The Drunk Train

Plot

Barney meets a woman named Quinn while acting as Ted's wingman; Quinn sees through all of Barney's plays. To salvage the night, Barney insists he and Ted try the late-night Drunk Train, the last train out of the city, filled with drunk and desperate bridge and tunnel people. They struggle to score on the train but succeed on their third attempt by getting drunk themselves. Barney then reveals he and Quinn had hooked up that first night.

Ted realizes Barney keeps thinking about Quinn and tells him to pursue her, as it is Valentine's Day and such opportunities are rare. Ted admits disappointment that he still has no one he cannot stop thinking about. Later, Barney takes a cab with a woman but stops short of sex; when asked if he has a girlfriend, he replies that maybe someday he will. Meanwhile, on a couples retreat for Valentine's Day, Marshall and Lily try to show Robin and Kevin that long-term relationship success requires not keeping score.

Marshall and Lily eventually bicker over the issue but decide as impending parents to work as a team and stop keeping score. Kevin proposes to Robin, who wants to accept but must decide how to tell him she cannot have children and does not want them. After consulting Marshall and Lily, she tells Kevin, who still wants to marry her. However, Robin firmly says she does not want children ever, not even by adoption, forcing Kevin to reflect.

He takes back the proposal and they break up. On the roof, Robin explains everything to Ted and confesses she feels ready for a serious relationship but believes she cannot find someone who accepts her. Ted says he could and tells her he loves her. Unknown to Barney, Quinn is revealed to be a dancer at the Lusty Leopard strip club, the stripper 'Karma' whom Barney knew.

Critical response

The A.V. Club's Donna Bowman rated the episode a B, noting that the parallel stories of Marshall and Lily alongside Kevin and Robin marked a welcome improvement after the prior episode's letdown. Alan Sepinwall of Hitfix.com observed that Robin ending things with Kevin and Ted confessing his feelings for her fulfilled Victoria's prophecy from "Ducky Tie." Ethan Alter of Television Without Pity gave it a C-minus, expressing concern over Ted's admission's fallout for the season. Audience feedback was also largely unfavorable.