This Monday, tabloid queen/mother of two/former pop princess/Kentuckian Britney Spears returns to How I Met Your Mother.  After her first highly-anticipated appearance went off better than expected (it wasn't embarrassing) the How I Met Your Mother team worked Britney back into the fold for Monday's episode, which is called “Everything Must Go.”  Barney and Ted are still on the outs.  It's not that Ted hates Barney, or is even that mad at him, he just thinks that they've outgrown Barney as a friend.  Given Barney's behavior, that's not an awful conclusion to make, but it's one that destroys Barney.  In an attempt to win Ted back, Barney gets Abby (Britney Spears) to act as his girlfriend to try and convince Ted that his womanizing ways are over.  Check out a Britney-centric clip from the episode below.



I love how even when Barney pretends to be a girlfriend guy, it just doesn't work.  The whole thing smacks of desperation.  Besides the mildly off-putting fact that Britney is sporting a little pot belly, Spears acquits herself nicely in the scene, probably because she isn't given a whole lot to do except walk.  This episode is supposed to be more of a Lilly episode than anything, so the Britney stuff should me minimal.  The finale, which airs the following week, will probably focus on the Barney-Ted dynamic to a greater extent.

For those still doubting whether How I Met Your Mother will be renewed for next season still, this latest Britney cameo probably bodes well for its future.  CBS is holding their upfronts presentation next week, and so they've almost certainly already made their decision on whether to bring the series back or not.  That being the case, there's no reason to bring Britney in for another high-profile cameo unless they are trying to bring in more viewers for the future.  Is that round-about logic or what?  Even if it doesn't make sense, it helps me rationalize the situation – if How I Met Your Mother doesn't return, the BuddyTV offices will not be happy.


-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of CBS)