How I Met Your Mother: Deja Vu All Over Again

Monday, Monday, and time for my Monday routine: How I Met Your Mother. HAPPY! Tonight's episode was, like last week's, a solid, not stellar effort, but enjoyable nonetheless. The theme tonight was repetition, whether that be, say, repeating a blind date with the same person, or, say, finding your doppelganger (a repeat of you). (Like what I did there?) There were three good things about tonight's episode, and one so-so thing. Let's start with the good:

1. Stripper Lily. Did you really expect me to start with something else? If you did, well, you're a fool. Lily has a doppelganger who is stripper named Jasmine. Can we say AWESOME AND HILARIOUS? Yes, we can. What about the fact that they've encountered two other doppelgangers, Lesbian Robin and Mustache Marshall? EVEN FUNNIER. What about future Ted's voice over that the group would encounter the final two doppelgangers within the year? LEGENDARY. I love when the show sets up future inside jokes. (By the way, Show, I'm still waiting for the rest of the slaps.) The best thing about Stripper Lily, though, was regular Lily's unbridled excitement about her. We've always known Lily was kind of freaky-deaky, but to have the episode end with regular Lily up on stage in the stripper clothes and Stripper Lily talking to Marshall and asking for money to go shopping was priceless. Marshall, don't be too surprised if you wake up in the middle of the night and find Lily gone. She may just be acting out her fantasies. Speaking of which....
2. Marshall fantasy-kills Lily before he fantasizes about other women. Say it with me now: AWWWWWW. Because only Marshall and Lily could make something that bizarre seem cute. I mean, he even goes so far as to make her have a chronic illness and he observes a multi-year mourning period before he lets himself give in to the fantasy of another girl. That's love. Bizarre, bizarre love. Funny, though, very funny.
3. Ted going on the exact same blind date with the same girl. This is funny because (1) Ted would and (2) I like the actress that played Jen, although I cannot remember her name at the moment. Also, I loved the bit about them following their past selves around to figure out what they did wrong. Also, Ted on dates is kind of a tool. Criticizing the menu is toolish, as is the "check dance." Be a man and pay the bill, dude. And what is his deal with not calling? Actually, scratch that, I totally get that one. Avoidance is better than confrontation. (Ladies, the box of tomatoes will be on the corner of 19th and N Lynn at 7:30 am, I will be entering the office around 8, so feel free to pelt me with them whenever you get a chance.) Also, Jen's obsession with cats is kind of funny. Good thing lolcatz didn't exist in 2002, or she would have been all over that shit.
   

Now for what was so-so: Barney and Robin. I can believe Barney wanting to go the strip club, but I distinctly remember an episode where Robin was excited to go there too (first season I believe). I get that Barney and Robin are dating now, so things are different, but given the whole "fluglehorn" thing from last week, I'm not sure why Robin is angry. She's a little freaky-deaky too. Also, Barney repeatedly saying how awesome it was that Robin liked going to the strip club while Robin kept protesting wasn't that funny. Their whole story felt a little flat for me tonight.

As is my custom, here are your quotes:

'Take a picture." "I will, but first I'm going to make Marshall watch as I wedge Ulysses S. Grant down his wife's tatas." "I'll kill you!"--Ted, Barney, and Marshall.

"Oh I bet the guys were going so crazy. I bet they wanted to touch her so bad."--Lily, about stripper Lily.

"Was there a shower on stage? Sometimes there's a shower on stage. I bet stripper me would get in there with another girl and go CRAZY."--Lily

"Letting a guy eat pizza off your back, that's love."--Ted about the rotund couple across they way having sex. It really is, Ted.

"Bring out Stripper Lily!"--Lily

So what did you all think? Good, meh, or bad?