Barney Stinson is arguably the most popular to have come out of How I Met Your Mother. He helped relaunch Neil Patrick Harris’s career, his catchphrases have become legen-wait for it-dary, and his character development did a lot to help further the show. By all accounts, Barney is the breakout character.
But that’s not to say everything about him is great. Some aspects of his character are overrated, while some are painfully overlooked and underappreciated. Like all characters, you have to take the good with the bad. These are five ways Barney is an overrated character, and five ways he is underrated.
Overrated: Catchphrases
While Barney’s catchphrases were enormously popular, you could also make an argument that they were one of the most overrated aspects of his character.
Catchphrases by their very definition are annoying and trite, and they’re often seen as a relatively cheap way to generate laughs and make a character popular. Barney is no different. It got a little old hearing “legendary” and “challenge accepted!” for the 30th time in a season.
Underrated: Love Of Suits
Barney’s love of suits is one of his main distinguishing characteristics, and many a storyline and joke have been crafted at its expense. But a distinguishing characteristic it remains, as very few sitcom characters have such a differentiating sense of style.
It helps make Barney unique, and it helps aid in the professional and stylistic demeanor that he wishes to exude. It’s a wonderful little bit of characterization that doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
Overrated: His Character Development
Maybe this is How I Met Your Mother blasphemy, but some people may argue that Barney’s character development was actually a detriment to his character.
Many love what the writers did with his character and ever-growing maturity, but others loved the playboy, immature ladies’ man Barney of old. Barney is one of those sitcom characters who doesn’t really need to develop and doing so arguably hurt his otherwise wacky and idiosyncratic disposition.
Underrated: His “Serious” Moments
Even though How I Met Your Mother is a comedy, Barney is often considered “the comedic relief.” Especially in the earlier seasons, when the other characters were concerned about careers and love lives.
And even though he was the “zany one,” he actually provided many surprisingly heartfelt and emotional moments, like when he admitted that Ted and Robin were good together despite constantly joking about them. It was a great way to give him some depth and expand his character.
Overrated: Barney & Robin
OK, now this is actually blasphemy, but Barney and Robin’s relationship is by far one of the most overrated aspects of How I Met Your Mother. They share very little chemistry together (even though this is noted in-universe by their nearly immediate divorce), and the beginning of the relationship was totally inorganic and forced.
Suddenly Barney loves Robin? It came out of nowhere, and it felt like the writers trying to manufacture a storyline rather than letting it happen organically.
Underrated: His Professionalism & Success
It’s easy to make a sleazy character like Barney look like a loser, but we’re glad that How I Met Your Mother went in the opposite direction. By all accounts, Barney is very successful.
He’s very good with the ladies, he has a fabulous apartment in New York City, and he is working with the FBI in an attempt to bring down his immoral and corrupt boss. It’s nice to see an overly-confident character rightfully earning his confidence.
Overrated: The Playbook
In the early seasons, Barney was more of a natural womanizer. As the series progressed, his womanizing took a far darker and more inappropriate direction.
The Playbook was introduced in season five, and while it was very popular (both in-show and out), it did a lot of negative harm to Barney’s character. It showed that he was a disgusting, immoral, and heartless jerk who would do anything to sleep with a woman (like lying and manipulating), and it was not a pretty sight to see.
Underrated: His Self-Awareness
Another aspect of Barney’s character that deserves more recognition is his self-awareness. In many cases, goofy and borderline sociopathic characters like Barney have zero self-awareness and are not really aware that they are “the silly one.”
But Barney knows just how childish, manipulative, and borderline sociopathic he actually is – he just doesn’t care. It adds a wonderful and hilarious element to his character.
Overrated: Ellie
No one is denying Neil Patrick Harris’s incredible acting. When Barney saw Ellie and started to well up, we all welled up alongside him. But we’re not buying it. It was a cute scene, and yes, many people are immediately turned into more caring and loving people upon seeing their child for the first time.
But it didn’t really fit with Barney’s character or his storyline, especially when he regressed back to his womanizing ways in the finale. It felt a little manipulative and awkwardly forced.
Underrated: His Hippie Background
It’s easy to make a womanizing character and just leave it at that. But How I Met Your Mother is smart enough to give Barney’s personality traits an understandable motivation.
Barney was once a hippie working in a coffee shop, but his then-girlfriend Shannon left him for a successful businessman. Believing that money and clean looks were the most important factors in scoring women, Barney turned himself into just such a businessman.
