I Didn't Get Inception, SO MANY LAYERS: Community Goes Inside the Dreamatorium

Okay…I’m not really sure what just happened to my mind…but I’m pretty sure it was awesome. Normally I try to analyze episodes after I watch them…but my brain feels broken right now, so I’ll do the best I can.

Tonight’s Community was…well…something. Still not really sure what that something was (and I’ve watched it twice now) but alas it was something.

This year I had the pleasure of seeing the Community panel at Paley Fest. I specifically remember Dan Harmon talking about this episode. He said something akin to “this will either be the best episode to ever happen to television, or the worst.”  While I won’t go as far as to say that this was the best episode to ever happen to television, it was definitely good. I mean, it was an episode that took place in the dreamatorium…that in itself is quite a feat. We constantly hear about the dreamatorium, and occasionally we get glimpses of what Troy & Abed do in there, but we’ve never gotten to experience it the way we did tonight.

Abed is such a complex character. At the Community panel, Danny Pudi talked a bit about what it is like to play Abed. He made an interesting point that I had never thought of: although Abed acts emotionless on a constant basis, in actuality he is full of emotion-- it’s just internalized. This type of episode helps to explain exactly what Danny Pudi meant by this. We constantly see Abed as an observer, the impartial character that never lets feelings influence the situation(AHEM FRINGIES). And I don’t know about you guys, but since I think of him as an observer so much I tend to forget that he is still a person with emotions. He has insecurities like the rest of us. As Annie talked about in the end of the episode, Abed is afraid of not being needed and not fitting in. While these insecurities seem to affect Abed deeper than we know (I mean when he envisioned his friends’ thoughts, he assumed he would be tossed aside in some locker) they also are what tie Abed to the rest of the group. Hopefully his experience with Annie in the dreamatorium gave him some insight to this (and judging by the end scene where he smiles at Annie, I’d assume it did).

Okay now away from Abed, we also got a lot of great character development from Annie tonight. Even though Annie taught Abed some lessons tonight, Abed also taught Annie a few as well. We constantly see how obsessed Annie is with Jeff, but we never really delve into why she feels the way that she does. Tonight Abed made her confront her own feelings and try to analyze why she “loves” Jeff. This helped to bring some of her own securities into focus (i.e. wanting to be loved). Now as I’ve made clear plenty of times, I am a HUGE supporter of Jeff & Annie. I love them so much…so I was a little sad that she didn’t just admit her undying love for Jeff and ride off with him into the sunset. But if that would have happened, we wouldn’t be watching Community. Community isn’t a show about clichés. It’s a show about risks, risks that result in amazing television.

Now I’m not going to go into my spiel about why Community deserves to be renewed, and how asinine people must be for not taking the time to watch it (I do that enough on Twitter). But I will say that tonight was indeed another example of why TV critics rave about it, and fans remain so loyal (#sixseasonsandamovie).

What did you all think of tonight’s episode? Did you think it was brilliant? Or simply off its rocker (I’ve clearly been seeing too many commercials for Betty White’s new show)? I love hearing from you guys so please leave your thoughts below!

PS – Emma Claufield presented the very interesting theory on Twitter…perhaps this ENTIRE SEASON has been inside the dreamatorium…yeaaaah…think about THAT.

Comment away!!

Pillows vs. Blankets : Recap of Tonight's Epic Community

Oh Community, you silly silly show. Just when we start to think “this show can’t possibly get more ridiculous” you go and pull off something like this. You’ve already proven time and time again how great  you are at handling meta ideas...but tonight, well tonight you went above and beyond.

After last week’s horrifying cliffhanger (I mean come on, NO ONE wants to see Troy and Abed in a fight) we were all anxiously awaiting this week’s episode. I personally counted down until 8:00pm, trying to decide which side I wanted to be on (pillows or blankets...I eventually went with blankets). Finally when the time came and the show began I immediately knew that this would not be like any other episode we had seen before.

From the very first scene, I knew this episode was going to be epic. The combination of the title screen, camerawork, and monotone voice over, honestly made me feel like I was being thrown into a documentary. It’s truly hard to believe that a half hour comedy could have that type of effect, but it did. Everything was so well written and perfectly shot, that I could have sworn I was sitting in a classroom watching an actual Civil War documentary (a very chang-ter-taining classroom mind you).

One of the things that Community always manages to nail are the small details. From Shirley “Big Cheddar” Bennett to the Changlorious Bastards, tonight’s little moments were what made me laugh the most. Yes the main overarching theme was a pillow fight...but when you’ve got something as absurd as Community you have to look past the “funny theme” into the realm of unique comedy. So many sitcoms out there follow overused generic storylines *cough cough* Two and a Half Men *cough cough.* Community though, reinvents itself week after week, which is why it is so good. It’s hilarious...and smart. Unlike Two and a Half Men those other mindless sitcoms I refuse to name, Community isn’t afraid to take risks. They truly understand clever television and bring it week in and week out. There is a reason TV critics LOVE this show, and I only wish that the general population would get their heads out of their asses and learn to love it too.

While the small details are what really made me appreciate this episode, Community still touched on some key themes tonight. Like last week, Annie and Jeff were involved in a storyline together. Last week Annie taught Jeff how to apologize to a dead person (assuming said dead person isn’t alive, male, and named Kim) and this week Annie taught Jeff how to air out his emotions in a healthier way. She recommended a diary for him, and unbelievably, he actually wrote in a diary!! Jeff Winger...are you...growing as a person?? It’s so interesting how characters affect one another and I love how Annie has always been able to bring out the good in Jeff (i.e. actually studying for the debate in season 1). I’m hoping that they continue to have scenes together and that Jeff finally realizes what a catch Annie really is...

And to add to the Jeff Winger development story, the fact that he was able to repair Troy & Abed spoke volumes to me. It’s always been clear he cares about his friends, but for him to actually show it and express is in a diary...that’s some deep stuff there. Troy & Abed making up warmed my heart, and I loved that Jeff was able to bring them back together by emphasizing just who when they are (Yes that sounds weird, but it makes sense in the land of Inspector Spacetime). They are two best friends who are so obsessed with each other that they are willing to pillow fight for an eternity simply to stay together (I think that deserves a collective ‘AWWWW’). Seriously from character development, to hilarious insanity, tonight’s episode of Community had it all. Now if those Nielsen’s would start learning to appreciate good television...

PS. I love that Britta is the worst no matter what the circumstance. They should never let her have a camera ever again.


PSS. Did anyone else think it was a little unfair that the The Legit Republic of Blanketsburg got to fight with pillows? They should have been using blanket whips! Duhhh

Whoa Fat Betty... : Mad Men Writers Address January Jones' Real Life Pregnancy in 'Tea Leaves'

Well folks, it’s BACK. After 17 months of complaining (and binge drinking to fill the void that Roger Sterling and Don Draper left us with) Mad Men has finally returned to our screens! I decided to not write anything about the first episode because I wanted time to get back in the saddle and merely observe the awesomeness that is Don Draper’s world. But now that I’ve had some time to sober up…and now that Betty has made quite the appearance…well I just couldn’t keep a lid on it!

After the first episode I was perplexed as to why we hadn’t seen Betty yet. Even though Betty Draper- ahem, Francis - is a (and I’m sure we can all agree on this) dreadful human being, she is still someone I absolutely love to watch. I find Betty fascinating, and I admit I kind of revel in her misery at times (okay maybe I’m the dreadful human being, but seriously, a woman who’s best parenting technique is “go watch TV” kind of deserves some harsh treatment).  Because of my love/hate relationship with her character, I was kind of sad to see that she didn’t even make an appearance in the season premier. And as if that wasn’t enough, Betty wasn’t even in the PREVIEW for the next episode! That didn’t sit well with me…and it didn’t sit well with my friends either…so we tried to figure out what in the hell was going on.

One of my best friends theorized that perhaps they weren’t showing Betty because of a physical change. At the time we thought it might have been because Betty had dyed her hair brown to look like Megan…and I mean that makes sense right? What woman in her right mind (or even in her crazy Betty Draper mind) wouldn’t want to win Don Draper back? But boy, what ended up happening I did not see coming at all…which is pretty remarkable considering the size of the situation (sorry I had to).  Betty was physically different, but not because of a bad dye job. No, instead Betty appeared different because…well frankly the woman looked like she had eaten a cow.  

I totally understand why the writers chose to have Betty gain an insane amount of weight - January Jones was pregnant during the time of filming, and clearly they did not want to write another child into the show. So rather than having her hide her baby bump (which many television shows do with pregnant actresses), the writers instead created a huge storyline involving Betty and the possibility of thyroid cancer. I definitely think this was an interesting twist, but I’m not completely sure how I feel about it. I’m all for having Betty understand that beauty isn’t everything…but to turn this into a huge storyline focused on Betty’s newfound weight gain and the possibility of cancer? I feel like they already have enough mental issues with that woman, but I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. I’d like to hear what you think. Do you think this was an extremely creative way for the writers to accommodate Jones’ real life pregnancy…or do you think this storyline is a bit…bigger than it needs to be (yes, okay I’ll try to stop with the ridiculous puns)? Chime in below.

Oh and on a side note- who is surprised that Megan is still around?? I for one thought she’d be gone by the start of this season…but it’s not looking like she’ll be exiting stage left anytime soon…

Hey John GOODman, Stop Destroying Trabed: Review of 'Digital Exploration of Interior Design'

Hi everyone! Long time no blog! Seriously…it’s been almost a year…crazyness. But today was a milestone for me – I finally passed 800 followers on Twitter! So before I delve into anything TV related I just want to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read this. Honestly, I appreciate each and every one of you and commend you for keeping up with the insanity that is my mind.

Now, onto the main event: Community. Normally when I write my blog posts, especially my blog posts about Community, I am in happy spirits. Right now though I am feeling sad…quite sad actually…and a bit hostile. Don’t get me wrong- I absolutely LOVED this episode…but my Troy and Abed heart is breaking!! As if last week’s episode wasn’t depressing enough (honestly who didn’t feel like shedding a tear when Abed didn’t high five Troy) now our two besties aren’t even on the same team?!?! Talk about an evil timeline! And of ALL people JOHN GOODMAN is the one trying to destroy their happiness?? For heaven's sake his last name has the word GOOD in it! I sure hope they find a way to work this out…and FAST, because like one of my followers mentioned, if this series ends with those two in a fight…I swear…you know what, let’s just not go there.

Okay onto happier thoughts! As has been the case for most of this season, tonight’s episode was brilliant. One of the main things I adore about this show is how meta it is. Honestly it is SO smart. It constantly finds ways to break the 4^th wall and manages to do so without being cheesy. Dan Harmon I applaud you for that. The smallest things in this show (like not mentioning lockers for 2 ½ seasons) Dan manages to weave into hilarious storylines. And not only are the storylines hilarious, they are meaningful too.

Admittedly I am a HUGE Jeff & Annie fan (yes, yes I understand why the age difference might gross some out, but in real life Alison Brie & Joe McHale really aren’t THAT far apart, so it’s hard to ignore the chemistry they have going). Anyhoo, like I said I’m a huge fan, so anytime those two are on screen together it makes me happy. They play so well off one another and I feel like we always get some great character development when they interact. For example, while tonight’s Jannie storyline provided us with a big dose of humor (I mean, a male “Kim” leaving hate mail in Jeff’s locker and claiming to be dead…that is the sort of randomness you can’t help but smile at) it also showcased some great character growth. A lot has gone on between Jeff & Annie romantically over the past two and half seasons that has yet to be resolved, so seeing Annie freak out at Jeff towards the end was definitely refreshing.  

Obviously the episode wasn’t just about Jeff & Annie though (or Troy and Abed for that matter). There was a third storyline going on that involved the rest of the gang anddddd *drumroll please* KEITH. Who is Keith you might be ask? Okay well for all you lame-o’s who didn’t watch the gloriousness that was Scrubs, Keith played a big role in that show back in Season 6. Since Scrubs I haven’t really seen him in anything else, so obviously I flipped out when he appeared on my screen tonight. And to find out he was playing “Subway”? BRILLIANT.  Honestly, there are things that only Community can pull off- and having a corporation being represented as a Human Being (see what I did there?) is one of those things.

Like Jeff & Annie, Keith (yes I am going to continue calling him Keith) & Britta’s story was funny, yet sweet. I really did start to feel for Britta when Keith (okay fine SUBWAY) was taken away from her. They shared so many interests…and were both so invested in eating fresh…it was obviously a relationship bound to end in happiness and blonde vegetarian children. But no! Like in real life, evil American corporations had to ruin it all! Who knows though maybe Keith…I mean Rick…I mean SUBWAY will reappear someday. We can dream.

One thing I did miss tonight – Chang. Whenever he isn’t present I miss him. But we DID have John Goodman…WITH a French braid…so I mean, plus points right there.

And now for my decision: was tonight’s episode a win or loss? Um, I think it’s pretty obvious, but just in case you can’t tell, I’d definitely score this one as a WIN. In fact I’d score this entire season as a WIN. Would you? Would you…woo? (Sorry haven’t blogged in forever…miss my HIMYM references). But seriously, would you rate this as a win?? Chime in below!

I swear…if NBC dares to take it off the air…then let’s just say NBC will be facing a dark timeline of its own…

I Love You Kate : Review of Castle 3x24 'Knockout' (Season Finale)

So was last night mind blowing or what?? I already knew somebody was going to die. That isn’t what shocked me, but boy did the ending leave me speechless…

For the most part episodes of Castle are self-contained. Yes the sexual tension between Castle & Beckett is apparent in every episode, but plot heavy episodes only happen every once in a while.

Going into last night’s episode, we all knew that we would be diving back into the murder of Joanna Beckett. Because of this we assumed that this episode would be very plot heavy. We expected to come out shocked. And usually when a viewer goes into an episode with such high expectations it jinxes it. The viewer comes out feeling un-shocked and unsatisfied. Well this was certainly not the case with this finale. When this episode ended I felt like I do after an episode of Fringe. Okay well maybe I wasn’t that confused, but I definitely didn’t know how to process everything that just went down (speaking of which I still haven’t posted about the last episode of Fringe. Ha did that episode mind f*$k me).

Getting back on track, this episode dealt with concepts that Castle just doesn’t talk about. For God’s sake Castle & Beckett discussed feelings. I mean what IS THIS?! The scene between the two of them in Kate’s apartment was just…amazing. Seriously I applaud Nathan and Stana. For those of us who watched the sneak peeks, we knew a talk like that was coming, but I never imagined the factors that would lead up to it. Castle being told by the captain and Beckett’s dad that he needed to stop her…genius. When Beckett’s dad came to see Castle I was floored. He was the last person I expected to see in this episode. The fact that he knew so much about Castle spoke volumes about his relationship with Beckett. And the look on Castle’s face when Daddy Beckett was talking to him…priceless. I basically felt like Beckett’s dad was giving Castle & Beckett his blessing or something (Let’s face it. These two are destined to get married. It’s okay to admit it to yourself). Daddy Beckett put so much trust in Castle, solely based on what he’s heard from his daughter. Now if that doesn’t say something, I don’t know what does.

And then the captain. Jeez. Yeah there was a lot of shit that went down involving him that I’ll get into a little later, but the stuff he said throughout the episode about Beckett & Castle’s relationship was heartwarming. He knew Castle allowed Beckett to have fun. He knew Castle would be the only one to get Beckett to back down. He knew that if he told Castle to go to Beckett that Castle would listen .

So Castle went to Beckett and took Daddy Beckett and the Captain’s advice. But of course Beckett stayed true to her character and refused to back down. I was so happy that the writers had Castle bring up how this was affecting Beckett’s loved ones. When Daddy Beckett appeared earlier in the episode I kept thinking “Kate, can you at least give this up for your father? He’s still alive, and he deserves to have you in his life. Don’t do this to him.” So when Castle brought that up I was stoked. When he brought Josh up I was a little less stoked, but hey I understood. And then..the moment we’ve all been waiting for…Beckett threw Castle a curveball – “What about you Rick?” Castle exploded and I LOVED it. The way he went off on her about how they never talk about their feelings was breathtaking. Everything he said was so true, and she knew it. She tried to push him away by telling him he doesn’t know her, but we all know that’s BS. Their relationship has been built up so that they affect one another in a way that no other person can (hence Martha’s line “There’s only one person on the planet that could make you this upset”). So when Beckett finally felt her walls crumbling, in true Beckett fashion she retreated. Let’s face it, she might be kick ass physically, but emotionally she definitely has some issues. She kicked Castle to the curb and went running to the captain to get Castle removed from the 12^th permanently.

And even though she went to the captain with the intention of getting Castle thrown out, we all know why she really went there. She knew the captain would tell her how ridiculous she was being. She knew the captain would never let her throw Castle away. So when the captain simply went along with everything she was saying she went crazy and I loved it. That scene was hilarious and Stana played it so well. When he said “Okay” Kate literally looked at him like “WTF did you just say?!” It. Was. Wonderful.

Okay, breaking away from Castle & Beckett for a moment, I’m going to talk a little about the captain now. From previous episodes we already knew a ton about Joanna Beckett’s murder. We knew cops were involved. We knew someone hired assassins, but we didn’t know that the captain was involved with the case. How many of you saw that coming? I was completely blindsided. When it came out that he was the 3^rd cop I felt just like Ryan and Esposito (BTW their fight really got me worked up. I was screaming at my TV “YOU’RE BEST FRIENDS. CUT. IT. OUT."). Like R & E I wanted to deny what I was hearing. I wanted it to not be true. The captain has always seemed like a father figure for Beckett, so knowing that he had any part in her mother’s murder was devastating. But because the Castle writers are so awesome, they were able to still redeem him in the end.

The captain loads his gun, brings Kate to lure in the bad guys, and has Castle there to take her away. That man seriously had everything thought out. What he was saying to Kate made so much sense. He hadn’t intentionally tried to hurt anyone. He got in too deep as a rookie, and when she came around he saw it as a chance at redemption. Everything he did for her might have had an ulterior motive, but he still truly cared.

When Castle carried Beckett away (her screaming “I forgive you” was heartbreaking) I went nuts. We’ve never seen Beckett have a meltdown like that, and the way Castle held her and comforted her was perfect. Now the one thing to me that didn’t make sense in this scene was the moment that Castle let Beckett go. How on earth would he know that what he had just heard was the final gunshot? Lockwood could have very well still been alive and ready to take her away, but Castle let her run off. It made no sense. So if anyone has any explanations hit me with them!

So then the final scene happens: the funeral procession. We assume that the drama has mostly stopped at this point. Yeah, we all knew a cliffhanger was coming. But I for one assumed it would be another Castle is about to tell Beckett how he feels, Josh miraculously falls from the sky and rides off with her on his horse motorcycle moment.

But no that doesn’t happen. Instead we see a freaking SNIPER. And before we have any time to fully process what’s going on BECKETT GETS SHOT. WHAT THE HELL? Obviously she isn’t going to die, but still, WHAT THE HELL Castle writers?! Once again I applaud you because I did not see that coming. When Castle told Beckett he loved her I nearly fainted. I wanted her to say it back so bad, but obviously that’s coming.

Now my predictions for the future? Well since Kate was “horribly injured” stupid Josh is probably going to come in and save the day with all of his doctor skills. As much as I really don’t want that to happen, I would not put it past the writers. I could even see them having Kate not remember what Castle said right before she went unconscious. I mean, the girl had just been shot. She was definitely going into shock. So while I don’t expect there to be huge progress between them right away next season, I’m still happy Castle got his feelings out there. We finally got to hear him admit that he loves her, and more importantly, Castle got to hear himself admit it.

This episode was magnificent just like the entire season has been. I could not have expected anything better, and I am so pleased with what we got. This episode was a definite WIN. Do you guys agree? Did you love it?? Hate it?? (How could you hate it?) Chime in below!!

Oh and quick side note: Who do you think the captain sent those files to? People are probably assuming he sent them to Castle, but I’m not so sure. Castle showed up at the hanger because the captain called him, not because he had seen the files. But then again the creator did say that Castle will know more about the murder come season 4, so maybe he did get those files after all. Unfortunately we won’t know until September. But until then just remember these four words "I love you Kate."

Why Shouldn't I Eat The Soup? : Review of HIMYM Season 6 Finale 'Challenge Accepted'

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: 

1. Ted got to push the button to destroy the Arcadian
2.  Marshall had his dream interview (which I actually think went rather well…vomiting aside)
3.  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!!

I'll have a mohito and you'll have a no seat ho!: Review of HIMYM 6x22 'The Perfect Cocktail'

Oh HIMYM…how I love you so. And although my love is unconditional…well let’s just say last night’s episode wasn’t my favorite.

This entire season has been brilliant. Most episodes have contained a wonderful mixture of comedy and drama, something that is rare for a sitcom. And while each episode has continued to knock it out of the park, sadly I don’t think last night’s episode continued that trend. To me “Perfect Cocktails” felt kind of like an episode out of season 5--heartless and just kind of silly. Don’t get me wrong, I love Barney & Marshall. I love Lily & Robin. I’m happy we got an episode that focused on both of those friendships, but I feel like the writers could have created better storylines.

It makes sense that Barney & Marshall would have a feud over Marshall quitting his job (especially considering both men are emotional right now due to some pretty deep daddy issues). But the way the fight played out, it just didn’t feel that believable. It seemed like the writers were trying to force an unrealistic fight down our throats just for the sake of comedy. I mean yeah Marshall might be pissed that his former boss trashed him to a prospective employer, and he might want to rebel against GNB because of that, but would he really go against Ted? I’m sorry, but I just don’t see that happening.

If there is one thing Marshall is--it’s loyal. He cares so much for his family and friends (especially when it comes to Ted). So even though Marshall might be “emotionally struggling” right now, this felt very out of the blue to me.

Now it makes sense that Barney would act petty. Barney ALWAYS acts petty, but last night it just wasn’t funny. For most of the episode Barney & Marshall were drunk so their reactions were based mainly on what they had been drinking. While it’s interesting to see how certain drinks would affect them, it’s kind of silly to base a whole episode around it. By seeing those guys only act how their drinks “made them act” it took away from the individuality and creativity their characters usually exude. I just think that if the writers wanted to do a “fight” between the two they could have gone about it in either a funnier or a more serious way. This whole alcohol thing just seemed like an easy cop out for the two to express their feelings.

And then on top of it all, it turns out that Marshall & Barney drank too much and don’t even remember the night?? So everything we saw was pointless anyway? I’m sorry but that just wasn’t funny to me.

I thought Lily & Robin scheming to come up with drinks and “cross-referencing the effects” that the drinks would have on the boys was pretty funny. But it still just felt like filler to me. I dunno. Nothing was really laugh out loud funny in my opinion (Besides when Lily ordered a mojito and said that the booth stealing lady would be getting “no-seat-ho.” Now that line was full of win).

And while I didn’t like the main plot of this episode, the side plot bothered me even more. Okay by now we know for sure that Ted & Zoey aren’t going to last. There really isn’t any need for the audience to put any type of emotional investment into their relationship because well, it just isn’t going to go anywhere. So when Ted & Zoey started bickering about the Arcadian again last night, I thought “Okay here we go! Finally these two are getting closer to breaking up.” But no. Instead Zoey gives Ted this heartfelt story about how she grew up in the Arcadian which causes Ted to say that he loves her. What the hell?

After a season like season 5, the writers should realize that the audience loves HIMYM because of the story it tells. Even though it is clearly taking forever to find out who the mother is, the audience is able to handle it as long as the story keeps moving forward somehow. But to me last night didn’t move forward; in fact I think it moved backwards. We know Zoey & Ted won’t end up together so why are we going around in circles?

Okay, so while I really didn’t care for this episode there was one part that made me very happy: the return of the COCKAMOUSE. I love when TV shows make ancient callbacks, and the fact that they brought up something from season 1 last night just made me smile. When I saw that little rat scurry across the floor I started to say “Please let that be the cockamouse. Please let that be the cockamouse!” And when Ted confirmed it was indeed the cockamouse I was SUPER happy.

But sadly even the golden reference did not save this episode for me. When it comes down to it I am going to give this episode a LOSS. Yes, this season has been awesome, and it saddens me to do that, but hey not every episode can be gold. Hopefully next week the show will come back stronger than ever- and will set us up for a LEGENDARY finale.  What did you guys think?? Am I being too harsh?? Chime in below.