If you’ve never watched or heard of How I Met Your Mother, first of all, do you live under a rock? Second, I’ve never met a human who hasn’t laughed at even the best How I Met Your Mother episodes. To give you a brief summary, Ted Mosby is telling a very long, drawn-out story about how he met his wife. The story is all in a flashback, talking about him and his 20 to 30-something-year-old friends as they live in New York City. Here are some of the all-time best episodes.
Swarley (Season 2, Episode 7)
After Marshall, Ted and Barney go to a coffee shop, Barney’s name gets heard wrong and the barista writes “Swarley” on the coffee cup. While this episode is focused on Marshall moving on after Lily and him break up, the gang constantly rags on Barney.
The Pineapple Incident (Season 1, Episode 10)
Nestled in the first season of this show, the gang gets Ted blackout drunk and he has to piece together what happened the night before. It starts with five shots made by their bartender (all taken by Ted), and ends with a pineapple ending up on his bedside table and a note on his arm written in sharpie that reads “My name is Ted. If found, call this number.”
Slapsgiving (Season 3, Episode 9)
During this episode, Ted and Robin are trying to move past their awkward break-up. It has Robin’s new boyfriend in it with Ted accentuating his age and believing he is super, super old. Marshall and Lily host their first Thanksgiving as a married couple, and Barney is haunted by a slap bet that was won given to Marshall earlier in the year, with a countdown clock to top it off.
How I Met Everyone Else (Season 3, Episode 5)
This episode introduces Barney’s “crazy scale” for women. Ted met a girl online and brought her to the bar, and she comes up with an elaborate story on how they met. She ranks high on the “crazy scale,” and asks how Ted met the gang, which gives you the backstory on how Ted met everybody else.
Slap Bet (Season 2, Episode 9)
It is the most legendary episode of the show. Not only does it give us Robin Sparkles, it gives us the infamous slap bet that continues throughout the show.
The Best Burger in New York (Season 4, Episode 2)
Marshall is in the middle of trying to find a new job, and puts all of his effort into finding the best burger he had when he first moved to NYC. This episode has Regis Philbin (random, but makes it even better) and shows the gang trying to find the burger, complete with a starving Robin who keeps almost getting to eat. Plus, it has one of my favorite scenes from the show when Ted hits Marshall in the head with a baseball bat.
Where Were We? (Season 2, Episode 1)
This is the episode where Ted and Robin start to date and when Marshall and Lily call off their engagement. It isn’t that eventful of an episode, but has the best scenes when Ted and Robin are in their honeymoon phase and Barney exaggerates the extent of how he feels having to see all the lovey-dovey happening across their booth. It’s funny, trust me.
Girls Versus Suits (Season 5, Episode 12)
If you haven’t watched this show (which you should), you’ll know Barney is in love with “suiting up.” There are few episodes where Barney is not in a suit. In this one, he’s trying to get a girl who despises men in suits. There’s this whole big musical scene, and it’s super catchy.
Dual Citizenship (Season 5, Episode 5)
This episode goes back to Marshall and Ted’s college days. They find out one of their favorite pizza places in Chicago is closing, so they decide to go on a road trip and go back to their college selves for a day by drinking their favorite soda, Tantrum. Robin’s also on the verge of getting deported, and Barney offers to help her study, which leads for some good puns on his part.
Hopefully these episodes help you procrastinate from whatever studying you’re supposed to be doing right now. Happy viewing, collegiettes!
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