The How I Met Your Mother Blog

This was how I looked while watching tonight’s premiere.

So, there it is, “Wait for It”, the season premiere. Despite what other reviewers said, I loved this episode. We did pick up with the “-dary” from last season, but kept going right past it, this whole episode moved at a good clip. We saw Ted making hilariously bad decisions, we saw Barney get jealous over how seriously Ted takes his friendship, we saw Marshall and Lily put ball busting above sensitivity for Ted’s new…art, and we saw a pretty big clue for who the mother might be. I can’t contain the awesome so spoilers might follow.

What was old?

We got some of the best from the first two seasons all wrapped up in one episode. Ted’s morning after recall of the previous night’s drunken events ala Pineapple Incident; Marshall and Lily’s hilarity with other couples ala Ok, Awesome!; Ted and Robin sharing a tender and realistic heart-to-heart ala Something Blue. We also got a whirlwind of Barneyisms. And they were glorious. I, for one, want to know what the 31 vehicles are on his list.

What was new?

Well, we saw a lot more of the characters. Robin’s dress was a lot more shoulder-baring than her wardrobe had been before, and Ted was shirtless for a good amount of time. Oh, Lily and Robin have new hair and, for awhile, Ted had a beard. What does Ted look like with a beard? Marshall, Lily, and Barney had some good descriptions.

We also saw a lot more sets. Not only did we see the apartment (with what I think is a camera angle we haven’t seen since the pilot, an isometric shot from the kitchen door) and the bar, we also saw Robin’s hallway, Barney’s office, and a slew of new sets including much more exterior shots and a hot tub and tattoo parlor. No expense was spared.

The newest new that I enjoyed was Robin displaying a little bit of vulnerability. Turns out she doesn’t always fall out of love in a moment. The scene with her and Ted was charming and realistic. Those two have great chemistry, even if it is as a couple recently broken up. How great were the props for Bloc Party from the season 1 finale too?

How was Mandy Moore?

She didn’t have much to do. She was a little lame, but she was supposed to be. The whole point of Ted’s night was that it ended in a big disappointment. She did have the single most memorable line of the night:

Does your tailor cut extra room in your pants for your HUGE VAGINA?

How was Enrique?

Not awful. He was supposed to be a little corny but he seemed natural and comfortable. He even sang a little. As someone who has known many Latin Americans, the whole bit with the guys mispronouncing his name was realistic and priceless. And it turns out the rumors are true, at least Ted has one up on him.

The recollection scene from the double date between Marshall, Lily, Robin, and Male-Gael was gold for Marshall fans.

Anything else awesome?

The epilogue was a hilariously ominous reveal of the slapbet countdown. We got a big clue (that really doesn’t reveal anything) about who the mother might be. Spoiler alert: she used to be married to this guy.

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