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Landmarks
HIMYM episode 6x23 (135)
LandmarksPromo1
First aired:
May 9, 2011
Director:
Pamela Fryman
Writer:
Carter Bays
Craig Thomas
Barney's Blog

Images (13)

When Ted is faced with an important decision that might affect his future with Zoey, the gang expresses their true feelings about her.


Recap[]

The episode starts with Marshall presenting his case for preserving the Arcadian at a meeting of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), where the fate of the Arcadian would be decided once and for all. When Ted is called up to present his opinion, Future Ted explains how difficult it was for him to come to his decision.

Ever since Zoey had explained how she had grown up in the Arcadian, Ted has sided with her, hoping to keep their relationship strong. Barney remains estranged from the group, since both Marshall and Ted are in support of the Arcadian’s preservation. However, Barney learns from his boss Arthur that not only will Ted be fired if the project doesn't go through, but Barney will also be fired for having suggested Ted as the architect in the first place. When Ted hears of this, he refuses to budge, but Robin explains that no matter what happens to the Arcadian, his relationship with Zoey will end badly: if the Arcadian is not accepted as a landmark, Zoey will feel betrayed and leave him, while if it stays, Ted will resent Zoey for forcing him to give up his dream and leave her. Ted still wants to keep the Arcadian and try to make it work with Zoey, but Ted later has a dream about John Clifford Larrabee, the original architect of the Arcadian, who looks exactly like Barney in the dream. He convinces Ted that the Arcadian must go, as being able to design a building in New York would undoubtedly help his career and future. Ted calls Zoey to gaze upon the building one last time, though he doesn’t tell her what he plans to say the next day at the LPC meeting.

Ted ultimately says he does not wish for the Arcadian to be preserved. This prompts Zoey to present a voice recording of Ted from the GNB Museum of Natural History function, saying how he was in support of the Arcadian’s preservation, particularly mentioning its ornate stonework of a lion head. With the LPC poised to give a decision the next morning, Ted is saddened to realize they will surely vote to preserve the Arcadian, thus causing him and Barney to lose their jobs. However, Lily comes up with a plan to possibly keep Ted’s relationship alive while having the Arcadian demolished. They go to Arthur to explain their plan, but Future Ted says that he can’t mention the specifics for legal reasons. A flashback is shown of two people removing the lion head from the building. The next day, the LPC explain they originally planned to preserve the Arcadian, mainly due to its lion head stonework. However, they reveal the lion head had mysteriously vanished, thus prompting them to ultimately decide not preserve the Arcadian. Ted had hoped that Zoey would remain with him if it seemed the decision to demolish the Arcadian had not come from him; however, Zoey ends up leaving him anyway.

In the end, Barney is revealed to have kept the lion head in his apartment.

Continuity[]

  • The others discuss the ongoing mystery of Barney's job.
  • Ted mentions wanting to name his children Luke and Leia, which was previously referenced in Milk. Coincidentally, Ted ends up naming his son Luke, but his daughter is instead named Penny.
  • While trying to think of a plan to save the GNB building project, Ted, Marshall, Robin, and Barney decide that they should buy a bar, as Barney and Ted plan to do in Three Days of Snow​.
  • After the hearing, the gang turn to Lily for a plan to change the LPC's mind. Her skill at scheming has been discussed previously in The Front Porch​, The Three Days Rule​, and The Rough Patch​.
  • In his dream about John Clifford Larrabee, Ted suspects that Barney has rented a costume and broken into his room "for what I wish I could say was the first time." Barney pretends to be someone else so often—Bad News being both one of many examples, and the consequences of his pretending so often—that Ted is amazed to learn that Larrabee's visit is not a fake history lesson.
  • Ted tells Larrabee, who looks like Barney, to "take the condoms and get out." Barney broke into Ted's room to search for condoms in Definitions​.
  • Larrabee tells Ted "Just... O.K.?"
  • When Arthur reveals that Barney will also be fired if the hearing goes badly, Barney says "Come again for Big Fudge?" Marshall's skee ball nickname introduced in Jenkins​. This is the first time it is used to refer to someone other than Marshall.
  • While deciding whether or not to testify against the Arcadian, Ted holds the toy plane Barney gave him in Unfinished.
  • Ted and Zoey recall how they first met outside the Arcadian in Architect of Destruction.
  • Ted and Barney argue over whether Ted protecting the Arcadian is "about the girl" or "about the building", as they did in Architect of Destruction, and Ted once again admits that it's about Zoey.
  • Zoey plays the tape of Ted from Natural History at the hearing, having lied about erasing it.
  • Ted tells Zoey that "sometimes things have to fall apart to make way for better things," as she said to him regarding her divorce in Garbage Island.
  • Barney wonders if he used the right screws to mount the Arcadian's lion on his wall, having only recently learned how to use a screwdriver from his father, as seen in Legendaddy​.

Future References (Contains Spoilers)[]

  • Arthur's divorce and his dog would come up again in The Pre-Nup when he advises Barney to get a prenup to avoid suffering his fate.  

Gallery[]

For a listing of all images on the wiki tagged as being from this episode, see Category:Landmarks images.

Memorable Quotes[]

Ted: First of all, there's no way a ninja will be able to sneak up on me, I have the reflexes of a jungle— (Robin slaps him)
Lily: ... tree?

Zoey: (looking at the Arcadian) It's nice getting one last look at what we're trying to save.
Ted: (looking at Zoey) Exactly.
Ted makes his decision to break up with Zoey

Ted: We should buy a bar.
Barney: We should totally buy a bar!
Marshall: We should absolutely, totally, buy a bar!
Robin: Really, the only sensible idea right now.
Marshall: Oh, oh, and ready?
Barney: What?
Marshall: It's a theme bar... it's a courtroom.
Ted: Yes! Where the bartenders wear sexy judges' robes.
Marshall: Uh, I'll allow it!
Barney: It's the only court where you show up, then get served!
Robin: You're judged by a jury of you beers!

Robin: Sometimes I go play chess in the park. And the key to chess… Okay, I play online! But the key to chess… Okay, it’s Angry Birds! But the key to Angry Birds is to always try to see every possible outcome. And to hit some pigs with rocks or something… I don’t know, I don’t play. I can’t get it to download!

John Clifford Larrabee: New York is never finished, Theodore. Only a handful of architects ever get to dance with her. Do not miss your turn.

Marshall: If you end an argument with a rhyme, it's convincing all the time.
Lily: Yeah, it's why in our apartment-- if you're a-hopin' to score, don't leave your socks on the floor.
Marshall: And she hasn't since.

Notes and Trivia[]

Goofs and Errors[]

  • In the beginning of the episode everyone is sitting listening to the hearing, when the camera shows the scene from the back you see Barney and Ted sitting right next to each other, however when the camera shows the front of the hearing you see Robin sitting between Ted and Barney. It goes back and forth between showing them from the front and back a number of times with the same results as stated above.

Allusions and Outside References[]

  • When Ted dreams about the architect of the Arcadian, he's not sure if it's a dream. Then he sees a top that continues to spin like the "totem" used by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie Inception.
  • Ted quotes the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley when he said the line "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
  • Robin is trying to download the game Angry Birds.
  • Ted wants to name his children Luke and Leia, a reference to his favorite film Star Wars, previously mentioned in Milk.
  • When Ted tells "Barney" in his dream that destroying the Arcadian would ruin his personal life, "Barney" references Biggie Smalls by saying "Mo' buildings, mo' problems."
  • Barney does an evil laugh. Neil Patrick Harris who plays Barney is also well known for his role of Dr. Horrible in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. His character there performs a brilliant evil laugh, just as Barney does in this episode.

Music[]

Other Notes[]

  • The ninja says "korede owarida", which translates to "with this, it's finished." The subtitle in the episode read "We're done here."

Guests[]

Reception[]

  • This episode premiered to 6.408 million viewers.[1]
  • Donna Bowman at the A.V. Club gave the episode a B+.[2]
  • Mindy Monez at Television Without Pity gave the episode a B-.[3]
  • Robert Canning at IGN gave the episode a 6 out of 10.[4]
  • The St. Petersburg Comic Review gave this episode 7.5 out of 10 stars. "...double dream sequence..."

References[]

External Links[]


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