How I Met Your Mother returned giving fans something they had been begging for basically all of last season—a hint about ANYTHING. Boy did they get some hints on meeting the mother. As an added bonus, there were some clues to other characters too.
Opening with a shot of a church where Ted is initially presented to the audience as the groom-to-be he hangs out back while buddy Marshall brings him a couple of years. At first glance this is another HIMYM non-reveal like much of what we saw last season. Ted gets married! Shocker, I know. But the writers pulled a fast one in a vintage twist any HIMYM fan would appreciate.
“Big Days” brought us up to speed with our heroes. First, Lilly and Marshall are trying to get pregnant. Most of the laughs generated in this episode were a product of Jason Segel’s always funny shouts and exuberance. Lilly becomes upset when Marshall’s dad starts taking too great of an interest in the couple’s getting it on and trying to make a new Erikson. Lilly finds out the Marshall has not only notified his father at their attempts at getting pregnant, but everyone at work and pretty much anyone Marshall sees on a regular basis. Little plot-wise is gained from the episode other than Lilly loves Marshall for the same reason Marshall loves his father, they both take Erikson-sized excitement and enthusiasm in everything they do.
Our main man, Ted “Professor” Mosby, is chock full of nerves when he sees a beautiful girl waiting at the bar. When he finally musters up the courage to go talk to her, his ex-flame Cindy (Rachel Bilson) pops in. The episode hints at Cindy’s friend being the mother (!) with flashbacks to the all-useless ankle shown in the previous season. THE MOTHER’S ANKLE, so it shall be called. It’s a representation of non-hints given to the audience last season. Ted eventually talks to Cindy and everything seems to be fine and dandy. He even thinks she’ll introduce her friend. To Ted’s surprise Cindy and mystery friend are really girlfriends (punctuated by an excellent reaction from Barney upon seeing the two women kiss).
To get to the end of the episode, and what was really important, we need to look at Barney and Robin. The relationship that made all the sense in the world and had all the potential to be spun into gold by the show’s writers just fell absolutely flat last season. Barney is still his old self and Robin is in the dumps (literally, it seems) about her recent breakup with Don. Credit to the makeup and wardrobe department for making Smulders seem as unappealing has humanly possible. Here’s where things get fun in this episode. In the opening sequence at the future church where we think Ted is nervous because he’s about to get married. It’s revealed that he is in fact worried about making a toast. Narrator Ted (Bob Saget) says that was a big day (EPISODE TITLE HAD TO DO WITH THE EPISODE HOLY SHIT!) because he was not only giving the toast, but that’s the day he met the kids’ mother.
Undoubtedly this is a huge step for the show. Now we know when Ted meets the mother…kind of. It’s a great hint because whenever that wedding comes, we now know we’ll finally see the mother. This could be at the end of this season, this could be in two seasons. So why did I bring this up when talking about Robin and Barney? Let me take a spin at this. In the opening scene we see the sign outside the church read “To Every Thing There is a Season”. The end of the first scene cuts to Barney talking about the changing seasons, notably how the ladies of New York have started wearing warmer, thus less revealing clothes. Barney laments the loss of the sun dress. In typical list-y fashion Barney goes through all the reasons why sun dresses make Barney go bonkers. There’s the connection to Barney, but what bridges it to Robin is when she wants to prove to Barney she isn’t over the hill, in the hotness department she comes to the bar in a sun dress. She’s hit on in a matter of seconds proving she’s still got it. When she sits down Barney assures her that she looks really hot, in about the sweetest way someone could say that. We all know Barney means it and that he still loves her. So these links in my opinion lead me to believe the future wedding is for Barney and Robin. I could be right, I could be wrong but at least the show has me guessing, which is a marked improvement from last season. Hoping for Big Episodes after “Big Days”, and this premiere tells me they might just deliver.
B+
Random Observations:
-Sorry such a long review, I haven’t written for a while so I guess I’m compensating.
-Marshall’s reactions to Lilly’s flaunting her breasts is always hilarious. “Can you people let me think!”
-The music they’d actually be doing it to? Banjo. Awesome.
-Barney’s turning around to check out the girl at the bar a quick reminder of why NPH rocks. Also Barney never left the bar this episode, did he?
-I’ve got a feeling the story of “Dibs” may be on its way back at some point. Just a hunch
-So whose wedding do you think it is???????
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yes, i was also thinking on the same lines regarding the marriage.
ReplyDeleteAlso ,Ted was the bestman(and not Marshall), Barney's best friend.
This could be a pleasant surprise.
Robyn and Don's wedding.
ReplyDeleteThe writers already stated that Don is definitely not coming back to the show. His character is gone. So I do not think it is their wedding. I also don't think it is Robin & Barney's wedding because that is too expected. The writers like to subvert expectations. It could be Ted's dad's wedding. It would make sense that Ted would be best man at his father's wedding. I definitely don't think it is someone obvious.
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