I Fell in Love With You Again Himym
The date was marked on every fan's calendar. March 31st was the date in which How I Met Your Mother would come to an end after 9 years of laughter and tears. On the following day, overseas, people were going through their days covering their ears and avoiding all kinds of social media until they could get home and finally watch the episode. At least I did.
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!
All the speculation was true. The Mother was going to die.
And somehow, it wasn't the biggest surprise in the finale. Maybe because people already toyed with the idea for several weeks before the episode aired or maybe because it was so short-lived. And, weirdly enough, this wasn't what made us cry (the most). We cried when we found out that Robin and Barney got divorced, when Robin left the party leaving Lily with tears in her eyes, when Barney held her daughter for the first time and when the series ended the same way it started: with Ted, Robin, and the blue french horn.
DADDY'S HOME
I discussed several times Barney's character development during this last season: we finally found out what he does for a living and why, we saw him burn and give up The Playbook and we saw him being a cheesy romantic just for Robin. But all that seemed to disappear after he got divorced. Barney was back on what he used to do, just picking up random girls at bars. "I know there was a time when it seems like I was capable of going the distance but… If it wasn't gonna happen with Robin, then it's just not gonna happen with anyone".
But it happened, in the shape of what Barney least expected: a daughter. Ellie was the turning point for Barney. He stopped hitting on girls (he even rejected them!) and he had to be back home before 10pm. We don't know who "number 31" is (what if that's what How I Met Your Dad is about?) and we have to guess that they're not a couple. But what it's clear is that this is what Barney needed to settle down. Not just the purest of loves, but a responsibility.
LILY AND MARSHALL, SAME OLD STUFF
Marshall and Lily have been together since the beginning of the series. They're known for being like Ted's parents and Lily is known for being the anchor of the group. Always making sure that everyone's OK and that the gang keeps hanging out over the years.
Lily and Marshall's relationship is something that has hardly been touched except for their fallout in S2, their marriage and their kids. Their relationship and lives advanced much quicker than Ted, Robin and Barney's, which is probably why there wasn't much left to see for them in the finale. Except for baby number 3 (who doesn't have a name), which didn't impact us as much considering we had just found out about Daisy. However, it was nice to see that they finally decided to move out from the apartment, for good. This gave us one of the saddest scenes of the episode, when we saw the apartment completely empty, similar to the way Friends ended.
IT WAS ROBIN ALL ALONG
After getting divorced, Robin is as busy and successful as she can be. However, she's always travelling which translates to her not being able to see the gang as often. Not like she feels really comfortable around them anymore: "You know what the gang is to me, Lily? Here's what the gang is. The gang is a married couple who I never see anymore about to have their third kid, it's my ex-husband hitting on slutty cops right in front of me and it's the guy I probably should have ended up with with the beautiful mother of his child".
This ties with Robin saying that maybe Ted is the one he should be marrying in 9×22. We know Robin loved Ted once, but she wasn't ready for commitment back then. And they had that bet about getting married if they were single when they were 40. So we can guess that Robin eventually said "yes" and that there was finally a happy ever after for Ted and Robin.
So it all made sense. Those last scenes were shot in 2005 and everything we've seen since then has been according to that initial plan. Ted taking all that time to explain to his kids how he met their mother is one of the main things that people complained or joked about. But now we know that it was completely justified. After all, the series began when Ted and the gang meet, also kind of similar to how Friends began when Rachel joined the group. And it's not just that.The show has always revolved around Robin and the way Ted feels about her. Sometimes it even got tiring. It doesn't anymore now that we know what happened. Even if we saw Ted letting her go (like in Sunrise or The end of the Aisle), the show still tried to make it clear one time after another that Robin was something else to Ted. And there was also that bet between Lily and Marshall (according to Alyson Hannigan, the scene in which Lily pays Marshall back was cut!).
FAN REACTION
People both loved and hated the finale for the same reason: it was realistic. People lose touch, people get divorced, people die and unexpected things happen all the time, that's life. And that's what this show has always been about. A group of 5 friends growing up and evolving together, come whatever.
The drama also came from the shipping community. Swarkles shippers were finally so happy and contented that their ship was canon and married, that the divorce was like a slap in the face. And if that wasn't enough, Robin ended up with Ted. At least Mosbatsky shippers are happy!
Shipping aside, one of the things that people have complained more about is the fact that the characters aren't true to themselves. "They spend all Season 9 trying to make a point: Robin and Barney love each other, Barney has left his old ways behind…". Yes. But people also forget something: though it might seem unbelievable, Season 9 took place in just ONE WEEKEND, while the season finale took place in 17 YEARS. That's even more time that we had seen until now, which was 8 years. And we saw our characters changing a lot during that time. So any changes that the characters may go through in the series finale, though it might look odd to us, are justified.
The reason I didn't give this episode a perfect 10/10 is due to some details like Barney suddenly knocking a girl up after having slept with more than 200 women, or the lack of explanation on Lily and Marshall's future.
FINAL RATING: 9.8/10
It's been a hell of a ride. This is one of those TV shows that we'll just have to rewatch in the future now that we know what's up.How I Met Your Mother wasn't a regular sitcom that was just made for laughs. It was a journey full of life-lessons. A story about five friends struggling to survive and find love in New York City but always being able to rely on each other. But it also taught us that, in life, not everything is as wonderful as it seems. But we smiled, we laughed and we enjoyed every moment. And it was legendary.
It's finally here. There's onlyONEepisode left of How I Met Your Mother.Can you believe that?! Last Forever is gonna be a 1 hour special that promises to make us laugh and cry like we've never done before. We've been following Ted, Robin, Lily, Marshall and Barney's adventures since 2005 but now it's time to say goodbye.
How can we make it (even more) special? Here's a list of things you can do to prepare for the big series finale!
- Re-watch some of your favourite episodes or marathon all Season 9!It's very hard to do it in just 3 days but the idea is to soak yourself in HIMYM as much as you can for a few days. It'll be also very useful in case they mention something or someone you could have forgotten about!
- "Whatever you do in this life, it's not legendary, unless your friends are there to see it". Barney Stinson dixit. Do you have other friends who also watch the show? Why don't you gather to watch it all together? Making it an actual event might give the finale that extra sense of finality. Also, you'll remember this day easier when you have actually watched it with someone else. You could have a little party in which you could all wear suits, listen to The mall and drink beer!
- Have fun with the How I Met Your Mother wiki! Lots of information and interesting details!
- Take a quiz to know which HIMYM character you are! Or play a game! Here are some cool ones: 1 2 3 4 5
- Snacks, snacks, snacks! I always prepare lots of snacks for season finales. Popcorn, pizza, Coke and beer are popular choices. But if you wanna go further, here's a couple blogs with lots tasty and easy to prepare recipes! 1 2
- Rewatch videos! Interviews, bloopers, behind the scenes…
- PREPARE LOTS OF KLEENEX AND ENJOY!
We're there. We're at the end of the road in the How I Met Your Mother story. After last episode, we've only got one episode left, the big finale. The End of the Aisle is the last step towards the end. It's Barney and Robin's wedding and it's time for our characters to get some resolution for their problems and closure for their stories.WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.
It's only 32 minutes before the wedding (this has been a loooooong and eventful weekend!) and Robin finally has her bride freakout. Barney is nervous too, and doubts and questions start emerging the surface. But Ted and the Mother are there to make things better. Meanwhile, Lily and Marshall update their vows.
TED REJECTS ROBIN
When Robin has her (un)expected freakout, Ted is the one who's there for her trying to calm her down. After all, Robin has always considered Ted to be his best friend. What bothers Robin is that she didn't find the locket, the one that she had been talking about since the end of last season and expected her true future husband to find for her. And we all know who got through all that trouble to find it during this season: Ted.
Despite Ted's attempts at pretending it was Barney the one who found it, Robin doesn't buy it because their stories don't match. I was expecting her not to believe it basically because it was a bit suspicious that Barney would suddenly show up with the locket after she had just told Ted about it but whatever.
This leads to Robin reasoning that maybe she should be marrying Ted after all cause he's the one who seems do the biggest things for her while Barney's achievements are all built from lies. Robin already had problems with Barney's lies in the past: when he lied to propose to her or when he lied about having burnt The Playbook. "You know what legendary means? Not real".
But then Ted does something that we would have thought unbelievable a couple seasons ago: he rejected Robin.
Ted: I am not your future, Barney is.
Robin: Should I be with the guy who fins me my locket? The guy who steals me the blue french horn? I mean, look me in the eye and tell me why shouldn't I be with that guy?
Ted: Because I'm not that guy anymore.(…)
Ted: Love doesn't make sense. I mean, you can't logic your way into or out of it. Love is totally nonsensical. But we have to keep doing it, or else we're lost and love is dead and humanity should just pack it in. Because love is the best thing we do.
Finally Ted, finally. It's not just that he tells the audience that he's done with Robin (he's done that many times before), but he actually proves it. Love doesn't make sense but he has to keep doing it, he has to keep trying it and that's what he's done all these years. Because love is worth it and without it, we'd all be lost.
MARSHALL AND LILY UPDATE THEIR MARRIAGE
Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily try to help Barney write his vows, which are disastrous. Barney complains and replies that they didn't exactly keep their perfect vows. Lily and Marshall realise that this is true and update their vows, making them more realistic.
Marshall: I vow to keep updating (these vows) as we go. Because one set of vows it can't cover a lifetime of growing and changing with you. Of raising children with you. Falling more and more in love with you every day, Lily Aldrin, which is what I vow to do for the rest of my life.
The problem with their original vows is that they were too vague, difficult and perfect all at the same time. They realise that they aren't perfect and neither is their relationship. And they decide to keep updating their vows as they go because they will changing together.
AND IT WAS LEGENDARY
Even though Ted's speech is very moving, Robin is still freaking out. She runs away locking Ted inside the room and then bumps into the Mother. Robin was the last character (besides Ted) to meet the Mother, and it feels like it makes sense. The Mother just tells Robin to close her eyes and take three deep breaths. Robin does so and when she opens her eyes, Barney is in front of her. Barney, who's witnessed the renewal of Lily and Marshall's vows, leans the lesson and gives us another precious moment for the Barney/Robin couple:
Barney: I've decided to make only one vow to you because it's the only one that really counts. Robin Scherbatsky, from this day forward, I am always gonna be honest with you. Cause I love you.
Barney tells Robin that Ted got that locket for her, even though she already knew it. This time it's not what he says, it's what he does. Our characters are no longer talking about what they think or what they plan to do, they are taking action.
Up in the aisle, Robin and Barney finally get married (not before Marshall wastes his last slap trying to calm him down making things even more final *weeps*).
"It was a twisting, turning road that led to the end of the aisle, and not everything along the way was perfect. To be honest, not everything to follow would be perfect either. But what is? Here's the secret, kids: none of us can vow to be perfect. In the end, all we can do is promise to love each other with everything we've got. Because love is the best thing we do".
Bottom line, Barney says goodbye to his lies, Robin says goodbye to herfear of commitment, Lily and Marshall give up their high expectations of being the perfect couple and Ted gives up his old-self. It's been a long bumpy road and they've all changed and evolved. But that's what life is about, isn't it?
FINAL RATING: 9
Check out the LAST EVER promo for How I Met Your Mother: Last Forever airs on next week, March 31st:
The CBS has released promotional photos of an upcoming How I Met Your Mother episode for the last time. Last Forever, written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, will bean hour long episode divided in 2 parts, something we didn't see since the Season 7 finale. This double episode will air on March 31st.
And here's the description for Last Forever:
Ted finally finishes telling his kids the story of how he met their mother.
Wow! Shocker! We'll just have to guess that everything that happens is too spoilery to even hint at it. Either that, or the crew are real trolls! Doesn't make us less excited of course!
Anyway, here are the pictures!
Thoughts?
How I Met Your Mother has started heating up the audience and the fans due to certain moments from last night's episode, Vesuvius. It's the day of the wedding. Ted helps Barney pick up a suit while Lily tries to get Robin to have a "it's my wedding" freakout like every other bride in the world. WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.
The episode starts with the usual scene between future Ted and the Mother. We're used to seeing her now and we love learning more and more about her with every episode. But there's some things that we might have learnt in this episode that we didn't like that much. Let's proceed.
BARNEY AND THE NEW SUIT
Barney and suits. Suits and Barney. Along with Marshall and Lily, probably the longest relationship in this series.
Barney is struggling because he cant' seem to find the proper suit for his big day so he gets Ted to help him through the process. Barney says that he had had a special suit tailored for his wedding but that he doesn't like it: "it was uncomfortable, and itchy and completely wrong". This suit is symbolism for Barney's new life. It's something that he isn't used to and that's why it's still uncomfortable. It's something that terrifies him and makes him feel all weird, wrong.It doesn't fit him. So they go through his past suits, the ones that he knows. They're full of past hook ups and stories, things Barney doesn't do anymore. Ted, who sees the problem, gets Barney to try the new suit again in front of the mirror.
Barney: This feels weird.
Ted: That's because it's new. It's a suit that's never been worn before, a suit you never dreamed you'd wear . All of this suit's memories are still ahead of it. (…) She walks down the aisle, you say your vows, you go to the reception, you have your first dance. And before you know it, just like magic, you realize, it's a perfect fit.
Barney: You're right, Ted. This is the one. Thanks.
Are we talking about the suit or about Robin?
ROBIN AND THE NO-BRIDE FREAKOUT
Lily is so excited about this wedding she even made a special memory book called "Barney & Robin: Lovers forever and ever and ever. A love story". But she is upset that Robin isn't feeling it. Brides are supposed to get super stressed at everything during their weddings and the days previous to their weddings. But we know Robin is different. And we find her playing hockey with her sister Katie (good to see her back!) and watching the sequel of "The Wedding Bride". In case you don't remember, this was a movie that Tony made about Stella leaving Ted in the altar, in which Ted is the bad guy instead of Tony. This is a movie that Ted hated and forbid their friends to watch. However, we soon find Lily, Marshall and Robin enjoying the sequel in Robins' room. And we soon learn too, when Marshall is annoyed at the fact that he appears in it as Narshall, that Ted actually watched it on the plane. So he's really not that upset about it anymore.
There's only one "but" in here and it's about continuity. Ted asks Barney "you brought more than one tie, right?", "I was trying to pack light", replies Barney. However, in 7×01 we see Barney struggling to decide which tie should he wear for his wedding. But meh, we can forgive them that one!
Lastly, in the end of the episode we see Robin actually running into her mom in the corridor. We knew that Robin was upset at her mom not coming to her wedding. So yay for her being there and us learning more from the Scherbatsky family!
TED, THE MOTHER AND THE LINE THAT STARTED A FIRE IN THE FANDOM
Like we saw in the beginning, this whole story is told by Ted to the Mother (although in the end it's Ted telling the kids about telling the Mother about this story, UGH!). Ted and the Mother feel like a married couple: they know every single story about every single thing that has happened in their lives. One of the things that have been criticised about this show over and over again is the fact that it has taken 9 SEASONS to explain how one person met another. Even the kids in the story complain about how much Ted can ramble on about meaningless details (are they meaningless, though?). This is also the charm of the show. The show is, after all, called "How I Met Your Mother". But now we learn that this is a part of Ted's personality. It's not only the way that the writers have decided to tell the story butit's also something that makes Ted who he is.
The Mother: I just worry about you. I don't want you to be the guy who lives in his stories. Life only moves forward.
The Mother is telling him that he can't live in the past and that life goes on. This was 2024, so why is he still doing it in 2030? Unless it was a very important story…
Robin meeting her mother led to the Mother asking "What mother is gonna miss her daughter's wedding?" followed by a very sad Ted who looks like he's about to cry. "No, come on", she says, trying to comfort him. WRITERS WHAT ARE YOU DOING.
But there's more! When Ted is talking about the next time the gang would all be together, he says: "And it's funny. In a moment like that, when what's really happening is too intense to deal with, sometimes it's best…". "To leave it unspoken", finishes the Mother, "and just enjoy each other's company instead".
So yeah, my money is on the Mother passing away and that being the reason why Ted is telling all this to their kids. Either that or the writers really like to torture us and watch us cry. After Sunrise and Rally, this episode was really strong and started to prepare us for all the sadness and nostalgia we're about to feel in the following weeks.
FINAL RATING: 8'7
Check out the promo for the next episode, Daisy, airing on March 10th:
How I Met Your Mother is back from the 2-week winter olympics break with only 6 episodes left until the big finale. 5 now. Rally revolves around Barney's hangover and the vows Ted, Robin, Marshall and Lily make not to get so drunk ever again. Except they might break those vows.WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.
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The first scene, something that is getting usual, presents a scene of Ted and the Mother. It's New Year's Eve and they're in a car talking about getting drunk. "You're gonna be so hangover", says the Mother. Ted denies that mentioning he once made a vow. We are reminded that Barney left his room and got drunk in the past episodes. Now they have a task on their hands: to wake Barney up before 2 hours when they will have to take the family wedding pictures at the lighthouse. But he's sooooo dead to the world Ted actually got to take a bad photo of him!
Marshall is the first to vow that he will NEVER EVER get this drunk again. A sentence we've all said at some point and that we all know how it ends. We flashforward to 2022 to see that Marshall, the new NY State Supreme Court judge, did actually break his law. Shocker!
Ted reminds the others that the only one who might have the solution to their problem is Barney himself. Over the years, Barney had invented a pretty disgusting looking beverage that seemed to work like a charm when it came to dealing with his friends hangovers. Unfortunately, they don't know the final secret ingredient of the drink. So while Lily and Robin think of all the possible ways to wake Barney up so he can tell them the final ingredient, Ted and Marshall go down the bar to try and gather the rest of the ingredients.
Lily and Robin try everything: (accidentally) throwing him down the stairs, putting his head in a cube full of ice, making him he watch a wild roaring bear, threatening with cutting his tie… And then Lily promises never to get that drunk again. Of course she does, when Marvin goes to college. Same with future Robin. Also, the writers really scared us there with that baby!
The search for grease, one of the ingredients, leads to Ted discovering the heaven that is bacon, something that had been deprived to him all his life. And just like that, Ted is lost.
Robin and Lily try making out, something Lily has wished for all series long. And, of course, it works. Barney wakes up for a brief seconds to tell them that the last ingredient is… nothing. The Elixir is a lie. "I love you guys", he says before passing out again. Robin explains that he actually lied to support them in their worst possible moments. Another one of those of those "Barney actually has a heart" moments.
"Barney made up the Stinson's Hangover Fixer Elixir so we would all believe that we could rally. I mean, even though it's fake, it worked".
So they eventually end up doing The Weekend at Barney's, something that is really cool to see before we say goodbye to the show. Except they don't. An hour later, Barney is back as alive as ever and thrilled to hear the story of his latest success. But it was all that: just a lie.
Ted is the last one to vow. We go back to New Year's Day, the day before the opening scene. We see the Mother with a huge hangover and Ted gives her the Hungover Fixer Elixir, lying to her. It was really nice to see their kids, Penny and Luke, as little kids.
The last scene shows Lily and Robin down at the bar addressing the elephant in the room: they kissed. I was always kind of mad that they treated Lily's supposed attraction towards Robin (maybe even potential bisexuality?) as a long-running gag, just a joke. It's something that we're very used to seeing in TV shows but that it doesn't stop from being offensive towards bisexual people. If you're interested in this topic, you can read this article. In this case, after they kiss, Lily stops finding it exciting while Robin, who never showed any interest in kissing Lily, seems to be really into the idea of repeating the kiss. Not gonna happen, according to Lily, "it felt weird". And just like that, the potential bisexuality of Lily is supposed to be gone. It's "just a phase".
This was an OK episode. Some things were addressed and closed: Lily and Robin's sexual tension and The Weekend at Barney's. But I expect things to really take a step forwards next week as we only have 5 episodes left. The concept of the episode, just like in Sunrise, was alright: the "sometimes you have to lie to make others rally" and the "we will never change". But, like I said, I expect sh*t to hit the fan in the next episodes. So start getting tons of tissues and ice cream for what's coming next!
FINAL RATING: 7
Here's the promo for next episode, Vesuvius, airing March 3rd:
As we got close to the big finale, Sunrise is an episode made to helps us remember Ted's past love stories before he gets to meet the Mother. And the person who accompanies Ted in this memory exercise is no other than Robin, "the love of his life". Meanwhile, Barney gets drunk and tries to pass his wisdom on to two young men he meets and Marshall and Lily solve their marital problems.
WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.
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Before starting a new journey you first have to make sure you've got everything ready: you've packed all your things, you've said your goodbyes, and you've made sure you haven't forgotten anything. But starting something new also implies leaving some older stuff behind because you're not gonna need it anymore. And the same can be said about life. In this episode, we see our characters doing exactly that. And they do it at night so they can be ready for sunrise. This "letting go" theme is divided in 3 subplots: Ted and Robin at the beach, Barney at the strip club and Marshall and Lily in the bedroom.
The main plot (and the one that had been promoted most by the show) was Ted and Robin's conversation at the beach. Robin lists Ted's Top 5 Best and Worst relationships, which brings us the re-appearance of many ex-girlfriends such as Stella (Sarah Chalke) and Victoria (Ashley Williams). It was nice to see them again, if only to give them some kind of closure. But we all know Ted is (has been) in love with Robin ever since the beginning of the series. And in case somebody thought that was all forgotten, Ted makes sure to make it very clear when talking to Jeanette:
I'm in love with her, OK? If you're looking for the word that means caring about someone beyond all rationality and wanting them to have everything they want, no matter how much it destroys you, it's "love". And when you love someone you just, you… you don't stop. Ever. Even when people roll their eyes or call you crazy. Even then. Especially then! You just- You don't give up! Because if I could give up, if I could just, you know, take the whole world's advice and find someone else, that wouldn't be love. That would be some other disposable thing that it's not worth fighting for.
The end of last episode showed us Barney disappearing from his bedroom in the middle of the night. Barney ends up getting drunk and finding two young boys in the middle of the street: Kyle (Nick Kocher) and Justin (Brian McElhaney). Barney decides to teach them everything he knows on the art of being awesome and getting lucky with the ladies: how to wear a proper suit or how to introduce someone with the classic "haaaaaave you met X?" in what looks like a summary of everything we've seen from Barney during all these years. He even goes as far as to give them the Play Book! This shows us Barney finally letting go of his old ways (which doesn't mean he's gonna stop being his awesome self) before the sun comes up and he marries Robin. Barney's ways don't die, they just passed on to the next generation.
Last episode also had showed what was probably the biggest fight Marshall and Lily have had in the last years. While Lily left, Marshall had a conversation with ghost-Lily, ghost-2006!Lily and ghost-dad. 2013!Lily tells him that he hasn't won the argument because there's no winning or losing in relationships. Because ghost-2013!Lily doesn't really exist, this was actually what Marshall was telling himself: it's another journey of self-discovering and letting go. Marshall had to let go of those competitive feelings and that San Francisco rancour before he could make a decision to stay in New York with his family.
Just like Ted let go of the balloon when he was a kid and had to find a new friend in Marshall (a bit of a stretch but you get the point), he has now let go of his love for Robin before he can get the chance to open himself to a new love: the Mother. Barney has let go of his old flirting days to face his new life with Robin. And Marshall and Lily have let their fights and competition behind to face their new life as a married couple who talk about things instead of deciding for each other behind their backs.
People have been commenting that this episode was kind of boring compared to last week'sHow Your Mother Met Me. It wasn't as exciting simply due to the fact that, while the other episode showed as a new character and a new story, this episode didn't show us anything new. This has led fans to also comment that it was "repetitive". And it was. We saw things we already knew and nothing new was presented. However, this episode was necessary because we needed to let go of certain subplots and past characters and relationships before we can accompany Ted in this new journey. We're getting closer to the finale and all loose threads have to be perfectly tied up. And that means all romantic relationships Ted has had for the past 9 years had to end.
FINAL RATING: 7'5/10
Here's the description for next episode, Rally, airing February 24th:
"When Barney suffers from the world's worst hangover the morning of his wedding, the gang tries to figure out the far-fetched ingredients to concoct the Stinson Hangover Fixer Elixir" (Source)
How I met your mother celebrates its 200th episode with a heartbreaking and emotional episode about the Mother and her backstory: How your mother met me. The show dedicates the whole 20 minutes to tell us what has been happening in these last 9 years to the Mother and why she wasn't ready for Ted until the present. WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS.
Despite "not having big present" for the past 8 seasons, The Mother is a very BIG part of the show. In fact, looking at the name of the show, it's the whole reason this show exists in the first place. It's not surprising then to see what the show has done to celebrate this occasion: chang the opening titles. The opening was exactly the same style as the classic one, but only this time it featured photos of the Mother with her friends. This helps the viewer to see the Mother in a way very similar to Ted and its friends. And this idea is reinforced when it turns out that the Mother had been attending a bar called MacLaren's too. Only this one, was located in the East Side.
The Mother's backstory is quite tragic since her boyfriend, Max, died in the day she turned 21. Before he passed away, she gave her a ukelele with a note that read "So your breakfast doesn't need to sing a capella. Love, Max". Something that doesn't make much sense until we see the Mother singing a song using her English muffins. Since that day, the Mother has been unable to fall in love again, much to her roomate's disappointment.
There's two things the show has been known for: their story-telling ability with the use of flashbacks and flashforwards, and musical numbers. None of these things lacked in this episode. The story of the Mother was nicely tied up with the story we've come to know: how she lost her yellow umbrella in that pub and then it "mysteriously" came back to her appartment, how she was in Ted's classroom when he taught Architecture 101 and how that's where she met her new roommate (the student Ted dated). It's surprising to see that, even though Ted hasn't known the Mother yet in the present, the Mother had already seen (and liked) Ted when she saw him entering the classroom. She even shares his sense of humour by laughing at his lame "shell fish" joke!
The Mother started dating Louis (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), but she wasn't in love. He didn't even get her humour when she sang her English muffin songs! When he proposed to her, she had to take a moment to talk with Max (who she believed was in Heaven) in what probably was one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the season so far.
"I think that I have been holding myself back from falling in love again. And I think it's because I can't let you go. But you're not here anymore so, I have to ask this. Would it be OK if I moved on?"
But it doesn't matter what she tells Max, because once she enters the room she realises that she doesn't really love Louis and breaks up with him (something that we had already guessed). Louis was clearly just a replacement for Max, someone she felt obliged to date due to everyone else's pressure. The Mother is actually as lost as Ted is at the moment. And it does make sense that she wasn't ready for him. Not just yet. The musical number comes when, once she's settled in her hotel room for the wedding, she takes her ukelele and starts singing byLa vie en rose by Edith Piaf in the balcony. It's really nice to get to hear Cristin Milloti's lovely voice. The song also follows the current situation of our characters: Marshall and Lily's fight and Robin and Barney trying to sleep the day before the wedding. And Ted. Lonely Ted who's sitting in the balcony next to hers, listening to her song and thinking about his desperate situation.
"Kids, I must have heard your mom's rendition of "La Vie en Rose" a million times over the years. Every night when she tucked you in, for instance. But that performance, that first night I ever herd her sing, that one will always be my favorite"
While we're still brushing our tears away, Ted enters the room explaining what had just happened to Barney leaving us with a cliff-hanger: Barney is gone. Guessing that's a cliché that had to be played: either the groom or the bride freaks out and disappears before the wedding. Barney's arc might be finished, but Barney and Robin's doesn't seem to be.
Overall thoughts? This was an excellent episode. And it is an episode that we needed. We needed to know the Mother's side of the story and we needed a whole episode for that. And what better than having her telling it on episode number 200? How your mother met me helped us understand who the Mother is, why we haven't seen her until now and why she's the right one for Ted. I already love her. And if you don't by now, you probably won't.
Final Rating: 9.5/10
Next episode is gonna be called "Sunrise" and will premiere on February 3rd.
How I met your mother keeps making its way to the big finale (only 16 hours left until the wedding now!) by revealing more and more about its characters and their relationships. Unpause, the 15th episode of the season, is full of surprises, revelations and emotional moments about the characters that we have learned to love along the last 9 years. WARNING: This review contains SPOILERS!
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The episode starts with a flashforward of Ted and The Mother in bed. The Mother is pregnant and Ted reminds us of his mother's rule: "nothing good can happen after 2 A.M."
Back in the present, we see Barney, Robin, Ted, Marshall and Lily (in what we could call the MacLarens' of this season) embarrassing Ted with some of his childhood memories that Marshall has collected when suddenly Barney stalks talking like Jabba the Hutt from Return of the Jedi. Ted explains us that Barney has different levels of drunkeness, and this is one of them. But little did they know that they'd discover a new level that night: the level of not being able to lie. While Lily and Marshall decide to go their room to "unpause", Ted and Robin stay and try to take this opportunity to find out everything they always wanted to know about Barney. The most important question was "what do you do for a living?", and Barney replies, as always: "… Please".
And this is how we learn the nature of Barney's job. Going back to the early days of Barney, when he was a hippy who worked at a coffee shop and got his girlfriend stolen by a businessman, we learn that Barney applied to a job where that man worked. What did he have to do? "Please", akka "provide legal exculpation and sign everything". So Barney was telling us the truth all along! Actually, Barney has planned to actually get that man arrested after he gets married so he can get actual revenge for having stolen his girlfriend.
Lily tells Marshall that they're gonna have long overdue sex before they unpause. Marshall, who tries to soothe things, challenges himself to have the best sex night ever. This leads to some really funny musical sequences in which Marshall tries to, let's say, "accomplish his mission in bed".
But when Lily wakes up and actually says "unpause", it all goes to hell. And this time we can say that it was pretty much due to the fact that Marshall said some things that I'm sure he regret as soon as they left his mouth. It was already bad enough that he qualified Lily's dream of "clearly just a hobby", but bringing San Francisco (which happened 7 years ago) was a low blow. But probably the worst thing that Marshall said was "what if you had found success in San Francisco? How do I know you would've come back to me? Are Marvin and I and any other future children we may have just some consolation prize?". Not cool, Marshall, not cool.
The second thing that Robin has wanted to know for all season was wether there would be a "ring bear" or a "ring bearer" at the wedding. Barney assures Robin that there'll be a ring bearer in fact (Trevor Hudson, an adorable guy according to him), and Robin happily goes to sleep. But last scene of the episode is someone dragging a chain from what seems to be a dark cell saying "come on, Trevor Hudson. It's feeding time". Which indeed fuels the idea that the ring bearer will be, in fact, a ring bear.
Ted: OK I've got one last question for you and I can't believe I haven't asked it yet: dude, you're getting married tomorrow, how are you doing?
Barney: Good. I mean, I'm a little nervous, but I love Robin more than I've ever loved anyone and I want to do everything I can to make her happy. For a long time, deep down, I felt sort of broken but I don't feel that way anymore. Robin, along with the idea that vengance will soon be mine, has made me 100% awesome.
And so, Barney's story is complete (or looks like it is). I was actually quite surprised that they already concluded his character development when there's still 9 episodes left. But, nevertheless, it's a sign that HIMYM is getting to an end and that all the threads have to be slowly but surely tied together.
In the last minutes of the episode, we see Lily making a phone-call to a mysterious person asking him/her to pick her up because she's had a huge fight with Marshall. I'm pretty sure that person was The Mother.
And that theory is reinforced when, after that, we see future Ted and The Mother leaving the place because she is in labor. That's when we realise that The Mother is actually pregnant with their second child, as Ted is holding their daughter Penny.
Ted: " 2 A.M. It's a good rule. But every rule has an exception. And for us, that exception was you, Luke".
So we've finally learned the names of the children: Penny and Luke. Could the next step be learning the name of The Mother?
Rating of the episode: 8/10
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