How I Met Your Mother's Marshall - The Truth About Being The "Good One"
Vložit
- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- On paper, How I Met Your Mother's Marshall Eriksen is the perfect man - but is he, really? Marshall gets to be the moral center of the show, and part of his moral superiority stems from the fact that he’s been with Lily for his entire adult life, and is a doting boyfriend, husband, and father - something that insulates him from the many horrible and manipulative dating decisions made by Barney and Ted. He’s committed to being a good husband, father, and he wants to improve the world. But, upon further inspection, Marshall seems to be just as self-serving and morally limited as the rest of the cast, and he displays How I Met Your Mother’s inherently limited moral outlook...
If you like this video, subscribe to our channel and support us by becoming a Taker or joining our Patreon for amazing perks like early access and custom polls!
Become a Taker: bit.ly/jointhetake
Join our Patreon: / thetake
Watch our TikTok: / thisisthetake
Bonus Content and Articles: www.the-take.com
Follow our Socials: linktr.ee/thisisthetake
CHAPTERS
00:00 Is Marshall the good guy?
00:56 The supposed "moral anchor" of HIMYM
03:45 Working to destroy the world
07:14 How should we judge Marshall?
09:50 HIMYM's ethical map
CREDITS
Executive Producers: Debra Minoff & Susannah Mccullough
Chief Creative Director: Susannah Mccullough
Associate Producer: Tyler Browner
Writers: Eric Thurm and Kathy DiStefano
Narrator: Alani Waters
Video Editor: Julian Holmes - Zábava
WATCH MORE: Lily & Marshall's romance is one for the ages. So how did they curate this unique love affair, and what's their secret to finding your perfect soulmate? Here's our TAKE: czcams.com/video/PWizp9GuQjs/video.html
He's a good man, a far better man than Ted (sorry, it had to be said). He is pragmatic, and initially plans to give up his dreams to ensure a good future for his wife and children. It takes his father dying to change those plans, and find a new dream (eventually to become a judge and attempt to make the world better that way). His main vice is his tendency to tell half-truths and twist words to snow Lily.
Make a video on the unexpected success of RRR in the Western market
So let me get this straight….
You make a video praising Lily even though she selfishly manipulates the group and pursues her own interests with no regards to anyone else.
However, Marshall is a bad guy for trying to balance his humanitarian goals with the reality of being a supportive family man?
…..right
You are shameless he providing for family
Marshall is Lily's consolation prize after her ideal life in San Francisco doesn't work out. That's far from being soulmates.
I think that you’re forgetting that Marshall finished law school as the 07/08 financial crisis hit. As someone who graduated at the same time I can tell you getting ANY job in your chosen field was damn near impossible.
He got his corporate job through Barney. He had the choice between working with Barney or perpetually working for free. He has bills to pay. Any experience is crucial at that stage of your career.
And as he gets more experience, he pivots back to a job more aligned to his beliefs
He didn't just have standard bills and student loans. Lilly maxed out dozens of credit cards
@@fluffychan6000 Not to mention, Lily didn’t even tell him about it until he found out himself.
I hated this video, it is written by a 17 yer old it seems. Not saying Marshall is an angel, but there are so many books written about totality of capitalism. As a person working for a small salary in an NGO, it also becomes a very hard and soul-sucking job. As it is also built on the corporate structure and has sooo much bureacracy.
@@1oduvan yeah this video was a reach.
They had a video on every other character and must of felt like they needed one for Marshall. And the most they could come up with was the period of time Marshall worked for a corporation; therefore Marshall = Capitalist???
Not quite as impactful as us all reconceptualising “good guy” Ted as a douchebag misogynist.
@@1oduvan These are the people that get hired to be writers unfortunately. God forbid we should hire writers that have a realistic perspective or life experience. I think that's why our media is such garbage, no one knows how to analyze anything because they have no idea what reality is like
I didn't finish the series, but I saw Marshall as the guy who knows what right and wrong are, but is still human enough to make the wrong choices and be aware that he's doing it, and continues even when he knows that it can't be justified. It makes him a lot more realistic than Ted and Barney...
Nah, barney is realistic. A “dude bro” type. May have graduated, but never left college bro years. Marshall isnt realistic because of his dynamic with ted
💯
@@kalstonii Barney is technically guilty of sex trafficking.
it's funny that opinions diverge here, I'd argue a Ted is realistic...Definitely met guys as completly unaware of the way they come across, and still consider themselves the nice guys even when all evidence out there points to the opposite...
If you do finish it you'll hate the ending like the rest of us...
Marshall took the corporate law job because Lily had massive credit card debt. Even though he hated himself for working for the bad guys, Marshall knew that it was also taking care of his family. And is it just me or do we not see a lot of Marshall’s on tv today…
@@PennyWise-eu9nz yes and your wife is your family ...
It’s more realistic, people start out wanting to change the world but end up working for their lifestyle
Marshall is a tall, handsome Ivy League educated attorney with strong family values and is so loyal to his wife that he can’t even fantasize of being with other women without having to imagine her passing away first. He’s literally the most amazing guy on the show!
Facts, I felt so bad for him when she broke up with him.
Yeah but thats the problem. I found his character was written to be too perfect to a point where I felt he was unrelatable.
why is it so important that he is tall?
@@uluomu Most people find tall men attractive. I was highlighting what a total catch Marshall is.
@@uluomu it's the most important factor for women. you can tell as it's literally the first thing she mentioned
I think Marshall's quite a realistic person. Lots of idealistic people bend their views as they mature and have different pressures. Don't most people prioritise their family and friends? I'm really struggling to see how he's a bad person 🤷🏾♀️
He selfishly prioritzed the people around him other the rest of the world. The fact that most people do that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. The whole world is objectively more important than his 3 best friends, his wife and kids. However, I agree with you that it makes sense for him or for any normal human being to act that way. It's the selfish nature of mankind.
@@rialyandriamiseza9814I think he could be a bit selfish, naive and deluded. However I don't think that makes him not a nice person. Humans are complex. I know so many people who won't do anything because they can't change everything. I think he saw the best in the people he loved and it gave him the strength to try to make a positive difference in the world.
@@rialyandriamiseza9814 thats still pretty much as good as it gets
@@rialyandriamiseza9814 bruh what? He ends up being the environmental lawyer he always wanted to be and stood his ground when even his boss gave up on saving the Earth. What more do you want from him? He can't save it all. He did what he could ALL WHILE being a great husband and friend. Marshall Eriksen is a character any person should aspire to be.
I would say the take is against anything that upholds traditional family values, so since Marshall is representative of this, he is a bad guy. If he was a female doing the opposite, the character would be described as nuanced, free spirited, and going against the patriarchy
He's not perfect but he possesses redeeming qualities. Marshall is by far the most relatable out of all of them.
It feels like this episode was written by someone who hasn't had to choose between paying and electric bill or their mortgage, while at the same time wondering how far that last loaf of bread will last and hoping daycare won't send a reminder that fees are to be paid a week in advance.
Exactly, we’re all cogs in the machine of capitalism. If he didn’t do it, he’d struggle, while the destiny of the corporation would be fulfilled via someone else who gets to live comfortably. It’s not as if he was making the decisions or the billions here. It’s super judgmental and privileged to act as if ppl need to have “moral” jobs. And within that awful job, getting unemployed Ted a job was one of the best possible ways to use his power. The best part is that Marshall stayed wholesome bc he prioritized his friends and family over the position. If ppl had to have “moral” jobs to reflect their character, a lot of good ppl would be on the streets while evil raked in every last drop instead of the 98% they already have.
Right? Not everything is as black & white as whoever wrote that script made it seem. Like hell, I had to fight with myself over this for the last couple months
It's not always between 0 and 1. You can have 0.5, etc. Is it sometimes really 0 and 1? Yes, but not for Marshall. Stop making excuses. That's the whole point.
Marshall is not in this situation, he's not working to make to the end of the month but specifically to have a cushy life that fits the mold his father gave him.
I feel attacked by this video - I’m a lawyer whose student loans and the minimal opportunities in a saturated legal field have prevented me from pursuing my idealistic career path. 😩
I think he is a good guy. And yes he has some issues because that’s how being a person works.
He’s definitely better than the other 4.
Agreed. This was whole video seemed like a reach to me.
HAHHHA NO BUT FOR REAL THOUGH
He's a flawed human we all are, but I'll go a step further, he's not just the most good and ethical person in HIMYM, he's among the most good and ethical central characters to a sitcom ever.
Really of all the sitcoms I've ever watched, Shirley from Community just edges him out as most good central character, and I don't think anyone else comes close
@@TMZahida226 Yeah this channel has a feminist agenda. It’s not a bad thing necessarily but sometimes they do reach
Didn’t he punch a random man, just because he thought he was dating his ex? That’s a huge jerk move
Nah. This is a pretty thin argument. In context, his values kept him focused on what he was taught, which was to be a good person. Even though he compromised, he did it for his future family. Ultimately, he did choose to do both.
I think he’s a good guy. As for career when your a adult you have to make sacrifices they live in the most expensive city and needed to buy an apartment and Lily was a shopoholic later kids came. His choices were realistic
The point of this and The Good Place, is that it is almost impossible to be a good person AND live a decent life. Also yes, you can not worry about stuff you can't change, so you do the best you can in your small circle and as you get bigger influence, you then can effect bigger change but how is that bad? He does his best with the tools/abilities he has.
Marshall literally has to take the Corporate job to pay off Lilly's massive debt.
He IS a good person. We all want to feel good about ourselves but at least Marshall tries to improve the world in the process. The arguments you gave are so hollow. He's human, of course he is going to make mistakes and he's going to look out for himself and his loved ones, like all of us.
Missed the mark on this one, The Take. No person is ideal and perfect. You can be a really good person with the right outlook and all that. But it doesn’t mean you do not make mistakes. And yes you have to be self centered at times, most of the times actually especially with the way the world is going at. If making mistakes and putting yourself first makes you a bad person or “self centered” then we’re all bad people. Marshall is the most realistic character on HIMYM. And I do think he’s genuinely a nice guy.
Perfectly put
This is the only take I've seen that I disagree with. Marshall took that corporate job because Lily hamstrung their financial situation with massive credit card debt, so he took a job he didn't to support his wife. Also it's human to want to do bigger things for the world, but get stuck in corporate drudgery. Barney didn't choose the other building design because he thought it was better for the company, he chose it because he thought it was cool, even though it was impractical and frankly ridiculous. Marshall knew he chose it for childish and selfish reasons, so he told him. When Lily wanted to go to Italy, Marshall had just gotten his dream job, of course there was conflict. Conflicting jobs is an incredibly common obstacle that many married couples face (also, he ended up going with Lily to follow her dream and put his own on hold for her). I'm sorry, but Marshall is consistently a good guy, who genuinely tries to make the right choice for himself, his family, his friends and the world as often as he can. He's the farthest thing from the fake 'nice guy'. He's the only non-problematic character on that show, and honestly we need more Marshalls on TV.
He either put his family first or the environment never himself. dreams are great but they can't feed or house you. he truly is heartbroken about working there. he is as good as it gets. I don't know how they could have made him better without making him unrealistic.
I mean really, imagine actually making a video that says this person is a bad guy because he cares too much about friends and family
But that's exactly what The Take did here lmao
@@Trepur349 they said that he didn't really care about the environment but he became a judge and kept fighting for it
We all have competing ideals and sometimes have to choose one set over the other. Marshall choosing job that allows him to more fully care for the well-being of his family over his environmentalism is a realistic choice that many people have to make. Many people choose to stay a job they don't fully believe in because they care more about their loved ones than their own total fulfillment.
Also, part of Marshall's arc on the show is literally finding a way to balance those ideals. As he leaves corporate law and eventually recognizes that the best way to both care for his family and make a difference is to become a judge. So criticizing him for working for GNB over his ideals when you know the way the story ends is a strange and disingenuous criticism of him as a character.
100% this. One of my all time favourite quotes: "There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs; and you try to get the best trade-off you can get, that's all you can hope for"
Most people don't have just one ideal or just one thing they care about. They often have competing goals. In martials case he cares about the environment but he also cares about his family, and in the moment he was forced to weigh those competing interests. Sometimes you are forced to sacrifice something you care about for something else you care about, but that doesn't mean you don't care about both.
And I don't think caring about family and putting family above his personal ideals, I don't think that's a bad thing, quite the opposite actually
That's quite a tall order to call marshal selfish for his constat struggle. His moral compass putting family and people close to him before abstract concept of saving the environment is fundamentally moral...
Marshall is the best, and the most realistic character in the group. The other characters rarely see past their tunnel vision, and don't stray too much or often for growth. But Marshall is aware of what he is doing and why he is doing it, even if it is personally the wrong choice for him.
Marshall values friends and family above all things.
The future he is fighting for is for them.
You can't consider Marshall selfish for working in big law firms and wanting to save money for his family, this is the least that each person can do for their survival in a capitalist system. It is the structure that forces people to work this way, rather than COLLECTIVELY protecting the environment, that should be blamed, not an individual. There are many other reasons that make Marshall selfish: judging his friends, not understanding that Lily needs more freedom, among other things, but not the job he has.
thank u. i didnt understand this video calling him selfish, just like alot of millenials, he's a victim of capitalism. a lot of us work soul crushing job not because we want to but because we need to. he's not wrong to want a job that will ensure his family financial security
Yeah...Barney picked an architect that wasn't necessarily better or more qualified, but who made a cooler building, not better designed. He literally picked Sven because he would get a penthouse office shaped like an eagle that breathed fire... Kind of missed the mark on that argument against Marshall there.
Marshall is a good guy. He has his flaws like everyone does.
He is human. Good people are not perfect and free of old ideas good person just need to Make good action he is a better person that the other members(lily is good too).
Good nice people are not perfect ppl. That’s unreasonable. You allowed to be flawed and still be genuine good person .Yes he is a nice guy
Oof, one of the few takes I disagree with. One of the important aspect of his arc is the struggle between idealism and realism. Saying that because he made choices for his friends and family over his supposed love of environment is an uncharitable take. That's a struggle must adults go through. I will agree that he's track record might not show the best qualities of a judge, he doesn't give his friends a pass when he feels they are in the wrong, so an argument could be made that his holds to a moral standard. If the biggest argument against Marshall is when faced with chosing his family over his ideals, I would argue that most people would make similar choices.
I'm sorry, what? Why are we using an unrealistic, textbook definition of "absolute good" here?? If I can ever be at least somewhat like Marshall in being a good friend and a faithful spouse, I'll call it a win
Well, after watching HIMYM for the 100th time, my take on Marshall is he genuinely is a good person. Not only as a partner who is reliable and sweet and loyal (which is literally something we don't see anymore in characters these days), he was the most rational, talented and hardworking among all of them. People generally consider Barney or Ted to have some kind of redemption but on careful observation it seems like it took years of selfish choices and narcissistic behaviour on their part to get to that point. Personally,I used to think of Barney as the coolest and Ted to be the die hard romantic one and again after revisiting the characters i wouldn't want the likes of them to be a part of my life since Barney needs years of therapy and Ted just is a walking red flag of a partner with all the love bombing, entitlement and long list of choices he made. Lastly, Marshall seems like any normal person going through his share of problems and calling him self centred is like calling an average person self centred for caring for family and surviving
As a family man myself while the world seems to be getting crazier by the day... I'd like to help the world, but frankly I can only take care of my family - and that's my priority.
I think the discussion about being "good" often misses the point entirely. People are so hung up on not making any mistakes, not being toxic etc that they end up glossing over the real faults within themselves and thus squander any chance of actually improving. Cause the truth is, we all have behaved toxic, we all are a bit narcissistic at times. The key to doing better is to not identify yourself as either "good" or "bad" but as someone who's trying to do good but doesn't always succeed. Anything else is robbing us of the messy, weird and wonderful experience it is to be human.
Well said. This strikes me as a better description of Marshall. The Take brought up some good points to consider, including how the "good guy" trope can mask people who are occasionally self serving or passive aggressive. But none of us acts perfectly all the time.
It seems like Marshall is the kind of guy Ted wishes he was. Marshall had what Ted wanted.
I feel like this was written by a middle school student who never had to deal with adult struggles. Marshall’s story even shows how even when he does have his dream job it’s not as idealistic as he thought it would be & he can’t make much of a difference as an environmental lawyer. If you’ve never had to do work you don’t believe in to get by just count your blessings rather than shading those of us who live in the real world.
“Working to put food on the table is selfish.” Ok kiddo, whatever you say.
I love The Take, but this is such a chronic online perspective lol
This is the coldest take since y'all said Harry Potter is a bully jock who hates women or whatever.
To be fair no one’s perfect. I like to believe that is good in everyone, just like Marshall. However, we each have our ambitions and sometimes we need to go after them‼
Ted: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Barney: Wolf in Wolf's Clothing
Marshall: Sheep
Say what you like about Marshall, but he makes more of an effort to be a genuinely good person, not an entitled "Nice Guy."
Barney who once sold a woman is a sheep ?? Lol
How is Barney a sheep?
Barney is a Wolf in a Wolf's clothing.
Wtf barney is a wolf
After multiple viewings Marshall is the most relatable character with the most redeeming qualities, after favoring Barney for years I can honestly say Marshall is the funniest character in the show
We know Sven wasn’t the superior product, a fire breathing tower in nyc isn’t practical but Sven manipulated Barney to appeal to his childish side
Well, you´re just twisting what happened on that episode, Barney wasn´t choosing the Sven design because it was "objectively better", the desing was tacky and over the top, Barney was justifying himself because he wanted a button that made the building breathe fire, he was being selfish and inconsiderate (for the 100th time in the series)
I feel like this video is expecting too much from Marshall. HIMYM is not Friends, friends is more like a fantasy and HIMYM is more realistic. He has his values as part of his character, like wanting monogamy is morally limited now? So,what, being polygamous the opposite? That's the problem with society today, like why do you judge me for not having the same values as you.
How can you even judge someone in real life to take a more high paying job to support their family and not take their dream job that pays less? The video even points out that it's his main dilemma and it tears up inside. How is that selfish? Because his dream job is to help the environment? What if his dream job is to be a musician or something, people would think he gave up his dreams for the people he loves.
P.S.: It was obvious that Sven's building was ridiculous and not better than Ted's, Barney only wanted it because he his office will be in Trex's head. The reason Marshall found out it was Barney's fault Ted didn't get the job was beacuse another person said majority voted for Ted because it WAS the better building but Barney overruled.
Remember when Lily and Marshall had the fight about Italy and he referred to Lily's art career as a "hobby"? If my partner said that about my passion/career, I would be absolutely livid. Between that and Lily going to art school, he does seem to get upset when Lily shows an interest in anything that isn't him or being a mother.
yup, that is the main gripe about Marshall. I don't feel like that was acknowledged enough as a serious mistake that he made several times through the series. It was a big deal that he saw Lily as a mother, not an artist, given the title of the show.
@@kahkah1986 She didn’t even feel comfortable telling Marshall that she didn’t feel fulfilled as a wife and mother, and was probably going through postpartum. Of course societal pressure also contributed to her feeling like a monster just for feeling those things.
Thank you! Can't believe they didn't bring that up. The relationship is so unbalanced, his dream basically won over hers.
Thank U!!!
Finally someone said it! It was horribly disrespectfull and as always Marshall gets away with it..I would have dumped his ass and never gone back..
@@Daigotsumax No. Her dream won out because he chose to give up his opportunity to be a judge to go to Paris with her for a year. That put their family in financial crisis. Even if his dream job was in the better interest of their family than Lily's dream, he still gave up his dream for her in the end.
Was this episode written by a child?
We ALL have to make compromises in this world.
Marshall isn't perfect, but this is not a good take.
It honestly does not work to try to push down Marshall...this character was made to be good and lawful while the rest of the group is chaotic nuts. He brings balance to the show! Although I think that in season 9 he was very selfish with Lily, I think he doesn't support Lily that much with her art
Didn't he decide to go to italy with Lily so she could pursuit her career goals while postponing his?
@@josebonfim166 yes but when the marriage arc begins he receives a proposal to work as a judge and then changes his mind. That's why he and lily starts fighting
@@natdafn That's right but at the end he still chose to go with her plus of course he would have doubts since the judge position is not something he coul've postponed and picked again whenever he wanted.
The way that you wrote this presents Marshall as having agency in all of the stages of his life.
So the take is... you're immoral if you're selfish, but being good to your loved ones is the most concrete and realistic root to be a moral person, even though focusing on just your loved ones is self-serving and selfish?
I hope someone like Marshall makes it into a political position in real life. Because we need some good people in those top corrupt positions already.
Marshall is not perfect, but he isn't trying to pretend like everything he does is sacred, and he always self reflects on his actions while believing he can always become a better version of himself.
Marshal and Lily through their respective coaching disciplines show why Marshal is a lawyer and Lily is a kindergarten teacher.
You yourslefs said that Marshall was a good guy in your video about how Ted “was the villian of the show”. So you already answered the question.
My rose tinted glasses! Nooo
No no no, I'm sorry, but this is just poorly written from start to finish. You don't get to slap the aww-we-like-Marshall conclusion on to the end when you spend the first three quarters of the video tearing him apart.
Your example with Ted's building doesn't hold water. Barney wanted the other building because it was shaped like a damn dinosaur. It was obvious Ted's building was better and it had nothing to do with Marshall's biases. The reason Marshall takes the GNB job (unless I'm mistaken) is because Lily racked up a huge credit card debt. He didn't have a choice, it was more than just "he wanted to provide for his family." Yes, he can get a bit smug about his relationship with Lily, but that's pretty much the only time he imposes his moral high ground on others, and even that mostly happens when Ted or Barney are being horrible to girls they're dating. I think for some reason you committed to the "moral superiority" angle and you didn't have nearly enough actual examples to back that theory up.
I have loads of issues with HIMYM creators and writers, but Marshall is the most consistent and realistic character on the show and they should get credit for that.
This is a dumb take. You are having to misrepresent multiple story arcs in order to hammer this narrative together.
Normally you guys hit the mark but not with this video. Marshall is a good guy, but an imperfect character. That's what we want.
Oh, this is what an AI generated script looks like...
This was a little bit of a reach, no?
6:47 he later admits that it was about the office, strip club and the fire breathing building which I shouldn't have to explain why that's a problem!
Oh no.... the nice guy..... the mortal enemy of the take
You guys are ignoring that he took the job at GNB because of Lilys credit card debt
It is interesting how you guys were talking about how Marshall was compromising his ideals for family. I think that is an admirable trait.
You guys have proclaimed your love for the environment and use electronics. Electronics use a lot of carbon emissions, like a lot but it is your guy's job. I am not criticizing you guys but pointing out that you are also trying to pay the bills and change the world into a better place.
We are human so we cause harm. The true test of our characters is if we strive to do more good than bad.
You also could have mentioned how Marshall never truly 'forgave' Lily for leaving him, going so far as to suggest she would leave him and their son for a lucrative career opportunity. When he was the one who made her chose between him and her dream in the first place, even though their relationship probably could and should have survived a temporary spatial separation.
but he never really made her choose? He was upset that she applied for an art program is san francisco because she did so without telling him. The conflict was about her not expressing her feelings, about their marriage and her career and all he asked her was: if she were to leave for 3 months would their relationship stay unaffected? To which lily didn't respond and left him the next day, meaning that the answer to that was no. So in retrospect, he didn't make her choose and their relationship truly couldn't take the knock. Also they never *really* talked this event through after getting back together, so it makes sense that Marshall still has some left unresolved insecurities about her leaving again
why the take always analyzes men if they are not as good as they seem and women never analyze their actions or always justify them as normal or with feminist arguments, both lilly and especially robin have bad actions but that does not question or highlight in analysis
Ross is criticized not Rachel, Tom is judged not Summer, and so on
What happened to this channel? :(
Haha this is what I got from the video.
Marshall is selfish but his self serving attitudes do nothing but better his relationships with his friends and family and help them in the long wrong feel more fulfilled and loved. So yeah I agree, he is selfish but like in the best ways.
I would be more interested in a closer analysis of his relationship with Lily. Could Marshall have done more to support Lily and ensure she got to pursue her ambitions as much as he did? I’m reminded of the time he told her that art was a hobby.
You guys jumped over Robin who's a much MUCH MUCH more horrible person and went on to analyze.............. Marshal?? Good job
I'm confused- where did we land on this? Lol
Over analyzing a simple comedy like this really takes the fun out of it.
A lot of people like to think deeply about the things they care about
Nope. I’m out on this one. I usually accept your arguments that literally every stereotype, trend, trope, genre, label, identity, and term are toxic. Including the term toxic. But no. Marshall is a good guy. Not perfect. But good.
I usually like these recaps, but not this time.
I know people like Marshall, the small town boys who were raised with small town values they keep even in a big city. It's a beautiful thing to watch and a true marvel these days. Easily one of the best characters of all time.
And for the love of god anyone who trys to work for a better world Knows that its imposible in the begening to do it whit out a diferent Job its just real.
Doing the ethical thing especially on a personally level often does not pay. In my research/advocacy many social social services providers I work with are lucky if they make $50,000 with a Master's degrees and 10+ years experience. People and their families do the most they can with what they have and it is extremely hard on many. However, it doesn't have to be this binary between fighting for what needs to be done while broke and well off actively doing harm you can find a middle ground or create a lifestyle to make it. Your job doesn't have to be your life; you can work to facilitate being able do you passions outside the office/job.
Clearly you didn't watch the full episode of the bulding design pitch, because Sven's building was ridiculous and Barney only picked it over Ted's because his office was in the top of a dinosaur. I think you could've said way more about this character flaws, like constantly lying to his wife about his job status because of his personal insecurities. But why bother? You didn't even saw the show
Honestly, Marshall deserved better than Lily. She constantly had eyes for other people, left him and his son on a whim and coerced him into working a job he hates just because she doesn't want to be responsible for being the sole breadwinner.
Tell me that you're wrong about a character without telling me you're wrong about a character
Uh yeah friends and family make life worth living
What a bad Take! Marshall is a great character! So deep, nuanced and attempts to do better!
I think overall Marshall is a good person but he’s just too idealistic. He doesn’t want to do anything that will jeopardise his ideals and, ultimately, his idea of a family is a much easier one to achieve than saving the planet. So, he jeopardises one to achieve the other, and once he has done so he’s able to go back and try again with the environment.
Although he talks about the glory of saving the planet, I think it’s less to do with a desire to look good and take the moral high ground and more about wanting his family to be proud of him and building a better future for his kids. Although this is ultimately self-serving, I don’t think it’s a bad thing, as he does appear to genuinely care about the environment. If it was all down to looking good there is no way he would have centred his entire career and shaped his lifestyle around it. And I think, as long as his goals are good and his motivations are at least partially selfless, he’s ultimately doing a good thing (when he’s eventually able to) so I still see him as a primarily good character, despite his flaws
Nah, leave him alone.
He's a person with his flaws and contradictions and that's ok.
( Swen's building was not better, Swen's building was INSANE !?! )
Let's be honest; people are trying to save the environment and trying to survive to raise kids. I sometimes think majority of people deciding between the world vs. family. I believe the majority of people would pick their families and try and go vegan, or vegetarian etc.
I'm sorry, but this episode seemed entirely unfair to the character of Marshall. Granted, his inconsistencies and decisions could be painted as self-serving and hypocritical, but how does that make him a less moral person? Literally ANYBODY would have made the same decisions he did, that's the whole point. Marshall is the one caught in a dilemma more times then anyone and he also has the most to worry about. Furthermore, you completely left out the part where Marshall and Lily were in severe financial debt due to a combination of Lily's credit card debt and their poor decision to buy the slanted apartment. Not to mention his bills to pay off LAW SCHOOL. During the FINANCIAL CRISIS. Anyone put into that position to choose a high paying job while selling your soul or desperately try to find anything else would have made the same decision he did.
My biggest problem is that you painted the idea of taking care of your family and friends versus taking care of the environment as "selfish". What are you even talking about? What, we all have to be Buddhas putting the greater good above all other things, otherwise we'll be considered morally dubious for putting our loved ones first, despite the fact that they're LITERALLY the most important things in our lives most of the time?
But oh no, Marshall said his dream was to save the environment, so working for the terrible company despite not wanting to and literally being trapped in an impossible situation makes him selfish, so we have to judge him for it.
Caring for your loved ones first and foremost is NOT a moral wrong. Yes, there are certainly exceptions and they shouldn't always be the end all be all of your life, but the idea you stated here that putting them before your dreams speaks ill of Marshall's character is baffling to me. Marshall loses morality points because he wanted to take care of his wife and have kids? He gets dark side points because he works for the evil company despite not having any other options? Welcome to the REAL WORLD, it was a MIRACLE that Marshall managed to escape that job and find a job in saving the environment.
I'm sorry, but what an unfair analysis. The better take would have been to show that Marshall is the most human and relatable out of everyone BECAUSE he had to compromise on his dreams to deal with very real problems and very real dilemmas. This is exactly what most of us have to deal with and Marshall was the perfect ideal of inspiration for people to still believe in your dreams even if you're trapped in a situation where you may feel like the bad guy.
And yes, he has flaws. He's too trusting, he's naive, and sometimes he can be too traditional. But those are acceptable flaws, ones that endear us to his character and show off his true center: His belief in all things good, that there is a better path forward, and that everyone in his life is precious and worth protecting. I would be blessed to have a friend like Marshall and I would never doubt his character for a single second.
Something negative about Marshall that really stuck out to me was when he S shamed Robin for sleeping with The Naked Man and through it Robin felt pressured to continue date someone who she didn’t really want to be with. Yes, it was nice that he learned his lesson by the end of the episode but it was still pretty upsetting.
Yes!!!!!! That's always stuck out to me
yes it wasn't the best but what's most important is the lesson learned. Many people can into a situation with a bias or judgement that hopefully changes as they understand it more. That's human nature.
yeaa!! kinda gross!
He was proved right in the end. He didn't force her to keep seeing him. It was her problem if she was ashamed for sleeping with a man naked on her couch. He just wanted her to cut the bullshit which literally happens in every friend group. I have been called out on bullshit by my friends multiple times and have called my friends out multiple times. Marshall never implied Robin was anything negative in that statement. You're reaching.
@@SINSH4W lol just shows the writers bias..eww
I agree that Marshall is slightly more flawed than a lot of us noticed when watching the show for the first time. However, I think that (fundamentally) he is better than the other characters.
He is the only normal person from all 5 of them. The rest of them are caricatures, not humans.
Pretty privileged take to say someone should “just follow their ideals” and forget about silly things like paying a mortgage and supporting their family…
The take went full clip bait with this one. Their argument is transparently thin.
It worked, though, lol.
Sorry but Marshall sometimes putting his loyalty to his loved ones above his principles doesn't mean he didn't genuinely have those principles or feel bad. Begrudgingly making that hard choice to work a job he was morally opposed to due to Lily's depth doesn't make less good but human. He "is" more moral and ethical than the rest of the main cast despite his flaws. And he certainly treats women better than Barney and Ted.
To be fair, a giant T-rex skyscraper is a bit tacky
I completely disagree with the idea that Marshall's interest in saving the environment is self-serving. So what if he wants to show the fruits of his labour to his future son one day? That is a good goal to have! He wants his children and generally future generations to be able to enjoy life on earth. He wants to be proud of his legacy at some point. That is only human and it is comendable that instead of wanting to show his future son that he has a huge house, nice car, big company or any other classic hallmark of success, he wants to show him the ecosystem he helped preserve.
This whole video is honestly way too unfair and judgemental towards Marshall, I highly doubt the writers of this script are even as nice as Marshall cuz a nice person wouldn't judge someone for not being literally a perfect person under difficult situations like come on guys
To be fair, those foreign architects created a terrible and impractical design. While he may have favored Ted, he was right that Barney was wrong, selfish, and crazy for that ridiculous dinosaur.
Your argument that Barney was "just doing his job" when he chose the T-Rex design over Ted's and that what Marshall was trying to do was only because of nepotism is disingenuous at best.
*In reality, we should all get a guy like Marshall but, for some reason, women usually fantasize about the 6ft 5" alpha male with an 8-pack who's possessive & domineering & has a 1-dimensional personality*
Pretty convinced whoever wrote this has neither ever watched HIMYM nor has this person ever had a friend in their life. Peoples ideals shift and evolve to better suit the people who are important in their life, that’s called being a human being. Marshall bending his values and morals so he can better serve his friends his the most natural and mature thing he could do, that’s the ENTIRE POINT OF HIS CHARACTER he’s the only one in HIMYM that grew HEALTHILY by the end of the series
Marshall is a good person, but more importantly, he's probably the healthiest choice for a character to relate to on this show. Yes, he makes choices that go against his well established morals, but thats just reality. At the end of the day, he is always there for the people closest to him. He may not be a hero to the world, but he's a hero to his family and friends and if that is the best he can do, that's perfectly fine.
"Marshall is bad because he had to take care of his family" is a wild take
its gotten to the point where modern discourses like this expect characters to be perfect every single time and it’s exhausting thats just not good writing im sorry its boring af
Jason Segel has this ability to play characters who seem to be nice and sweet but are actually completely psychotic and damaged. Freaks and Geeks all the way to Shrinking he really knows how to play this unsettling type of person.
Preach, all three of those characters are sweet, but hiding darker aspects. You could also add Peter from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to the list.
Absolutely not. What is psychotic about Jimmy? Marshall psychotic? He is exalted mostly and probably a little idealistic, but psychotic?
Im sorry but choosing between taking financial care of your family or taking a career in saving the environment is an incredibly real problem. Theres very little money in trying to stop exploitation
This video missed to include defining moments of Marshall's character - how he punished Lily for wanting to pursue painting (1st season) by giving her an ultimatum (and not trusting their relationship could survive 3 months separation after 9 years of love) and how he nearly broke her in the last for the same thing(but then had an amazing path of realization and put his own judgship on hold for the sake of them going to Rome). Also his slut shaming of Robin (on at least two occasions).
And PS Barny was not "doing his job" by selecting the building "he liked better" 😅 that's the opposite of doing his job (although if that job was indeed PLEASE whatever he would have done would fall in it 😂)But generally it should have been what serves the bank's needs.
Thank you! His morals made it so he judged others when he was literally a virgin when he met Lilly!
@@madimiss why should being a virgin keep him from judging others?
Yeah cause you can always go pick up a judgeship...