How I Met Your Mother: 10 Legendary Barney Moments
Haavvve you met Barney?
How I Met Your Mother is a funny, heart warming and often silly show filled with fabulous characters. Marshall is great, Ted's journey is fun to watch, and Robin is a Canadian pop star. Despite this, the best character to grace the show is Barney Stinson. A womanising, insecure child in a man's body, Barney is the show's wildcard, full of theories, strong opinions and brilliant dialogue.
His popularity cannot be denied. Neither can his humour and his ability to be likeable regardless of the situation. Sure, he's not always a good guy, but isn't that his appeal?
None of Barney's success would have been possible without the career-defining performance of Neil Patrick Harris, who owns not just every one of his scenes, but the entire show. But which of his many great moments are his most legendary? He can be sweet, evil, selfish and selfless, but no matter what he's always amazing.
In the following list, entries will focus on every aspect of his character, from the good side to the bad. The following entries will include some pretty big spoilers, so take care but enjoy.
10. Pick-Up Line Insanity
Let's begin at the most extreme side of Barney Stinson's personality. At his core, Barney is a womaniser, and no one picks up women quite like the Barnacle. Season Five's epic "The Playbook" is one of the show's most fun and silly episodes, introducing fans to a number of insane ploys, including a Mrs Doubtfire parody and a plan which involves acting like a rejected Ted Mosby.
But this episode's success is not Barney's crowning achievement when it comes to picking up women. This honour goes to the Season Nine episode "Platonish", wherein Lily and Robin recall the day they challenged him to pick up women in the most ridiculous and impossible ways. The challenges include picking up a girl whilst wearing a garbage bag, not using the letter E, and talking like a dolphin.
It's a perfect example of just how far Barney can go to prove himself, since he succeeds with every challenge, but it's also a sweet addition to his story which shows how he met The Mother and how he finally decided to pursue Robin.