We were surprised by this first episode in the new season of How I Met Your Mother. We’ve become accustomed over the last few seasons of the CBS hit to a series of unfunny episodes, with little clever going on (and we did get a portion of that this week, with Marshall’s strand). Yet this felt different and fresh. It felt like a new incarnation of the show. One we can get behind.
We’ve learned in recent weeks that this season will have a whole new approach. It will take place in its entirety over Robin and Barney’s wedding weekend. Each of the friends will meet the Mother and fall for her before Ted does. Some reviewers are detractors of this formula. We’re not. We think it’s perfect for what needs to be done. This will give the entire arc space. This time, Ted’s romance is actually important. To allow it to unfold over an episode or two would be cheating those long-term viewers who have doggedly hung on for this exact relationship. We need to know everything about how they meet. We need to believe in them. And to present that in classic sitcom fashion would either have taken too long or would never have done it justice.
There were classic How I Met Your Mother moments peppered throughout – a last-minute freak-out from Robin and Barney as they realize they may be related, that Marshall arc, Ted’s road-trip binder and a flash forward to key moments (Ted standing in an airport with a voiceover telling us he was the wedding’s wildcard) – but, of course, the focus was on the first real introduction we get to the Mother (still unnamed). And we love her. Cristin Miliotti plays this character perfectly, and is perhaps the most nuanced actor we’ve seen on the show since Sarah Chalke.
What we get here – and will likely continue to get throughout the season – is specificity, something that has always been missing before. Where earlier seasons sought to retain their mystery, where the most detail we ever got was the occasional reference to a tiny aspect of Ted and the Mother’s life together, now we’re getting dazzlingly specific. And it’s fantastic. We finally get to glimpse Ted’s happily ever after. We’ve never cared much for him – he’s always been the least interesting character in this show that is, to all intents and purposes, about his life and his quest for happiness – but now we find our interests piqued by his future. Gone are the days of the writers dangling red herrings (ones we knew would, more than likely, never be the Mother). Now we get to enjoy watching a sure thing and learning about how this woman is everything Ted wanted, and more. It’s actually quite endearing.
Here’s hoping the writers can maintain this new lease of life throughout the season. Unfortunately, eight years of experience tells us they won’t. But we’re clinging to hope for a few more weeks. Won’t you join us? – K
Quoteworthy:
“We know we won’t have kids…”
“And even if we did, King Joffrey’s parents were brother and sister and he was a fair and wise leader.” – Robin, Barney
Pond Hopping Girls 