How I Met Your Mother Ep 6.13: Bad News

So although I feel a bit rusty (being away from blogging for so long) there is nothing better than a GREAT episode of TV to get me going again!  This past week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother (Bad News) was incredible.  I completely agree with the many fans who thought this episode felt like an episode of Scrubs.  It beautifully intertwined comedy and drama, something that many shows are not capable of. 

One of the reasons I loved Scrubs so much, is because although it constantly made you laugh, it was also very real.  It dealt with dense issues (such as your dad or best friend dying) which made it extremely relatable to viewers.  Although How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs are obviously very different shows (I mean one takes place in a hospital and one takes place in a bar…) there are definitely striking similarities.  And one of those similarities is that both shows have heart.

Now anyway before I get too wrapped up in talking about Scrubs, I am going to switch gears back to the real topic of this post- How I Met Your Mother.  In Monday night’s episode, HIMYM did something very unique- they had a countdown. The numbers 1-50 appeared subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) throughout the episode in descending order.  While many fans missed this entirely, the fans who did catch on were all thinking the same thing- “What the hell is this countdown for?” The episode mainly dealt with Marshall and Lily have problems trying to conceive.  So considering the episode was titled “Bad News” it would make sense that many of the viewers thought that the countdown was to the obvious Bad News- that either Marshall or Lily would be unable to conceive.  Here’s the kicker though- the bad news had nothing to do with Marshall and Lily’s future baby…it had to do with Marshall’s dad.  At the end of the episode a curve ball is thrown and the audience learns that the lovable Mr. Erickson has died of a heart attack, something no one saw coming (sidebar- Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel’s acting in this scene was BRILLIANT).

Now this plot twist caused a variety of reactions from fans.  Some fans like me were sad, but thought that the way the episode was written was genius.  The story was told in such a way that when the bad news was delivered, we felt the same pain and shock the characters felt- which I think was the point.  But some of the fans were extremely angry.  Tweets were quickly posted saying how HIMYM is supposed to be a comedy, and that something so depressing is uncalled for.  Now while I understand this argument, people have to understand that HIMYM isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.  Like I said in the beginning of this post, HIMYM is real- and that is what a large portions of its fan base respects about it.  I will give the nay sayers the fact that this scene was exceptionally sad due in part to the fact that seeing Alyson Hannigan cry is like having your heart ripped out and torn into a million pieces- and hearing Jason Segel say how he “is not ready for this” is like seeing a dog get hit by car (okay maybe not that bad but still).  Although I fully agree that this scene was horribly upsetting…the reason for this is because of the relationship we fans have developed with these characters.

The only thing I am remotely upset about is the fact that we now have to wait two weeks before another episode airs.  I am dying to see how the characters handle this.  These characters feel like friends of mine, and I am so sad for them and feel so much for Marshall.  While some people might not respect that a comedy has employed such an emotionally devastating tactic, to me that is simply the mark of an excellent show.

So as you can already guess, I definitely proclaim this episode a WIN.  What about you guys? Do you think this episode was well played- or do you think HIMYM should not have done something so heartbreaking?  Or maybe you think that the plot line is okay but that the show should have handled it in a less gut wrenching way?  Please share your opinions, I love reading them!