'How I Met Your Mother' 'The Lighthouse' Recap: Ted's Life Lesson, and Robin's Mom

'How I Met Your Mother' 'The Lighthouse' Recap: Ted's Life Lesson, and Robin's Mom

On How I Met Your Mother "The Lighthouse," which aired November 4, it's nine a.m. on the Saturday before the wedding. There's less than 48 hours to go now, but not is all hunky-dory in this world, especially because Robin (Cobie Smulders) refuses to bury the hatchet with Loretta, Barney's mother. After all, she shows up to breakfast in Loretta's favorite blouse, which she won during poker.

Meanwhile, Lily (Alyson Hannigan) is still freaking out about Marshall (Jason Segel), breaking glasses every time she hears words related to "judge" and "court," and giving horrible advice to Ted (Josh Radnor). That's because she tells Ted to stop being an idiot with girls. Cassie (Anna Camp) is attractive and of normal height, so he should just end up with her already (Lily) later admits that's the worst advice ever. But that doesn't stop Ted from listening to her.

Despite the HIMYM universe telling Ted that Cassie isn't for him-mainly because she slips on a toy car and falls down the stairs-he takes her to the "romantic" lighthouse. But romantic it is not. After carrying an injured Cassie up the stairs, he ends up doing something he's rarely done: he pukes.

Last but not least, Marshall (Jason Segel) and Daphne (Sherri Shepherd) are still fighting, and ClintTed's stepdad-doesn't help matters when he shows up in their car on their way out of Ohio. Clint's advice for them to use "When you... I feel..." sentences works somewhat. He does get them to agree that Clint's songs have a laxative effect on Marvin, but it hardly makes things better between Daphne and Marshall. It isn't just that their views on the environment clash, but it's also the fact that Daphne feels like she can be selfish, while Marshall is always looking out for others.

But that he finally goes nuclear. He drives away from a mediating Clint and he decides the music, because Daphne threw a bomb into his marriage. He puts on "I Will Walk 500 Miles," because really that is the ultimate road trip song, as the second season of How I Met Your Mother proved.

Robin and Loretta's Scramble-Off The most interesting part of "The Lighthouse" though belonged to the war unfolding between Loretta and Robin. When Robin claims her mom makes the best eggs ever, a couple things happen.

For one, the show counts the number of things the HIMYM gang knows about Robin's mother-she is terrified of flying and she's gotten stung by jellyfish-and they slowly piece together what she's like.

Then, Loretta gets serious and says, "My son's fiancee is about to get served... some delicious scrambled eggs."

Sure enough, everyone loves Loretta's eggs. But Robin is still intent on fighting. She tries to make her own eggs, but when she can't figure out how to "open" the eggs, Loretta hits Robin where it hurts and asks how she's ever going to cook food for her grandchildren.

Things go from funny to serious fast at this point, and Barney talks about the time he learned that Robin can't have kids. He and Robin had just been to a secret bar last Fall-they emerged from a New York City sidewalk-and after he mentioned something about babysitting and kids, Robin reveals she can't have children of her own. Barney gives her a hug, and it's clear that even back then, the feelings were there between the two.

But didn't Barney always want kids, Loretta asks her son? "I'm not marrying a future possibility of starting a family," Barney says. "I'm marrying a girl who means more to me than kids, or my career... so please be nice to her."

While this is happening, Robin is learning that her mom was too afraid to get on the plane, so she's not coming to her own daughter's wedding. When Loretta hears this, things change even more. She gives Robin a hug, and tells her, "My name is Mom, don't call me anything else. I'm Mom." And finally Loretta and Robin share a special, sweet moment.

But the sweet moments don't end up there. Ted seems to be giving up more and more on finding the one. He thinks he's been wasting visiting places with all the wrong girls. As Future Ted says though, that's the stupid thing people say, right before you hit a reset button on the world.

Fast forward two years and Ted is at the lighthouse with the "Mother." They're enjoying the beautiful look into the past, and she wonders how they could ever improve on a day like that. But this is romantic Ted, and of course he can improve on the day. He bends down on one knee to proposes, and of course, she says yes.

How I Met Your Mother season nine might have a strange format, but insights like this into Ted's future are pitch perfect. The CBS comedy airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. EST. Š 2013 Elizabeth SanFilippo http://gather.com/how-i-met-your-mother-the-lighthouse-recap-teds-life-lesson-and-robins-mom/