'How I Met Your Mother' Season 7, Episode 17 Recap - 'No Pressure'

There always comes a point in any show with a central romance where the "will they or won't they" question runs its course. Either the writers can't figure out a way to keep it fresh, or the audience becomes bored with the idea and is ready to move on. "How I Met Your Mother" refuses to give up on Ted and Robin, though, even seven seasons in.

And all of that is despite the fact that we've known all along that Robin isn't the Mother. In fact, we get a quick reminder at the beginning of this episode: a flash-forward to Ted saying "I love you" to the Mother for the first time in the rain in front of a movie theater, with her holding a bright yellow umbrella (which leads to a lovely bookend at the end of the episode, set to "Shake It Out" by Florence + The Machine).

So obviously, with Ted saying those same three words to Robin on the rooftop now, that reiterates the lack of a happy ending for Robin+Ted. That doesn't mean that HIMYM is willing to shut the door just yet, though.

After the kiss (and another one or two later that morning), Robin has to head off to Russia for a week to cover a butter festival with Patrice ("PaTRIce!"). That leaves Ted to think things over for a week, which is of course a disastrous thing for Ted to do. Even worse are the machinations of Lily and Marshall, who it turns out have bets running on most aspects of their friends' lives... including whether or not Ted and Robin will end up together.

So with Marshall rooting for the relationship and Lily rooting against, Ted is eventually led to what he believes is the real problem. "What's standing in the way?" asks Lily. Cut to: Barney.

But Barney, in a display of maturity that stands in stark contrast to his desperate search for Marshall and Lily's sex tape (which he finds but is talked out of watching) opens up to Ted about what happened with him and Robin, and explains that she made her choice, and he's okay with it. And if she and Ted are happy together, then that's great.

Robin's return dashes any hopes of that, though, as Ted realizes that it simply won't happen. The ensuing Ted/Robin conversation is a great one, filled with bittersweet moments and poignant observations. Even better, though, is Marshall's ensuing involvement: he tells Robin she should move out to help close the open door on this relationship, but when Lily asks him to pay up over losing his bet that Ted and Robin will end up together, he gives her a simple "not yet."

Thus, we're left in the same boat that Ted just got out of: knowing that the door is open, just a little, for this relationship, despite all signs pointing to it being closed.

Notes & Quotes:

- "I GO CAMPING IN SECRET"

- Nice play on "We'll continue this when I get back." How many of us have had that happen, when we remember an interaction the way we choose to?

- "WE NEED A CASH BOX, GLITTER, AND SOME GLUE"

- "Never mind bro, found it!"

- "Barney, you've really grown up." "Thanks. Now let's watch our two best friends have sex on tape."

- "I can't do that. As long as the door's even a little bit open, I have this feeling that I'll just be waiting around to see if I win the lottery when we turn 40." Aww, Ted.

- And my favorite: "To the outmoded viewing device!"

- Who noticed Conan O'Brien as an extra in the bar when Barney bolted out to look for the sex tape? Seriously, rewind those DVRs!