How I Met Your Father: Barney From HIMYM in Season 2, Episode 11 Explained

Neil Patrick Harris‘ Barney Stinson is back in the midseason finale of Hulu’s How I Met Your Father — and this time, he has an STD. No, not a sexually transmitted illness, however an experimental Shock Therapy Device programmed with over 10,000 problematic phrases and phrases that blasts him with sufficient electrical energy to energy Staten Island if he a lot as thinks of appearing inappropriately towards girls.

It comes in useful when the How I Met Your Mother character crosses paths with HIMYF protagonist Sophie, who’s about to embark on a quest to search out her absentee dad — a quest not in contrast to Barney’s seek for Jerome. But earlier than he sends her on her means, Barney warns Sophie that discovering her dad gained’t essentially clear up all her points. He additionally says how nice it’s been having his dad in his life — particularly after the arrival of his daughter Ellie, who was born in HIMYM‘s collection finale. He even exhibits Sophie a couple of pictures of his little lady.

Below, HIMYF creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger focus on the importance of Barney’s return — together with new particulars concerning the Barnacle’s post-HIMYM life that they selected to not disclose in the episode — and the way it units up Sophie’s arc in the second half of Season 2 (premiering Tuesday, May 23).

Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu

TVLINE | We don’t really discover out what Barney was doing in the suburbs. Has he moved out of the town? Is he visiting somebody? Is there a definitive reply?
APTAKER | There was just a little bit extra that we shot that we took out of the [final] minimize, however our considering was that Barney is just a little bit extra of a household man now… possibly he’s residing the suburban dad life.
BERGER | There had been much more particulars that sadly didn’t dwell [on in the episode]. We might have written this scene to go on for 45 minutes, however there have been particulars about Sunday evening dinner and all this stuff, and all the routines and rituals that he has now as a household man. But sure, like Isaac mentioned, we’re nodding to the concept his life has modified and introduced him right here.
APTAKER | Even the automobile he’s driving! It’s nonetheless a cool automobile, however that SUV is a “dad mobile” if I’ve ever seen one.

TVLINE | The HIMYM finale didn’t reveal a lot about Barney’s future past the start of his daughter Ellie in 2019. You might have disclosed extra, you selected to carry again. Is {that a} dialog that you’ve got everytime you convey again an OG character — how a lot to reveal, and the way a lot you are feeling prefer it’s your home to immediately affect HIMYM canon with out unique creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas’ direct involvement?
BERGER | Yes, completely. We at all times wish to be sure that we’re being true to the mythology — and, hopefully, giving followers of the unique little morsels that fill in a few of the items. But we additionally do really feel like this can be a character that holds such a particular place in folks’s hearts, and that is Carter and Craig’s creation, so if anybody ought to deep-dive into what’s occurring with Barney, they really feel like the fellows to do it. So, it’s discovering that stability of paying tribute and honoring the character, but in addition not getting wildly particular in ways in which don’t actually really feel applicable for us to do.
APTAKER | Yeah. We’re not making an attempt to upend the How I Met Your Mother finale. It did depart [certain] holes, nevertheless it took these characters by way of this [period of] time and lined lots, so we’re not making an attempt to upend something there.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu

TVLINE | Barney lists off a few of his biggest scams, cons, hustles, hoodwinks, gambits, flimflams, stratagems and bamboozles from the unique present — together with the time he pretended to be a model that got here to life, and the time he employed a make-up staff to rework him right into a time-traveling outdated man. How’d you choose these particular callbacks?
BERGER | We went again, we revisited… we had a a lot longer record. Again, it’s a type of issues that would go on perpetually in a extremely enjoyable means, however then we truncated it to offer a few of the highlights — the issues we thought would actually stick out in folks’s minds. But sure, it was very enjoyable to return and craft that record.

TVLINE | Sophie says that she at all times pictured Malcolm in the Middle-era Bryan Cranston as her father. Cranston, in fact, performed Hammond Druthers on the mothership. Was that additionally meant as an Easter egg, or…?
APTAKER | [Laughs] That’s one factor we’ve run up in opposition to earlier than and we had to select. The unique present was on for a gazillion episodes, and so they had so many visitor stars…. We did speak about it, and we thought again to Friends — how they referenced Die Hard, then had Bruce Willis on the present. So, what? If Friends can do it, we are able to do it, too!
BERGER | Almost any time we have now a casting alternative on our present, the very first thing we have now to do is go, “No, they were on the original! No, they were on the original…” as we undergo our record.
APTAKER | We have dedicated to not casting actors who performed a special function on the unique as somebody new, however we’re going to typically speak about them.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu

TVLINE | Barney exhibits Sophie photos of his daughter Ellie, who could be 3 or 4 years outdated now. Are these simply inventory pictures you used, or are these really pictures of somebody’s child?
APTAKER | That’s Neil’s daughter [Harper]. I don’t know if he and [executive producer/director] Pam Fryman got here up with that, or possibly it was Pam’s concept. We thought it was a stunning concept since you by no means see that character apart from as an toddler in the unique, and also you’re not going to do any higher than Neil’s daughter!

TVLINE | Barney explains to Sophie how he anticipated discovering his father would repair his abandonment points, his dedication points, you identify it. Will Sophie hold that in thoughts and mood her expectations if she does monitor down her dad?
BERGER | I suppose so. She’s going to enter [her search] completely not sure what to anticipate, and never considering it can clear up all her issues in life. But I suppose what’s so beautiful about operating into Barney is that it crystalizes some feeling she had deep inside her — “this is a thing I want and now it’s time to go for it” — so, in that means, he serves this actually beautiful objective for her that we’re actually enthusiastic about.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Hulu

TVLINE | Does the seek for Sophie’s dad drive the second half of Season 2?
APTAKER | Yeah, we leap proper again in and decide up with that thread. It’s a extremely beautiful story as a result of it lets the group come collectively, and so they all rally behind our lady and resolve that they’re going to assist her with this gorgeous daunting process of making an attempt to reconnect together with your dad in your thirties. It’s an enormous ensemble story about monitoring down Sophie’s dad and, hopefully, forming a relationship.
BERGER | I will add, although, simply so folks know: We’re nonetheless going to do tales about different stuff, and nonetheless do the humorous, foolish hangout tales that we’ve been doing in the primary half of the season. But it’s positively an enormous arc that we’re enjoying.

TVLINE | Will we meet Sophie’s dad earlier than the tip of Season 2?
APTAKER | We will! I don’t suppose we’re allowed to say who it’s but, however we’re tremendous, tremendous enthusiastic about it and we actually love the storyline.

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