The Stella and Ted story arc of How I Met Your Mother Seasons 3 and 4 was more or less a bore, and it proved two things to me. Number one, Sarah Chalke belongs on Scrubs and only Scrubs; and number two, the farther into the series we go, the less I care who the mother is. This was the main draw of Season 1, but as time passed, the appeal of the show was brought on by Ted and his friends, not Ted and his potential wives. Luckily, Season 5 starts off with less focus on Ted’s relationships, although there is a side plot showing his embarrassing first day as a professor, and more focus on the Barney and Robin situation, specifically what happened after they kissed in the season finale.
This episode follows Barney and Robin as they avoid Lily who pesters them to define their relationship, hence the title “Definitions.” Throughout the entire summer, Barney and Robin have been friends with benefits. Both of them enjoy the “arrangement,” but it’s obvious that the current situation can’t last. Barney and Robin try to play it cool, until the man we once viewed as a lone-wolf man-whore succumbs to jealousy.
When you think about it, the Barney and Robin story arc should feel weird since, you know, Ted was out-of-his-mind in love with her. That’s the crazy thing about this relationship; you don’t realize that it’s such a perfect match until it happens. This has potential to be one of the most-wanted relationships since Jim and Pam in The Office.
That’s enough about the lovey-dovey aspects of this episode. When you take all of the romantic (if you can call it that) aspects out of “Definitions,” you’re still left with an extremely funny episode. All of the cast members have their key moments in the show. Marshall becomes obsessed with a bull-whip, which is his running joke throughout the episode. However, the funniest aspect of “Definitions” was, surprisingly, Ted’s side plot.
A romantic Ted is hardly ever a funny Ted. Josh Radnor has the ability to play a funny character, but in previous seasons, the funniness has been held back to let relationship Ted shine through. Luckily, Ted recanting his embarrassing first day as a college professor turns out to be a hilarious side plot. There are multiple moments of side-splitting laughter in the classroom. Whether it’s Ted’s indecision as to whether he’ll be the strict or hip teacher, or his forgetting how to spell “professor” while he’s writing it on the blackboard, it’s all a blast.
It’s clear that How I Met Your Mother has what it takes to keep going strong. At this point, I wish the mother didn’t even exist because it only seems like a countdown timer until the end of the show. I wish the show would continue to be about nothing, à la Seinfeld, rather than Ted’s wife to be. But I believe that’s enough rambling for one review. I’m going to give “Definitions” a glowing 4.5 out of 5.
Jordan is a high school student and aspiring journalist. He loves playing/watching and writing about video games, television, and movies. 
