How I Met Your Mother - Season 8 Episode 19 - Recap and Review - The Fortress
Recap and review of How I Met Your Mother - Season 8 Episode 19 - The Fortress:
How I Met Your Mother is biding its time until Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin's (Cobie Smulders) wedding, and it shows. However, this isn't really a bad thing, particularly when the time-biding process produces an episode as funny as "The Fortress". It's a fairly standard half-hour, in which Robin convinces Barney to give up his bachelor pad so they can start off their marriage in a fresh place. The story has a clear beginning, middle and end, which is something of a lost art form in TV sitcoms today, as many shows are either too involved in its serialized stories or it's busy being a joke-machine, rattling off as many jokes as possible in its half-hour timeframe (21 minutes, without commercials), without worrying about building up a self-contained, logical story. The episode doesn't provide significant advancement in the Robin-Barney romance -- instead, it simply reaffirms the commitment Barney has to making it work -- but none of that really matters when set against the backdrop of all the great comedy setpieces strewn about this episode. By the time it was all said and done, "The Fortress" proved to be one of my favorite episodes of the season so far.
Credit: CBS
Robin proposes the idea of Barney giving up his bachelor pad, and the episode goes to great lengths to reveal the many ridiculous implements Barney has had installed over the years, patent pending on all, such as a track that disposes of the "hos" in his bed by removing the bed through a trap door (the "Ho-B-Gone System"), replacing the old bed with a new, ho-less one. Barney's inventions are the best running gag of the episode, from the device that creates a backdrop of Paris or Niagra Falls outside his windows, to the sprinkler system that activates on any number of trigger phrases ("I'm a week late!") and deactivates through other trigger phrases ("I'm all wet!"). Most significant of all is the "Jor-El Cam" that recreates the effect of Jor-El's floating head from Superman's Fortress of Solitude in the Superman movies, which is used to hilarious effect throughout the episode, whether from Barney trying to be god-like and threatening to Ted (Josh Radnor), or from Robin using it to scare away potential buyers for wanting to change everything uniquely "Barney" about the apartment.
Credit: CBS
That latter point is what gives the episode its poignancy. Barney keeps looking for reasons not to sell the bachelor pad because it's a representation of his old lifestyle, from which he hasn't entirely reconciled his break. However, he ultimately comes to realize that the bachelor pad is a symbol of his loneliness, and that he never wants to be alone again. Robin, meanwhile, realizes that she loves every part of Barney, even the creepy, skeezy, sociopathic parts of him. Ultimately, that's something worth preserving for her, for better or worse, and so she prevents the prospective buyers at the open house from purchasing the bachelor pad. It's a simple, almost elegant solution to the overarching issue of the episode, and it's well-played by both Cobie Smulders (particularly during her stint on the "Jor-El Cam") and Neil Patrick Harris, who gets a killer line after Robin confesses her love of Barney's worst elements ("I think someone's just written her wedding vows!"). It's a strong A-story that anchors the episode both dramatically and in terms of comedic value. In addition, the storyline also binds the rest of the ensemble together in a more substantial fashion than similar straight-up comedic episodes have this season.
Credit: CBS
At the open house, Ted and Marshall (Jason Segel) are mistaken for a gay couple, Marshall goes along with the misunderstanding in order to get back at Lily (Alyson Hannigan) for always being at the beck-and-call of new employer, The Captain (Kyle McLachlan). Ted also has a bit of a grudge against Lily, since she's never around to watch his favorite show, Woodworthy Manor, a Downton Abbey knock-off that inspires Ted to adopt a British accent throughout the episode (culminating in his hook-up with one of the prospective buyers of Barney's apartment). The conclusion, in which Lily refuses a call from The Captain, explaining that she needs to spend time with her husband, is a poignant conclusion that is bolstered by some pretty solid comedy throughout the subplot, from Lily's increasingly pretentious arthouse outfits, to the scene in which Marshall, still pretending to be with Ted, accuses Lily of voting against gay marriage. It's a uniformly strong episode, and the tag at the end, in which Ted and the gang gather together in Barney's apartment to watch Woodworthy Manor (with Ted quipping for everyone to take their seats, adding that they're only going to need the edge) had me laughing. This is a rare episode that brings all the different elements of the ensemble together in a way that feels organic to the story.
Credit: CBS
"The Fortress" is one of my favorite episodes of the season for how nimbly it blends the best elements of the show together, reinforcing the comedy with strong character work. It's the best of what How I Met Your Mother has to offer.
