CBS’ How I Met Your Mother is one of the most revered modern American sitcoms that has ever been produced. Fans are constantly rewatching the show and it is garnering new viewers with each passing year. The concept behind the series was truly legendary and combines romance with bromance expertly.
However, not all of the gang could be considered friends. While some were relationship goals, others struck us as an odd pairing. Here’s 10 reasons why Lily and Barney weren’t actually real friends in the ongoing sitcom.
BARNEY CREEPS HER OUT
Throughout the series you’ll notice Lily cringing at some of the things Barney says. We all know Barney is a bit of a ladies man, but he can also be considered to be a creep. Lily doesn’t like his behavior very much at all.
On multiple occasions she’s told him off for the comments he has made and it’s clear she sees him as very disrespectful towards women. On a few occasions, it looks like she’s even warned the women away, which Barney can’t be a fan of.
FIGHTING OVER MARSHALL’S ATTENTION
Barney is perhaps Marshall’s best friend, yet Lily and Marshall make up the best couple on the whole show and the most consistent one. This puts the two at odds over who can get the most attention from the lovable giant.
Obviously Lily wants Marshall to be spending more time with her, but Barney is constantly trying to get Marshall to wingman him and go out to games and the like. It therefore puts a bit of tension between the two friends and starts some competition.
ROBIN’S SIDE
When Robin started dating Barney it was clear that lines had to be drawn. Not only does Lily probably feel more loyal to Ted, who she has been closer to for most of the series, but she also has to side with Robin through a lot of conflicts.
The two girls of the group have to stick together, so when a conflict arises, part of Lily always has to support one of her best friends. Sure she sometimes has a brotherly relationship with Barney but there’s a girl code before the bro code.
SECRET KEEPING
Lily is well known for being terrible at keeping secrets. She’s therefore put Barney in some difficult positions in the past. Barney can sometimes be lulled into a false sense of security and confide in Lily.
However, she literally tells everyone she knows and even when she’s trying her hardest not to start any rumors, she still manages to mess it up. This annoys Barney greatly, but it could be a deliberate move from Lily herself.
DIFFERENT SENSE OF HUMOR
Lily and Barney definitely have a completely different sense of humor. Perhaps it goes back to how Lily thinks he’s actually quite creepy but they have very different response to their own preferred type of comedy.
The problem is, Barney finds it funny to share some of his rude and adult jokes with the rest of the gang. Lily never seems to find it funny and often berates him for sharing such horrible content. On the other hand, Barney can seem bored by Lily’s jokes.
SLAPSGIVING
Lily has become the official judge for Slapsgiving and the slapping bets. She obviously hates to see her boyfriend Marshall get slapped and so will always be on his side. What’s more, the lack of friendship could be evident by the glee she takes in Barney’s slaps.
Her options to give Barney 10 slaps in a row or 5 throughout time were just absolutely cruel. What’s worse, she laughed so hard every time her apparent friend got slapped off his feet. It’s fair to say that maybe Lily doesn’t like Barney.
BREAKING UP MARSHALL AND LILY
Early on into Marshall and Barney’s friendship, Barney told Marshall that he hadn’t lived life to the fullest. He wanted to convince his best friend that he should try sleeping around and ignore this new girlfriend that he has.
He tells him to hit on a girl that turns out to be Lily his actual girlfriend. However, this can’t sit well with Lily as one of their first encounters is with Barney essentially telling Marshal to cheat on his girlfriend for a laugh.
SEATING ARRANGEMENTS
The group famously sit within a booth in the pub. They sit in the same spot every week and all seem to have their own seats. It can shift around occasionally but there is a general setup. But there’s something interesting about this.
Lily and Barney will almost never be sat next to each other. They are sometimes opposite which is symbolic of their rivalry perhaps but clearly they are not friendly enough to actually share a seat with one another.
YOU SON OF A …
Lily and Barney actually argue so much that a catchphrase has been created by Lily whenever Barney really annoys her. It’s rarely said but when she does exclaim it, Barney clearly knows that he’s in a lot of trouble.
The famous catchphrase is of course you son of a b…ch, which is pretty harsh language from Lily. It is however only reserved for very specific occasions which is perhaps why Barney is so afraid of the phrase.
NEW YORK RIVALRY
New York is an incredibly famous city for a number of things. The personality of the people living there is very specific though. While this whole series is set within New York, only two of the main characters are actually considered New Yorkers.
Both Lily and Barney are the only two real New Yorkers there. While you may think that can bond them closer together in actuality this could create a little budding rivalry, with each vowing to be the best New Yorker of the group.
