The How I Met Your Mother Blog

70 Comments to “Season 7, Episode 14: 46 Minutes”

1. 

   High Hoper |  Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 09:23 pm GMT -4

   Worst episode this season? Maybe.

   Can we believe for sure that Marshall does not use his cellphone as flashlight? Damn, all kind of phones have apps like that! And even, with its own light you could see. BAD writing.

   Roommate never leaving? Boring and predictable.

   Russian party? Really? Boo

   They are messing completely this season with good episodes along with really pathetic episodes like this one.

   10 episodes to go. Come on, what happens with Ted, Robin and Barney?

   And the show is about Ted, damn!!!!

2. 

   Purebubbles |  Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 11:39 pm GMT -4

   “we built chip city with all your dough!” I heart Jefferson starship( not Jefferson airplane) and their timelessly bad music.

   On the Ted story, let’s not forget that Barney leads Ted to the mother. At this point Barney is not husband material. LAME is the catalyst to the group breaking away. Robin is going to part from the group. Both things need to happen before Barney will legitimately start being more than what he currently is.

   I think Ted taking the back seat is a natural thing. Not because its someone else’s story at this point, but we all go through times that we aren’t so interesting. I haves played second fiddle in my own story plenty of times. Metaphorically enough in the story of how I met my hubby. so just think of it like that. For the most part Ted is pretty much a complete person. He knows what he likes, his responses are predictable, he has little growth to do at this point. He may have to learn how to move on from the group but that was covered last night. So yeah at this point Barney is the main character. But that’s how life is.

3. 

   scaifington |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 12:17 am GMT -4

   46 Minutes

   let me start off with what i liked

   i really loved how they kept transferring the booth, first from mclarens to the strip club and then to LAME’s home at the end.

   i completely buy lily’s dad being the guy who can’t leave, because if you think about it, when marshall let him there for thanksgiving last season, he was still annoying, and just because he had character growth in the form of being there for her, doesnt mean that he’d magically become this amazing, unannoying father/grandfather to be.
   the sentiment of him arriving was nice, but his running dry with LAME came as an of course, why wouldn’t it?

   i LOVED when Barney had the boob glitter all over his face. he looked like he’d just motorboated a cyborg.

   ted winning at poker was funny, because any form of inebriated ted leads to funny adventures. his naivety/drunkness as a coping method for his two best friends moving to the burbs was plausible.

   Larry not being able to have a nickname because he had too many things going on. “YOU GET ONE THING!” i laughed pretty hard.

   the first new theme. i didn’t like the russian take, messed it up for me.

   when marshall and micky had the saw game going on and mickey stole the matches in the dark. I was creeped out by mickey and jumped. but then i laughed at myself haha.

   WHAT I DIDNT LIKE
   Robin and Kevin. before i was rooting for them just to spite everyone that hated them and for that quick scene where they had the non dates at the cafe toward the beginning. but now, kevin is a hack. he’s useless except to be the guy that gets picked on, the soooooooooooo got old pretty face, and him and Cobie have no chemistry together at all. hell, ted had more chemistry with Larry.

   and when did kevin and robin start having sex?! or maybe after she spent christmas alone (where were you kevin) and kevin told her to get on the air she decided to give it to him?

   kevin isn’t funny. which is weird. because i liked harold and kumar. he needs to have better character development. i know he took michael trucco’s spot as that love for robin, but i’m kinda glad now. would we have hated trucco’s spot like kevin? maybe it’ll be freed up later.

   ON WHAT COMES NEXT
   let’s see the end of kevin. an amicable split. where they realize they don’t work as a couple.

   lets see some closure to all of the crap robin’s put barney through, losing nora, who i really wish we could have gotten to understand better, a pregnancy scare, and the night Ted saw him picking up the rose petals.

   -Actually, an ammendment, i want Barney and robin to get into a heated fight where barney reveals the petals. or something where he breaks down instead of holds it in. he really suffered.

   Ted getting back out there. It’s been what, 7 or 8 months since Zoey? I think its time to get back on the horse buddy. And while we’re at it, can we get an episode about the House?

   the wedding. don’t pull a last minute cliffhanger where barney shows up at two possible women’s doorstep and then gets on one knee and proposes and we have to suffer over the summer to figure out who it is and then have all of season eight leading up to the wedding where ted meets the wife and the shows done. i’ll be mad.

4. 

   scaifington |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 12:17 am GMT -4

   BONUS/my thoughts
   i think the entire group must leave for ted to find the wife and here’s why. as long as marshall and lily are there, ted still has that sense of family with them. if all else fails, he could be content with being their single family friend tht the kids call uncle ted. if robin stays around, what woman is honestly going to get serious with a guy if his ex lives with him? kevin showed some issue w it, but really, kevin’s not the type that likes to do anything. hes very passive. a woman, even if ted has no feelings for robin, would probably get edgy. and robin gives him the feeling of having a woman in his life, even if its just for companionship, which he’ll have in the form of the mother.

   lastly, barney must leave, but not barney as a character, barney as the skirt chaser. as long as that barney’s around, ted will think, i could be a wingman, even if he hates the idea of it. ted manages to score a lot of women, so he’d think, none of this has to be serious since im only picking up chicks with barney.

   which is why meeting the mother at barney’s wedding makes perfect sense. barney will transform, and everything will be in place for ted to meet the mother.

5. 

   2820aja1 |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 12:19 am GMT -4

   I don’t think your review is 100 per cent fair, Jordan. There were some great “real” moments that you point out such as “Early Relationship Chicken”, some very funny moments that you point out such as the return of “Stripper Lily”, Barney’s own credits, and a touching closing that you seemed to like.

   You then proceed to rail on the show for being hiring an actor that you dislike (I happen to think HIMYM hired him for the very reason that he IS unlikeable) and doing some jokes you deem to be written by hacks – well those same “hacks” wrote everything else you liked – which frankly seems to outnumber what you disliked. You can’t pick and choose. Yes, reviews are subjective, but I think they have to be fair. I don’t think it’s fair to discredit the episode and the entire season based on one or two things that you disliked when you say there was more that you liked about it.

   Your issues with Ted not being the main character were wonderfully refuted by Purebubbles above and I won’t restate them. This is a story about how everything worked out in the end – not about how Ted met the mother of his kids. Like Narrator Ted tells us about Robarn, you need timing. Ted now is just waiting until that wedding – that’s his timing. Everything else has to orbit around him to make that happen and the puzzle pieces fall into place. LAME moving to the suburbs is one of those pieces.

   I happened to think this was a very funny episode with great laugh-out-loud moments. Yes, the B story of LAME’s new house was a lesser story, but the B story intersected with the A story and was essentially the catalyst for its existence. B stories are usually the lesser story. Nonethless, there were lovely touches throughout this episode – did you notice the hommage to the film “Rounders” in the poker game with the Russian eating from a tray of Oreo cookies, for example? Clever. The small jokes like “Nightstand fudge”? Funny.

   Let’s not forget that, ultimately, this is a sitcom. It’s not real. It can’t ever BE real and most shows that run this long run out of steam. All we can do is enjoy it while it’s still on the air, because one day it will be gone. I’ve been finding that all those episodes I used to hate from Season 5 actually seemed a lot better after a couple years. It’s helped me enjoy these smaller, less-serious episodes. Frankly, I quite enjoy them now. I don’t see much difference between episodes from week to week except that they’re all about characters I’m invested in. That’s the show’s goal.

   I appreciate you writing these reviews, Jordan. It means a lot to have somewhere to come and discuss the show, and I’m not saying you can’t dislike an episode, but I just think they should be fair. This wasn’t quite there for me in terms of fairness. I look forward to reading your next one.

6. 

   swarkles82 |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:08 am GMT -4

   I fell asleep watching this episode. Which is something that has never happened before. (Haha) I’m disappointed that after am amazing episode like Symphony of Illusion, which had me actually crying, to go back to rather lame episodes. Out of curiosity, why does everyone hate Kevin so much? I think he is a really sweet character. If anything, Robin’s cheating on him made me kind of dislike HER. And she was always my favorite.

7. 

   rulu |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:23 am GMT -4

   poor ted, you have no story arc. maybe that’s a reflection of reality that sometimes you have a slump for a period of time you can’t get out of.
   the part where you met the mother in your first teaching class… that storyline went no where.
   dear writers, i miss those episodes where there would be clues to analyze.

8. 

   Pennie |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:23 am GMT -4

   I wasn’t a huge fan of this episode, but it was enjoyable enough, with a few gems. I was laughing like crazy at the new ‘How I Met Your Barney’ intro. Ted and Robin’s expressions were priceless! I found it here on youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7yHBdxvVtk

9. 

   Matthew |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 03:52 am GMT -4

   i struggled to laugh during most of the episode but loved the credits with the ‘How I met Barney’

10. 

    michelle |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 04:09 am GMT -4

    I like your blog. It’s nice to keep the HIMYM going all week long

    I’ve never thought that the show was about Ted. I know he narrates it; but I think it’s about his life which involves his friends. I think if the show was only about Ted I wouldn’t enjoy it very much because I think the group dynamic of this show is its most appealing feature!

    I’m a big believer that we won’t even meet the mother. I think the last episode will be drawing to a close and there’ll be a big reveal and the crowd will part and there’ll be a pretty girl (never before seen on screen) smiling at him and he’ll say “and that’s how I met your mother” and the show will be over. I think if they try to make it someone we’ve already met it will spoil the effect. And obviously there can’t be any more show after they’ve met… it’s just nice to leave it up to the audience to fill the rest of the story in

11. 

    Snips |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 06:06 am GMT -4

    Really, that’s all you got for a nice monday evening? Get out!

    I really didn’t like this episode. Great new opening credit idea, but the Barney-Kevin-Robin triangle is really starting to piss me off, just like Ted and Barney not talking about the roses in robins’ bedromm.

    right now all this casual moments of last night’s episode feel so unreal.
    robin cheated on kevin
    robin didnt have sex with kevi
    robin hurt barney
    ted sees heartbroken barney
    kevin forgives with no reason
    those 4 characters are in for a really, really bad fight or just something, beside hanging out casually every nigh?!

    at least, it cant get any worse next week ….

12. 

    Valkyr |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 09:08 am GMT -4

    I am serious. Why are people over-reacting to the news of Kevin and Robin sleeping together? I understand that it was built-up like that thanks to that one episode in the past, but I mean on one hand everyone complaints about the show not being about Ted and then on the other you want to know when Robin starts having sex with Kevin. WHAT?!?!? I myself thought the episode was quite thrashy what with Lily’s dad acting. I did enjoy the strip club branch-off story however, though the pay-off at the end was not that great. Everyone relax and take a deep breath.

13. 

    Gina |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 09:45 am GMT -4

    We need closure to the Barney/Robin situation NOW! Barney and Robin cheated on Nora and Kevin. But I have a theory that Nora and Kevin also cheated that night they were all on the boat. They walked in to the party together and were both VERY eager to forgive Barney and Robin when they went to confess.

    THEN Barney gets his heart broken in a brutal way and NOTHING HAS BEEN SAID? EVEN AFTER A PREGNANCY SCARE?

    Come on — resolve this situation please. It goes way beyond suspending disbelief at this point. Every time I see Barney and Robin being pals like nothing ever happened — it just IRKS me.

    Also, Ted’s wife will turn out to be Barney’s half sister. She’s been in college and it will make sense that Barney’s wedding is where they will meet.

    AND Barney and Robin are the ones who get married because Ted is the best man to BOTH of them. Why else would the “bride” request to see Ted after we find out he’s Barney’s best man? If Barney is marrying anyone else, then the bride requesting him makes no sense!

    I’m fairly certain I’m at least 25% right in my theories (HIMYM has been known to throw curveballs).

14. 

    Stevo |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 10:59 am GMT -4

    Jordan, in reference to your thought that Ted would never win in real life at poker, I play poker a lot and the random drunk guy who has barely played one game of poker in his life before ALWAYS WINS. Hahaha

15. 

    Stevo |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 11:17 am GMT -4

    @PureBubbles

    I think you hit it on the mark.

    The episode has it’s funny moments, but I think the patheticness of this episode was almost reflecting the fact that Robin, Barney and Ted were absolutely pathetic with out LAME. They are so used to that security blanket, they don’t know what to do with themselves now. The progression of their night is very similar to nights that I or people I know have had because they simply were let down from something else.

    Chris Eliot did get on my nerves, but again, like it has been pointed out, that is his strength, even if it is out of place.

    With the complaints of the story not being Ted’s anymore, I don’t quite understand it. Sure, not every episode of the now 150 that have been aired have focused centrally on Ted, but every episode has been a part of the story he is telling to his kids. THIS is his story. I can’t fathom the amount of times I have started a story and gotten side tracked to explain some aspect of the story that is not known or understood. Let’s not forget, it’s Ted, I’m sure he would take the chance to try to instill a few morals in his kids based on his own experiences.

    This episode wasn’t about how Ted was feeling sad because of LAME leaving, or how Ted became the new leader of the gang…it’s about how all 3 of them were sad over LAME leaving. Robin and Barney are Ted’s life at this point, why shouldn’t they be a big part of the story?

    There are times where I may not like an episode that much, but after seeing every episode of this show numerous times, I can honestly have never questioned who the story is about. I just try to take it in and enjoy the ride. But that’s just me haha to each his own.

16. 

    Sandy |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 11:32 am GMT -4

    This episode wasn’t awesome for me, either, but I still think the season as a whole has been very good so far. And sometimes episodes like this one are frustrating when you’re only getting one a week (or one every few weeks) and nothing happens with the story, but then if you watch the DVD later, it totally entertains you because you aren’t depending on it to deliver in 22 minutes what subsequent episodes can still promise. Watching TV back-to-back is just more rewarding, especially when a show has any kind of mythology.

    There were a couple of really funny moments in this one, too (we built chip city, and Marshall in the dark). I think if anything, what HIMYM does well is show us the lows in order to make us appreciate the highs, just like life. LAME aside, the entire group is kind of in a low. I’m anticipating when the second half of the season gets going, we’ll see that start to change?

    And I know we acknowledged back when Robin thought she was pregnant that she and Kevin hadn’t had sex, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have sex since… it’s been awhile. I kind of assumed that by now they had. But I agree, those two just don’t have chemistry together. Kill it, please.

17. 

    RachS |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 12:01 pm GMT -4

    Ok, two laugh out loud moments for me…. Barney and the boob glitter; Ted saying “chippies”. Otherwise, I agree with everyone else… Lily’s dad = not funny.

    Also, about the relationship chicken thing…. since when are they a new couple?? They’ve been dating for months. And how can Barney hang out with them? It’s not natural! He loves her and she stomped on his heart…I couldn’t be around that.

    Please oh please, give us better episodes! If I were a writer and I knew exactly how many episodes were left, wouldn’t I want all of them to be LEGEN…wait for it…DARY?!? Sheesh.

18. 

    Thomas |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:45 pm GMT -4

    I really enjoyed this episode, one of the funniest of the season for me (and I’ve enjoyed most of the season in that respect too). I can deal with Barney and Robin still hanging out together as if nothing has happened, these two characters are hardly the sort of people who have ever been open about their feelings. We know from earlier in the season that somewhere along the road, along with Ted, they are going to be forced into a major re-examination (salutes) of the dynamic and relationships between the three of them. In the mean-time I will gladly enjoy tales of them (and Kevin) in strip clubs with menacing Russians, relationship chicken, hot doppleganger Lily and Drunk Ted.

    Done!

19. 

    dolf |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 01:57 pm GMT -4

    Not a legen-you-know-what-dary episode, but I kind of feel that a big part of the season has been emotionally intense and an episode like this allows you to catch your breath and get your bearings right again.
    I loved that we got to see stripper Lily again. While the normal Lily leaves me cold with a hard heart and a limp noodle, stripper Lily turns me hot with a soft heart and a hard noodle. (Well, not entirely true, normal Lily is quite nice and I like her but she’s not the turn-on that stripper Lily is).

20. 

    RandomName |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 02:59 pm GMT -4

    I didn’t think this episode was that great, although I didn’t outright hate it, either. The ending was sweet and made me nostalgic, with Future Ted once again reiterating that while things change and they may not hang out at McLaren’s all the time like they used to, the booth is wherever the five of them are together.

    swarkles82, you mentioned that you wondered why people hate Kevin. I don’t hate him, and in fact think he’s a pretty nice guy, but I don’t like him being around anymore because it makes Robin look like a horrible person. She cheated on Kevin, then continued to cheat on him emotionally (her imagining her fake kids being Barney’s, not Kevin’s, implying she still has feelings for Barney) and then she keeps hanging out with Kevin in front of Barney. I have a feeling all of this is going to eventually come to a head, or at least I hope so. For me, it’s not about disliking Kevin, it’s about what Kevin’s presence does to Robin’s character (even though it’s not his fault). She’s my favorite, but I don’t really know what she’s thinking right now.

    Otherwise, yeah, an okay episode. Drunk Ted is a lot of fun, and like I said, I enjoyed the ending with the gang. I didn’t laugh at all at any of Lily, Marshall, and Mickey’s storyline, so even though it may be realistic for them to be living in the ‘burbs and not around as much, I hope we’re not in for the gang being split up for a lot of the rest of the series.

21. 

    Pennie |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 08:15 pm GMT -4

    @Sandy – I think you’ve described perfectly how I feel about filler episodes. I know that in a 20-26 episode season, filler episodes are inevitable, but it is disappointing when that’s all you have that particular week. I try to keep filler episodes (for all shows) in perspective, and enjoy them for what they are.

22. 

    Nora |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 09:26 pm GMT -4

    I think season 8 will end with Ted and the mother walking out of the wedding under the umbrella together.

23. 

    Jordan |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 09:27 pm GMT -4

    Nora, that’s a really cool idea! Followed by a montage of their life together, perhaps just as the show ends?

24. 

    kaytea |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 09:48 pm GMT -4

    I’ll summarize this episode in a couple quick lines-

    What I liked: The first half of the episode.
    What I didn’t like: The second half.

25. 

    swarkles82 |  Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 11:58 pm GMT -4

    @Random Name, you may be right about how people react to Kevin and Robin. Never thought of it that way, but what you said makes semen. Kevin is sweet, but now just seeing him makes people uncomfortable.

26. 

    kaytea |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 10:46 am GMT -4

    swarkles82- I’d just like to comment on the fact that that is the greatest freudian slip and/or autocorrect i’ve seen this week.

27. 

    dolf |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 11:30 am GMT -4

    The last episode is probably gonna end with the mother coming in telling Ted and the kids that they need to get ready ’cause “they will soon arrive”, and then Barney, Robin and LAME arrive for some kind of anniversary celebration and we zoom out from them all sitting socializing around a (thanksgiving?) dinner table. And LAMEs 18-year old son asks Ted, “Well, how did you and X meet?” and Ted starts over again, “Well, Kids, it was …” and fade, end credits.

28. 

    Shrimpfriedrice |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 12:53 pm GMT -4

    I cant help but notice that when i watch the episode i like it and after a visit to this site I feel let down because other people didnt like it. . .I guess I just like every aspect of the show. . .I even liked most season 5 episodes. Thats just me though. . .

29. 

    Ej |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 12:54 pm GMT -4

    I think the writers have set things up nicely with LAME moving out to the burbs.. Ted, Barney, and Robin (and Kevin?) will now be spending more time together, so that ticking time bomb we’ve been waiting for (Victoria’s prediction from earlier this season, which will be the closure people are talking about here) is bound to go off soon. Patience.. they will not leave us hanging.

30. 

    swarkles82 |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 12:56 pm GMT -4

    Haha, yep auto correct in a fantastic way!

31. 

    Dandy Andy Pandy |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 05:11 pm GMT -4

    @dolf, great idea! adding in a bit of humour at the end.

    Unlike a lot of people i actually loved this episode. Great to see a comedic episode to break up all the serious ones, although I do feel they need to address the issues surrounding RoBarn/Ted/Kevin

32. 

    Dandy Andy Pandy |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 05:15 pm GMT -4

    oh, and why is everyone mentioning that Kevin & Robin had sex? I heard no mention of it on the show.

33. 

    Shammy |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 05:52 pm GMT -4

    Personally, I thought it was a great episode. I absolutely loved it. I love drunk Ted, I was in stitches when he was pretending to be a stripper while on the phone. I just think that overall it was a very fun, lighthearted episode to counter all of the emotional ones we’ve had recently.

    I also really don’t understand people’s objection with Ted not being the ‘main’ character. To me, the main story is about Ted but it has always been an ensemble show, so each character is of almost equal importance. The story is about Ted meeting his wife and how it all happened, so inevitably there are going to be times where he see’s his friends and their situations changing, which will have an indirect impact on him. Yes the show is about Ted, but everything that happens matter to him, and if all 150 episodes were all about Ted, then as sure a lot of people would be bored with it by now!

    I know people want to get to the bottom of the emotional side of Robin/Ted/Barney/Kevin, and it is coming. CB & CT have said that these emotions are going to be explored and there are going to be ‘fireworks’ between them, they specifically mentioned that this would happen in the February sweep. In the meantime, just enjoy the show for what it is!

34. 

    Pennie |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 08:29 pm GMT -4

    @Dandy Andy Pandy – Robin and Kevin made a casual mention to having sex during one of their conversations (forget at which point though). I noticed it specifically because it was so casually done, but it didn’t bother me. I feel no reason to document every single detail of their relationship, and this is an easy way to bring it in after having established that Robin and Kevin hadn’t been sleeping together as of her pregnancy scare.

35. 

    JZ |  Thursday, January 19th, 2012 09:26 pm GMT -4

    Finally caught this episode on DVR. I generally liked this episode – but I don’t count it as a great. And most of the comments echo my own back-and-forth.

    AJ touched on it (I’m not sure if you had the whole scene in mind; if so I apologize), but I can’t resist pointing my appreciation for the tray of Oreos– a very nice head-nod to “Rounders” and to John Malkovich’s character “Teddy KGB.” I did get a kick out of that. For those who haven’t seen it:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW-OVfFmOok

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7HX8TrFGxk

    And as a poker player, Ted at the table was hilarious. But it’s tough not to think that this would have been a good opportunity to self-reference and tie the show together: The only thing that came to mind is, why didn’t Ted shout “Poker!” when he won his hands??

    Also – why the hell are LAME sleeping in the room that her father grew up in?? Shouldn’t they be taking the master bedroom??!? If I ever get a tour of my parents’ respective growing-up homes, their rooms will get a glance and an “I don’t want to think about what my father was ‘discovering’ forty years ago” nod!

    Everything else has pretty much been said already. Though I do agree, the booth metaphor that wrapped it together was well done.

36. 

    SophiaVanMatterhorn |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 09:36 am GMT -4

    @shrimpfriedrice I feel like you!!

    Also…. SHRIMP! FRIED! RICE!

37. 

    Solo4114 |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 09:47 am GMT -4

    Ok, finally got round to watching this episode. On the whole, I’m of two minds on it. On the one hand, I thought it was funny and lighthearted, and at the same time touched on some pretty real things that happen at the stage of life where Ted and the gang are. On the other, I’m a bit frustrated at how sidelined Ted is.

    I agree that, sometimes in life, you’re not the star of your own show…and that’s frustrating. The more I think about it, the more I think that this must be, at least partially, why so much focus has been on everyone but Ted. Their lives are, in one way or another, dynamic at the moment, or have been relatively recently. Lily and Marshall especially have moved into their own house, and are expecting a baby, and both of those things change the dynamic. A lot of stuff happened between Robin and Barney earlier this season, and that was all pretty heavy, but you can’t keep a show like this running on “heavy” for extended periods. There does need to be SOME lightening up. In the midst of all of this, Ted’s just kind of…treading water. And so, the show as a whole often feels like it’s treading water. But sometimes, frustrating as that is, that’s just life. You tread water until some major change happens to you or you make major change happen for you.

    Anyway, quickly on the other points, I think they really need to bring some closure to the whole Robin/Barney/Kevin thing. I gather there was some last-minute shuffling re: Michael Trucco? This is the first I’ve heard of it, but if that’s the case….it shows. Kevin’s appearance in the show has been…haphazardly written. One week they’re really close, the next week they aren’t. One week she’s freaked that she’s pregnant, the next week she’s hanging with Kevin like it ain’t no thing. And this week we’re playing Early Relationship Chicken? How is it “early relationship” at this point? None of this is necessarily stepping on continuity toes completely, but it’s….weird. It just doesn’t feel natural and it feels like the episodes have been hastily rewritten at some point. This all being due to some scheduling conflict or last minute cast shuffle would actually let all of this make sense. Like, if Kevin had been supposed to exit after the pregnancy scare, and Michael Trucco had come in somewhere just prior to New Years, this would all make perfect sense. But anyway, enough with this crap. Wrap it up, guys. KEVIN is becoming the roommate who wouldn’t leave.

    Other than that, I had no real complaints about this episode except the issue of Ted being second banana in his own show. To me, the show still IS Ted’s show, dammit. As I said, I think he’s treading water. I think he’s stuck, and has been for a while now. You can see how he got here. It really started with…well, actually, you could argue it started with Robin. Robin messed him up. He built her up as the girl of his dreams until he discovered that she really just wasn’t, but was tantalizingly close. Then he met Stella and ignored some HUGE warning signs that she wasn’t right for him. She had a kid, she lived in Jersey, she had major-league ex drama, and oh yeah, she LEFT HIM AT THE ALTAR, which he should never have been at in the first place.

    Now, before folks lay into me here for hating single moms, I don’t. I don’t think Ted does either. But Ted wants kids of his own and, while I could see him being open minded and being willing to change his vision of what he wants from life to include a woman who already has kids, it’s not really him being true to himself. There’s a degree to which, at least for Ted, I think that would be a kind of “settling.” That’s just for his own standards, though. Plenty of other guys wouldn’t even have to think twice about getting involved with an otherwise great woman who happens to have a kid. Except Stella wasn’t otherwise great. She was attractive, intelligent, and funny, but even when you look past the kid issue, there were some deeper problems. Again, as with Robin, I think Ted went into that with blinders on, at least partially because he didn’t really know himself at the time. The ex drama was a big part of that. More to the point, though, was the moving to Jersey. That’s DEFINITELY not Ted. Not even in the slightest. Marshall and Lily in the ‘burbs? Sure, and the show made a point about that, but not Ted (at least not at that point). Also, let’s not forget that Ted proposed IMMEDIATELY after a near-death experience. Right. Because that’s not gonna color your opinions in the slightest, is it?

    Anyway, after Stella crushed his heart, after the dissolution of his relationship with Robin, I think Ted’s both trying to figure out what he wants, and desperately avoiding owning up to it in a realistic fashion, and THAT is a huge missing piece for him. At the start of the show, Ted was this wide-eyed naive kid who had a particular dream and zero concept of what it would mean in reality. Robin crushed that fantasy, and Stella burnt it to the ground and salted the earth.

    And that’s really been the problem for him, as stated right at the beginning of this season. Ted lost hope. Or more accurately, Ted lost faith. This was even touched on in this week’s episode, however momentarily and purely-for-laughs, when Ted has the brief “I’m never gonna find love” thought, which he quickly avoids by agreeing to go do something really really stupid.

    Why’s Ted doing this? Why’d he date a dead-end girl like Zoey? Why’d he avoid a seemingly amazing girl because of “Deep Googling”? Why’s he hanging out with creepy Russian psychotics for an evening? Why’s he NOT out pursuing what he really wants? I’ll tell you why: he can’t ADMIT what he really wants, because of that fear that he’s never going to find it.

    He’s crippled right now by the anxiety that his vision for what he wants from life is a bullshit fantasy. My bet is that Ted hasn’t had the necessary epiphany that what he wants is tough to find, yes, but ISN’T that unrealistic. In that sense he hasn’t regained his faith in (A) the existence of love, and (B) that it’s worth the risk and wait. Maybe he still hasn’t transitioned from the guy who made a laundry list of nitpicky superficial stuff about the woman of his dreams (must love Star Wars, pretentious philosophical discussions, and satisfy the Olive Theory), rather than a more essential sense of what the girl must mean TO HIM on an emotional level. As a result, he isn’t yet able to really take ownership of his own desires in a realistic way that acknowledges that, yeah, it might not happen, but still goes for it anyway in spite of the fear. Ted lacks faith, and as a result, Ted lacks courage and the will to really try.

    Coupled with this is the “safety net” that his friends provide him. As long as he has this post-adolescent family of his, he need never give it a shot again. He can be Barney’s wingman and Uncle Ted to Lily and Marshall’s kid, and Robin’s pseudo-husband as long as she’s rooming with him. It wouldn’t be what he really wants, of course, but it’d be a facsimile thereof. And enough to tide him over in between those times where he’s scraping the label off a beer bottle and wondering what the hell happened to him and the life he wanted, while hurtling towards a midlife crisis.

    Cheery, no?

    So, yeah, Ted needs to believe again, to have faith, and to have the courage to get out there and follow his heart. Not to settle for second banana in his own life story, but to really own up to what he wants and freakin’ go for it already. The events in his friends lives as the group slowly pulls apart may be what’s necessary as an external force to get him motivated internally again. And it may force him to confront his fears, deal with them, and work through them.

    Lastly, one thing that I think would really help the show seem like Ted’s show again? Bob Saget. No kidding. Even when nothing’s going on “plot-wise” in your life, you can still be learning stuff. And while not every episode needs to have Bob Saget doling out life lessons, the feeling that all this stuff is actually going somewhere, and trying to tie the events of the episode into a larger story would really REALLY help, I think. The show would then seem less like it’s treading water and more like it’s slowly building toward something.

38. 

    Dandy Andy Pandy |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 06:20 pm GMT -4

    @Pennie Thanks. I discovered when they said it in my second viewing of the episode. Right near the end after the group gets robbed at the fake Yankees & Coca-cola party, when Kevin says no to going to LAME’s house in the ‘burbs, they discuss their relationship, and Robin says no hi-fives. Kevin agrees and says “I know. We’re two adults sleeping together, not teenage buddies.” (para-phrasing)

39. 

    Solo4114 |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 06:26 pm GMT -4

    Yeah, the objection I have to that stuff is more just sloppy continuity issues. She says in the episode that she finds out she’s pregnant that they haven’t slept together (Despite some strong hints that they had earlier, IE: Robin saying she was “gonna get her swerve on”), then it being kinda unclear on New Years’ what their situation was, and now this.

    It’s just an awkward way to get that minor plot point out there when they’ve already been awkward and weird about dealing with said plot point. Prior to the baby-scare episode, folks were speculating that there’d be this whole “Who’s your daddy?” issue between Barney and Kevin, so folks were caught off-guard by the dropping of the fact that they hadn’t slept together. Then they do something equally out-of-the-blue with Kevin saying they’re sleeping together (although maybe he meant literally just sleeping in the same bed).

    It’s just sloppy/weird handling of continuity. I don’t have a problem with them sleeping together or not, just make up your mind, show, and find a better way to get the fact across than treating it like it’s a big deal that they aren’t, followed by a casual, offhanded remark that they are.

40. 

    RandomName |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 07:24 pm GMT -4

    solo4114, to clarify, there wasn’t any last minute shuffling with Michael Trucco. At the end of last season, they planned on having Michael Trucco return this season as Robin’s main love interest, but by early summer, they knew that he was going to be unable to return for more than maybe an episode or two due to his show being renewed. So, they hired Kal Penn for the role of Kevin as Robin’s main love interest for this season. They’ve known that Kevin was going to be Robin’s love interest and that Kal Penn was going to be in the role since this summer. I agree that Kevin and Robin’s relationship doesn’t really feel natural, though perhaps that’s on purpose.

    Great post, though. I really agree with all you’ve said about Ted. I know the writers feel like they’re kind of in between a rock and a hard place, because they don’t seem to know what to do with him if he’s not in a relationship, but they really need to show him facing his fears and going after what he wants, even knowing that it might fail. They’ve still got to address what Future Ted and Victoria alluded to earlier this season, that Ted, Robin, and Barney hanging out as friends every night didn’t work, so I hope part of that will be Ted realizing that as much as he loves Robin and Barney, they’re holding him back in some ways. Or, Ted could be forced into facing his fears if Barney and Robin get back together and get married at some point, thus changing the group dynamic.

41. 

    scaifington |  Friday, January 20th, 2012 10:50 pm GMT -4

    i think robin and barney are going to have to face up with all that happened between them which will also force ted into it now that its the three of them that are so close. and ted’s living situation with robin is going to have to be adressed as well

42. 

    Okay Coat Girl |  Saturday, January 21st, 2012 08:05 pm GMT -4

    This isn’t so much a comment on the episode itself, but feelings on season 7:

    1) I’m in the camp that misses the Ted-focused storylines (so relieved to not be the only one!)

    2) I think there is a real psychological subtext to @Solo4114′s comment on Ted treading water: as viewers we’ve come to identify with him the most (esp. those of us who’ve been watching since way back when he was still the lead role). So it makes sense that watching him just float is so frustrating/not entertaining to watch, because that’s how it makes us feel when it happens to you in life -you just want it to be over.

    3) While we’re on the subject, the argument that ‘it’s true to life’ just isn’t going to cut it for me as a viewer -yes it’s very, very important that the scenarios & characters are true to life but this is a story; it’s meant to entertain, it should have some kind of structure. I still want story arcs that aren’t *constantly* side-tracked or tossed aside. The writing in the other seasons found ways to involve everyone in a way that tied their stories together with some kind of message/lesson that Ted would believably impart to his kids, rather than trying to cram 3 totally unrelated plotlines into one episode like a soap opera.

    4) Just wanted to leave you with this: my teenage sister’s friend, who has never seen a full episode of HIMYM but has seen adverts for this season, genuinely thought the show was about “How Neil Patrick Harris’s character is always trying to hook up with his friends’ mothers.”

    Thaaat’s right.

43. 

    Okay Coat Girl |  Saturday, January 21st, 2012 08:24 pm GMT -4

    Actually no, ALSO THIS: Why is Ted even ‘treading water’? You’d think key moments like Robin telling him not to give up in ep2 and him seeing Barney & Nora and saying “That’s what I want” in ep3(?) might have existed to set us up for some good, interesting story arcs on new, determined Ted, but instead they just fizzled.

    Also also, being single/in a dry spell doesn’t automatically mean nothing else is going on in your life -the man has just designed a fricking building! There must be Big Exciting Things happening in his career life now, surely?

44. 

    Kim Kallstrom |  Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 07:34 pm GMT -4

    Jesus Christ. This is getting ridiculous. As much as I’m a fan of the show, it’s just annoying that the episodes completely stray away from Ted’s search for a wife. These filler sub-par episodes that are a fortnight apart are starting to get on my nerves. Hopefully they get back to Ted’s story as soon as humanly possible.

    Also, Kevin needs to go. He just doesn’t fit in by any means, and it always seems like he’s trying to hard to fit in.

45. 

    BKx7 |  Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 09:18 pm GMT -4

    The awkward and somewhat annoying character of Kevin will only be redeemed if the writers manage to slip in an awesome Harold and Kumar reference with him and Barney.

    I’m dying to meet the mother. And I hope we really get to actually meet her, and get to know her as a character, not just a nameless pretty face.

46. 

    GWolf |  Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 02:56 pm GMT -4

    46th comment!!

    I thought the episode was ok, nothing really special. No new episode until the 13th of February makes me sad though…

47. 

    Becca |  Thursday, January 26th, 2012 08:06 am GMT -4

    I have to ask, why does this show keep taking so many breaks? They broke before christmas, they broke after christmas, now there’s yet another week with no new episode. Where’s the consistency?

48. 

    dolf |  Thursday, January 26th, 2012 10:02 am GMT -4

    I fully agree with Becca, if it is one thing that really irks me with this show, it’s the frequent long waits for the next episode. A long holiday break mid-season I can understand, but this ….

49. 

    Sword Master |  Thursday, January 26th, 2012 09:46 pm GMT -4

    **Spoiler Alert**

    The super hot chick from the cancelled tv show ”Love Bites”, Becki Newton, will appear in HIMYM soon and she’s expected to play a big role. I have more info, but I don’t want to give too much away.

50. 

    KG |  Friday, January 27th, 2012 11:51 am GMT -4

    I guess I’m in the minority for thinking this, but I found the episode to be pretty hilarious overall. I couldn’t stop laughing at Robin, Barney, and Ted sitting in the same seat upset, and then Barney screws with the opening credits. Hilarious.

    The return of Drunk Ted was almost appreciated. Him winning at poker, making buildings with the chips, singing, the whole bit was just hilarious. Completely works with the character.

    Also, Barney’s long line about Marshall dying and Barney picking up the Lily “slack” and getting all dirty was really, really funny.

    I even enjoyed the cam close up on Marshall as he tried to make it through the house. There was just one funny moment after another in this episode, at least for me

    I don’t think every episode can be about Ted, but I definitely understand the frustration in watching the show become more about everyone else OTHER than Ted. I think the writers got in a bind after 4 seasons because there’s only so much writing and growth you can have in a single character.

51. 

    Dandy Andy Pandy |  Friday, January 27th, 2012 06:09 pm GMT -4

    I agree with everything you said KG.

52. 

    Sword Master |  Friday, January 27th, 2012 06:34 pm GMT -4

    **Spoiler Alert**

    Preview of an upcoming episode

    http://www.cbs.com/shows/how_i_met_your_mother/photos/81426/season-7-the-drunk-train-first-look/81421

53. 

    Dani |  Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 10:46 am GMT -4

    Hi- first time visitor, love the blog.

    You also seem like the person I should go to with this question, since no one else on the Internet has paid it any attention:
    WHY HAS HIMYM BEEN SO FLAKEY?!

    I mean come on! It is such a good show (despite Lilly’s annoying father and Kevin) but how can its audience follow the show when every few weeks there just ISN’T an episode?! I feel it is really negatively impacting the coherency of the story-line, especially when (as you said) the show has shifted focus from Ted completely.

    Please, please sniff around and let the viewers know why our tv schedule has been so messed up lately. The same thing is happening to CSI, Law and Order SVU and Criminal Minds… I’m Canadian so I figured maybe some American sports thing was causing this, but this has been going on for months!

    Thanks!

54. 

    Solo4114 |  Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 12:52 pm GMT -4

    I think it’s a fairly common thing with TV scheduling now. There are sporting events, we have political stuff going on this year in the States, and there’s also the holidays with which to contend. As you can see, it’s not limited to just this show or just one network. It’s a style of production pacing and episode airing that crosses networks and shows and show formats (IE: sitcoms and police procedurals, hour-long and half-hour long shows alike).

    We have 10 episodes left at this point. That’s ten weeks of show to air, to get us up through…what, May? I think that’s when the season finale will be. So, that means ten weeks of show to spread across something like 16-20 weeks of air time, depending on when the season ends. So, yeah, there’s gonna be more breaks. It’s annoying, but they only do 24 episodes a season, and they have to stretch them through about 36-40 weeks of air time.

    That’s pretty standard in television anymore. You either have a 13-episode run, or you have a 22-24 episode run each year, at least on network TV. (Pay cable shows can run for shorter periods.)

    There’s cancellations that leave holes in your schedule, other events like, say, the State of the Union, sporting events, holidays, etc., etc.

    I suppose they could do it the way other networks have tried doing stuff, where you run one solid block of shows for a few weeks, then take an extended break and do the second half of your show in a solid run, but that can irritate people just as much.

55. 

    Honka Honka |  Friday, February 3rd, 2012 03:39 pm GMT -4

    Is anyone else extremely excited for February Sweeps!!!

    I can’t wait for it….

56. 

    Dandy Andy Pandy |  Friday, February 3rd, 2012 05:48 pm GMT -4

    same honka honka!

57. 

    sbiriguda |  Monday, February 6th, 2012 02:05 pm GMT -4

    New episode tonight! “The burning beerkeeper”!! Yeeeah!!

58. 

    Honka Honka |  Monday, February 6th, 2012 03:36 pm GMT -4

    *****BIG SPOILERS*****
    (read at your own risk)

    http://entertainment.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981089471

59. 

    Honka Honka |  Monday, February 6th, 2012 10:34 pm GMT -4

    The Burning Beekeeper:

    I thought it was alright. The biggest thing that I took away from this episode was that the chemistry was back between Robin and Ted. You could just see it.

    Besides that, and Martin Short because I just love him, I thought this was a filler episode that didn’t belong in the beginning of February Sweeps!

60. 

    Matthew |  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 01:33 am GMT -4

    i found this episode VERY difficult to watch. I cant put my finger on it, but didnt enjoy this episode much at all. Seemed a little disjointed, which is not something i get from HIMYM normally.

61. 

    Olive Theory |  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 10:36 am GMT -4

    I didn’t think I was going to like it at first, but I thought they brought it all back together. It wasn’t my favorite and by far wasn’t my worst. I could see LAME moving back into Ted’s apartment and Ted moving to the house he has purchased.

62. 

    sandyrivers |  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 10:53 am GMT -4

    twas actually pretty funny. the first time EVER that i didn’t hate lily’s dad. pretty good episode IMO

63. 

    HK |  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 02:51 pm GMT -4

    Total filler episode. I love HIMYM, but this one really didn’t move the story and after 3 weeks of waiting I was hoping for a better episode. Ah well, there’s always next week.

64. 

    Honka Honka |  Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 03:13 pm GMT -4

    Next week’s episode is going to be a doozy!!! I’ve read some spoilers! Can’t wait!!!

65. 

    Emma |  Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 04:22 am GMT -4

    I’ve been very disappointed with the past 3 episodes. I’ve feel like they’ve been nothing but filler-episodes (though I’m sure Tailgate can be called that, still not very good though imo). Filler episodes can be good if they’re really funny and clever, but so far I haven’t been impressed. And they thing is, there are some big stories that are just kind of “paused”. It’s about time to address Robin not being able to have a baby, her one night stand with Barney, the Robin-Barney-Ted situation they keep hinting at. Stop postponing!

66. 

    Honka Honka |  Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 09:54 am GMT -4

    I really looked forward to reading the write-up about each episode at work on Tuesday’s…what’s happening!!!???

    Life just isn’t the same anymore without these HIMYM write-ups!

67. 

    Samantha |  Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 10:33 am GMT -4

    Agreed, Honka. I look forward to reading it sometime on Tuesday — your faithful readers want to know what you thought, Jordan!

68. 

    Kate |  Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 02:12 pm GMT -4

    Anxiously waiting to hear your thoughts over here, Jordan! =)

    Also, I’m wondering if the whole Ted doesn’t like confrontation thing is a plug in for him to finally talk to Barney about that night. Thoughts anyone?

69. 

    sandyrivers |  Thursday, February 9th, 2012 10:09 am GMT -4

    also… WHERE IS KEVIN??

70. 

    Jordan |  Thursday, February 9th, 2012 02:19 pm GMT -4

    Putting the final touches on my review, some of you are gonna be pissed.

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