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

What's the most legen-wait for it-dary episode from each season of HIMYM?

How I Met Your Mother Robin Sparkles
CBS

How I Met Your Mother enjoyed a nine year run on CBS. The beloved sitcom touted itself as "a love story in reverse," as it followed protagonist Ted Mosby as he recounted the story of how he met his wife to his children 25 years into the future. Present day Ted experiences nine years of heartbreak and hilarity alongside his friends, sickeningly cute couple Marshall and Lily, ambitious reporter Robin, and serial womanizer Barney.

The series gained fame for its heartfelt approach to humour. Audiences not only loved laughing at the cast, they loved sticking by them during the tough times, and many fans feel like they are friends with Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney, and Robin. This deep connection with the cast allowed for some of the more dramatic moments to hit harder, and caused more jokes to land.

How I Met Your Mother ran for nine seasons, each with its own distinct theme. Though the seasons vary in quality, each is a solid season of television which has put out some incredible episodes. Here is the best episode from every season of How I Met Your Mother.

9. Season 1: The Pineapple Incident

How I Met Your Mother Robin Sparkles
CBS

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.

Contributor
Contributor

Richard C. Kraus (Richie to pretty much everyone) is an American college student and world record holder for most views of the 2015 film Ant-Man. He aspires to be a screenwriter, actor, and not tired.