How I Met Your Mother

[Spark Of Spirit]

Nora's? He did, but left shortly after.

I thought he imagine going in, but didn't actually go through with it.

Unless he did later, I was watching a rerun.

[Avaitor]

I haven't seen the episode since it aired, so I could be wrong.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Nonetheless, it was a sad moment. And it was a pretty good episode.

[Avaitor]

The season finale airs tonight. Besides the little Erikson being born and Barney finally revealing to us who he's marrying (c'mon, Canada Day!), apparently we'll also get to see one of Ted's exes again, who'll set up the pieces for next season.

Y'no, I honestly dislike all of Ted's exes on the show, aside from Victoria. Even she I know isn't right for him though. Just look at their interaction when she tells him that she's going to Germany to study culinary arts. Intellectually and emotionally, they're on the same wavelengths, which is both a good, but ultimately, a bad thing. Ted needs a more Type-B person to balance his pretentiousness and immaturity when it comes to situations like these.

Stella is the next-most remembered ex of Ted, mostly since they almost got married. And while there were some very sweet moments, like the 2 minute date ("Thirteen" for the ultimate win), she really spat on Ted but good. When he asked her to move to the city from New Jersey, Stella laughed and gave her a list of reasons why this wouldn't happen. But after leaving Ted at the altar for her ex, she gladly moves to Staten Island for her man with no qualms at all. Then she comes to Ted to ask Tony to come back to her after he rightfully left her. And to top all of that off, Tony wrote a script for a romcom based off of his story... and makes Ted look like the Sheldrake to Tony and Stella's Baxter and Kubelik.

Then you have Zoey, his most recent long-term ex. Who was kinda always a bitch to begin with. You knew it wasn't going to work out, since she was out to stop Ted from completing his dream job, but even then, the whole thing was just stupid.

And Karen. Well, we were supposed to hate Karen in the first place. But still, for a first girlfriend, she's an awful choice. Sorry, bro.

As for all of his other exes? I barely remember any of them. Well, I remember Rachel Bilson, but not her character's name. I just remember cause, hey, Rachel Bilson's boobs. And also because her roommate will be the mother.

How tonight's going to turn out is beyond me, but I can tell that it will be a very curious event.

Also, a cute little nod to continuity that I adore from the show occurred in the previous episode. According to an earlier ep back in season 5, the last time Marshall ever smoked a cigarette was on the night his first son was born. We already know that this is going to be a boy, and look at what's Marshall's hand while he's still in Atlantic City with Barney.

[Avaitor]

I think I promised a post about the season after the finale aired, but I never delivered. I'm in the mood to do one now, so let me.

Season 7 of HIMYM proves that the writers still got it, but there are signs of weariness dripping in. I'd argue that the previous season was better, if only for the beaver song, but 7 does get points for giving 5 more purpose in its building up to the Barney and Robin relationship. Before it was probably the least substantial season overall.

I'll post some of my highlights from 7 plus the couple of things that irk me about it. But first, let's focus on some of the highlights.

-This was a very solid year for character development and growth within the cast. Marshall and Lily spent the season prepping up for their baby, while still trying to find time for their friends. It lead to them moving out of Manhattan, getting Lily's dad to stay with them for a while, and have the two decide what's important in life and what isn't as much. Meanwhile, we're getting closer to Barney and Robin's wedding day, as they spread out their wild oats before they realize that they are meant to be together. The brief fling they have midway through the season is bound to come back later. And Ted learns that giving up hope sucks, as he spends the season mostly by himself.

-GREAT drama. HIMYM has always been able to add some sincerely heartbreaking moments inbetween the laughs and romance, and this year is no exception. Nothing broke my heart more than Ted blasting "Highway to Hell" with a shitload of Christmas lights set up to please Robin after learning some news he may never find out about.

Nearly as heartbreaking is later on in the season, you hear Robin say that she lost dreams she didn't know she had. Damn.

-High Ted and Marshall. Hilarious stuff. I gotta get me a sandwich like theirs.

-The ducky tie. Tell me that you don't want one.

-Barney hooking up as the Terminator.

-"The Burning Beekeeper" might just make the overall top 10 funniest episodes. It's a laugh riot from start to finish.

-This and [urhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtAogFfnBpc&feature=related]this[/url].

-Best. Middle. Name. Ever.

And here's what I don't like.

-Single Ted. I think this might've been the first season where Ted isn't in a remotely serious relationship all season (I'm not counting the Slutty Pumpkin since hell, they probably don't count their fling themselves). A couple of flings aside, he's been single all year long, which would be fine, but I think considering the development that the other 4 characters had this year, Ted was the most pointless character of the show at this point. Since he is the main character and narrator, that is not a good thing. I'll chalk up Ted's period of isolation to be build-up before he meets the mother, but it's still kind of irritating to think about.

-That said, I also REALLY don't like how they brought back Ted's feelings towards Robin. They dated, they broke up, they became friends with benefits then gave up on that so Barney could date Robin, then those two broke up, and now they're finally cool... until one convo with Victoria makes Ted change his mind. We all know that AUNT Robin isn't going to be the mother, and their friendship spilt was largely pointless, so why it still happened is beyond me.

-Kevin was a dick.
"WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
"I love you, but idk, it's a bit sudden."
"Okay, we can w... WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
"I love you, but I can't have children."
"Okay... WILL YOU MARRY ME? WE CAN ADOPT!"
"Yes, but I don't want children. Period. I can't have them, and I don't want them."
"WILL YOU MARRY ME?"
"Kevin, I will marry you, but only if you can tell me that you'll be happy living a life without children to carry on your name."
*walks out on Robin*

-I think this will be more of a problem for next year, but since Quinn is going to star in the creators' new show on Fox, she won't have much time to appear on HIMYM. I know she'll appear in the season premiere, which takes place right after the finale, but I'm afraid that they'll rush into breaking her and Barney up as soon as they can before shooting the show, or we'll go for a long period of time without Quinn so we can't explore the relationship between them and get to their breakup. But eh, the writers have been able to surprise me before, so this might just be a needless nitpick for now.

[Avaitor]

So yeah, this happened.

[Avaitor]

I'm bumping tis again, because I just want to talk about how awesome Robin Scherbatsky is.

I rewatched "Symphony of Illumination" the other day, which is easily the best episode of this recent season. It's by all rights a perfect episode. The sneak attack at the end is a little obvious, but I don't think it ruins the rest of the episode and Robin's narration. Marshall's sideplot actually adds a lot to his and Lily's storyline this season, as well as the further aging of his character. Barney and Ted added a lot to the episode in terms of subtle comic and story moments. And the dramatic elements are done perfectly.

I especially think it's rewarding to see how far Robin's character has grown from the first few times we've seen her all the way up to this point. Obviously, the same relationship-avoiding, baby-scared Scherbatsky isn't as reserved as she used to be, but this episode shows that not only is she thinking differently than she has been for ages, but that she's willing to fully change her tune. Robin has second thoughts about raising kids at a point in this episode, and later in the season, she even reveals that she's lost dreams that she didn't even know she had. It's a depressing storyline that wraps itself up as quietly and neatly as it should be.

We also get to see how Ted and Barney have changed her over the years in this very season. With Ted, Robin had what was probably her first serious relationship and revealed shades of herself that no one else knew up to that point. Even today, they still hold (or held, since they lose touch at a certain part of the season) a strong bond together. As for Barney, it seems like Robin's been able to understand and even tolerate certain quirks about her significant others that she normally wouldn't be able to before, and have found certain sparks in each other that only they're able to discover. While their first attempt at a relationship was a bit of disaster, I think they needed some time apart before they're ready to be with each other. The few attempts this season prove that they still definitely have sparks, but still need more time to discover themselves before getting together.

Barney has already found himself over the years, and much has been spoken about his development. With Robin, she still has daddy issues to take care of and some relationship quirks to null over before she's fully ready to commit. But she's had the most career changes of all the characters, worked hard to get where she is and keep her visa, and has already started to make a name for herself in journalism. She's been fighting over her resentment towards how her father raised her, and while she has become increasingly and rightfully feminine since her hockey days, Robin still has her occasional guilty pleasure passions, like gun shooting, a nice cigar and scotch, and yes, the odd game of hockey or two. And she's far beyond her Robin Sparkles days, as much as Barney tries to pull her back in. We've been able to learn why she's had such a strong resentment towards babies, see her have a chance to be a good mom (or aunt), and even hold her cool during childbirth. On television, no less!

In short, Robin kicks ass, and I think she's as well-developed as Barney and equal in terms of character. I also think that this most recent season belonged to her, despite Marshall furthering the advancement of his life goals, he and Lily setting goals for their future, and Barney's settling down. And there's still room for even more for the character, which will continue to prove my belief.

[Avaitor]

Yet another bump to this thread.

But this time I come saying that this show seriously has one of the best pilots of all time. You get so many great scenes in the first episode, a lot more than you'd get in most other pilots, and as an introduction to the core 5 characters, it's very strong. I just watched it and was surprised at how strong it still is.

[Avaitor]

Did anyone else watch tonight?

Cause we just met the mother.

[Avaitor]

Please tell me someone watched it tonight.

[Silverstar]

So does this mean the series is over? Forgive my ignorance, as I've only ever seen 1 episode of HIMYM, but isn't the main shtick on the show the mystery of who the kids' mom is?

[Spark Of Spirit]

This just got added to Netflix here.

[Avaitor]

So does this mean the series is over? Forgive my ignorance, as I've only ever seen 1 episode of HIMYM, but isn't the main shtick on the show the mystery of who the kids' mom is?

Oh, what I mentioned earlier?

Well, we did see the mother in the season premiere. As in, everything but her face, including her bass and the fabled yellow umbrella, and Ted didn't get to meet her either. The scene was pretty much just setting up for the meeting which will happen at the end of the season, regardless if it's the last or not.

[Avaitor]

Well then.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm really surprised this has been on so long.

But then I look at the other comedies on the channel and it makes total sense. They have nothing else.