411How I Met Your Mother Review: S04E13 'Three Days of Snow'

Posted by Michael Tyner on 01.22.2009

Ranjit returns!

This week's episode features a return to some of the Bays-Thomas trademark time jumble storytelling, something we haven't seen much of this season. Unfortunately, the effect of one of their signature storytelling devices was lost in a fairly mediocre episode.

The main story this week centered around a tradition Marshall & Lily have kept for most of their relationship involving a six pack of local ale and a chuaffuer sign at the airport. At the beginning of the episode, Marshall is telling Ted that he isn't picking Lily up at the airport when she gets back from her trip, which makes Ted question their failure to continue with tradition. Marshall insists that their relationship is maturing and that the six pack tradition was just an evolution in their relationship; but Robin makes him realize that Lily is probably bringing a six pack anyway. And might I add, Robin is looking HOT! Still no signs of that pregnancy.

Marshall decides he has to pick Lily up, while on the plane Lily is telling someone next to her that she didn't get a six pack this time. But she gets scared that Marshall will pick her up anyway, and spends the rest of the episode on a wild goose chase looking for a six pack of ale local to Seattle. This part of the episode brings us the very welcome return of Ranjit! Ranjit has shown up at least once in every season as a cab driver or limo driver of some sort, and he is here to drive Lily around looking for this ale.

Meanwhile, Barney and Ted have made plans to meet a group of girls at MacClaren's but a snow storm is threatening their chances. The bar is about to close up, but Carl (the bartender) decides that Ted & Barney are capable of closing up the bar when they beg him to keep it open. Flashback to Ted and Barney getting the idea that they should but a bar, and now they are making drinks a la Cocktail in an empty bar. The band girls they wanted to meet with show up, with the rest of their band. . . the Arizona Tech marching band! This whole idea started from another 'Barneyism', "Party School Bingo"; the idea is to sleep with one girl from each of the top 25 party schools listed in Playboy.

Robin is driving Marshall to the airport, and the two wind up getting into a big arguement about love on the way. Marshall calls Robin a robot who doesn't understand love, but Robin insists that pet names and corny rituals aren't the only way that love works. After their arguement is over, we see the marching band with the rest of the crew having a big house party; it is here that we learn that the episode has taken place over a period of three days while the whole city was snowed in, and of course Marshall makes it to the airport to pick up Lily (who has a six pack for him).

The episode ends with Barney yelling "Bingo!" after one of the college girls comes looking for her friend. Awesome.

The 411: Nothing to really like or dislike this week; they told a very cute but somewhat unengaging story, and it felt like most of the laughs fell short of their potential. The story layout was somewhat familiar, but the material just wasn't quite up to snuff.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]