How I Met Your Mother 6x04 'Subway Wars'

Ooooh... character devMarhsaelopment!

What's It About?

Robin vows to convince the gang she is a "real" New Yorker, despite their teasing to the contrary, since she hails from Canada. When Woody Allen is spotted in a downtown restaurant, Robin rushes to see the quintessential New Yorker.

Review

Of course by saying 'roll on next week' in my last review what I really meant was 'roll on the next review' because I saw these episodes back-to-back!

I have to say after having a little moan about the previous episode watching 'Subway Wars' was a pleasant experience, 'HIMYM' in recent years has been much more enjoyable to watch when it divides its time up equally between all the characters.

At some point the writers have clearly come to realise that although the audience appreciate the story of Ted and the search for his wife they respond most positively when there is a gang storyline taking place and this is a great example of such a story.

It's been a wee while since we poked fun at Robin's Canadian heritage so we returned to that material here to help her prove that she's now a true New Yorker. As with the previous episode some of the best character moments happen between Lilly and Robin just because their characters have the most chemistry on screen.

But there is also a lot of subtle plot twists to keep the characters moving on from where they were at the beginning of the season, particularly Lilly and Marshall's plans for having a baby. There's even another nod to Barney's softer side, albeit expressed through the medium of comedy.

Another welcome change in this weeks episode is the fact that it doesn't entirely take place on one of the sets which we have so regularly seen over the last few years. Taking the show out of the bar/Ted's apartment/Lilly's Apartment and on to the streets of New York makes for a nice change in atmosphere and also helps ground the show in reality. We don't often see these guys in real daylight so a chance to see them running the streets is welcomed with open arms.

Once again there's not a single iota of mommy in this episode but with everything else that is going on here it's a non-issue, this does however look like it is going to come back in to play next week with the introduction of a new female foil for Ted.

Next week...

Ted is confronted by a beautiful girl named Zoey Van Smoot who's upset about the landmark to be torn down to make way for the new GNB headquarters he's designing.

Overall

Storyline    3.5

Mommyness    0.0

Barney Moments    3.5

Overall    2.5