'How I Met Your Mother Recap:' Something Old

In the newest episode of “How I Met Your Mother” titled, “Something Old," we have quite a bit going on. There are three central storylines all happening at once, which provide some excellent comedy and even better drama.

Our first conflict arises as Lily and Marshall are packing up their apartment for their one-year job assignment to Italy for Lily’s job. With this, they are struggling to out what to take with them and what to leave in “the triangle." The triangle is a very unique part of the framework for this episode and the series overall, as it is a reference that dates back to the early seasons. When Lily and Marshall cannot figure out what to take and leave behind, they call in an expert: Ted. While Ted barks instructions, they stumble upon an old, grimy beanbag chair. Marshall and Lily both want to throw it away, but Ted is adamant the chair go to Italy with them. Later, we learn that the Ted's attachment to the chair is due to it being the first thing the three of them bought when they first moved in. He feels that if they can just toss that out on the street corner and forget about it, maybe they will do the same to him when they move to Italy. Ultimately, Ted realized that his friends will always love him, and he gives his blessing for the chair to be thrown away.

The second storyline focuses on Barney connecting with Robin’s dad over a game of Laser Tag. It is interesting to see that they are both very headstrong, don’t always support Robin, and can be very selfish. We see them battling against one another, only to come together at the end and team up against a bunch of little kids in the battle.

The final and potentially most important storyline deals with Robin. Early on in the episode, we see a flashback to when she was sixteen and visiting New York with her father. While there, she buried a locket in the ground in Central Park, only to be dug up when she was about to get married so it could be her “something old”. As she starts to dig in the ground, she can’t find it. She calls each one of her friends to help, and they all turn her down except for Ted. We learn that Robin feels if she can't find the locket, then it might be a sign from the universe that she should not marry Barney. Ted then proceeds to tell her that she should stop looking for signs from the universe, and to do what she feels she needs to do. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, as she holds Ted’s hand while rain falls down on them, setting up a mighty deep season finale next week.