A Change of Heart (How I Met Your Mother)
"A Change of Heart" | |
---|---|
How I Met Your Mother episode | |
Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 18 |
Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
Written by | Matt Kuhn |
Production code | 6ALH19 |
Original air date | February 28, 2011 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"A Change of Heart" is the 18th episode of the sixth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and the 130th episode overall. It originally aired on February 28, 2011. After Nora announces her intention to marry and settle down, Barney is worried; meanwhile, Robin's new boyfriend displays idiosyncrasies that remind her friends of a dog.
The episode received a fairly positive reception, with 9.24 million watching the episode when it first aired. Some critics found elements of the plot cheesy, although the plot twist and character interactions were complimented.
Plot
Chastened by
At dinner, Barney became worried when Nora began talking about marriage and settling down; he claims he wants the same things. After dinner, Barney blackmails the group into pretending this is true. Nora tells everyone that her parents are in town and invites Barney to meet them the next day. However, Barney admits that he was lying about wanting to get married and Nora slaps him. Lily and the cardiologist also slap him when he tells the story.
Lily insists that Barney genuinely does want to settle down and get married, but when Barney denies this, Lily has the cardiologist check what happened when Barney first saw Nora on their date. They see that Barney's heart literally skipped a beat, which he and Lily interpret as a sign he really wants to settle down. Barney goes to the brunch to tell Nora about his feelings; seeing her with her parents. However, he loses his nerve and leaves before Nora sees him.
Meanwhile,
The episode ends with a flashback of an incident involving Marshall in 2006, which explains the event Barney referenced when blackmailing him. Marshall drops a calzone while walking on the street, but picks it up after ensuring that nobody is looking at him. As he takes his first bite, however, he sees Barney nearby and slowly walks away in embarrassment.
Reception
Ratings
"A Change of Heart" first aired on February 28, 2011, garnering 9.24 million views on
Reviews
Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode a rating of A−, criticizing the episode for being "sappy" but describing herself as "impressed" by the twist ending to the scene with Nora's parents.[3] Angel Cohn of Television Without Pity graded the episode at B−.[4] Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.5 out of 10, saying that Nora was likeable and that he enjoyed the interaction between the friends, who even managed to make "silly filler plots" enjoyable.[5]
References
- ^ Gorman, Bill (March 1, 2011). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Bachelor,' 'The Cape' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- ^ Knox, David (8 May 2011). "MasterChef makes its mark". TV Tonight. TV Tonight. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
- ^ Bowman, Donna (2011-02-28). "A Change Of Heart". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ^ Cohn, Angel (2011-03-01). "The Heart Wants What The Heart Wants". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
- News Corporation.
External links
- "A Change of Heart" at IMDb