How I Met Your Mother 'Rally' Review: The final stretch begins

We're in the home stretch for the final season of How I Met Your Mother with just six episodes remaining until the beloved series signs off for good. And I'll be honest. When I read the description for this episode, I thought it was going to be another waste of a half hour. Boy, was I wrong, and happily so.

The plot was simple enough. Barney is so hung over from his epic night of drinking that he's unconscious, and the gang needs to wake him up within two hours before the family photos. Ironically, Barney has a magic drink that cures all hangovers, but there's a secret ingredient that only he knows.

This may seem like a throwaway plot so late in the game, but this episode hit on every beat that made the show so great. Each of the characters vowed never to drink again, and the show took us through time to show them break that vow at various points in their lives. In the process, we saw Marvin in college, Marshall winning New York Supreme Court Justice, Robin and Barney in Argentina and Ted happy with his wife and two young children. It's a setup that HIMYM has used many times in the past, and it worked when they went to the well again tonight.

We also got to see the devious and sweet sides of Barney again, as we learned that the secret ingredient was nothing. The elixir is a lie. But we also found out that Barney offered the potion at the worst times in his friends' lives because he loves them. And they paid him back in kind when they told him they did "Weekend at Barney's" for the family photos, when in fact he missed the entire thing and Robin's dad kicked him in the jewels.

The gang was mostly together for this episode and there were no real side plots, save for Ted's bacon quest and Robin and Lily's kiss. But this episode had in spades what the first half of the season lacked. It stuck with the classic HIMYM tropes and delivered a satisfying episode to kick off the final run. It seems like the show has finally found itself again in the second half of Season 9, and just in time for the end, too.

Notes and Quotes:

-       Ted's mother is an evil woman. The man has NEVER tasted bacon? And I say again, Josh Radnor's physical comedy bits are always gold, and the bacon feast was no exception. I could see why he never ate bacon again after that experience.

-       That entire scene was chock full of great quotes. "I have seen the face of God." "You had the road map to Heaven and you never showed me the way." "May you rot in the bacon-less Hell I've lived in my whole life."

-       It was a nice little payoff that, after Robin and Lily finally kissed, Robin is now the one repeatedly saying "stupid" and wanting to make out with her best friend again, while Lily is now over it. It's these little things that HIMYM has gotten back to doing right that are making these last few episodes so enjoyable.

-       Barney might want to get an MRI after his trip up and down the stairs.

-       Ted uttered the words "that's the dream" and immediately regretted it.

-       Barney told another fake historical tale, and it's gotten so ridiculous that Ted is now just calling him out on it before he can even get started.

-       We finally learned how Marshall got the "Big Fudge" nickname! Eight pounds of fudge in 12 minutes is a Herculean feat indeed.

What did you think of tonight's episode? Let us know in the comments below.