Bad Crazy

"Bad Crazy"
How I Met Your Mother episode
Episode no.	Season 8 Episode 16
Directed by	Pamela Fryman
Written by	Carter Bays Craig Thomas
Original air date	February 11, 2013 (2013-02-11)
Guest appearances
Mike Tyson as himself Abby Elliott as Jeanette

"Bad Crazy" is the 16th episode of the eighth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 176th episode overall.

Plot

Future Ted explains to his kids that, while he had previously claimed to be ready to stop dating and settle down with one woman, he enjoyed being single and dating different women. However, his relationship with Jeanette, the last woman he dated before meeting their mother, would be what made him decide to settle down, especially after an incident where she destroyed his apartment in a fiery wreckage.

The story flashes back several weeks earlier, as Marshall and Barney use Ted's apartment to store some things Lily and Robin will not let them keep. The three men discuss Jeanette's psychotic behavior, including destroying his television with a beer bottle. Ted decides he has to break up with her, and plans to do so at the Barclays Center – even after discovering that being in a public place does not deter Jeanette from violence. Ted reports to Marshall and Barney that they were both kicked out of the venue, and asks them not to let her into the apartment.

Robin's aversion to holding babies continues to assert itself; she has never held Marvin in the eight months since he was born. When Lily leaves Marvin's favorite pacifier on a city bus, she asks Robin to watch Marvin as she chases down the bus. In Lily's absence, Robin tries to rock a crying baby Marvin by lifting the stroller. An old woman comes by and helps her comfort the baby. However, as Robin and the old woman talk, the stroller with baby Marvin on it rolls into the street. Noticing that Robin is shaking from the cold after safely retrieving the stroller, the old woman accompanies them to the Lusty Leopard and Robin leaves Marvin in the woman's care while going to the bathroom. Robin returns with Marvin to the same spot before Lily comes back with the pacifier, and initially claims nothing unusual happened. However, flashforwards show that Robin gradually confesses everything during wine-drinking sessions with Lily over the years, with Lily getting progressively angrier at Robin's irresponsibility – until Robin admits that the "old woman" was Mike Tyson, who is a senator in 2030.

Marshall and Barney later admit Jeanette to Ted's apartment, where she barricades herself into his bedroom and begins destroying his belongings. Ted calls the police, but realizes she is a police officer after hearing Jeanette respond to the police dispatcher. He arms himself in a comical manner to confront her but still fails to eject her. Robin and Lily have since arrived at Ted's apartment, and Robin, recalling Tyson saying that when a woman seems crazy, her boyfriend is often at least as crazy, questions if Ted's own behavior and mixed signals have led to Jeanette's craziness. He admits that he made out with her at Barclays Center (their escalating intimacy being the reason they were thrown out) and just before in his room. Lily advises him to continue seeing Jeanette for the time being, since he is slightly unstable as well and needs to get it out of his system. During the conversation, Robin is shocked and excited to realize she is holding Marvin.

Late at night, Robin is in a rocking chair and still holding Marvin. She tells Lily she is happy to continue doing so rather than put him in his crib, but immediately after Lily leaves Robin is dismayed to realize that Marvin has soiled his diaper and calls Lily back into the room.

Critical reception

Donna Bowman of the A.V. Club gave the episode a C.

TV.com's Bill Kuchman said the episode seemed designed around the possibility of the show's renewal, especially given the numerous episodes in recent weeks.

Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly stated that the episode gave Ted lessons about commitment. She added that the writers found a way to place Tyson's appearance into the story.

External links

• "Bad Crazy" at IMDb