Why “Lucky Penny” Is How I Met Your Mother’s Most Underrated Episode

Here’s why “Lucky Penny” should be considered as the most underrated episode from How I Met Your Mother. The episode aired in February 2007, as the 15th episode in season 2, and was written by Jamie Rhonheimer. Considering that the CBS sitcom would go own to air a total of 208 episodes before coming to an end in 2014, “Lucky Penny” was fairly early on in its run.

The episode started with Ted and Robin running through the airport to catch a flight to Chicago. Ted had an important job interview at an architecture firm, but due to an earlier court hearing, the duo arrived late and missed the flight. While a flight attendant tried to find Ted and Robin another flight, they discuss who was truly at fault for the debacle. The series of events was then told backward as each major character in How I Met Your Mother got blamed for at least a short time.

With How I Met Your Mother relying on Future Ted’s tale set in the past, the series had a tendency to use unique methods of storytelling. “Lucky Penny” could be considered one of the first episodes to use an innovative and non-linear style to showcase a meaningful moment of Ted’s past. Many viewers might not even remember that the episode had more significant implications but it gave Ted the idea to name his first child Penny after the lucky coin and paved the way to how he met the “Mother.” To show this, the episode featured an interesting take on the butterfly effect, but with a more positive outcome than people are perhaps used to seeing.

The Storytelling In “Lucky Penny” Was Something Special

At the airport, Ted and Robin first realize that the missed flight was Barney’s fault. Marshall broke his toe and couldn’t run in a marathon, so Barney bet that he could do the race without training. Barney completed the race but got stuck on the subway after his legs stopped working, so Ted rescued him. Being in a rush, Ted jumped the turnstile without paying and got caught, explaining the court date. Ted then realized the missed flight could have been Robin’s fault since she was to blame for Marshall’s broken toe, forcing Barney into the race.

The flashbacks continued to go deeper, pointing that Robin caused Marshall’s broken toe after entering his apartment for a nap because Lily made her camp out at a wedding dress store that had a big sale. In the end, it turned out to be Ted’s own fault since he found an old 1939 penny and sold it to a collector for $1.50. He then used the money to buy hot dogs for himself and Robin, which was when they saw the line for the wedding dress sale. The resulting events all happened because of Ted’s penny. Since Ted ended up missing the interview, he didn’t get the job, which worked out because he would’ve had to leave New York with no chance at ever meeting his future wife.

The “Lucky Penny” isn’t often brought up when discussing fan-favorite episodes but it certainly should be. Not only was the storytelling very underrated but the episode also included many callbacks and references to future storylines in How I Met Your Mother. It happened to be the first episode to show the Mother, although her face was hidden by a bridal veil. “Lucky Penny” surely had repercussions on Ted’s future but it also gave viewers some pretty hilarious looks into the shenanigans of the main characters.

About The Author

Kara Hedash
(1748 Articles Published)

Kara Hedash is a features editor and writer for Screen Rant. From time to time, she dives into the world’s most popular franchises but Kara primarily focuses on evergreen topics. The fact that she gets to write about The Office regularly is like a dream come true. Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had work published on The Mary Sue and Reel Honey. After graduating college, writing began as a part-time hobby for Kara but it quickly turned into a career. She loves binging a new series and watching movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. She also has a soft spot for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. Her favorite Avenger is Thor and her favorite Disney princess is Leia Organa. When Kara’s not busy writing, you can find her doing yoga or hanging out with Gritty.

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