At this point it almost seems like Barney and Robin have no chance of getting together. Robin is acting absolutely insane, and Barney seems happy not being with her. This would cause a lot of tension if we didn’t already know that they end up having a wedding. While that reveal provided an awesome ending to season 7, if the writers really wanted to keep the audience interested in Barney and Robin they probably shouldn’t have shown that. As it is, enough is enough. We know they end up together, so spending all this time where Barney is dating Patrice is just pointless. There’s no emotional response to Barney and Robin right now, and it isn’t funny, so there’s really nothing gained by wasting all this time.
The biggest problem I had with this episode is the Judy and Mickey relationship was an excellent opportunity to again revisit Marshall’s feelings about his dad dying. Some of the most emotionally memorable episodes were the ones where Marshall was struggling with the death of his father. It may be a bit cliché to have Marshall and Judy talk about how although Marshall isn’t ready for it, she wants to meet someone else, and just because she meets someone else, it doesn’t mean she’s forgotten his father, and so on, but it should have been addressed somehow. Marshall is upset because his mom is sleeping with his father-in-law, yes, but he’s really most upset because his mom is sleeping with someone who isn’t his dad.
It was obvious that Judy and Mickey were going to get together when Lily complained that with her dad around all the time it was going to be too crowded, but maybe that’s just because the episode preview featured Judy stating her intentions. Either way, the inevitability didn’t disappoint.
Overall, this week was a below average episode for the show but an above average episode for the season. It didn’t completely tank like some past weeks have, as the Ted’s labels plot was a nice humorous thing to resort back to, and Cobie Smulders was actually believable as the psycho ex, but it certainly didn’t have many laugh out loud moments or anything to really propel the plot forward.
Other Random Notes
- Ted has become a lot more proud of Cleveland this season.
- Duluth Streetwalkers got style. And would be very cold if they actually dressed like Lily.
- Great line from Ted when he says how he confused Hugh Heffner with a black man “I guess I just don’t notice those things.”
- Is Bernieman a real thing?
- “The know-how from Lethal Weapon 2 to pop that shoulder back in”
- “A trout with a daughter has one job. One job. To keep her off the fishing pole!”
- Marshall’s bladder is as big as Mickey’s betrayal.
Check back next week for my thoughts on the next episode in the eighth season of How I Met Your Mother.
