CorinaWrites

Welcome back, How I Met Your Mother! It felt like you were away for a while, and you took some time getting back into your groove, but last night was classic HIMYM fun. Nothing was overplayed, and everything tied together, and our characters showed actual development. Huzzah! Today I think I will organize my review by character, just for funzies…

Ted: I’ve said it before – I think Ted is hilarious. It’s the understated nature that does it for me, and I love it when the show plays up his Tedability (or lack thereof). Of course Ted thinks he can smoke meat, build furniture, and create pottery dishware. And of course he can’t – at least not with much success. Sometimes expected jokes are boring, and sometimes they round out the plot like a comedian returning to his biggest quip as he closes out his act. The crib breaking at the very end was done well – we knew it was coming, but it still felt like an organic situation and not just a setup.

Barney: I have a hard time believing that he would fall for Quinn’s schtick, but I do understand that Barney can be rendered useless when faced with an impressive rack. So once he was under her boob-spell, he was at her mercy. It’s nice that he got a taste of his own medicine, and I think that was probably necessary for him to move forward and be capable of a long-term, healthy (more or less), committed relationship in the future.

Karma/Quinn: Eh, she’s alright. I mean obviously she’s hot, and her character provides an interesting plotline. But I don’t actually like her or find her especially funny. Barney is able to play off of her well, though, which makes her seem funnier. I feel less and less concerned about her being Barney’s wife now, because it just seems like too much of a reach for the show. I can see Barney marrying a stripper – I can see him marrying a girl with her own playbook – but I can’t see him committing to someone that’s so much like the old him. Their relationship would have been much more plausible to me several seasons ago, perhaps when he was reeling off the breakup with Robin. So now, because I love Barney and Robin together, I will just assume that Quinn is a necessary step before Barney can 100% commit.

Lily & Marshall: Canasta anyone? How about a roll with the Alley Cats? Suburbia M & L made me happy, because anyone familiar with their characters could see that it was a front. Granted, they’re adaptable, and able to find the fun in anything. Give Marshall a ride-on lawn mower with built-in cup holders and he will be good for weeks! But ultimately these guys don’t belong out there. I find it slightly annoying that Lily is trying to say that the suburbs are better for the baby, when she’s been firmly in favor of raising kids in the city before now. She grew up in the city, and that was always her expectation for her future family. But, whatever, blame it on pregnancy hormones.

Robin: Easily my favorite part of the night! I loved Robin’s frantic journaling, her evaluation of the ‘burbs as an odd new environment she needed to objectively document, and her fear at being sucked into the madness, Lord of the Flies style. Her voice over entries had me laughing out loud, and it reminded me of why I love Robin so much. She has the perfect tone of voice for observing her friend’s oddities – slightly confused, slightly disturbed, and slightly superior, with a hint of terror. Made me happy :)

Patrice: Poor, poor Patrice. She’s basically the equivalent of Jerry from Parks & Recreation, no? I want to hang out with her. That is all. Full disclosure – at least 50% of this post was solely so I could post Patrice gifs. 

Up next week – “The Broath”

“The gang tries to break up Barney and Quinn after learning they plan on moving in together, leaving Robin and Ted to fight over who deserves to sublet her apartment.”

Yep, we’re all house-swapping and playing apartment musical chairs on HIMYM. It would be interesting to see either of them in Barney’s den of inequity, but I’m assuming it will be Robin that settles in. Once things crash and burn with Quinn, Barney will move back home, and then close proximity will force him and Robin into many many sexy time adventures, ultimately leading to them getting back together. Meanwhile, Ted will be forced to move into his condemned hovel of a house, which is sure to bring on the lols. Maybe he should construct some furniture and pottery for new home decor?

Fave quotes:

“Because that’s the Lusty Leopard’s policy on Fridays and I’m so mad at you for knowing that!”

Lily: You’ll be playing with two charter members of the East Meadow Alley Cats.
Marshall: We’re a hot dog eating team with a bowling problem.

“You’ll come for the 19th century thimble art…but you’ll stay for the Dutch masters on bottle caps”

“I’ll swipe Shirley’s Rascal and drive to the train station. Shirley’s 42, by the way, and rides a Rascal, I swear it’s the second half of Wall-E out here.”

My priority this week for blog posts – a comprehensive review of color symbolism on HIMYM! My commentors have suggested some really good ideas regarding all of the purple, and I’m curious to see the rainbow of characters and items from the show.