Remember how earlier I said that there were far less than ten bad episodes of How I Met Your Mother? Well, it wouldn't be a jumping the shark list if it didn't feature the absolute worst of the worst. Despite some clever and crafty poetic writing, the stories were absolutely terrible, and the rhyming episode was a decent idea very poorly executed, turning out to be the worst episode of HIMYM in the show's nine-year history. After about 10 grueling weeks of Marshall and Daphne driving cross country to New York, Marshall is on a bus to Farhampton and is trying to get baby Marvin to sleep by speaking in rhyme and verse to soothe him. With the help of Broadway star Lin Manuel Miranda as an annoyed rapping bus passenger, Marshall tells Marvin three bedtime stories about Ted dating a physics professor who was one of Barney's many one night stands having told her that he's Derek Jeter, Robin stealing and binge-eating Simon Tremblay's wedding cake and drinking an entire keg and, most ridiculous of all, Barney assassinating the entire Five Families-esque High Council of Players in New York City. The one plus of this episode was the bus getting a flat tire 5 miles away from the inn, causing Marshall and Marvin to walk the rest of the way, which leads them to meeting Ted's future bride two episodes later. How I Met Your Mother is one of the best sitcoms in recent memory that, while it still remains funny, probably should have ended two years ago. The show is fundamentally different from what it was in the beginning and, while the change has been for the good and Barnman and Robin are an amazing couple, it's natural for us to long for the days when Barney was a womanizing man-whore, Robin was the anti-marriage swinging single, and Ted was still confident that the love of his life was coming closer. Despite the show's occasional shortcomings in plot devices, the batting average for good episodes remains very high and, while we're very excited to see Ted meet the love of his life, we'll be sad to see it go when the series finale premieres on 31 March. Out of over 200 episodes by series' end, there's bound to be another How I Met Your Mother episode with a shark-jumping plot or one that you just didn't like! Sound off below and let us know what you think!
Steve is an unrepentant nerd who enjoys all things Disney, Doctor Who, and Star Trek. He is currently finishing his undergraduate degree in political science at Temple University and divides his time between his homes in Philadelphia and Orlando.
