor issue). Time flew while Barney and Robin engaged in Barney’s favorite pastime. Suddenly, the two are naked, staring at the ceiling (and, knowing Barney, an inconspicuous video camera), filled with remorse for cheating on Nora and Kevin. Now that the moment is gone, they immediately revert back to denial and insist the night doesn’t mean anything. Neither has enough time to fully asses the situation and sort through their emotions, however, as they’re all due at a cruise for Robin and Nora’s office the next night. They decide to act as if nothing happened to spare everyone’s feelings.
On a lighter note, Ted, Marshall and Lily are set to go to this year’s Groovapalooza, a 90s music festival they first attended while studying at Wesleyan. Ted buys them some sandwiches (read: weed) for the occasion, but Marshall promises Lily that, as a future father, he’ll be more responsible and sit out on snack time. However, he caves at the concert, and the two go on a Harold & Kumar-type quest to find nachos for Lily. A very high and paranoid Marshall worries that Lily doesn’t have faith in his paternal instincts, and he and Ted gripe about growing older and time moving too quickly. Lily, however, brings them to their senses. They come to terms with the passage of time and sit down to watch the show—which, it turns out, they can’t handle high.
On the boat, Barney loses his nerve and unintentionally drops hints about his and Robin’s tryst. Neither Nora nor Kevin—and you’d think the therapist would notice, what with the constant Freudian slips—suspects a thing. Guilt overcomes Barney and Robin, and when they’re about to come clean, Kevin falls and suffers a concussion. Robin tells Barney she wishes the previous night hadn’t happened, but he admits that he’s glad; the truth is, despite trying to commit to other people, the two can’t stay away from each other. They resolve to break up with Nora and Kevin after they leave and meet up at MacLaren’s to talk things over.
They regret waiting, however, when Kevin tells Robin he loves her at the hospital and Barney and Nora come home to Nora’s visiting parents. After Nora’s dad launches into a speech about meeting “the one,” Barney realizes that for him, that person is Robin. He finally tells Nora he cheated on her, and they break up. But when Robin meets him at MacLaren’s, Kevin is still at her side. At the hospital, he had told her their past mistakes didn’t matter; he only cared about moving forward together. On the boat, when Robin asked Barney why he liked her, he told her she was just as messed up as he was; but when she asked Kevin in the E.R., he said he thought she was wonderful, and he wanted her to see that too. Rather than choose the man who loves her flaws, Robin stays with the one who doesn’t see her quirks as flaws at all. Thus, when everyone is back at the bar, Barney gracefully takes his exit, alone.
Though I personally wanted to see Barney and Robin get back together (imagine the choreographed dance routine possibilities for their wedding!), “Tick Tick Tick” was the most heartfelt and honest episode the show has put out in some time. Marshall and Ted may have been blazed, but they’re both genuinely scared for the future: the former has to grow up and be a parent, the latter might never find the girl he’s always wanted. Robin may love Barney, but she takes a huge step in overcoming her daddy issues by staying in a healthy relationship with a man who openly loves her and tells her just why. The most depth, though, is seen in Barney—the former playboy evolving into a mature adult who is finally honest about his feelings, only to be heartbroken. We don’t get many sad moments on HIMYM. Lily and Marshall’s initial break-up, Ted being left at the altar and Marshall finding out his dad passed away are some of the few that come to mind. It’s been a while, though, since a scene has hurt as badly as this episode’s final shot of Barney clearing the rose petals off Robin’s bed and blowing out the candles he lit for when they were together again.
Highlights
Robin: I mean it’s a three-hour boat ride, what could happen?
Barney: I’m sure that’s what Gilligan said.
Barney and Robin, dancing with their significant others, are serenaded by a live R&B band that musically guilt-trips them with lyrics such as “You fooled around on your baby/Now the least you could do is to tell the truth/ Yes, you in the suit/ Or the secret will eat up your soul”.