new isn't always better

I'm going to be really obvious right now and say that on my list of "Reasons I Love New York," architecture is pretty high up there. Now I'm not an architecture nerd, so I'm not about to get all "oh the gothic scaffolding combined with the pre-war blahbbity blah blah" on you. But yeah, I often find myself walking around this city in awe of the buildings that surround me.

In Monday's episode of How I Met Your Mother, our singleton hero, Ted, was faced with quite a dilemma--being a big fan of architecture himself. As we all know, Barney officially gave Ted a major break in offering him the opportunity to design the newest building for Goliath National Bank's (GNC) headquarters. Understandably, Ted was super excited about the idea. That is until he found out the building would be located where the current landmark, the Arcadian, stands. What was once a classic hotel, is now a place surrounded by not so classic people. And while Ted stands there, admiring the building, he runs into a lovely lady, Zoe, played by guest star Jennifer Morrison. First question: Is she the mother? No. Second question: WHO is she??? She actually turns out to be a crazy and maniacal activist out to save The Acaradian. And Ted, being the "change yourself for a girl" guy he is, decides to join her. And while he lies to Zoe about his involvement on the project, she soon finds out, thanks to a bitter Barney arranging for a billboard showing Ted to be the architect heading the project. But don't worry, everyone, all ends well. Barney gave Ted a bit of artistic freedom, letting Ted incorporate the old facade of The Arcadian into the new GNC building. And yes, Jennifer Morrison's character was still protesting Ted right to the end, but hey, at least the classic hotel isn't completely lost, right?

In the other storyline of the evening, Marshall was having trouble dealing with the fact that Robin told Lily that Marshall's law school buddy (who she is currently dating) has a small...uh...piece of equipment used for sexual activity. Yep. And he just can't deal with that kind of knowledge. What's worse, is that he finds out that Lily talks to Robin about their sex life. Cue a Marshall freak out. In the end, everything is fine, and Marshall just deals with it, but yeah, I guess I can understand why he'd feel self-conscious.

Memorable moments:
Zoe's wardrobe. They always tend to dress Ted's love interests so well. I very much enjoyed her hats.
Barney. Yeah, just Barney. The guy doesn't change. Neil Patrick Harris never fails to impress.
Marshall having a lot of trouble being subtle on his and Lily's double-date with Robin and Max. If it's one thing Jason Segal is a pro at, it's freaking out and having a hard time covering it up.
Marshall having Lily read off a legal pad a description of just how amazing their last sexual encounter was, to an all-knowing Robin on the phone.

A moment I would have like to have seen: Barney, realizing that his theory, "new is always better" does not work when it comes to drinking the bar's newest scotch, "Jim's Grape Scotch."