your silence on buttermind is deafening
notice how in these two clips, barney immediately assumes the role of a ninja. he then, without fail, tacks on that pirates are cooler than ninjas. this is ian rileys genius at play. these simple clips are foundational to buttermind, because it mirrors their relationship dynamic on barney's side.
barney thinks pretty highly of himself. he's the ninja. he's impressive. he's smarter than his coworkers with ridiculous ties. he thinks everyone is weird and dumb. if a tram caught on fire, he would be the first to bolt to safety --- for the greater good of himself, of course. he and gordon are pretty similar in this regard. concieted.
while they have things that set them apart, a big one is here: ninjas vs pirates. . ITS a Metaphor. Gordon is a pirate. . he has an episode where he does a pirate voice the entire time, and has a song memorized from the opera "Pirates of Penzance." he's the pirate. Barney takes the role of the ninja. He assumes this role in these clips (we'll talk about the second one more in a bit). And barney states it himself: pirates are better than ninjas.
With that simple understanding, the pecking order in Barney's mind becomes clear. Barney percieves himself at the top of the food chain (regardless of how true that statement may be). But gordon? Gordon is even higher than that. Barney is beneath him, but above everyone else. Gordon is on a pedestal, so far above the plebians at the bottom of the black mesa corporate ladder.
Barney does not have an inferiority complex, because the only person he feels inferior to is Gordon. and it doesnt necessarily make him feel bad. he likes it. revels in it. yeah, pirates rule. Gordon, you're awesome. he has a Gordon Superiority Complex. why would he feel bad about gordon being better than him? it's simply the truth. it is what it is.
The second clip has barney saying hes a ninja pirate. Notice how he doesnt give up the ninja role here. he keeps it. hes barney, hes the ninja. but hes a ninja pirate now. hes barney-gordon? No, but he is striving to become more like gordon -- which, we knew that too, if you want to assume that their similar speech patterns (man, ill kill you!, observing wall art, etc) is barney mirroring gordon…. Mimicking him. But still being himself, too. He put ninja first. hes a ninja pirate, not a pirate ninja.
This is a blatant nod to barney being. Gay. for gordon. Because the buttermind cathedrals are there for anyone who Is willing to Look….
