Shelter Island (How I Met Your Mother)

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Shelter Island is the fifth episode of season 4 of How I Met Your Mother, and the 69th episode overall. It aired October 20, 2008, directed by Pamela Fryman and written by Chris Harris.

Plot summary
- Marshall, Lily, and Barney are at MacLaren’s when Ted and Stella arrive. Stella is upset because her sister’s dream wedding on Shelter Island is being taken over by Stella’s vegan fiancé.
- Ted and Stella meet Stella’s sister, who reveals her fiancé has run off with another woman. Ted and Stella misread each other’s nonverbal signals.
- Barney surprisingly supports Ted’s marriage and hints at Robin returning from Japan for the wedding. Robin’s job in Japan has been a farce involving chimp co-hosts, which disappoints her.
- The group goes to Shelter Island, where the wedding venue is a yoga resort that serves only vegan food and non-alcoholic drinks.
- Stella learns Robin is invited, which makes her uneasy since Robin is Ted’s ex. She asks Ted to uninvite Robin. Ted lies to Robin about her plane status while Stella tells him Tony (her ex) won’t bring their daughter Lucy to the wedding.
- Ted tries to persuade Tony to attend. Barney meets Stella’s sister, who propositions him, while Ted focuses on Robin.
- Ted convinces Tony to let Lucy attend, but Tony cries about losing Stella to Ted, so Ted invites Tony as well.
- At the venue, Stella is upset to see Tony and Robin’s arrival. Ted and Stella argue about unresolved feelings for their exes. They decide to tell Tony and Robin they cannot attend, but Ted ends up talking to Robin while Stella tells Tony to handle it.
- Robin reveals she’s quitting her job in Japan and moving back to New York. She warns Ted not to rush into marriage, which upsets him. Robin later finds Barney with another woman, while Stella and her sister end up with Barney as well.
- On the morning of the wedding, Stella leaves a note saying she ran away with Tony. The friends console Ted, while Robin sees Stella and Tony together on the ferry. Ted realizes Stella’s real worry was unresolved feelings for Tony, not Robin.

Reception
- In interviews, co-creator Craig Thomas praised Jason Jones’s guest performance.
- Reviews were mixed: The A.V. Club gave it a B+ and called it rushed; IGN rated it 7/10, calling it bland and unmemorable.