Don't Bogart all the Funions

“I hate when people misuse that word.”

“Me too, but you literally just got here.”

The plot lies at the heart of this episode’s central nervous system: Lily, systematically nervous over her potentially-angsty Italian job opportunity. Can she uproot Marshall and Marvin when she herself is too scared to move more than ten subway stops from her Brooklyn birthplace?

When the Captain calls, inviting her to move to Rome with him and be his art consultant there, she goes back and forth twice over the prospect. Not across the pond, either. She denies his offer twice for fluctuating reasons.
Never mind Marshall now spends his days getting reamed; though knowing so certainly helps her final decision.

In the meantime, Ted, Robin and Barney remain mystified by the couple’s new (for some) wedding planner…and what’s under that jacket! After Ted insists the planner actually has a “redonkulus” (his carefully-selected words) Yoga physique, the three plot to have her remove the garment during their meeting at MacLaren’s. The endeavor seemed worth Barney’s one hundred dollars’ effort to turn up the pub’s heat—literally.

While Lily and Marshall chase Captains and carry-on’s, Ted notices from afar Barney doesn’t seem to be acting like an ex-bachelor anytime soon. While Robin definitely proves herself “the cool fiancé,” and while Ted’s been toning down his average Ted-ness…did anyone else find Barney’s blunt assurance a little too sharp? Ted did the mature thing, backing down, but his broseph edge put this blogger on guard. Methinks thou doth protest too much?

Or maybe I have an eternal soft spot for our lonely series hero.

Marshall can distract with his “Italian” all he likes, but he won’t be able to pheromone us away from the true questions at hand. I’m still curious if Lily managed to contact the Captain a third time. And if Barney is, in fact, hiding some pre-wedding woes. And what on earth’s under Robin’s coat?
Wait.