“Trilogy Time” is a what-if episode where we go though the guys life every three years and see how the predictions line up to reality.
It’s an interesting concept that stems around the tradition of watching the entire Star Wars trilogy every three years (lest they “let the dark side win”). So every three years starting when they were at Wesleyan, the guys get together (with Barney coming along a few years later) to watch the films and think about how awesome their lives will be in three years. It’s a hopefully way of thinking I believe all of us deep down think about in our own lives. We all think about our how our lives will be different in the future, for better or ill.
Ted and Marshal, like us, tend to over exaggerate the momentum of their lives at the time, seeing the exceptionally high (and low) expectations of our future lives. In reality though, life is a roller coaster with its own ups and downs, as evidenced by the comparison of reality to fantasy. Marshal and Ted always see their lives on the up, at least until Marshal was separated with Lily. From then, he sees nothing but heartache and despair in three years, while in reality we all know it turns out well for him.
The big reveal though is while Ted believes his life in 2015 will be one of lonely hoarding while Marshal, Lily, and Robin have the dream life he desires, the reality of 2015 is that Ted has a new girl he’s in love with in his life, his newborn daughter. It falls in line with the show’s expectations actually, being said on more than one occasion that there is only one more planned season of the show left. Ted would obviously have to meet the mother next spring, in 2013, and marry in about 2014 to have a child in 2015 (assuming we go the traditional route). It makes sense in terms of timeline though, and it defiantly feels like the show-runners have dropped huge hints leading us to the eventual end of the show.
Other Observations
- The man across from Barney’s place freaking out about his every day 8pm fart is a weird plot device.
- Though out the years, the copy of Star Wars they use gets updated from the VHS, to the VHS special edition, to DVD and then the BluRay. I’m sad to say I actually own all those copies too.
- Future presidents, 2003 – Al Gore, 2006 – Dead, 2009 – Kukinch, 2015 – George Bush’s 3rd term (after Obama)
- In 2015, Marshal has a TV that has a not really working voice control system. Funny considering we have a not really working voice control for TV already today. So it’s probably exactly right.
- Ted’s place changes over time to match how it was in the show itself (plus a few other goodies like set of encyclopedias in 2003).
- Robin in 2009 ends up as a Stepford wife, which is hilariously wrong and overoptimistic of Ted.
- Imaginary Lily always has this gigantic wedding ring.
- Imaginary 2006 Marshal is knighted.
- 2003 Barney had a gigantic flip phone with the pull up antenna.
Barnyisms
- “I need to assert my dominance as a man”
- Back Boobs
- Never changing his womanizing ways…until he meets Quinn
- “I’m KFC baby, you don’t mess with the recipe”
- Having sex with a girl who is in a stormtrooper costume is weird.
