How I Met Your Mother: The 10 Best Episodes of Season 2, According to IMDb

After an incredibly successful first season, How I Met Your Mother was quickly renewed. The show went on to be on the air for nine fantastic years, and even though the general consensus is that it ended on a terrible note, How I Met Your Mother is still remembered fondly. And especially by those who eagerly followed the adventures and misadventures of Ted Mosby, Barney Stinson, Robin Sherbatsky, Lily Aldrin, and Marshall Eriksen.

The second season of the show had a lot to do – it was the season in which Ted and Robin were finally a couple and their dynamic had to be explored, the one in which Lily and Marshall had to find their way back to each other, and Barney…well, his character development was still a few ways down the road. Details might be a little hazy since the last time you watched it, so come and revisit some of the best moments from How I Met Your Mother’s second season.

10 Monday Night Football (8.4)

The gang was, as usual, oh so excited to get together on Super Bowl Sunday, eat chicken wings, and watch the commercials. But when an employee from the bar dies, they have to miss the whole thing to attend his funeral.

Chaos and insanity ensue as each individual member of the group try to go the entire next day without finding out the result so they can watch the recorded version and feel like it’s the real deal. An amazing and hilarious episode overall!

9 Brunch (8.5)

Since their relationship is going strong, Ted and Robin take the next step when she agrees to finally meet his parents. “Brunch” does a wonderful job of highlighting the differences between Ted and Robin and how that will ultimately be the end of their relationship.

What Ted finds difficult to deal with, though, is the news that his parents are getting divorced. His attempts at talking to his father about anything other than sports are hilarious.

8 Stuff (8.5)

“Stuff” has become such a beloved episode by fans of How I Met Your Mother due to the hilarious nature of Lily and Barney’s storyline, and due to the sheer absurdity of Ted and Robin’s.

The former centers around Barney getting back at Lily for having to go to one of her horrible plays by putting together his own insufferable play, which includes a monologue consisting solely of the word “moist”. After getting rid of everything his past girlfriends gave him, Ted wants Robin to get rid of her dogs since they came from past relationships. Not quite as easy, bud!

7 Ted Mosby, Architect (8.8)

After Ted and Robin get into their first big argument as a couple, Barney spends some time convincing Ted that women love architects, and it’s all about confidence.

In the meantime, Robin finds herself scared that Ted will cheat on her, and goes on a hunt to trace the steps he took that night. The stories she hears are confirmation of her worst fears…but as it turns out, it was Barney impersonating Ted all along!

6 World’s Greatest Couple (8.8)

“World’s Greatest Couple” saw the genesis of two very unlikely couples of sorts. The first one gets together after Lily needs a place to live, and moves into Barney’s mysterious house that no one knew up until that point. The two live in harmony at first, but things are quick to escalate.

Then, there’s Marshall and his old pal Brad. The two find companionship with each other, and can now do couple stuff without needing a girlfriend – brunch, concerts, the works. Needless to say, that doesn’t end too well either!

5 Something Borrowed (8.8)

The two last episodes of the season were centered around Lily and Marshall’s wedding. At this point, the audience was aching for these two to finally tie the knot. But things could never be perfect!

Everything that could go wrong, does. Ex-boyfriends show up, dresses don’t fit, Marshall’s hair is a disaster…but eventually, the two get married with their friends present, and that’s all that matters.

4 Something Blue (8.8)

“Something Blue” was the immediate follow-up to “Something Borrowed”, and it follows the happy newlyweds as they desperately try to get some food in their systems whilst being the center of attention at the reception.

Being the season finale, the episode couldn’t end without some sort of crazy revelation or twist, and that’s exactly what happens when viewers come to the same conclusion as Barney – Ted and Robin just won’t work out as a couple in the long run.

3 Showdown (8.9)

The mystery of Barney’s father was a recurring one throughout the course of the show until he was eventually revealed later in the series. But during season two, however, Barney genuinely believed Bob Barker was his dad.

In order to make contact and tell him who he thought he was, Barney becomes a competitor on The Price Is Right, giving birth to one of the most hilarious yet emotional episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

2 Swarley (9.0)

In the earlier days of season 2, Marshall and Lily were still broken up after she left him to go to San Francisco and he refused to get back together once she was back.

“Swarley” saw Marshall going on his first date ever after Lily, and she goes completely crazy trying to stop it from going well. In the meantime, the gang takes to calling Barney by another name, Swarley, after a mistake is made at a coffeeshop.

1 Slap Bet (9.5)

How I Met Your Mother had plenty of running gag throughout its course, and two of them were connected and had its inception on the ninth episode of the second season, “Slap Bet”.

The gang finds out about Robin’s secret of being a Canadian pop-star back when she was a teenager, which prompts Barney and Marshall to make a bet. As a result, Marshall gains the right to slap Barney five times whenever he pleases, something that will come back to haunt him for several years.

About The Author

Mariana Fernandes
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Mariana is a 24-year-old Marketing graduate and self-proclaimed business storyteller who loves books, travelling, and the beach. With too many notebooks to keep track of and a persistent feeling of wanderlust, she wants nothing more than to tell stories and pet puppies. All the puppies!

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