This one is part of a string of excellent episodes that in my opinion make season 4 the best season of How I Met Your Mother. Everything since 'The Naked Man' has been gold. And maybe that exalted standard of comparison is the only reason this particular episode doesn't seem to shine quite so bright.
It's still a very good one. The interaction of Barney and Ted is great. Ranjit has an appearance, so does Carl. There are telepathic conversations. Marshall does an amazing robot impression. We get flash forwards to scenes from later episodes ("I can jump that far", "I'm gonna win her back"). The "bingo" conversation between Barney and Ted might be one of the funniest dialogs in the entire series. It's just the Marshall and Lily storyline that, albeit being sweet, doesn't get me excited. It makes the episode a bit uneven, because the Barney and Ted storyline is awesome and way superior.
We also get to see more Marshall and Robin interaction. This has been a common feature in the last few episodes. They always appeared to be people that happen to have mutual close friends rather than actually being close friends with each other. Earlier in the season, this has been further established. Robin insulted Marshall in 'Not a father's day', Marshall insulted Robin in 'The Naked Man', and in 'Woooo!' Robin expressed the desire to spend more time with Lily without Marshall being around. And then, with 'Little Minnesota' we got an episode dedicated to the things they have in common. And they finally spend some time together outside of the group. This episode continues on that path, although the dichotomy of their respective characters becomes once again apparent. Maybe Robin respects Marshall more since she found out that he can be a bad-ass fighter...
A final thought on Ted. He seems to have become more cynical and Barney-like lately. Since he got left at the altar, he had meaningless sex with the elevator girl, Robin, and now possibly a college chick, but no new love interest. In 'The Fight', he explicitly said: "I remember that nice guy being left at the altar for a taekwondo instructor." This shattering event might have had a bigger impact on his character than he was ready to admit directly afterwards.
Remember what old Ted said in the first episode of season 3: "This is the story of how I became who I had to become before I could meet your mother."
It's still a very good one. The interaction of Barney and Ted is great. Ranjit has an appearance, so does Carl. There are telepathic conversations. Marshall does an amazing robot impression. We get flash forwards to scenes from later episodes ("I can jump that far", "I'm gonna win her back"). The "bingo" conversation between Barney and Ted might be one of the funniest dialogs in the entire series. It's just the Marshall and Lily storyline that, albeit being sweet, doesn't get me excited. It makes the episode a bit uneven, because the Barney and Ted storyline is awesome and way superior.
We also get to see more Marshall and Robin interaction. This has been a common feature in the last few episodes. They always appeared to be people that happen to have mutual close friends rather than actually being close friends with each other. Earlier in the season, this has been further established. Robin insulted Marshall in 'Not a father's day', Marshall insulted Robin in 'The Naked Man', and in 'Woooo!' Robin expressed the desire to spend more time with Lily without Marshall being around. And then, with 'Little Minnesota' we got an episode dedicated to the things they have in common. And they finally spend some time together outside of the group. This episode continues on that path, although the dichotomy of their respective characters becomes once again apparent. Maybe Robin respects Marshall more since she found out that he can be a bad-ass fighter...
A final thought on Ted. He seems to have become more cynical and Barney-like lately. Since he got left at the altar, he had meaningless sex with the elevator girl, Robin, and now possibly a college chick, but no new love interest. In 'The Fight', he explicitly said: "I remember that nice guy being left at the altar for a taekwondo instructor." This shattering event might have had a bigger impact on his character than he was ready to admit directly afterwards.
Remember what old Ted said in the first episode of season 3: "This is the story of how I became who I had to become before I could meet your mother."