How I Met Your Mother (TV Series) Legendaddy (2011) User Reviews

Legendaddy (#6.19)

[ComedyFan2010 · 9/10 · 26 July 2015]

A great episode about Barney getting to know his dad. And he is not who Barney imagined him to be. He is upset that he is so lame, but in reality he is just upset he couldn't be lame for him, as in giving him a childhood with a dad. Greatly played. This is the time when i don't mind Barney being emotional. The scene outside with the basketball hoop is beautiful and touching.

I also liked the choice for dad. John Lithgow is perfect. He made me laugh at the beginning but when the serious part came totally was on the same level with Neil Patrick Harris at the estranged father moment.

And to ease the mood of the episode we have small funny moments between other characters when they talk about each other's leaps of knowledge

I'm running out of superlatives for Neil Patrick Harris

[simbrab · 8/10 · 9 August 2016]

This is what Barney's story arc of the 6th season has been building up to: He finally gets to meet his dad, Jerry. How is this big moment being dealt with? Not for the first time this season, the writers go for the dramatic option.

Jerry turns out not to be what Barney wanted him to be. Even worse, he has a family, including a son that got a proper childhood. Barney first reacts by being close-lipped and avoiding him. But after the gang pressures him into giving his dad one more chance and join his family for dinner, Barney ends up confronting him with all the anger, disappointment and abandonment issues Jerry's absence during his childhood has caused him.

Pretty heavy stuff for a sitcom. It works for two reasons. The first reason is a light-hearted supporting B-story centered around Marshall, who provides some good laughs in between the more intense moments. The second and most important reason is an outstanding performance by Neil Patrick Harris. He has been brilliant countless times before, but this tour de force of dramatic acting has been unprecedented within the show. Kudos to him!

P.S.: Don't google Vietnamese shame wheel! You're not ready.

Neil Patrick Harris.

[swordsnare · 8/10 · 4 February 2022]

Neil Patrick Harris seems to be one the outstanding constant throughout this series. In conjunction with the great John Lithgow, playing Jerry, this is memorable episode with a more serious tone.

If you were going to be some lame, suburban dad...

[dylanmortiz · 10/10 · 25 August 2022]

This Barney-centric episode is one of my absolute favorite episodes. Perhaps the most caricaturized main cast-member of the show, Neil Patrick Harris flashes his acting chops in a very heartfelt performance.

This show does a great job at slowing down and staying quiet during its more heartfelt moments. The writers know that scenes and episodes like these need room to breath. I appreciate subtle use of laugh-tracks that never overpower scenes that are meant to be pivotal for characters and their growth. This episode is no exception.

If you follow these characters closely over the first 5 seasons, you know most of Barney's problems stem from his abandonment issues. And if you allow yourself to really see how those issues affect not just his life, but the relationships he tries to maintain with his closest friends, then you may also find yourself wanting the same closure Barney is trying to get on his childhood. I think this episode, you see Barney at his most vulnerable and I love it.

NPH♥

[Sumit_Dutta · 10/10 · 17 July 2020]

NPH was just awesome in this... But the background music just made me cry at the end

Another Sad Episode

[slightlymad22 · 8/10 · 29 January 2015]

Neil Patrick Harris knocks it out if the park once again as Barney Stinson in another sad episode of "How I Met Your Mother". He is both touching, and in the last scenes heartbreakingly sad.

Plot In A Paragraph: Barney finally meets his Dad Jerry (an awesome John Lithgow) but is disappointed to learn that he is not as legend-wait for it- dairy, as he hoped, when he learns he is a boring suburban Dad.

Any episode that features the brilliant Neil Patrick Harris's character Barney Stinson in the main storyline is always excellent. I could go on and on about the brilliance of this episode, and in particular Neil Patrick Harris but I won't bore you with it.

footloose

[swiltshire1959 · 8/10 · 11 July 2019]

Did anybody get the bit where jerry (john Lithgow) says "what are you a small town preacher who does not believe in music" in obvious reference to his footloose character

Dick

[bevo-13678 · 10/10 · 15 June 2020]

I like how he really is a dweeb but Barney pretends his father is really cool