HIMYM 8.08: "Twelve Horny Women"

“We were bros. More than bros. We ate brunch together!”
-Marshall

This episode of HIMYM picked up not long after the last one left off. It’s the big Gruber Pharmaceuticals trial, pitting Marshall against old law school buddy Brad (Joe Manganiello). Marshall has been told that if he doesn’t win this trial, he’ll lose his environmental law job, so he’s understandably on edge. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew compete with (highly exaggerated) stories about which of them was the most badass as a teenager. I guess seeing all the delinquent teens at the courthouse while watching the Gruber trial brought that one on. And there’s a little Barney and Robin drama thrown in for good measure. Overall, this episode of HIMYM was entertaining and nothing stood out to me and especially horrific. It was still a little more cartoon-like than I prefer, but for HIMYM these days, it wasn’t bad. It was entertaining to see Joe Manganiello enjoy making fun of his new, post “True Blood” sex icon status There was also a brief but entertaining guest appearance from David Burtka (Neil Patrick Harris’ partner) as Lily’ high school boyfriend, Scooter. I liked how as the episode went on, nothing was as it first appeared.

The framing device for the episode is Marshall appearing before the New York Judiciary Committee. It appears that Marshall is in some sort of professional trouble, most likely related to his conduct at the Gruber Pharmaceutical trial, as the judges seem especially interested in learning what happened at that trial. As Marshall tells it, Brad was quite a formidable opponent in the court room, mostly because of his looks. And if you’ve seen “True Blood,” you will completely understand. The jury is all female (fortunate voir dire for Brad, that was), and all Brad has to do is bend down to pick up a pen, and he’s got them (and the judge) in the palm of his hand. Marshall tries to make a comeback by bringing in a duck named Paddles from the lake Gruber is accused of polluting. Marshall tells the jury that the duck has just finished weeks of treatment for acute dermatitis. Marshall almost has the jury right there, but then Brad shows a video of himself (shirtless, of course) enjoying Frog Lake with no ill effects. The video is super-cheesy but amusing, along the lines of Barney’s video resume from season 4.

Anyway, like I mentioned earlier, the B plot in this episode involves every character but Marshall telling tall tales about what badasses they were as teenagers. I think Lily’s was the best, even though it (like all the rest) was proven false. Lily fancied herself a teenage Omar Little from “The Wire,” whistling “A Hunting We Will Go,” as little kids ran down the street in front of her saying “Lily’s comin’, Lily’s comin’!” Badass!Lily also treated Scooter horribly, of course. She scared him, actually. Lily’s story falls apart when she demands her rap sheet from the court clerk and the clerk says there isn’t one. Robin’s story was my next favorite. She claims that she was a rock and roll rager in the hotels during her Robin Sparkles tour and that one time she got a DUI after passing out on a Zamboni. It turns out, though, that Robin was actually given an award for being the most courteous hotel guest ever. Lame! Ted claims that “Teddy Westside” was a menace in Ohio, and we see what looks like a mug shot is being taken, but Ted’s actually at a Renaissance Faire. Barney uses the fact that the bailiff at the court recognizes him to prove he was a badass, but it turns out that the bailiff just knows Barney from a magic club they were both in when Barney was a teen.

In other, non law-related news, Barney and Robin have been super awkward since their drunken kiss in the last episode. They go out of their way to be pleasant with “Hi, how are you?” and such, but it’s obvious something’s off. By the end of the episode, Barney has had it. He tells Robin he wants to go back to normal. He also tells her that he’s done chasing her and making a fool out of himself for her. This made me kind of sad, but maybe it’s the kick in the pants Robin needed to stop acting like such an idiot and maybe realize that Barney has grown up a bit. Anyway, Barney goes over to the bar to get them some drinks, and Robin looks wistful, so maybe the kick in the pants did indeed happen. I certainly hope so. And even though I never thought they would be a conventional couple that needed to get married, I hope the wedding ends up happening, too. Mostly because I’m tired of being jerked around. It’s clear that they are endgame, so I’m sick of all the delay tactics.

Anyway, back in the courtroom, Marshall makes one last ditch effort to win the case. He calls Brad to the stand and asks him to take off his shirt. Of course, even though Brad objects, the judge is only too happy to oblige. It turns out that Brad has the same dermatitis that Paddles the duck had. Marshall wins the case, but the judge only awards him $25,000. Marshall is pretty upset about this until he and Brad go out for brunch for old times’ sake. Brad says that Marshall inspired him to go work for the environmental law firm after all. He also says that idealistic, fair-minded people like Marshall should be judges. It turns out that Marshall wasn’t in front of the Judiciary Committee for any professional misconduct. He’s there to interview for a potential judgeship. Setting aside the fact that this is absolutely not how Marshall would get a judgeship in real life (a quick Google tells me that trial court judges in New York are chosen via a system much like the electoral college, where primary voters elect convention delegates, who in turn choose candidates for judgeships), I thought it was a sweet little turn of events. Marshall would be an excellent judge. He’d probably drive his clerk batty with his habit of singing as he works, but he’d be an excellent judge.