How I Met Your Mother: Barney's 10 Most Brilliant Plays

7. The Archduke Of Grand Fenwick

"The Ashtray" (S8E17) was a fun, Rashomon-esque episode where Ted, Robin and Lily each tell their version of the story of the last time they ran into The Captain (played wonderfully by Kyle MacLachlan). Throughout each telling, Barney keeps trying to insert himself into the story, first showing up flanked by girls in bikinis, then with the girls again but this time playing a guitar, and finally with confetti bursting over his head. After much frustration, Robin and Ted ask Barney why he's so determined to be a part of the story, and Barney explains that everyone in the group has a passion that drives them and his is turning life into crazy stories, and if the group can do that without him, then he doesn't know who he is. Robin and Ted then show Barney some sympathy and throw him into the story, running a play on The Captain's art consultant, Shelly. Barney takes over from there saying he ran The Royal Archduke of Grand Fenwick. Later we hear from The Captain that Shelly was off "with some archduke she met at the party." In the final scene, we see Barney hanging a portrait of himself with a fake beard and dressed in a Prussian military costume. He then stands next to the portrait in the same costume (and in the same pose) when Shelly walks over and he winks at the camera.