The story of Ted's parents coming to have Brunch with the gang is told in three parts.
The first part shows Lily and Marshall trying to get along after their breakup. When Marshall claims that they're like brother and sister, Lily gets angry and shows up to lunch wearing a dress that reveals her boobs. Marshall responds by showing off his calves. The two are both turned on and have sex in the bathroom during brunch.
In Barney's part, Barney strives to impress Ted's parents. He hangs out with Ted's dad who hooks up with Wendy the waitress, which shocks Ted who thinks his dad mus be cheating on his mom.
In Robin's part, Robin strives to impress Ted's parents as well. She prepares to answer questions about getting married and having kids, but Ted's mom seems uninterested in these things. Robin confronts Virginia on the issue.
The stories interlap and Ted learns that his parents are divorced. He is shocked, espescially when they tell him the reason they didn't work out is because they were much like Ted and Robin in their relationship.
Notes
Marshall and Lily hookup, and clearly still have feelings for each other. They agree to spend some time apart though, and will rarely be on screen together in the next few episodes. Ted's parents also outline why their relationship didn't work and their reasons apply to Ted/Robin as well. Ted like his father was a romantic while Robin and his mother were more pragmatic and both knew they didn't really want to be in a serious relationship. These are important things that will help lead to the breakup of Ted/Robin. Ted also vows in this episode to tell the whole story of how he meets his kids' mother, thus explaining why he is telling this story in the future. Barney trying to impress Ted's parents, espescially his mom will be a recurring gag later in the series.
Review
A good episode, and I like the use of multiple stories. It's a classical HIMYM device. Barney trying to impress Ted's parents was also pretty funny. I like that even in episodes where Ted and Robin seem happy together, we get hints that all is not well. It allows us to remain a little detached from the relationship although it's still great to see them together. Marshall and Lily arguing is also funny, and I enjoy this episode as one of the few times where the couple is every really antagonistic towards each other.
Ranking
8 out of 10.
Season Comparison: Season 1 vs. Season 2: "Liberty Bell" vs "Brunch"
This is one of those where sentimentality wins the day. The two episodes are about equal, but Liberty Bell was the episode that introduced us to legendary, and legend wait for it dary! Simply too awesome to deny. Liberty Bell was also a serious introduction to the Barney character, while Brunch was just a funny situation. I'm a sucker for character insight. Although Brunch is a very good episode, and stronger then many season 1 episodes, Liberty Bell isn't one of them.
Winner
Season 1 Episode 3: Liberty Bell
Score
Season 1: 2
Season 2: 1
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