How I Met Your Mother had a way of sneaking up on you when you least expected it. At first glance, it looked like just another lighthearted sitcom about five friends in New York, but underneath the jokes, it had a surprising amount of heart — and sometimes, it hit you right in the feels.
Ted’s never-ending search for “the one” was the glue holding the story together. But the real draw was everything happening around it. The show was full of running gags and Barney’s ridiculous schemes. It also had the kind of inside jokes that made you feel like you were part of the group.
Over nine seasons, the show gave us moments that made us laugh until we cried. The other episodes just made us cry. Some episodes, though, went beyond just being funny or sweet. They became the ones fans still talk about and rewatch whenever they need a little comfort. Here are the highest-rated episodes of the beloved sitcom.
15. Tick Tick Tick (Season 7, Episode 10)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
Barney and Robin’s relationship was never just black-and-white—it was all fifty shades of messy, and Tick Tick Tick dives headfirst into that emotional soup. The episode begins with them waking up next to each other after a night together and making a pact to break up with their respective partners. The catch? They’re stuck on a romantic cruise ship with Robin’s boyfriend Kevin (Kal Penn), making it the least convenient breakup plan in sitcom history.
Meanwhile, Ted (Josh Radnor) is at a concert with Marshall and Lily, only to realize that parenthood is about to change their entire friendship dynamic. How I Met Your Mother often used time as a theme, and here, it feels like a ticking clock for everyone’s emotional growth. By the time we get to the final scene—Barney quietly cleaning up rose petals after Robin (Cobie Smulders) fails to break up with Kevin—it’s a punch straight to the gut. People loved this one for its mix of heartbreak and honesty. Barney might be legen—wait for it—darily heartbroken here.
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14. Bad News (Season 6, Episode 13)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
If you ever thought How I Met Your Mother was just fluff, Bad News is the episode that proves otherwise. It starts off with a gag involving Lily visiting a fertility specialist who looks suspiciously like Barney (yes, he’s yet another doppelgänger), setting a lighthearted tone. But as the numbers subtly count down on screen throughout the episode—a clever visual gimmick—it builds to an emotional gut-punch.
The countdown ends with Marshall learning that his father has passed away from a heart attack. Jason Segel’s reaction was very raw, and Alyson Hannigan’s tearful delivery was just amazing. It is considered one of the most powerful moments in sitcom history. Fans still talk about how this episode managed to be funny and tragic at the same time. Only How I Met Your Mother could make you laugh at Barney’s doppelgänger and then leave you crying five minutes later.
13. Slapsgiving (Season 3, Episode 9)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
Nothing says Thanksgiving like a slap bet countdown and some serious ex drama. Slapsgiving finds Marshall gleefully preparing to deliver his next slap to Barney. It was part of their iconic slap bet, which turned the entire dinner into a ticking time bomb that was full of comedic tension.
At the same time, Ted and Robin try to navigate the awkward post-breakup territory. They want to do it without ruining the holiday vibe. Lily goes full holiday hostess mode. She gives out passive-aggressive smiles, while Barney grows increasingly paranoid as the slap countdown looms over his head. It made the slap a tradition that lives on in sitcom history. Somewhere, Barney still hears that slap countdown music in his nightmares.
12. How I Met Everyone Else (Season 3, Episode 5)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
First impressions are already stressful. But throw in a neurotic new girlfriend and a group of brutally honest friends, and you’ve got sitcom gold. In How I Met Everyone Else, Ted brings yet another girlfriend to meet the gang. The episode then quickly turns into a chaotic memory lane trip where every one argues about how they all actually met.
Barney whips out his infamous “hot-crazy scale.” Robin gets flustered about her first night with Ted. Marshall and Lily basically live in their own nostalgic bubble throughout. The unreliable flashbacks make the whole thing a hilarious puzzle. In this ouzzle, no one remembers anything the same way. People adored this episode. Memory lane never looked so blurry or so funny.
11. Swarley (Season 2, Episode 7)
IMDb Rating: 8.9
Poor Barney. It took only one little coffee cup mix-up. And suddenly, the coolest guy in the room is stuck with the nickname Swarley. What follows is just comedic bullying. Ted, Marshall, and the gang run wild with the joke. They even engraved the name on barstools, sang it out loud, and basically tortured Barney until he snapped. If you’ve ever been called by the wrong name at Starbucks, just be grateful your friends aren’t like Ted and Marshall.
The “Swarley” gag is the heart of the episode. But there is also a surprisingly tender subplot going on. In this episode, Marshall (Jason Segel) starts dating a sweet barista as he tries to move on from Lily. The whole episode is funny and touching at the same time.
10. Blitzgiving (Season 6, Episode 10)
IMDb Rating: 9
Thanksgiving chaos strikes again. But this time it has a supernatural twist: the Blitz curse. Blitzgiving introduces the idea that whoever leaves the room misses out on the wildest, most unforgettable moments. When Ted ends up “getting Blitzed,” the curse hits him hard—every time he steps out, something hilarious happens.
Guest star Jorge Garcia is perfect as the original Blitz, bringing his trademark lovable energy to the role. The running gag turns into a hysterical game of “don’t blink or you’ll miss it,” and the FOMO becomes contagious. But in true How I Met Your Mother fashion, the episode sneaks in a heartfelt beat as Ted notices Zoey’s hidden holiday sadness and tries to cheer her up. This episode basically tells you about why you should never leave the party early.
9. Girls vs. Suits (Season 5, Episode 12)
IMDb Rating: 9
Barney loves two things: women and suits. But what happens when he has to choose between them? Girls vs. Suits puts him in that exact predicament when he meets a bartender who hates suits. What follows is Barney spiraling like a man being asked to give up oxygen.
The episode crescendos into a full-on Broadway number where Neil Patrick Harris sings about his love for suits, and it’s pure magic. Plus, this is the episode that gets us closer to the “Mother” mystery by introducing Cindy, the roommate of the future Mrs. Mosby. Fans loved this one for its mix of absurdity, music, and mythology-building. Only Barney could turn a predicament into a jazz-hands-filled musical.
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8. Spoiler Alert (Season 3, Episode 8)
IMDb Rating: 9
Spoiler Alert is one of those episodes that feels way too relatable. Ted brings his new girlfriend, Cathy, around, and at first everything seems great — until the gang casually points out that she never stops talking. From that moment on, Ted can’t hear anything but her nonstop chatter, and suddenly, Cathy isn’t so perfect anymore.
Of course, once that door is opened, everyone starts noticing each other’s little quirks. Marshall has this annoying but cute habit of breaking into song. Lily’s baby voice is, well, not that cute. And Ted’s constant need to correct people gets on everyone’s nerves. Soon, the whole friend group is spiraling. It’s funny, but also a little uncomfortable. We have all been there, right?
Meanwhile, Marshall’s stressing about his law school results and can’t even check them because he forgot his password — and hilariously, the hint for it is tied to the very quirk that drives everyone crazy.
7. Game Night (Season 1, Episode 15)
IMDb Rating: 9
Game Night is the episode where things stop being polite and start getting real — and messy. What’s supposed to be a chill night with board games quickly turns into everyone’s skeletons being dragged out of the closet. And the best part of the whole episode is Barney’s secret origin story.
Instead of the legendary ladies’ man we all know, we get to see Barney as a lovestruck, ponytailed, tambourine-playing softie on an old VHS tape. The reveal is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking — and maybe just a little secondhand embarrassing.
What makes this episode so good is how fast the embarrassment spreads. Everyone ends up squirming as their own dirt comes out. And by the end, you’re laughing but also kind of feeling for them. And there is also a moral of the story to be learned here. Never agree to game night unless you’re okay with the ghost of your awkward past making a surprise appearance.
6. The Naked Man (Season 4, Episode 9)
IMDb Rating: 9.1
Only How I Met Your Mother could dedicate an entire episode to the question: “What if you just got naked mid-date?” In The Naked Man, Robin comes back from the bathroom to find her date standing there, completely nude, hoping shock factor might score him a hookup. The wild part? It works.
Naturally, Barney and Ted treat this as a scientific experiment and try it themselves. And they end up with two out of three successes. An oddly impressive statistic, to be honest. Beneath all the ridiculousness, there’s Ted trying to bounce back from his breakup with Stella. This gives the silliness a bittersweet edge. People adore this one because it’s equal parts cringe comedy and dating satire.
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5. The Pineapple Incident (Season 1, Episode 10)
IMDb Rating: 9.1
Few sitcom episodes are as chaotic as The Pineapple Incident. Ted wakes up with a sprained ankle, a mystery woman in his bed, and a random pineapple on his nightstand. There’s no context. There’s no memory. And, there’s no clue of what happened. The entire gang tries to piece together the events of the night before like a drunk detective squad. And every version of the story just makes things more confusing.
What makes this episode a fan favorite is that it leans into the chaos rather than explaining it. The pineapple mystery is never fully solved (at least not in the main series). That somehow makes it even funnier. It’s How I Met Your Mother at its most unhinged—messy, silly, and weirdly perfect. Forget Chekhov’s gun—this is Chekhov’s pineapple.
4. The Final Page: Part Two (Season 8, Episode 12)
IMDb Rating: 9.3
If there was ever an episode that made fans scream into their couch pillows, it’s this one. The Final Page: Part Two is a double whammy—Ted finally opens his building, becoming the youngest architect to get a skyscraper on the New York skyline, while across town, Barney prepares to propose to Robin.
Robin’s furious when she realizes Barney’s elaborate schemes were all to manipulate her into being there. But when she finally reads “The Robin,” the last page of Barney’s playbook, it all clicks. The proposal scene is one of the show’s most romantic moments. It is balanced by Ted’s quiet heartbreak as he realizes it’s time to finally let Robin go. Fans loved this one because it’s How I Met Your Mother at its bittersweet best—funny, warm, and a little devastating.
Only Barney could make a marriage proposal feel like the finale of Ocean’s Eleven.
3. The Playbook (Season 5, Episode 8)
IMDb Rating: 9.3
Nothing says “coping with heartbreak” like scuba gear and fake names. Freshly single Barney is a menace, and The Playbook proves it. Instead of processing his breakup with Robin like a normal person, he unveils an actual binder of elaborate, ridiculous pickup schemes. Each one is named like a WWE finishing move—“The Lorenzo Von Matterhorn,” “The He’s Not Coming” —and each one is both genius and unhinged.
The episode is pure chaos in the best way possible. Barney is out there donning costumes, faking accents, and pulling off stunts that should never work but somehow do. Underneath all the antics, though, Lily calls him out. She tells him that he uses the playbook as a way to avoid facing his feelings. That little emotional sting in the middle of all the comedy is what makes this episode a fan favorite.
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2. Slap Bet (Season 2, Episode 9)
IMDb Rating: 9.4
Slap Bet is arguably the How I Met Your Mother episode, the one that cemented its place in sitcom history. Robin is clearly hiding something, Barney is convinced it’s scandalous, and Marshall and Barney strike a bet—whoever’s wrong gets slapped. Hard.
The reveal that Robin was actually a teen Canadian pop star named Robin Sparkles is still one of the show’s most iconic moments. The mall-themed music video is the cherry on top. And the slap bet? It becomes a running gag that pays off all the way to the series finale. Fans adore this episode because it delivers on both sides: massive laughs and some of the show’s longest-running payoffs.
1. How Your Mother Met Me (Season 9, Episode 16)
IMDb Rating: 9.5
Season 9 might have been controversial, but this episode was universally loved. How Your Mother Met Me finally puts the spotlight on Tracy (Cristin Milioti), the elusive Mother herself. It walks through her life over the past eight years. You get to see the love she lost and the heartbreak she carried. You also see all the near misses where she and Ted almost crossed paths.
The episode is warm, funny, and bittersweet. It shows Tracy as a fully realized character rather than just a plot twist. Fans loved getting to spend a whole episode with her. Many consider it the most emotionally rewarding episode in the series.
This is the episode that made everyone wish the show had been called How I Met Tracy.
So, those are the big fan favorites when it comes to How I Met Your Mother. But hey, you might prefer a different episode. Whatever episode you can’t stop rewatching, we want to hear it. Drop your favorite in the comments and let’s see which one really deserves the “legendary” crown.
You can now watch all seasons of How I Met Your Mother on Hulu.
