Britney's coming back next week, and all of us who care about the show are already dreading it. (What are the chances that the team can minimize her collateral damage for a full hour?) But as if to prospectively make up for Brit's return, HIMYM gave us Will Forte this week. And in the guest star MVP voting for this season, he wins in a landslide. If we can keep Will Forte in our hearts, true believers, we can weather even the crassest publicity storm.
Tonight's episode was all about movin' on. Barney tries to hook up with a new bro, but his long list of candidates turns out to be otherwise occupied: having a daughter, already committed to a bro, playing Cranium and watching 27 Dresses. So Barney goes with Plan Z: Randy from his office, a confirmed Barney disciple with a few shortcomings in the social department.
Meanwhile Ted is anxious to move his relationship with Stella to the next level, but he's intimidated when he finds out that she hasn't had sex since 2003. ("The world was first learning about SARS," Marshall observes.) They're on for a romantic night at a hotel in the city when Stella finds out that Ted told her secret to his friends. A brief (apparently 24 hour) pause in the foreplay ensues before Stella comes to her senses, gets over her trust issues, and invites him home to meet her daughter. (Awww.) And then have that sex. (Oooo.)
So much for the A story! Because all the awesomeness was concentrated in the B story. From "goodbye, Geraldine Ferrar-bro" to "Haley, you are a fat ugly whore," Will Forte redefines sitcom funny by giving us a hapless nerd with no governor on his language center. The secret to the portrayal is Forte's utter vulnerability and refusal to resort to stereotypes. I do not expect to laugh any harder at the television in 2008 than I did when Forte explains, blood streaming from his nose, "This happens every time I get an erection."