How I Met Your Mother: The Best Episode From Every Season

9. Season 1: The Pineapple Incident

Season 1's The Pineapple Incident plays with the standard sitcom formula. The tenth episode of the series follows Ted, waking up from a night of heavy drinking with a mysterious woman (and a pineapple) in his bed. Since he was so drunk, he can't remember who this woman is, why his jacket is singed, and what hurt his leg, and where the pineapple came from. So ,Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Carl the Bartender piece together what happened the night before, with each of Ted's friends knowing a different piece of the story.

The episode features a hilariously drunk Ted in one of Josh Radnor's best performances in the series. Drunk Ted is the polar opposite of the overthinking character we are used to. Additionally, the Ted and Robin will they/won't they relationship works well in this episode, as Drunk Ted leaves Robin several voicemails revealing his true feelings, and sober Ted believes Robin is the mysterious girl in bed with him. When that girl turns out to be a woman named Trudy, Ted tries to introduce her to Robin to show that he is not in love with Robin, but Trudy has left from Ted's window before they meet.

The Pineapple Incident not only feature several hysterical jokes and plot beats, but an intriguing mystery as well. At its best, How I Met Your Mother is not just a comedy but a mystery, with audiences piecing together clues to find out who the Mother may be. As such, The Pineapple Incident contains its own little mystery plot line, which is the reason it edges out other marvels from the first season including Pilot, Game Night, and Come On.

But unfortunately, unless you watch a deleted scene, you'll never solve the mystery of where the pineapple came from.