5 HIMYM Moments Proving Barney Was a Great Friend (While a Terrible Person)
Amongst many other ongoing debates in the How I Met Your Mother community, one of the more popular types is "Is this character a terrible person or a terrible friend?".
People mainly discuss this in regard to three of the five main characters: Lily, Robin, and Barney, and they have been talking about it for years.
Well, the latter is a bit of an exception: no one ever questions if Barney was a bad person since there's not a single human being that would consider his attitude to other people nice.
But still, HIMYM fans tend to disagree whether Barney was a good friend or not. We say he was — and, with the help of Reddit users, we'll remind you of five situations that prove it.
He stole women from his friends
Yes, he did, though there's a big "but". Do you remember when Marshall and Lily broke up? Barney did everything in his power to ruin Marshall's chance with any other woman — but just to make sure Marshall and Lily come back together.
He discouraged his friends from having kids
Barney absolutely hated the idea of Marshall and Lily having a kid and always made it known.
But when he realized they really wanted it, he kept pretending to be his own doppelganger to give them the sign from the universe they were looking for.
He hooked up with his friend's ex
Barney knew Ted was still in love with Robin after they broke up, and he still hooked up with her.
But he was freaking out about being an awful friend because of doing so, and he even hired Marshall as a lawyer to find a loophole in the Bro Code that would clear his consciousness — to no result, of course, but still.
He terrorized Robin after their break-up
Barney kept on his womanizing adventures immediately after his break-up with Robin, and it was a torture for her.
But as soon as he learned about that, Barney was so disgusted with himself he even vomited from it — and then he set up a perfect date for Robin to show he was sorry and he cared for her.
He replaced his best friend as best man
Barney got frustrated after seeing Ted and Robin holding hands just before marrying her, and he replaced Ted as best man with another guy.
But, first, he made Ted his best man even though being aware of his history with the bride, and second, as soon as Ted explained the situation and told him that there were no more feelings, Barney apologized and reversed his decision immediately.