For nine seasons and more than 200 episodes, How I Met Your Mother was one of the most popular sitcoms on television. The CBS series followed a man named Ted Mosby as he recounted the story of how he met his wife to his children. Beyond Ted, the show was filled with some of the most memorable characters in history.
Thanks to creative and wacky plot points, snappy dialogue, and some over the top concepts, there was no other show quite like How I Met Your Mother. To get a gauge for how well the show worked, we are looking at the episode in each season with the highest rating from users on IMDb.
Season 7: Tick Tick Tick (9.0)
A lot of fans seem to feel like the quality of How I Met Your Mother began dipping towards the end of the series. Season 7 had a handful of down moments but "Tick Tick Tick," the tenth episode, was a high point. The main focus was on the fallout between Barney and Robin cheating on Nora and Kevin with each other.
The two agreed to come clean and Barney did his part. Watching him break up with Nora was heartbreaking and Neil Patrick Harris delivered some of his finest acting. However, Robin couldn't go through with it and remained with Kevin. Along with the emotional beats from that storyline, the episode also featured a fun subplot involving Ted and Marshall getting stoned at a concert.
Season 3: Spoiler Alert (9.1)
The eighth episode of an impressively consistent third season was "Spoiler Alert." This was a case where the show was especially creative. The setup saw Ted bring a new girlfriend to meet his friends, only for them to get incredibly annoyed by her. Ted couldn't tell why, so his friends revealed that he had a blind spot and didn't notice how much she talked.
That led to the gang each discovering something annoying about each other that they hadn't noticed before. The sound of glass shattering accompanied each of these and it was hilarious. From Ted always correcting people to Marshall's non-stop singing to Lily's loud chewing and the many irritating qualities that Barney had, this was classic How I Met Your Mother.
Season 6: Blitzgiving (9.1)
With about 400 more ratings, this episode slightly ranks above the previous one. "Blitzgiving," the tenth installment of season six, was a case of perfect timing. The big guest star was Jorge Garcia, who was fresh off of playing the wildly popular Hurley on Lost, which had just ended its run.
This was more than simple stunt casting, though. Garcia played the group's old friend Steve "The Blitz" Henry, a cursed individual who would always leave right before something amazing happened. The role was not only funny but Garcia played off of his Lost character at several points. This episode also went a big way towards forging a bond between Ted and Zoey (Jennifer Morrison).
Season 4: The Naked Man (9.2)
Episode nine from the fourth season was "The Naked Man." It opened with Robin on a date that's going poorly. She returned from the bathroom to find that the guy stripped completely naked. Knowing that the date was a failure, this was his big "move" to try and end the night well. He claimed that it worked two out of every three times and this attempt with Robin was one of them.
The concept of the move intrigued the rest of the gang. Ted went on a date that went terribly, so he tried it and it worked. Lily also used it on Marshall to make up for a disagreement they were having. But when Barney tried it on a woman, she rejected the idea and he was left to head home without any clothes.
Season 1: The Pineapple Incident (9.2)
Again, this episode ranks higher due to more reviews. "The Pineapple Incident" is the tenth episode of the series and marks the first time that many felt it was truly great. The concept of someone waking up from a drunken night, not remembering what happened, and retracing their steps isn't a new one. It was the execution that made this episode special.
Ted uncovering clues to figure out the previous night made for a great mystery. There was also the Marshall's excitement as things unfolded, the fantastic guest work from Danica McKellar, and the wrinkle that the whole thing threw into Ted and Robin's potential relationship. Plus, it was awesome that we never found out why the pineapple was next to Ted's bed (if you ignore a deleted scene).
Season 4: The Playbook (9.4)
Season five saw the series sprinting towards its special 100th episode. Before getting there, we got "The Playbook," which let us in on Barney Stinson's ultimate guide to wooing women. This was meant to be similar to his popular "Bro Code." It laid out all of his elaborate schemes.
Lily stole it from Barney after he gets with a woman that she was saving to introduce to Ted. When Barney began pulling off a play that wasn't included in the book, Lily got curious and chose to watch instead of acting. Fans loved that it was funny and the way it helped Barney rebound from the split with Robin.
Season 8: The Final Page - Part Two (9.4)
This was a two-part episode that aired on the same night. However, this back half scored nearly a full point better in the ratings than what came before it. The main focus of the episode kind of goes hand in hand with the aforementioned "The Playbook." Barney pulls out his biggest play yet for this installment.
He called it "The Robin," as it was an excessively designed play that led to him proposing to her. The whole thing was far-fetched and some fans considered it to be mean-spirited. Still, most of the audience found the whole thing to be incredibly entertaining. Without this storyline, season nine wouldn't have been possible.
Season 2: Slap Bet (9.5)
For a long time, this stood as the best episode of How I Met Your Mother. The ninth episode of season two, "Slap Bet" had everything that made this series awesome. For one, it gave us the debut of one of the show's most iconic running gags, Robin Sparkles. The whole episode saw Ted trying to figure out a secret Robin kept from him. Nobody could have predicted that the secret was that she was a Canadian teen pop star.
Furthermore, this also introduced another recurring joke in the form of the slap bet. Marshall bet Barney on what the secret was. When he apparently lost, Barney slapped him. However, since Barney was technically wrong, Marshall was given the choice to slap him five times whenever he wanted. It led to some of the most hilarious scenes in show history over time.
Season 9: How Your Mother Met Me (9.5)
The one aspect of the show's final season that was universally praised was the inclusion of Cristin Milioti as the titular Mother. This episode shined a spotlight on her, revealing her backstory up until she attended Barney and Robin's wedding. That meant we got to see the near-misses she had with Ted throughout their history.
It proved to be a beautiful way to show the audience that this woman was perfect for Ted. Milioti was spectacular in every scene. The episode was both funny and heartwarming while managing to live up to the lofty expectations set up over the eight previous seasons.