If you saw the drama of last night's "How I Met Your Mother" it was heartbreakingly real. Real in the way that we haven't seen from a television couple recently. And while Barney and Robin aren't a couple, they were and in some ways are more of a couple not together than they were together. But with the infidelity that occurred between them highlights a bigger dilemma.
While I did appreciate Nora for taming Barney, it was Robin that stole his heart and I don't think he'll ever get it back. Robin, on the other hand, doesn't feel the same way and walked away more confused. She stayed with her boyfriend/ex-therapist Kevin, but we know she did it out of guilt and obligation. If she followed her heart, she would have stayed with Barney.
But what we've really seen from this episode is that Ted's story is very much not the focus. But how much his story ties into that of his friends and how their relationships represent what he truly wants and what he has to do to really grow up. And while we know that involves Barney, Robin and Ted moving on from being the best of friends, it also means the show will continue to show us that growing up is a lifelong process.
