How I Met Your Mother: What Will Become of Barney and Nora?

Typically, when television shows use romance to enhance the plot, I see it as trite and annoying. But this is not the case with Barney and his new found love Nora (played by the lovely Nazanin Boniadi). In today's episode, Barney has to wear a heart monitor, which will essentially track his heart during his date with Nora. Barney believes that he lied to her about wanting a family, but Lily points out that Barney lied about lying. His heart literally skipped a beat, which, though a very lame joke, made for a very heartwarming moment for Barney. He approached Nora at brunch with her parents and accepted the fact that he wanted everything that she did. Or did he? In a stunning turn, Barney envisions what it could have been, playing out the entire scenario outside of the restaurant. Barney found the person he knew he loved and walked away from her. This is typically when I would be angry at my television. Why is such a great show using such a cliched plot method to forward their episodes? I had a right to be angry because they did the same exact thing with Robin in a will-they-won't-they scenario. But there is something about Barney that makes me root for him whenever he has the chance to actually be in a relationship. I don't know if it is how well Neil Patrick Harris plays Barney Stinson, but I always want him to find true love and I thought that he found it with Nora. But this is a great storyline for Barney and that is why I found this specific plot twist so intriguing. How I Met Your Mother has been extremely good as of late, despite a weak first half of their season. They have been developing their characters very well, especially Marshall (played by Jason Segel) and Barney. Barney will be now dealing with two new people in his life. One will be his father (Jerry Whitaker played by the hilarious John Lithgow) and the other will be Nora. I don't think that this is the last we've seen of Nora. I mean, she works with Robin, so I'm sure we'll meet Nora once again. I think Nora and Barney will end up together because there was so much fanfare leading up to Nora's appearance that I can't believe that she will be a one-off character. Do I think that Nora and Barney will live their happily ever after? I doubt it, but I do think that they will give it a shot. Who knows? Maybe it is their wedding where Ted will meet his future wife and the eponymous mother? But for now, we can at least be thankful that Barney has found someone who he will love, but such a victory is bittersweet for he can not call her his own.