The How I Met Your Mother Blog

It’s official, there’s a little one on the way. Not on the show, necessarily, but in the lives of Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof. People confirmed today that Alyson is expecting.

Congratulations to Alyson and Alexis!

This raises a lot of obvious questions in regards to the show. Will it be written into the plot? Will they film more now so they can avoid it? What do we think?

I’m going to go ahead and say it—although the 100+ comments on last week’s post might suggest I should offer disagreeing views more often—I loved this episode. It might well be the best episode of the entire series. The writing, the themes, the acting, everything that happened, how tightly edited it all was; this is up there with Drumroll, Please; Nothing Good Happens After 2am, and Slapsgiving. I loved it.

What was Good

This episode masterfully brought back so many old references. It didn’t only bring them back, it used them to wonderful dramatic effect. For instance, we should have figured out right away that Ted and Stella weren’t going to work when they missed each other’s signals via Couple-ESP. Also, as we all complained that Ted was agreeing with everything anyone pointed out to him, he didn’t agree with Robin’s argument did he?

I know people were complaining that we hadn’t heard anything about Barney’s love for Robin for awhile but what a great way to bring it back. The Beautiful Mind computations were hilarious (and looked amazing in HD.) Geri (and others) did you notice the prominent “83%”? Poor Barney, he has a Shakespearean fatal flaw…he’s a gigolo. Was Robin ever ready to bro-down or what? That’s any guy’s dream come true, let alone the Barnicle’s.

That speech Robin gave, I could write an entire post just on that. Maybe I will. Probably not. “This is not Ted Mosby”…truer words have never been spoken on the show. It’s probably a good thing she didn’t write an Intervention list. Robin seems like the new Barney, telling Ted flat-out he shouldn’t get married. Also, before the theorists put on their aluminum foil hats and start writing fan-fic on Live Journal I want to go on record—Robin’s “maybe there still is something between us” line was not a hint at future developments, I think it was a now-emotionally mature Robin realizing that her and Ted will always have some feelings for each other. Also, how precious was it that she has a romantic notion of Ted being there for her to settle down with eventually? This is a far cry from Season 1 Robin that couldn’t even say she liked Ted when he was chasing after Victoria.

Speaking of Robin, there’s a certain comedic voice and physicality she uses sometimes that I love. We saw it tonight when she said “Oh boy, what did Ted do this time?” as she slung her arm around his shoulder. The last time I remember seeing this was when she climbed into the back seat of Ted’s new car in “Chain of Screaming” with the huge ice cream cone and said—in the same voice—”Oooh, I like stories.”

The reveal that it was actually Stella who’d rekindle feelings for her ex, while alluded to and geniusly recapped in flash backs, did catch me by surprise. Poor Robin seeing that on the ferry. That was one powerful ending.

How awesome was the fake reveal of the blond kids? Startling to say the least.

What was Bad

The only single thing that bothered me even a little was the cut from the first dinner with Stella’s sister, to the bar, back to the second dinner after her fiance left her. I thought the edit was a little rough but really, I’m splitting hairs. The episode was perfect.

Favorite Moments

• I love how casually hedonistic Marshall, Lily, and Barney are in regards to booze and meat.
• While on the topic of meat, I have to remember Ted’s argument to Stella’s sister:
  “I wish I could tune out that moral voice inside me that says ‘meat is murder’. I’m not as strong as you.”
  “Right. You need protein.”
  Good thing Barney was there…
• I could watch a monkey bounce marshmallows off Robin’s head for an entire episode. Please, please put an extended cut of that on the DVD. Who got to throw those marshmallows? That’s a contest I’d have entered (and cheated to win.)
• I actually would like to watch the news on that Japanese station. “GIANT FAN!”
• I liked the call back to Marshall being a little girl about weddings.
• “At the sight of the first drunk bridesmaid you’ll have your head under her dress like an old-time photographer.”
• “Namaste here any longer than I have to.”
• I loved the call back to Marshall and Barney arguing over who is Ted’s best friend. And Lily’s disinterest in making a big deal out of it.
• Robin’s sweater was nice, but she needs to eat some of those marshmallows, girlfriend’s a little skinny. Lily, on the other hand, looked much prettier than usual.
• Old, lame, Karate-Tony seems perfect for Stella. They’ll have a nice life together in Jersey.
• “I’m a yoga instructor. Every position is available.” The recasting of Stella’s sister was probably a good choice now that we see how slutty she was.
• “You tried to make it rain.”
  “I did make it rain.”
  “It was a coincedence.”
• The song in the end was very nice. I would’ve sworn it sounded like Wilco but turns out it is Benji Hughes – Waiting For An Invitation

Closing

Let’s not forget that besides the break up of Ted and Stella, the other big reveal was that Robin quit her job and is moving back to NYC. Will she move in with Ted now that assumably her apartment is gone and LAME are in Dowestrepla.

That’s it for my being effusive. Let’s see 100+ comments about how much you all loved it. Or tell me how wrong I am! Again!

So tonight we saw the first mildly mediocre episode this season. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as good as the first ones we’ve seen. Change is hard, and for awhile it seemed like the gang might not go forward with all the changes we’ve seen building up this season. Then we ended with a twist worthy of The Goat last year.

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Carter Bays who, along with Craig Thomas, is responsible for How I Met Your Mother (the characters and story were based on the lives of the two writers) was nice enough to take time out this week and answer some of my questions about the future of the characters as well as give some glimpses as to what life is like for a big important TV writer. Besides showing why writing a comedy comes easily to him, Bays gives us a peak behind the curtain, drops a few hints at what’s to come, and even unveils a huge spoiler for the end of season four.

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Ted really hates New Jersey. We knew this from “We’re Not From Here” last year when Ted refused to return to the dirty Jerz with the two girls he and Barney had been duping. Tonight we learned that his hatred for the state runs so deep that when going #2, Ted refers to it as “dropping a massive New Jersey.”

I’ve been a commuter into the city (I was coming in from Fairfield, CT) and I can vouch for Ted’s concern. You really do feel like you’re spending all your time on the train. But does he love Stella enough to make the commitment? I wouldn’t have thought so before tonight but then again, Ted makes some crazy decisions when it comes to girls.

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