Welcome to Part 2 of my countdown of every How I Met Your Mother episode from best to worst. This will be an eleven part series. In this second installment, I will reveal numbers 185 to 166. We rip through some more filler episodes and finally cut into the first four seasons. Like in the last part, it’s important to remember that there aren’t too many awful episodes in the series, so it was tough to kick a few of these off so early. One worthy point to note is that no episode in the first four seasons finds itself in my bottom twenty. With this in mind, here are numbers 185 to 166.

Episodes were judged on their dramatic and comedic strength, relevance to the overarching plot, character and world building, creativity, social commentary and a number of other factors.

SPOILER ALERT!

185. “Mom and Dad” (Season 9, Episode 10)

This is one of those Season 9 episodes that is filler all the way. The Billy Zabka subplot brings it down a lot. Zabka was an unlikely character to add to the cast, and while he does get some surprising character building in “Mom and Dad,” his story in this episode seems to take away from how fun it could have been. The always welcome John Lithgow returns to his show-stealing role as Barney’s father Jerome. As Barney tries to get his parents back together, we are treated to some oddly entertaining musical numbers. Also, Marshall finally says goodbye to Daphne. This departure allowed Season 9 to set its focus more squarely on the series’ conclusion.

184. “Noretta” (Season 7, Episode 7)

“Noretta” has very little plot development going on. Still, the idea that people end up with people who are like their parents is smart and truthful. The comedy that comes from this is strange, but effective. Of course, Lily and Marshall’s fathers in bed together isn’t imagery that is totally welcome, but the absurdity of the situation is worthy of a laugh, and it marks the return of some of the better side characters the series has to offer. As mentioned before, the episode brings very little to the table in terms of anything plot related, and for that it is hurt in these rankings.

183. “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” (Season 7, Episode 8)

Each of the characters have their own stories going on during this episode, but it is Ted’s story that naturally steals the show. Katie Holmes as “The Slutty Pumpkin” is a decent casting choice that I think mostly pays off. Tonally, though, the episode just seemed a little awkward. Usually, I love it when How I Met Your Mother calls back to past episodes, but in some way, the original “Slutty Pumpkin” story loses some of its mystique due to this episode’s existence. I think I would rather have not seen what was behind the costume. On its own, it’s not that bad of an episode, but if you watch the whole series, watching this may make your imagination feel a little cheated.

182. “No Questions Asked” (Season 9, Episode 7)

How I Met Your Mother was at its best when it focused on the five main characters. While I wouldn’t exactly call “No Questions Asked” the show at its best, it’s nice to know that almost this whole script for this episode is read off by Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris. After Daphne texts Lily about Marshall accepting the judgeship offer, Marshall recruits Ted, Robin and Barney to delete the message before Lily reads it. He persuades them by enacting the “no questions asked” rule, and this leads to flashbacks depicting times when the three of them needed Marshall’s help. These flashbacks are definitely the highlight of the episode, especially Ted’s. In the end, Marshall shows his class by coming clean with Lily. The journey there, while mostly forgettable in the long run, is a nice break from the slow pace of Season 9.

181. “The Poker Game” (Season 9, Episode 5)

“The Poker Game” is some more Season 9 filler, but I still think the personalities on display here make it a fun episode. Here we get a good look at the interactions between a few of Barney’s guests, including the real-life Tim Gunn, the real-life Billy Zabka and someone I think we all wish was real, Ranjit. James and Loretta Stinson, Barney’s mother, also make appearances, and the episode soon turns into an introduction for the budding warfare between Loretta and Robin. So, while this episode doesn’t really push the envelope or give us a solid B-plot (Ted, Marshall and Lily arguing over wedding gifts is an afterthought), it just shows that if you throw a couple of funny characters in a room together, these writers can keep you entertained for a half-hour.

180. “Mosbius Designs” (Season 4, Episode 20)

This episode starts off really strangely, as Lily gets so offended by a joke that Barney tells that she isn’t seen for weeks. In the real world, Alyson Hannigan was pregnant at the time, so she needed to be temporarily written off the show. This doesn’t hurt future episodes too much, but since we see her storm off in this episode, her absence is felt a little more. Otherwise, watching Robin and P.J. together is stupid fun, and Marshall becoming “Sports Guy” at the office seems to ring true of life in the real corporate world. The ending with the ninja is both awesome and confusing. It’s not a terrible episode, but it’s still probably the worst from the show’s dynamite first four seasons.

179. “Architect of Destruction” (Season 6, Episode 5)

Ah, another Zoey episode. This is the one where Ted actually meets her, and so we don’t really get to see her at her worst just yet. We discover that she wishes to keep the Arcadian standing right away. I really like how Barney, who brings Ted on to design the GNB tower that would lead to the Arcadian’s destruction, refuses to allow Zoey influence what could be the biggest step in his friend’s career. Barney is excited to be working with Ted, of course, but I think at the core of his actions, Barney wants Ted to be successful. Meanwhile, Robin, Marshall and Lily have their own subplot involving Robin’s awkward relationship with her boyfriend Max. It’s a pretty inconsequential storyline that obviously takes a backseat to the season-defining action going on with Ted and Barney.

178. “Little Boys” (Season 3, Episode 4)

This is an episode that has a B-plot that is stronger than the main story. Barney and Ted go for the same girl to see which of the two has more “game.” After it seems that Ted has proven himself to be the winner, Barney reveals everything was arranged by him. Although Barney was well established as a womanizer by this point in the series, his sneaky side was still being rounded out. This episode portrays Barney in a way that perfectly foreshadows his role in later episodes, such as “The Playbook.” Robin also gets some development in the episode’s main plot. Her disdain for children is brought to the forefront here, but the ending of the episode doesn’t work for me. As the series finale tells us, Robin isn’t around too often when Ted’s kids were young. Therefore, it doesn’t make much sense to show drawings that Ted’s children drew of Robin, as no such pictures would probably ever exist. This episode is only effective on the first viewing. After watching the finale, it doesn’t quite fit.

177. “Field Trip” (Season 7, Episode 5)

Ted taking his students on a field trip doesn’t do much for me or the show, although I do like Ted and Barney running polls through the group of people who tag along. Marshall and Robin both have more interesting stories in this episode that influence later developments. Marshall passionately calling out his boss, played by Martin Short, for going soft on a big pollution case is a notably strong moment. Also, Robin starts officially dating Kevin, and I must say that their chemistry in this episode makes it almost not weird for her to be dating her therapist. Kevin would become a regular in Season 7 and Marshall’s story became the focal point of two later episodes, so this one is a set-up more than anything.

176. “Twin Beds” (Season 5, Episode 21)

“Twin Beds” includes one of the many iconic How I Met Your Mother scenes. Unfortunately, I don’t think this episode as a whole is as sharp in its quality. This iconic scene that I reference is Ted storming into Robin’s room, only to find that she has moved out. All that is left is the blue French horn in the corner of the room. The look on Ted’s face as he gazes upon the room tells us that he and Robin aren’t finished yet, which would turn out to be true. Everything that comes before this scene is, sadly, pretty unremarkable. We get a pretty standard “I want her back” story from Barney and Ted, with a lame B-plot from Marshall and Lily. The episode is worth a re-watch, if only to see that final scene and its buildup.

175. “Splitsville” (Season 8, Episode 6)

Here’s an episode that feels a lot more significant after seeing Season 8’s turning point episode, “The Final Page.” Barney helping Robin go through on her break-up with Nick directly plays into that episode’s big moment. This episode takes place after three of my lowest rated episodes, and so it does serve as some sort of a momentum shift. Still, it suffers from having another mindless B-plot story that ultimately ends with Ted taking Marvin off of Marshall and Lily’s hands for a little while (Still questioning who should have been the godfather?). This episode is best viewed through the lens of hindsight.

174. “Lobster Crawl” (Season 8, Episode 9)

This is another episode that has an impactful ending with significance that becomes clear in “The Final Page.” It’s really hard for me to feel bad for Robin at all at this point. In that ending, where she shows up scantily-clad at Barney’s door, I think her character hit a new low. It’s not even that she was desperate to have Barney back. My biggest issue with Robin was just how selfish she was down the stretch. She didn’t mind stepping on anybody to get what she wanted, and this was the basis for that terrible “scream at Patrice” gag. Marshall, Lily and Ted have a pretty good story here as well, and we even get a flash-forward to Marshall and Lily taking Ted’s daughter to go see Santa. The three of them became afterthoughts for much of Season 8, so to see them get a touching story here was refreshing.

173. “Baby Talk” (Season 6, Episode 6)

Marshall and Lily trying to control their child’s gender is funny, especially when Barney gets involved. Knowing Barney, it’s fair to imagine that he would try to hit on their daughter when she grew up. It’s also important to know that this is one of the final appearances by Marshall’s father before tragedy strikes. Ted and Becky’s relationship is also pretty funny as a one-time deal, and the final scene, with Ted needing to tie her shoes, is gold. Other than these two storylines, there isn’t that much else to point out. It’s just the usual rehashing of Robin reflecting on her relationships with Ted and Barney.

172. “Not a Father’s Day” (Season 4, Episode 7)

This episode is an important episode for Barney. He creates a holiday known as “Not a Father’s Day,” in honor of a false alarm he has with one of his hook-ups. The steps he takes, from creating merchandise to showing us how to properly address God, to make his holiday take off make for some great comedic moments. In the end, Barney has a change of heart which is mostly done comically, but it actually taps into his own daddy issues. This ending is also brought on by the very truthful “cheerleader effect,” a theory that is brought up at the beginning of the episode as well. “Not a Father’s Day” is a solid balance of sneakily touching and funny that comes full circle.

171. “Benefits” (Season 4, Episode 12)

“Benefits” takes maybe the least classy process in the world (friends with benefits), and handles it in a way that makes How I Met Your Mother’s love triangle tolerable. The episode gets over Ted and Robin sleeping together remarkably quick, and focuses its attention instead on Barney’s feelings towards the arrangement. It’s a huge tease, but the ending seems to suggest that Ted is comfortable with Barney’s romantic feelings towards Robin. While I wouldn’t say it’s one of the better episodes of the show, I admire the pace and its stand-alone quality.

170. “The Broken Code” (Season 9, Episode 4)

The head-on approach to Robin not having any girlfriends besides Lily is something that I think is wisely brought up. The focus, though, is on the title of the episode. The previous episode (“Last Time in New York”) ended with Barney revealing that he knows about Ted and Robin’s moment at the end of Season 8. Ted ends the episode by saying that he has put his feelings for Robin aside. Its episodes like this one that make “The End of the Aisle” and “Last Forever” so controversial. Right when you think the love triangle is over, it comes up again. While this drama keeps “The Broken Code” from being another filler episode, it’s the kind of drama that is way too stale for me to enjoy.

169. “The Chain of Screaming” (Season 3, Episode 15)

As one of the earliest episodes to feature appearances by Gary Blauman, Bilson and Arthur Hobbs, I enjoy “The Chain of Screaming.” It doesn’t really do much, though, as far as anything is concerned. Other than being the build-up for Marshall quitting his job, why did this episode even need to happen? Being an early season episode, it’s entertaining enough to float on its own, but there isn’t that much material to talk about.

168. “Columns” (Season 2, Episode 13)

Bryan Cranston is one of the great actors working today, so anytime he appears it is usually something awesome. As Ted’s former boss, Hammond Druthers, his comedic timing is excellent. The writing for Druthers is always fantastic, and “Columns” is no exception. Lily painting Barney in the nude is a funny B-plot that gets the laughs that B-plots should be getting. Still, while this episode is a solid comedic experience, it’s another one that has very little plot-related material.

167. “The Sexless Innkeeper” (Season 5, Episode 4)

The story of “The Sexless Innkeeper” is at its best when it is seen through Barney and Ted’s fictional retelling. The old-school setting that their stories are framed through, and the stories themselves, make for much of the interesting material that this episode has to offer. Marshall and Lily wanting Barney and Robin as their couple-friends seems like a story line that comes up three seasons too late. This should’ve been brought up when Ted and Robin dated, right? Or Ted and Victoria? I sense a show that’s still entertaining, but running out of ideas.

166. “Landmarks” (Season 6, Episode 23)

Ted and Zoey break-up! Of course, she doesn’t go down without a fight. She presents recordings of Ted saying he wants the Arcadian to survive to the committee that decides whether the Arcadian will be destroyed or not (For the record, that’s totally illegal). Luckily, the group pulls some strings that allow the GNB tower to be built anyway. This, of course, spells the end for Ted and Zoey’s relationship, while also saving Barney’s job at GNB. Finally, with her out of the picture and the gang at peace again, the show was able to breathe.