It's funny how people praise Barney's character development, but whenever Robin shows signs of having moved on from being a lone warrior, incapable of maintaining a relationship, it's "out of character". She deserves some character development too.
This episode is all about the revelation near the end, the impact it has on the whole story and how it even makes you reconsider previous events. Barney and Marshall don't have much to do here. The 'Big Lebowski' reference is funny and Marshall's Chewbacca impression never fails to crack me up. But considering the emphasis of the episode, there's no point in writing a spoiler-free review. If you haven't watched it yet, don't read any further.
So Lily was the reason Ted and Robin broke up. She had a point, Ted and Robin needed to address their oppositional future plans some time, but until then they had a good relationship that lasted one year and probably would have lasted way longer without external interference. Which is even more impressive considering Robin had to take lessons in how to behave in a relationship early in season 1. So how does she feel about it, looking back? She's a strong independent woman, but that doesn't mean she likes to be alone. From her perspective, the only reason to break up with Ted was her career. Which has hit a few bumps since. When she quit her job in Japan, she chose the completely wrong moment to open up to Ted about her feelings. When she was unemployed and moved to Ted's apartment, she brought up the idea of having sex to improve the atmosphere. She and Ted were equally responsible for accidentally slipping back into couple's routine. And she wasn't the one who insisted to end the arrangement after that - it was Ted.
It all makes sense at the end of this episode. Just look at Robin's facial expressions and body language (Cobie Smulders does an amazing job here, by the way). Again, Robin brings up the big question: "Would we still be dating right now?" Just look at her. "But Lily was right" clearly wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Neither was "we still do (need to do our own thing)". Then, out of nowhere, she comes up with the 40-and-still-single-pact. Judging her excited reaction to Ted's "proposal", she probably also would have said yes if he had asked her to get back together right now.
We have seen Ted chase after Robin so many times that it's easy to overlook that this time, it's actually the other way round. After all the disappointment she underwent in her career, after realizing she's probably not gonna be a worldwide success as a famous journalist, after settling for hosting a morning show with hardly any viewership, Robin is indeed ready to get back together with Ted. But this time Ted, who clearly still suffers from the breakup with Stella, does not reciprocate her feelings. And then there's Barney, to make things even more complicated.
This episode is all about the revelation near the end, the impact it has on the whole story and how it even makes you reconsider previous events. Barney and Marshall don't have much to do here. The 'Big Lebowski' reference is funny and Marshall's Chewbacca impression never fails to crack me up. But considering the emphasis of the episode, there's no point in writing a spoiler-free review. If you haven't watched it yet, don't read any further.
So Lily was the reason Ted and Robin broke up. She had a point, Ted and Robin needed to address their oppositional future plans some time, but until then they had a good relationship that lasted one year and probably would have lasted way longer without external interference. Which is even more impressive considering Robin had to take lessons in how to behave in a relationship early in season 1. So how does she feel about it, looking back? She's a strong independent woman, but that doesn't mean she likes to be alone. From her perspective, the only reason to break up with Ted was her career. Which has hit a few bumps since. When she quit her job in Japan, she chose the completely wrong moment to open up to Ted about her feelings. When she was unemployed and moved to Ted's apartment, she brought up the idea of having sex to improve the atmosphere. She and Ted were equally responsible for accidentally slipping back into couple's routine. And she wasn't the one who insisted to end the arrangement after that - it was Ted.
It all makes sense at the end of this episode. Just look at Robin's facial expressions and body language (Cobie Smulders does an amazing job here, by the way). Again, Robin brings up the big question: "Would we still be dating right now?" Just look at her. "But Lily was right" clearly wasn't the answer she wanted to hear. Neither was "we still do (need to do our own thing)". Then, out of nowhere, she comes up with the 40-and-still-single-pact. Judging her excited reaction to Ted's "proposal", she probably also would have said yes if he had asked her to get back together right now.
We have seen Ted chase after Robin so many times that it's easy to overlook that this time, it's actually the other way round. After all the disappointment she underwent in her career, after realizing she's probably not gonna be a worldwide success as a famous journalist, after settling for hosting a morning show with hardly any viewership, Robin is indeed ready to get back together with Ted. But this time Ted, who clearly still suffers from the breakup with Stella, does not reciprocate her feelings. And then there's Barney, to make things even more complicated.