Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother is many things — a hot-headed gun-owning broadcaster, a cynic, a Vancouver Canucks fan, a proud Canadian — but her most reliable trait is perhaps her ability to burst bubbles and bust myths.
Robin is a realist and is the least gullible person on her squad, so she often says things out loud which others may not have the courage to say. She had the uncanny ability to say relatable things which the viewers were thinking.
Sisters fight, Ted!
Robin can be a really nasty roommate, especially if someone doesn’t fight back. When her sweet, forgiving and overly nice friend and colleague Patrice starts dating Barney, Ted points out that Barney is ‘over-correcting’ and only dating Patrice since she is so starkly different from the unreliable and somewhat detached Quinn.
Robin remarks that she loves Patrice and they’re like sisters. And when Ted points out that she has never had one exchange with her without screaming, Robin yelled, “Sisters fight, Ted!” This particularly may have resonated with fans who have shared rooms or clothes with their sisters, and have screamed at them for minor annoyances despite loving them.
Aren't you tired of waiting for destiny, Ted? Isn't it time to make your own destiny?
This is something every HIMYM loyalist has thought of screaming at Ted at some point. For someone who claims to be self-aware and wants to work on himself, Ted was quite delusional about his own priorities. He simply knew that he wanted to spend his life with his soulmate and believed that his destiny would grant him that.
This assumption has actually stood in the way of him making sound decisions and in Season 7's fourth episode when Robin finally tells Ted that he’s been devoting too much of his energy on simply waiting for things to happen to him.
We Share Appetizers!
Robin’s disgusted response makes better sense under the right context, of course. Marshall once shared with the gang, “I was once with this chick, who liked to do hand stuff underneath a jacket, while we were all sitting around our favorite booth at MacLaren's.”
He was probably talking about Lily but this information suddenly clicked with Ted and Robin who were listening to Marshall’s story. “We share appetizers!” Robin remarked, citing her very relatable annoyance with Marshall’s disregard for basic hygiene at a communal table.
I know I may not love you the way you love me, but I DO love you. Isn't that worth hanging on to?
Technically these words were spoken by Robin’s apparition that appeared in Ted’s mind. HIMYM acknowledges the fact that there can be many forms of love, especially if a relationship has a strong foundation of friendship. Ted felt sad because Robin didn’t reciprocate his feelings at that point, though she loved him quite a bit. Fans of the show have also commented how Robin and Ted’s relationship was quite aspirational, except of course, how Ted would always try to pigeonhole their dynamic as a romantic one.
“I know our relationship isn't exactly what you want it to be, and I know I may not love the way you love me, but I do love you. Isn't that worth hanging onto?” Robin asks in season 7's twenty-second episode.
Well, maybe this isn't a breakup. Maybe this is two friends getting back together
It has to be acknowledged that Robin and Barney’s relationship was a lot healthier than Robin and Ted’s, primarily because Barney and Robin went with the flow and were transparent with each other, whereas Ted and Robin were simply in two very different places during their relationship.
So, Barney and Robin’s breakup was also a lot less toxic because unlike Ted, Barney had never seen Robin as ‘the one’ or his soulmate and took their split as a personal rejection. They could easily be friends, even after their divorce because they simply wanted to be in each other’s lives. So, when Robin said “Maybe this is two friends getting back together,” the viewers really related to this logic.
If? Ted, The Kids In That Movie Jumped Into A Painting And Spent 15 Minutes Chasing A Cartoon Fox. Spoonful Of 'Sugar'? Grow Up
Even if the viewers weren’t thinking it, Robin’s insight is bound to have given them a lot to think about their beloved childhood classic. In season six, When Ted compares Robin’s purse to Mary Poppins’ purse only if it was filled with drugs, Robin questions the incredulity of the entire movie which had the kids breaking into a painting, and implied that something other than a "Spoonful of Sugar" (as per the song in the movie) was at play in the film.
We're Talking About A Girl Who Got Barney Stinson To Actually Commit… I'm Guessing Narnia.
Every viewer irrespective of their age and their opinions on Barney was probably thinking what Robin was saying out loud in the fourth season. The gang becomes suspicious of Barney after he keeps disappearing on them, and everyone thinks he may have a secret girlfriend somewhere.
So when they’re in a car following Barney, Robin and the others talk about the possibilities of Barney’s secret lover and where she could be from. To which Robin remarked, “We're talking about a girl who got Barney Stinson to actually commit… I'm guessing Narnia."
For who? A witch building a house in the forest?
To be fair, the merits of sugar as a stress-buster especially during exams are unchallenged, but Marshall’s pre-exam diet was a bit too much because it was simply an impossible amount of sugary candies.
In season 3's eighth episode when the gang tries to look for Marshall’s password so he could check his exam results, they find his grocery list featuring jelly beans, fluffernutters, gummy bears, and ginger snaps. When Marshall reveals it’s a grocery list, Robin’s sarcastic comment came across as super relatable. “For who? A witch building a house in the forest?” she remarked, implying obviously that Marshall buys candy like a folkloric witch who would try to lure children to her candy house.
I Can’t Lie To My Phone!
This may have been one of the most hilarious and relatable things Robin has ever said, and will definitely resonate with anyone in this day and age. When Robin gets dumped by Don, she doesn't cope well, especially because he had left her to take a job in Chicago that she was offered first.
As a result, Robin would leave angry, drunk and rather violent messages on his voicemail. Lily asked her to delete Don’s number but was shocked when she found the next day that she still had Don’s number. “I tried to (delete his number). But this thing popped up on my phone that said ‘Are you sure?’ And I wasn’t sure, I can’t lie to my phone!” remarked Robin.
No Woman In The History Of The World Is Ever Just Sitting Around Reading Architecture Magazines In My Old Cheerleading Uniform
Of course, no one ever answers truly when asked, “What are you wearing?” and textual flirting in general can be quite deceiving. But the gullible Ted hadn’t gotten this memo because the woman he was texting seemed to be saying all the right things which made her too good to be true.
Luckily, Robin happened to be in the room to burst his bubble. “Yeah, whatever it is, I can guarantee you she's not wearing it, she's lying to make you like her. Because no woman in the history of the world is ever just sitting around reading architecture magazines in my old 'cheerleader uniform,'” she tells him.