BroTP analysis: Don't forget the robot!
This might sound a little crazy, but bear with me.
In honor of the upcoming repeat of "Sandcastles in the Sand" this upcoming Monday, I decided to watch it yesterday. Because I can. Also, because I freaking love that episode to death. And while I was watching, I had the strangest revelation:
The robot could be a symbol for Barney.
As in, the cheesy, 80's, "don't forget the robot" robot in both Robin Sparkles videos. The one in the screencap below.
(I told you to bear with me.)
I know, it sounds a little crazy, but to me it makes perfect sense. Barney is, in some ways, kind of like a robot, with his flawlessly suited exterior and his frequent emotional distance. Barney's suits have always felt like a sort of front to me, a kind of armor that he hides behind to protect himself from getting hurt again; robots are the same way with their exteriors (if there's a name for it, I don't know it). We know Barney is capable of feeling some emotion, but it's always buried extremely deep, giving him the appearance of not having many feelings. Marshall screams at him (in "The Chain of Screaming") that he never allows himself to feel anything; one could say that Barney's emotions "do not compute".
All that's fine and dandy. But what really sold me on this comparison was the appearance of the robot in the Robin Sparkles videos.
See, most music videos (no matter how ridiculous) tell some sort of story. And the way I see it, the robot serves similar functions in Robin Sparkles's stories that Barney does in Robin Scherbatsky's.
For me, the similarities between the two were most striking in the "Sandcastles in the Sand" video. In this video, as I'm sure you all remember, Robin Sparkles has to deal with her breakup with Simon. Toward the end, after Simon has left her, the robot comes over, bringing her a flower to cheer her up.
In the episode itself, of course, the real Robin has broken up with the real Simon the second time. And who comes over to comfort her?
Barney. (Commence squeeing.)
And then I found this bit of dialogue between the two of them very interesting:
Barney: And of course, the robot makes an appearance in the sad love ballad.
Robin: He was my sidekick. He had to be!
Implying that Robin Sparkles and the robot are inseparable, their own OTP in a weird, 80's Canadian pop sort of way.
(Y'all can stop squeeing now.)
--
The connections are much more subtle in "Let's Go to the Mall" (and by "subtle", I mean "this doesn't make nearly as much sense, unless you've watched the episode 1000 times and think about it too much like I have").
In this video, the robot doesn't have much of a role to play. In fact, at first glance, it seems like just another random 80's relic thrown in for comic effect - much like how Barney's character, at first glance, doesn't seem to be much more than a comic relief character for the show. But once I came up with this Barney-is-the-robot theory, I reexamined "Let's Go to the Mall" with my scholarly brain, and here's what I came up with:
There's a secret Robin Sparkles-robot-food court guy love triangle. Okay, not exactly. Just bear with me a bit longer, okay?
The thing is, that food court guy has more similarities to Ted than I would have initially thought. Here's what the song's lyrics tell us about Food Court Guy: "He's got hair like Gretzky, and he does jumps on his skateboard." Obviously, these lyrics are mainly trying to convey the Canadian-ness and 80's-ness of Robin Sparkles for laughs. But I couldn't help but notice (on my 93rd viewing of the episode) the connections with Ted.
Of course, the real Barney doesn't have anything to do with Ted and Robin's real-life (or, more accurately, real-show) breakup. What makes this scene more interesting is Robin Sparkles's reaction to the robot's appearance (see screencap below), as well as the song's lyrics at this point:
Robin Sparkles: It'll be just him and me...
Robot: But don't forget the robot!
...As the robot appears out of nowhere (thanks, 80's music video continuity!). And then Robin Sparkles hilarously shrugs at FCG as if to say, "Sorry, what do you want me to do? He's my robo-sidekick!" And Food Court Guy just gives her this fake exasperated look like, "Oh, you and your robo-fetish. How adorable!" Like so:
What does all that mean? I think it describes the actual situation in this triangle. Robin must have thought she and Ted would be together forever, or at least that he'd always sort of be her "The One." She actually says as much in "Shelter Island." But then, out of nowhere, Barney comes into her heart. And she doesn't fight his appearance in her life; she just accepts it, the same way Ted does. And eventually, he becomes her sidekick... or, rather, soul mate. And, if Food Court Guy's reaction is any indication, eventually Ted will be just fine with it.
--
What's that? "That's great, Da Phoenix, but I need more proof"? Here you go:
If it wasn't clear to us before, the writers slapped us in the face with it (so to speak) this time, by having Barney dress up like a robot, albeit one that doesn't look much like the Sparkles robot. But keep in mind that this is in the same episode that the Slap Bet comes back into play; we might be meant to find connections between the two episodes.
In his first appearance, I find what RoboBarney says very interesting: "Feelings. Inside. Oh, no!" And then he appears to malfunction and shut down.
Now Season 4, as we all know, starts out with Barney trying to deal with his feelings for Robin. And not doing the best job of it, either. I'm not going to pretend to be able to predict what's going to come of this situation in the next few episodes, or even in the rest of the season. But I think RoboBarney has told us how it's all going to end up.
"Spoiler alert: the robot falls in love!"
Well, duh.
Then, at the very end of the play, RoboBarney sings about his love for the toaster oven.
"And the robot found love.
Confusing my circuitry, my software's been hacked,
Toaster Oven, you're the one for meeeeeee!"
I'm not going to try and outlandishly compare Robin to a toaster oven. That's another post, for another time. But based on how Barney's crappy play turned out, I have hope that these two will find a happy ending eventually.
Well, the play certainly isn't the only thing making me hope that. But this post is about symbolism, so that's what I'm sticking to for now.
Did the writers have all this in mind when plotting out the Robin Sparkles videos? Maybe, maybe not. I'm just throwing this theory out there. After all, this is the show that chose to symbolize Lily and Marshall's relationship with a jar of olives, and Ted and Robin's relationship with a blue French horn. Neither of these symbols is nearly as apropos as the robot representing Barney, but the thought process behind them is the same. This sitcom has gone crazy with unconventional symbolism; who's to say that Barney can't be represented by a cute 80's robot? One that Robin's alter ego is especially fond of? Robin Sparkles is not only incredibly entertaining, but her videos can actually be interpreted in the context of the show as a whole, and I think at least these parts help symbolize Barney and Robin's relationship.
Not to mention, Barney seems to be the only character who's obsessed with them. He's unearthed both of them, spent thousands of hours tracking them down... and he's the only character who really seems to care about the Sparkles vids. Sure, everyone was entertained by the first one, but he's the only one who will state of his own free will that he's watched "Let's Go to the Mall" a thousand times. He's also the only member of the gang who was allowed to see "Sandcastles in the Sand", or who seemed to care that it even existed. I'm serious. Rewatch "Sandcastles in the Sand" when it reairs: Barney streaks out of the bar upon learning that there's a second video and calls the information "the most important revelation of the night", but none of the others seem to care, or have even reacted to the news that Robin's been in more than one video.
I'm not exactly sure how that last paragraph fits into my theory; we'll call this the non-crazy portion of the post. I just think that the Sparkles vids' tie to BroTP is much more concrete than my scatterbrained theory about the robot, for those of you who are making serious "WTF?" faces at your computer screen right now. Or any one of these faces:
And now I'll end this ramble, since nothing good happens after 2 AM.
In honor of the upcoming repeat of "Sandcastles in the Sand" this upcoming Monday, I decided to watch it yesterday. Because I can. Also, because I freaking love that episode to death. And while I was watching, I had the strangest revelation:
The robot could be a symbol for Barney.
As in, the cheesy, 80's, "don't forget the robot" robot in both Robin Sparkles videos. The one in the screencap below.
(I told you to bear with me.)
I know, it sounds a little crazy, but to me it makes perfect sense. Barney is, in some ways, kind of like a robot, with his flawlessly suited exterior and his frequent emotional distance. Barney's suits have always felt like a sort of front to me, a kind of armor that he hides behind to protect himself from getting hurt again; robots are the same way with their exteriors (if there's a name for it, I don't know it). We know Barney is capable of feeling some emotion, but it's always buried extremely deep, giving him the appearance of not having many feelings. Marshall screams at him (in "The Chain of Screaming") that he never allows himself to feel anything; one could say that Barney's emotions "do not compute".
All that's fine and dandy. But what really sold me on this comparison was the appearance of the robot in the Robin Sparkles videos.
See, most music videos (no matter how ridiculous) tell some sort of story. And the way I see it, the robot serves similar functions in Robin Sparkles's stories that Barney does in Robin Scherbatsky's.
For me, the similarities between the two were most striking in the "Sandcastles in the Sand" video. In this video, as I'm sure you all remember, Robin Sparkles has to deal with her breakup with Simon. Toward the end, after Simon has left her, the robot comes over, bringing her a flower to cheer her up.
In the episode itself, of course, the real Robin has broken up with the real Simon the second time. And who comes over to comfort her?
Barney. (Commence squeeing.)
And then I found this bit of dialogue between the two of them very interesting:
Barney: And of course, the robot makes an appearance in the sad love ballad.
Robin: He was my sidekick. He had to be!
Implying that Robin Sparkles and the robot are inseparable, their own OTP in a weird, 80's Canadian pop sort of way.
(Y'all can stop squeeing now.)
--
The connections are much more subtle in "Let's Go to the Mall" (and by "subtle", I mean "this doesn't make nearly as much sense, unless you've watched the episode 1000 times and think about it too much like I have").
In this video, the robot doesn't have much of a role to play. In fact, at first glance, it seems like just another random 80's relic thrown in for comic effect - much like how Barney's character, at first glance, doesn't seem to be much more than a comic relief character for the show. But once I came up with this Barney-is-the-robot theory, I reexamined "Let's Go to the Mall" with my scholarly brain, and here's what I came up with:
There's a secret Robin Sparkles-robot-food court guy love triangle. Okay, not exactly. Just bear with me a bit longer, okay?
The thing is, that food court guy has more similarities to Ted than I would have initially thought. Here's what the song's lyrics tell us about Food Court Guy: "He's got hair like Gretzky, and he does jumps on his skateboard." Obviously, these lyrics are mainly trying to convey the Canadian-ness and 80's-ness of Robin Sparkles for laughs. But I couldn't help but notice (on my 93rd viewing of the episode) the connections with Ted.
- While Ted might not have hair like Wayne Gretzky (or, for that matter, Food Court Guy), he certainly spends a lot of his attention on the way his hair looks (as noted in numerous episodes). And one of the only things we see Food Court Guy do in the video is carefully run a comb through his 80's-Canadian-hockey-star-like hair.
- Sure, as far as we know, Ted doesn't have a skateboard, and if he tried to do a jump on one, he'd probably break his face. But he certainly does like taking those leaps, doesn't he? He said so himself in the pilot episode: "I've got to do what that guy couldn't: I've got to take the leap!" Throughout the series, he constantly takes huge leaps of faith in his relationships with women. The most recent example would be his rushing into engagement with Stella. Actually, most most recent would be him rushing into the wedding itself. But I'm sure you get the idea.
- Food Court Guy seems to enjoy doing... The Robot. And he's kind of scarily good at it. Kind of like how Ted, in season 3, becomes a Barney imitator; as Marshall points out in "No Tomorrow", he becomes "another Barney", meaning Ted has also gotten too good at acting like Barney.
Of course, the real Barney doesn't have anything to do with Ted and Robin's real-life (or, more accurately, real-show) breakup. What makes this scene more interesting is Robin Sparkles's reaction to the robot's appearance (see screencap below), as well as the song's lyrics at this point:
Robin Sparkles: It'll be just him and me...
Robot: But don't forget the robot!
...As the robot appears out of nowhere (thanks, 80's music video continuity!). And then Robin Sparkles hilarously shrugs at FCG as if to say, "Sorry, what do you want me to do? He's my robo-sidekick!" And Food Court Guy just gives her this fake exasperated look like, "Oh, you and your robo-fetish. How adorable!" Like so:
What does all that mean? I think it describes the actual situation in this triangle. Robin must have thought she and Ted would be together forever, or at least that he'd always sort of be her "The One." She actually says as much in "Shelter Island." But then, out of nowhere, Barney comes into her heart. And she doesn't fight his appearance in her life; she just accepts it, the same way Ted does. And eventually, he becomes her sidekick... or, rather, soul mate. And, if Food Court Guy's reaction is any indication, eventually Ted will be just fine with it.
--
What's that? "That's great, Da Phoenix, but I need more proof"? Here you go:
If it wasn't clear to us before, the writers slapped us in the face with it (so to speak) this time, by having Barney dress up like a robot, albeit one that doesn't look much like the Sparkles robot. But keep in mind that this is in the same episode that the Slap Bet comes back into play; we might be meant to find connections between the two episodes.
In his first appearance, I find what RoboBarney says very interesting: "Feelings. Inside. Oh, no!" And then he appears to malfunction and shut down.
Now Season 4, as we all know, starts out with Barney trying to deal with his feelings for Robin. And not doing the best job of it, either. I'm not going to pretend to be able to predict what's going to come of this situation in the next few episodes, or even in the rest of the season. But I think RoboBarney has told us how it's all going to end up.
"Spoiler alert: the robot falls in love!"
Well, duh.
Then, at the very end of the play, RoboBarney sings about his love for the toaster oven.
"And the robot found love.
Confusing my circuitry, my software's been hacked,
Toaster Oven, you're the one for meeeeeee!"
I'm not going to try and outlandishly compare Robin to a toaster oven. That's another post, for another time. But based on how Barney's crappy play turned out, I have hope that these two will find a happy ending eventually.
Well, the play certainly isn't the only thing making me hope that. But this post is about symbolism, so that's what I'm sticking to for now.
Did the writers have all this in mind when plotting out the Robin Sparkles videos? Maybe, maybe not. I'm just throwing this theory out there. After all, this is the show that chose to symbolize Lily and Marshall's relationship with a jar of olives, and Ted and Robin's relationship with a blue French horn. Neither of these symbols is nearly as apropos as the robot representing Barney, but the thought process behind them is the same. This sitcom has gone crazy with unconventional symbolism; who's to say that Barney can't be represented by a cute 80's robot? One that Robin's alter ego is especially fond of? Robin Sparkles is not only incredibly entertaining, but her videos can actually be interpreted in the context of the show as a whole, and I think at least these parts help symbolize Barney and Robin's relationship.
Not to mention, Barney seems to be the only character who's obsessed with them. He's unearthed both of them, spent thousands of hours tracking them down... and he's the only character who really seems to care about the Sparkles vids. Sure, everyone was entertained by the first one, but he's the only one who will state of his own free will that he's watched "Let's Go to the Mall" a thousand times. He's also the only member of the gang who was allowed to see "Sandcastles in the Sand", or who seemed to care that it even existed. I'm serious. Rewatch "Sandcastles in the Sand" when it reairs: Barney streaks out of the bar upon learning that there's a second video and calls the information "the most important revelation of the night", but none of the others seem to care, or have even reacted to the news that Robin's been in more than one video.
I'm not exactly sure how that last paragraph fits into my theory; we'll call this the non-crazy portion of the post. I just think that the Sparkles vids' tie to BroTP is much more concrete than my scatterbrained theory about the robot, for those of you who are making serious "WTF?" faces at your computer screen right now. Or any one of these faces:
And now I'll end this ramble, since nothing good happens after 2 AM.