‘How I Met Your Mother’ Recap: Robin Fights With Barney's Family; Katie Holmes Makes Cameo

How I Met Your Mother continued it’s 24-esque final season on Monday with “The Poker Game,” splitting time between the inn at Farhampton and Marshall’s (Jason Segal) road trip from Chicago with Daphne (Sherri Shepherd) in the hours leading up to Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin's (Cobie Smulders) wedding.

Barney’s family pre-wedding poker game is in full swing, with Robin also taking a place at the table. Robin gets piqued that James (Wayne Brady), who still happens to be wearing his wedding ring, continues almost incessantly to badmouth the whole concept of marriage. When Robin asks Barney to talk to his brother about his relationship and to get him to lay off the wedding disses, Barney shuts her down and it ultimately leads to a nasty feud between Robin and the Stinsons.

Meanwhile, Ted (Josh Radnor) begins to brag to Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall about the trio of gifts he’s prepared for Barney and Robin. Lily, however, can’t hide her anger about how Ted apparently never bought her and Marshall a wedding present. Ted insists that he bought them a high-end coffeemaker and that he’d always resented the fact that he’d never received a thank you note. Lily and Marshall reveal that their wormy friend Stuart had taken credit for the present the whole time.

Flashbacks reveal that the three buddies exchanged years’ worth of not-so-subtle hints about gifts and thank you notes respectively. Ted even dressed up as a thank you note for Halloween – causing him to miss the Slutty Pumpkin (Katie Holmes). Now that that’s settled, Ted gifts Marshall with a to-the-car delivery form Chicago’s esteemed Gazzolo’s pizzeria.

Back at the inn, Robin has already taken matters into her own hands by running the poker table and winning all of James' money and his wedding ring. When Barney’s mother had tried to recoup the game through some more poker, Robin doesn’t let her win and ultimately takes the shirt off her future mother-in-law’s back. Barney wasn’t happy with how Robin handled it, but eventually gives into her request that he stand up to his family. He takes it a bit far, however, and winds up alienating his family and fostering even more ill will towards Robin.

When Robin tries to smooth things over with Barney’s mom and give her back her shirt, she’s completely rejected. “You won the battle, but I’ll win the war,” the Stinson matriarch tells Robin. “Game on, bitch,” Robin replies.

How I Met Your Mother airs Mondays on CBS at 8/7c.

– Chelsea Regan

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