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How I Met Your Mother Review: “Coming Back” (Season 9, Episode 2)

In the second episode of Monday's How I Met Your Mother season 9 premiere night, the cast is settled into where we'll likely see them for much of the season, and everyone plays a fairly big role... except the Mother. Those who thought the Mother was going to be a vital part of every episode going forward are quickly proven wrong in this episode, though she does appear for the moment many fans have been waiting years for: The first interaction Ted has with her.

Coming Back

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While Marshall is still being kept away from the wedding, Lily is likely going to spend a lot of time upset. Whiny Lily is not enjoyable to watch, and I certainly don’t want to be subjected to watching an entire season of it. In “Coming Back”, that’s side-stepped by getting Lily drunk and having her that way for the entire episode. It was amusing, but there’s only so long that can last. That being said, Marshall being apart from her has definitely led to some hilarious moments.

While Marshall’s moments were a bit of a letdown in episode 1, in episode 2, he is much, much funnier. His Minnesota ways have come back to bite him again, as every nice thing he does ends up screwing him over further. That changes at the end of the episode, but I doubt that will last. It seems like everything is turning out for the best for him now, but I guarantee his roadtrip is going to run into its fair share of problems. Probably as many as the group in Farhampton faces, if not more. So far this is shaping up to be one wacky weekend. I will say that while I enjoyed the scenes with Marshall, they seemed to drag on a bit long, and could have been cut down to only include the jokes. That being said, the jokes were great, so I’ll take what we got on that one.

While I don’t like the lack of the Mother and the way she does appear in this episode, just about everything else about this one is great. It’s funny in all the right places, Barney shows a lot of growth, and it all works, spare the Mother. I’ll say that the first episode of the night is the better of the two, but this one isn’t far behind, boding well for season 9 of How I Met Your Mother. 

Other Random Notes

  • Yet another time where Ted is set to be at a bed and breakfast with Marshall and Lily. Hope he enjoys sitting on a bench.
  • “Is that me or did it just feel like we hit an old gypsy woman?”
  • “Thank you Linus, Thank you Linus, Thank you Linus.”
  • Roger Bart is absolutely hilarious as Curtis the desk clerk. I will be severely disappointed if he isn’t a prevalent part of the rest of the season.

Be sure to check back next week for a review on the next episode of How I Met Your Mother.