This week's episode of "HIMYM" struck the perfect balance between new chuckle-worthy moments, nostalgia-inducing flashbacks, and much-needed life lessons. We're back to almost exactly where we left off, with Barney and Robin slowly approaching their big day, and lots of crucial decisions on the horizon for Marshall, Lily, and Ted. 

The soon-to-be married couple are discussing the day itself through their usual witty banter. Barney once again mentions the pending appearance of the "ring bear", making me all the more anxious of an actual bear at the wedding. The suspense over that is driving me crazy…among other things (i.e. the Mother and Ted meeting, of course). 

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All is well until they hear the shuttle outside the inn. The time arrives for the relatives, who resemble zombies more than actual people. Rather than being drawn to the scent of human flesh, they scramble slowly at the sound of the words "buffet" and "Mandy Patinkin". The couple make it their mission to be alone together just one more time before the relatives grab them from all angles and inquire about grandchildren and future living arrangements. 

Marshall is still on his way to Farhampton, calling Lily and telling her that he will hopefully arrive for the rehearsal dinner. They are in Wisconsin so he decides to sport his best Minnesota Vikings gear to spite the home of the Green Bay Packers. He even dresses baby Marvin in purple and gold. Daphne and Lily are apparently really good friends now. I don't know when that exactly happened, but I like it! She tells her of a dress she was excited to wear for the rehearsal dinner, but unfortunately got ruined at the dry cleaners. 

And Ted. Oh Teddy West-Side, still yearning for Robin to be his. He is so heartbroken over the wedding and knowing that he can't win her back, that he makes plans to leave New York, who he has often claimed is the greatest city in the world. Lily finds out when she unknowingly snatches (she thought it was his wedding toast) his list of final things to do in the city before leaving to Chicago.

The list is filled with meaningful things, but the emotion's not heard past my laughter. One of the highlights was Ted's need to erase a piece of graffiti from the streets of NY. Cut to a brick wall with the words "YOUR A PENIS" written in giant yellow letters, then look to Ted who adds an apostrophe and an E to make it proper grammar. "YOU'RE A PENIS" is way classier. 

The other item on the list is saying goodbye to the Empire State Building. It's not just a simple last walkthrough for Ted. He stands next to the building and talks to his beloved Empy about life. He thinks she speaks to her, only to find out it's a security guard asking him if he's sexually attracted to buildings.

The final task Lily manages to read simply reminds Ted to apologize for April 26th. Then we see one of the many blasts from the past in this season: the swords! In season one, Marshall and Ted had a dispute over what was then Ted's apartment and decided to settle it through a crazy awesome sword duel. 

It ended in Lily getting stabbed in the eye with one of the swords, so this time around it seems logical for Marshall to avoid yet another duel. However, the majesty of the swords take over and they fight again, ruining Lily's rehearsal dinner dress in the process. She is furious, accusing Ted with a simple, "You son of a biiiiitch." Granted, it was said in her signature way. 

Lily decides to settle things by making Ted wear something he doesn't want to, so she goes with an old fashioned men's swimsuit hanging on the wall at the hotel. As for Marshall, she agrees with Daphne to make him wear Green Bay Packers garb. Marshall then looks up to the sky and apologizes to his dad, who was a deeply devoted Vikings fan, too.

Barney and Robin find alone time in the most unorthodox of places: the ice room of the hotel. But hey, it works for them. At least until they see that James, Barney's brother, is in the room hiding from the older relatives as well. 

Lily sees that Ted also wrote to have scotch with Barney for one last time. She claims that it should be the easiest to complete, until she remembers his feelings for Robin. Ted decides to take a sip of the scotch, but she hastily stops him from doing so. Why? Well, she and Robin got into a crazy awesome sword duel of their own and damaged the scotch bottle in the process. They try to disguise it by pouring the remnants into another bottle, but then resort to mixing chocolate syrup, hand sanitizer, and ketchup to make it look identical to the original. 

Ted takes a sip, and he claims it's breathtaking. 

While Ted avoids Barney, James avoids all of the relatives. He says that because he's "gay, black, and divorced," he'll never hear the end of it. He gives Barney an early wedding gift and leaves the room to give them some privacy, bracing himself for the crazy family and their many wonderings. The "zombies" got him! Barney yells to save him, but it's too late. He's been attacked by all of the questions!

Robin and Barney split and try to find a more ideal location, but first, Robin stops at the lounge area where Lily and Ted are. She gets a hold of the list! Lily then covers for Ted, saying it's what she wants to do before leaving to Rome. She's confused with things like "go get drinks for students" since Lily's a kindergarten teacher.

Before she delve into any more suspicion, Robin gets a call from Barney saying the third floor is vacant and with their names written all over it. Unfortunately, the elderly family members get there, and they even uncomfortably walk in on two of them! They're freaked out at first, but then realize that it's going to be them in sixty years, still just as in love. They finally say the magic words ("Mandy Patinkin!") and they confront the family.

Lily admits to the gross concoction in the scotch bottle being her fault, and gives Ted a new bottle. She explains that she took responsibility for the list because she sees how much Ted loves New York, and that if he's leaving, it's because he's hurt beyond repair. She then encourages him to be there for Barney, and confront him. 

The emotional high point of the episode happens with Lily's speech to Ted, asking him why he can't just let go of the bad things. Through all this, there's a montage of Ted's various low points, like being left at the altar by Stella. We see him getting punched in the face by some guy during St. Patrick's Day and his rejections from Victoria and Robin. 

Lily ends with saying that "good things will always be here waiting." Ted then tells her to turn the list over because he can cross off that he got a last life lesson from her, though she clarifies it's not the last one.

Ted walks out to a patio and finds Barney there. He's glad because he feels it's a good time as any to have that scotch with him and get it off of the list. Then Barney reveals the shocker: he saw Ted and Robin at the carousel looking for her locket and holding hands in the rain. 

Will ties between the two friends be put to the test during this hectic weekend? Is Ted going to move on from Robin before she walks down the aisle? Will Marshall actually make it to the wedding? So many questions, and all in the span of two days' time! Tune in to CBS next Monday at 8/7c to get closer to answering them.

WATCH: Clip from this week's episode. Check out Lily and Robin's epic duel!

Contact Staff Reporter Gennyvera Pacheco here.