How I Met Your Mother’s Porch Test Has A Surprisingly Sweet … – Screen Rant

Lilys front porch test, which she submitted Teds girlfriends to in How I Met Your Mother, always highlighted moral quandaries, but the reason behind it also hid a very sweet reasoning. Only appearing in How I Met Your Mother season 4, episode 17, The Front Porch, Lilys meddling in multiple relationships of Teds proved amusing because it prompted Ted and Karen to break up, a welcome development for the group considering their distaste of Karen. However, given how extensively involved Lily was revealed to be in Teds relationships, her front porch test always seemed too manipulative to be only considered a laughing-off expedient.

Teds high school girlfriend Karen made multiple appearances in How I Met Your Mother, often in Ted, Marshall, and Lilys university stories, but How I Met Your Mother season 4 officially introduced her in the shows main timeline. Even if she hadnt failed Lilys porch test, Karen was hated by all of Teds friends, and Lilys impulse to break them up only reflected the whole groups attitude towards Karen. Still, despite Karens behavior somewhat explaining Lilys inexcusable behavior, her meddling also hid a secret sweet meaning, making the porch test also a sweet example of Lily, Ted, and Marshalls beautiful friendship through the years.

While undoubtedly meddlesome, Lilys porch test reasons always had Teds best interests at heart, and an idea that Lily and Marshalls future would be shared with Ted and whoever his future wife would have been as its basis in How I Met Your Mother season 4. After all, Lily betting Karens worst impulses would have kicked in after she found Robins earrings interfered with Teds relationship, but she also displayed a keen knowledge of both Ted and Karen, as she knew Ted couldnt have stayed with someone like Karen without being hurt. Lilys How I Met Your Mother season 4, episode 17 meddling only protected Ted in the end.

How I Met Your Mother spent its nine seasons establishing how fundamental Lily, Marshall, and Ted were for each other, showing time and time again how they were there for one another and had been so since their university years. No matter how morally complicated, Lily was motivated to meddle with Teds love life due to a certainty that her and Marshalls old age would have been spent with Ted just as much as their adulthood was. Given that Lily and Marshall were the people who knew Ted better, Lily could likely see what an infatuated Ted couldnt, and while the execution was poor, Lilys heart was always in the right place in HIMYM.

Despite her best intentions, Lilys front porch test was still highly problematic in How I Met Your Mother season 4, episode 17. Indeed, not only did the test emphasize how Lily put herself in a position of moral superiority, given that she acted that way because she was sure that she knew better than Ted, but she also used subterfuge to get what she wanted instead of confronting Ted about it. How I Met Your Mother highlighted Teds proven record of not listening to reason if in love, but that wasnt reason enough for Lily to trick him into getting him to end relationships.

Related: 6 Reasons Stella Was Ted's Worst How I Met Your Mother Romance

Even if Lilys love for Ted and the certainty that she, Marshall, and Ted would have spent their lives together motivated How I Met Your Mothers front porch test and the subsequent manipulation, good intentions didnt cancel out her appalling actions and lies to Ted. However, unearthing Lilys porch test eventually led to a valuable development because the jig was up, making Ted realize that Karen having a terrible opinion of his lifelong friends mattered. In the end, no matter how problematic, Lilys How I Met Your Mother front porch test had a positive effect on Teds life by making it clear to him what was truly important.

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How I Met Your Mother's Porch Test Has A Surprisingly Sweet ... - Screen Rant