How I Met Your Mother "A Change of Heart" Review

"A Change of Heart" felt so lazy, like the writers couldn't be bothered with for the writing period of the episode. Maybe a hiatus for the show was nigh as the writers broke the story for this episode and they pulled a Philadelphia Flyers (which means they essentially no-showed the game before a multi-day break). I might've audibly groaned when the doctor gave Barney a heart device to measure his beats because I knew exactly where the story would go and it's no where good. Maybe the majority of HIMYM fans enjoyed the episode. Maybe they enjoyed the continued development of Barney. If so, these fans probably swear by forgettable romantic comedies because Barney's arc is straight out of Romantic Comedy 101. How I Met Your Mother earns more critical praise than other sitcoms for its attention to detail its interest in long-form narratives; however, the show's more than capable of falling into lazy sitcom tropes and uninspired filler episodes (as the bulk of season five proved).

Predictably, HIMYM has hit a crossroads with Barney. Six seasons in, his womanizing ways have worn thin. During season five, the show explored Barney's emotional side when he and Robin became a couple. After a few weeks, the writers broke the couple up. Maybe Craig Bays and Carter Thomas felt like the coupling wasn't working or maybe the network disliked the coupling and suggested separating Robin and Barney. During their relationship, the audience learned more about the inner-workings of Barney the Romantic. Specifically, one episode (the break-up episode) featured a flash-forwardish device that allowed the viewer to see how Barney viewed he and Robin in the future (it wasn't good).

Barney essentially faces the same issues in "A Change of Heart" that he did during the early part of season five. He fears commitment. He hesitates allowing anyone into his life. In all honesty, his issues aren't very interesting or compelling because they're so clichéd. Alan Sepinwall argued last week that the arc would be far more interesting if Barney faced these feelings with Robin because we're invested in not only Robin but their coupling. Presently, Nora's an attractive British girl with a polite and friendly demeanor but she has no characters. I like her well enough but nothing separates her from any of the other female characters who've received a multi-episode arc with Barney. The A story with Nora follows the traditional beats of any bad rom-com. Barney lies to Nora about what he wants in an attempt to sleep with her. Eventually, he confesses that he lied but, you see, he lied about lying. With Barney's constant deceptions to people about what he truly feels, it's impossible to gauge how Barney actually feels about Nora.

Of course, the heart monitor exists (one of the laziest plot devices I've seen this season), which reveals what Barney truly felt--his heart skipped a beat when Nora arrived for their date. Later, Barney watches Nora eat breakfast with her parents as he imagines what it'd be like if he apologized to her and was honest. But he doesn't and he walks away. My instinct tells me that Barney will shed his womanizing ways when he meets his father and works out those abandonment issues.

Meanwhile, Robin considered buying a dog and then began dating a man who acted like an actual dog. The B story had some funny moments like the gang (sans Barney) high on "sandwiches" and the pun-a-thon in the bar. But it wasn't enough to save the episode because the Barney story was garbage.

I assume the show won't return with new episodes until April since February sweeps is over. "A Change of Heart" was a definitely the weak episode of recent string of good ones. As popular as NPH is, a Barney-centric episode usually fails to deliver.

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