Landmarks (How I Met Your Mother)
| "Landmarks" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 6 Episode 23 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas |
| Production code | 6ALH24 |
| Original air date | May 9, 2011 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Jennifer Morrison (Zoey Pierson) | |
| Season 6 episodes | |
"Landmarks" is the 23rd episode of the sixth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and the 135th episode overall. It aired on May 9, 2011.
Plot
Marshall presents his case for preserving the Arcadian at a meeting of the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC), where the fate of the Arcadian would be decided once and for all. When Ted is called up to present his opinion, Future Ted explains how difficult it was for him to come to his decision.
Ever since Zoey had explained how she had grown up in the Arcadian, Ted had sided with her, hoping to keep their relationship strong. Barney remains estranged from the group, since both Marshall and Ted are in support of the Arcadian’s preservation. However, Barney learns from his boss Arthur that not only will Ted be fired if the project doesn't go through, but Barney will also be fired for having suggested Ted as the architect in the first place. When Ted hears of this, he refuses to budge, but Robin explains that no matter what happens to the Arcadian, his relationship with Zoey will end badly: if the Arcadian is not accepted as a landmark, Zoey will feel betrayed and leave him, while if it stays, Ted will blame Zoey for spoiling his own dreams, apart from Barney's job. Ted still wants to keep the Arcadian and try to make it work with Zoey, but Ted later has a dream with Barney dressed up as the original architect of the Arcadian. He convinces Ted that the Arcadian must go, as being able to design a building in New York would undoubtedly help his career and future. Ted calls Zoey to gaze upon the building one last time, though he doesn’t tell her what he plans to say the next day at the LPC meeting.
Ted ultimately says he does not wish for the Arcadian to be preserved. This prompts Zoey to present voice recordings of Ted from "Natural History", saying how he was in support of the Arcadian’s preservation, particularly mentioning its ornate stonework of a lion head. With the LPC poised to give a decision the next morning, Ted is saddened to realize they will surely vote to preserve the Arcadian, thus causing him and Barney to lose their jobs. However, Lily comes up with a plan to possibly keep Ted’s relationship alive while having the Arcadian demolished. They go to Arthur to explain their plan, but Future Ted says that he can’t mention the specifics for legal reasons. The next day, the LPC explain they originally planned to destroy the Arcadian but Ted's description of the Lion Head Stonework meant they would instead preserve the Arcadian. However, they reveal the lion head had vanished the night before (the group got two construction workers to remove it), thus prompting them to ultimately decide not to preserve the Arcadian. Ted had hoped that Zoey would remain with him if it seemed the decision to demolish the Arcadian had not come from him; however, Zoey ends up leaving him anyway.
With his relationship with Zoey over, Ted calls Barney so Barney can complain about Zoey, when it's revealed that Barney kept the lion head in his room.
Reception
The A.V. Club's Donna Bowman gave the episode a B+ rating.[1]
References
- ↑ Donna Bowman (2011-05-09). "How I Met Your Mother "Landmarks"". The A.V. Club. The Onion.