How I Met Your Mother: Architect Of Destruction

     Sometimes its amazing how much they can cram into one 21 minute episode.  There were so many good moments in this one, but none of them seemed to be all that connected.  I would guess that there were a bunch of jokes left on the writing table that nobody was sure where to put or couldn't develop them enough for them to warrant their own episode, so what we the viewers are left with is one episode crammed with little tid bits.  Many times this could mean disaster.  So much is going on that none of it really works, but in this case the HIMYM writers pulled it off.
     My favorite moments are...
           -new is better vs old is better discussion
                I thought this was going to be the theme of the episode, but it ended up just being a funny back and forth between Ted and Barney.  I enjoy these moments.  This one was particularly funny.
          -changing one's personality to fit with a new girl
               This was introduced late in the episode but ended up being the theme.  Its something we've seen Ted do, even without the new examples they gave us.  It's also something I'm sure all of us have experienced in real life.  Who doesn't have the friend that changed the minute they started dating some new girl?  They suddenly become some new person we didn't know.  The key, as they pointed out in the show, is not to change as much as add to what is already there.  The best partners in life introduce us to new experiences and bring out the best in who we are, but don't totally alter who we are and what we do for fun.  It's an easy trap to fall into.
          -some old jokes
               I know it's old at this point, but I still find the legendary jokes funny.  I don't care how many times Barney pulls out this catch phrase, I'm going to laugh.  The writers also decided to fall on the old standard of penis jokes.  Unlike Legendary, there is such thing as too many penis jokes.  HIMYM doesn't rely on them that often, so an episode full of them was enjoyable.
          -Locker room talk
               They nailed this one.  As much as you ladies may think all guys do is talk about sex in the locker room, we never go into any detail.  A guy may talk about a certain conquest for everyone to hear, but it is usually only in hushed tones that the specifics are given, if at all.  In all honesty, once you've had sex yourself, you don't care at all about the details of other dudes experiences.  The other thing they nailed is the one old naked guy that makes everyone else uncomfortable.  The minute they started describing a guy locker room I said there had to be a naked old guy.  I don't know why, but there is always one naked old guy.

     The only other thing worth mentioning is the arrival of Jennifer Morrison (Cameron from House).  Many speculated that she would be Ted's future wife, but we discover early on that she is married and we get her name, which if Ted is telling this to his kids, they would know that it was their mom.  So, it doesn't look like she's "the one" or do the HIMYM creators have a twist in store for us?