How I Met Your Mother "Twelve Horny Women" Review

Mr. Belding's on the New York State Judiciary Board, so if Marshall wants to become a judge in the state of New York, all he needed to do was tell jokes and compliment the other judges. Mr. Belding succumbed to Zach Morris' charms every episode. Marshall's going to become a judge. I probably should've seen the 'Marshall wants to be a judge' conclusion coming once he sat down in front of them to make his case; however, the framing device was misleading, as all CBS shows are (whether drama or comedy). HIMYM writers cheat when they want to to keep up the ruse in hopes the audience will be floored by an ending. It's cheap. Marshall's significant character arcs seem reserved for his career since his child's never present, and no other character needs his insight or advice about their choice of romantic partner.

Marshall's decision to be a judge should have been inspired by the horrible work of the judge presiding over the Frog Lake pollution case and not his old law buddy deciding to fight for the little guy mere hours after saving the guilty company millions in fines. HIMYM exists in the bizarre sitcom universe where juries consist of young-to-middle-aged women who are horny for the attractive lawyer with the beard fighting for the bad guy, where a judge can show blatant bias and explain a $25,000 fine away with a terrible reason just before skirting away to attend a Broadway production of Annie with his wife--if that man can be a judge, Marshall shouldn't even need to be reviewed. Suspension of disbelief is a must to really enjoy an entire episode of HIMYM.

The case dominates the episode. Barney and Robin don't talk about their kiss. Instead, they join Ted and Lily in a competition over who was the most badass teenager. The case moves quickly. The show covers three days in about 14 minutes. The case is played for laughs. Brad shows his ass off to the jury and the judge; he makes a video of his visit to the lake that prominently features his bare chest, with cuts to a hot-and-bothered jury. Marshall seems doomed to lose the case. The jury and judge hate him because he's not showing his ass to them or making videos showing off his pecs. A stroke of logic hits Marshall and he demands Brad remove his shirt. Brad has the same rash as the birds, frogs and otters that have been hurt by Gruber's pollution. Marshall wins the case but loses the $25 million because the judge doesn't want to kill a company for something minor. What? Again, Marshall shouldn't have trouble landing a judgeship if the precedent for judges was the joke of a character presiding over the lake pollution case. HIMYM's flimsy, though, and I suppose I should remember Future Ted narrates all so maybe he's making the judge into more of an ass to emphasize the odds stacked against Uncle Marshall. I don't know. I just blog about the show.

Marshall's dream about pre-teen Marvin (or is it teen Marvin) encouraging his father to believe in the ripple effect of doing good deeds was sweet, especially since Marshall thought about the impact his work would have on his son (which includes Marvin's disinterest in drugs, alcohol and rebellion). The judgeship decision won't be made until May sweeps, though. Marshall's restored by Brad's decision to do good, the dream, and the knowledge that ripples of good are real.

Ted, Barney, Lily and Robin's competition for the title of most badass teenager isn't anything special. The appearance of Robin Sparkles is the highlight of the B-story. I liked the true story of Robin's most badass teenage moment, which was winning a best hotel guest award. The other characters lied about their badass behavior. Indeed, none of them were teenage badasses. Ted went to renaissance fairs. Barney joined a magic group to fit in. Lily never went to juvenile detention for being a street tough.

"Twelve Horney Women" was about setting up a payoff to the judgeship plot point. There were some laughs, but it was typical HIMYM. Oh yeah, Barney and Robin had a chat. Barney promised he wouldn't try anymore and insisted he was done, that they'll just be friends and forget about their past. Robin sat there and reacted with, "Huh." Remember, these two will marry by season's end.

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