Wow I haven’t written a review in awhile. Glad I get to start up again with a review of my favorite show: How I Met Your Mother. And boy did tonight prove why it ranks number one on my list.
Typically How I Met Your Mother knocks its season finales out of the park (with the exception of season 5, but hey that whole season was off). So I admit I went into this episode with high expectations. I was nervous that the episode wouldn’t come close to what I was expecting for multiple reasons.
First off I am a HUGE Barney & Robin shipper. Those of you who have read my previous blog posts already know that. Going into this finale I knew Barney & Robin were going to spend a lot of time together. I also knew that Nora was going to make an appearance. So at the beginning of the episode, I really wondered if there was going to be enough Barney/Robin moments to satisfy my shipper needs. Well let me tell you there were more than enough.
Barney and Robin’s cab moment was so freaking cute. Speaking of cabs please buckle your seat belts while I switch lanes for a second (Ha! See what I did there? Corny? Fine you don’t have to rub it in).
Anyway my FAVORITE recurring character made an appearance in this episode—RANJIT! I absolutely adore him. Seriously I love every episode he’s in. He always shows up in pressure situations and manages to lighten the mood. But that isn’t even what I love most about him. Ranjit was there from the start. He was in the pilot episode and clinked glasses with the gang during the last scene. Carter & Craig always said that scene made them feel like this show was going to be a success, and well, look at it now! Every time Ranjit shows up I think about that scene and really feel like the story is coming full circle. Ranjit just makes me so happy.
BACK ON TRACK—So Barney & Robin shared that cutesy scene in the cab which I loved. They also simultaneously tackled Ted which was AWESOME. They ALSO shared that moment when they were telling Ted he needed to move on. And yeah all those moments were fabulous, but they didn’t even come close to my favorite Barney/Robin moment of the night—when Barney sees his necessary yet meaningless future girlfriend Nora. Now I know some of you are probably saying “Why on EARTH does she love that scene?!” Call me crazy, but to me it sealed the deal that Barney & Robin will get back together. I mean come on! Nora tells Barney “It’s never too late” and the camera flashes to a sad Robin? Do I really have to spell it out for you guys??
Oh and to top it all off what scene comes after that one? Oh yeah…BARNEY’S WEDDING. By the time the scene with Nora started, I had completely forgotten that this episode was supposed to touch on the “infamous wedding” seen during the season 6 premier. I was so engrossed in everything else going on that it just wasn’t near the forefront of my mind. But for some reason as Barney was talking to Nora, I remembered that we were supposed to learn more about it. I got super excited because the episode was almost over and they hadn’t mentioned the wedding yet. Lo and behold directly following that scene we flashed forward to that moment.
The last scene of tonight’s episode showed Ted going into the church to check on the groom. As Ted opened the door to make sure the groom was okay the camera panned to who the lucky husband to be was—Barney. Now I’m sure this shocked a lot of people, but it makes sense. HIMYM loves to trip us up, so why not have it be the wedding of the dude that once said “marriage…is…stupid”? The fact that it was Barney’s wedding says a lot. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s pretty likely that Robin will get married in the future too. And since Lily appeared to be a bridesmaid…well I’ll let you guess who the bride is going to be. ;)
So aside from my awesome gut feeling that Robin will in fact become Mrs. Barney Stinson someday (so weird to write that) a lot of other awesome things went down in tonight’s episode:
- Ted got to push the button to destroy the Arcadian
- Marshall had his dream interview (which I actually think went rather well…vomiting aside)
- LILY IS PREGNANT (but we all saw that coming right??)
The scene that flashed between the Arcadian erupting and Lily telling Marshall she was pregnant literally brought tears to my eyes. It was such a moving moment and was quite reminiscent of the season 4 finale. Like the closing scene in “The Leap,” the mashup of the Arcadian being destroyed/Lily announcing her pregnancy really showed how much our characters have grown this season. What made this moment even better was Marshall’s little monologue that came right before it. I loved that he talked about his dad dying and all the other shit he’s gone through this season. It did a nice job of summing everything up, which made it even better when Lily told him she was pregnant.
Sidebar: The song playing at the end of the season 4 finale, “Prophets” by A.C. Newman, is amazing. I recommend you go listen to it once you finish reading this article.
Now while a lot of you might think Lily being pregnant was “too predictable” I say psh. We have been waiting for that girl to get knocked up since Alyson Hannigan had her baby in real life two years ago…so I’m pretty sure it’s about time. Also, the writers did such a good job being unpredictable this season (“Bad News”) that something happy and predictable was more than welcome.
When it comes down to it I give this episode a WIN. Normally when the season finales don’t focus on Ted it kind of bothers me, but not this time. All the things touched on tonight were very important to the central story of the show. So yeah, we might still not know who the mother is, but tonight gave us a lot of things to look forward. Now all we have to do is sit back and look forward to the next two seasons. It might be challenging having to hang on for two more years without knowledge of who the mother is, but you know what? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED! ;)
Thoughts on last night's episode??? Chime in below!!
Thoughts on last night's episode??? Chime in below!!
Now before you kill me, you know how I love me some Barney/Robin and while I called that it was Barney’s wedding well before the show started (need I references my tweet to you?! Ha!) I have since decided that the wedding with Barney (which is both fantastic and awesome and can’t wait to “attend”) will alas not be with Robin. Here’s my theory, oh I have so many theories, Ted “meets” the mother – oh and how awesome was the kids that’s how I met your mother psych moment – at Barney’s wedding to “lady to be named later”. Now unless the “mother” is a friend of Robin’s from Canada who came for the wedding or a relative of either her or Barney’s wouldn’t Ted meet her prior to the wedding? Especially if Ted and Robin are still living together. OH MY GOD what if it’s Barney’s older-half sister? Sorry that just jumped into my think tank.
ReplyDeleteThe episode was great. I too was afraid I had built it up way to much in my head for it to be anything other than a disappointment. However they walked up to the plate and hit it out of the park, as they usually do. Many things were set up for next season, which I understand btw will be Robin centric. I loved that Ted got to push the button, I loved that he was tacked (after it was posted as a teaser for the show that was my cell phone wallpaper all day), I loved Dave Foley being in the episode, and like you when the car pulled up I clapped and yelled Ranjit! I love that Barney seems to have him on speed dial, and he always shows up.
I have to say I like Nora I like Robin more, but I think she can challenge Barney and work him towards the “lifestyle change” that they have been setting up all year long. He’s definitely been moving towards something since he let her walk out of his life earlier this season, and I can’t wait to watch it. How awesome is NPH!? I mean really?
PS the first thoughts in my head after watching the episode was I wonder what you thought of it, and after Castle I wondered if you were still alive, glad to see you made it though, I’m hoping Becket did too but that’s another posting for another day. . . .sigh it’s gonna be a long summer!
Good points! I understand why people might be skeptical of it being Barney & Robin because like you said "Why wouldn't Ted have already met the mother prior to the wedding?" But like you also said, it could be a friend from Canada. I mean for quite awhile Ted was dating Robin and didn't even know she was a Canadian pop-star. There seem to be a lot of things the gang doesn't know about Robin's life in Canada, so anything is possible.
ReplyDeleteStill though considering the mother is the roommate of Rachel Bilson's character one might wonder "Why would this person come over from Canada...and never make a effort to see Robin?" Yeah I don't know...I'll have to think about it a bit more haha.
Also that makes me happy that you thought of me once the episode ended :) And you wondering if I was still going to be alive after Castle...hahahaha (by the way...post coming for that soon...mind is still reeling)
ahhhhhh I totally forgot about the mom being Rachel's sister, there goes my theory about it being a friend of Robin or Barney's friend or family member. We really have to figure out a way to flip this around so it can still be Robin. i'm afraid however that ship sailed last night. I saw the conversation with them on the sidewalk as the end. I liked the way they ended it though.
ReplyDeleteSo now the question becomes is it Nora or did Barney screw that up! I love how everyone can't believe that it's Barney's wedding, a friend at work is shocked that it's him and still dosen't think it's him. However this year has been all about Barney's changing of the ways if you will. He's shifting into a different person and the struggle between what he's always been and where he'd like to go will be fun and awesome to watch. Must leave now have to read what you wrote about Castle! So sad I found that show so late in my life! :-) ha!
Ok I have been thinking of the Robin/Barney/HIMYM wedding and the idea of the Mother being Barney's half sister has dug into my brain and just refuses to let go. I think I have a theory . . . oh I have so many theories . . . ha!
ReplyDeleteI really believe that the mother could be Barney’s half sister and here’s why. Jerry tells Barney she's in college, doesn’t say where, Rachel meets Ted outside of his class, the "Mother" was in the Econ class at the same college, the mother was also at the St Patty's Day party, so she's in town. The mother/roommate could totally be Barney's half sister.
She'd be removed enough from Barney not to be odd for Ted. That also opens the door for it to be Robin :0) which is what this Barnman/Robin lover wants! Thoughts?
I've actually heard a lot of people say that the mother might be Carly (Barney's half sister). I personally would love that...it would tie everything together, and like you said make room for Barnman/Robin ;)
ReplyDeleteAs of right now I can't think of anything that would disprove that theory.,.but of course the HIMYM wheels in my head are always spinning. I'll let you know if I think of anything to contradict that, but until then, let's go with that theory! Ted & Carly FTW :)