How I Met Your Mother "Rehearsal Dinner" Review: Barney's Elaborate Surprise

How I Met Your Mother delivered one of the strongest episodes of this up-and-down Season 9 with "The Rehearsal Dinner" by pulling a clever bait-and-switch that packed an emotional punch.

One of the main problems with this season is that Barney and Robin have been having a new issue almost every week that showed they pretty much have no business getting married. But then HIMYM delivers an episode like this one that reminds us why they're perfect for each other.

For almost the entire episode, I really believed that Robin DID plan a laser tag rehearsal dinner for Barney and that she was going to reveal her trick at any moment. The frustrating part was that Barney was acting like an overgrown 7-year-old again and Robin was talking about how marriages have to be built on trust, this isn't going to work, etc. etc.

But just when it seemed like this episode would suffer from another case of Season 9 Syndrome, Barney showed how much he loves Robin by bringing Canada to her on their wedding weekend because she could not be in Canada. Logistics aside, it was a beautiful moment that reinforced their relationship and reminded us why we rooted for this couple in the first place.

There were clues throughout the episode, the biggest of which was the fake laser tag sign hanging on the ice skating rink, but the writers did a good job of disguising the truth long enough for it to pack the right emotional punch. And as always, Neil Patrick Harris brought the right blend of silliness and sincerity to the table.

"Rehearsal Dinner" had all the benchmarks of a strong HIMYM episode: funny interaction among the gang (the Canada jokes alone were enough to make the episode worthwhile), Marshall's actual physical presence in the group, an elaborate Barney scheme and an emotional payoff. So please, HIMYM, more of this. This is what you do best.

Notes and Quotes:

-       Normally, I rail against the over-the-top goofiness that HIMYM has done too often in recent seasons, but Ted in a Liberace outfit cracked me up. Josh Radnor always does a great job with physical comedy and goofy outfits, and this was no exception.

-       The Canada jokes. My word, the Canada jokes. The use of extras in the background to show just how much time had passed during the gang's string of jokes about our neighbor to the north was funny, but the jokes themselves were even better. After almost nine seasons, it's amazing that these writers keep coming up with more Canada material.

-       Alan Thicke!

-       "Puppies!"

-       This episode had some nice callbacks to earlier ones, including Lily and Marshall's anger at Ted not getting them a wedding gift, the Wayne Gretzky photo and the "ring bear."

-       Barney had some truly awful ideas: gluten-free edible panties, hot dog on a stick on a bun, inflatable sex toy life raft, the breast augmentation channel, single malt scotch tape and running for mayor. Actually, that last one doesn't sound so bad.

-       Wayne Brady as a Mountie/Robin Sparkles hybrid: funny or disturbing?

-       The next episode in two weeks supposedly features a lot of The Mother!