With season eight, we finally start to draw to a close the epic story of the mother of Ted’s children. Tonight’s season premiere, in usual How I Met Your Mother fashion, teases us the viewers relentlessly with our closest proximity of Ted and the mother yet.
Picking up from last season, in “Farhampton” we find that Barney and Robin are both freaking out a little bit. Something happens at the wedding though, and it ends up Ted doesn’t have a good evening. To what extent this might be, we don’t know, but it’s a bit of a tease for the end of the series perhaps. All we do know is Ted ended up with a cut up hand bandaged together with a handkerchief.
The episode as a whole is a familiar piece that we’ve grown to love. We have a silly over-exageration-but-not-really-that-exaggerated with zombie Marshal and Lily thanks to their newborn Marvin. I wonder how true it is that new parents. Do my friends really have aquarium zombie vision after they have the new kids? Is it over exaggerated, or is it in truth under exaggerated? The motif leads to some great comedic bits between Marshal and Lily in their delirious state.
Meanwhile, Barney and Robin are trying to deal with the fact that Quinn doesn’t actually know about their prior relationship. It doesn’t take very long to suss out though, leading to an impressive recap of the first seven seasons in 52 seconds. Their relationship is bittersweet though, as we all know they will break up soon enough. It’s nice to see that Barney does hold Robin dear to him, keeping all their mementos in a secret storage locker.
Ted and Victoria, though, run off together, but in typical Ted tires-to-hard-to-be-storybook fashion, he returns her to the church to make her write a note to Klaus. It’s a bit ironic though has it’s Klaus himself who also runs away from the wedding (which oddly has them dressed up really early in the day for a wedding that takes place really late in the evening). In a nice touch by the show runners, the time of day actually slowly changes throughout the episode, going from sunset, to dusk, to evening.
The symbolism in that is very subtle. At the start, Ted and Victoria are full of optimism and eagerness in running off to their new lives riding into the sunset. But once the sun sets and the day wanes, reality starts to set in. Ted’s self shame of stealing another man’s bride is too much to handle without leaving a note. Returning by dusk, he has to deal with the growing reality and signs of the universe that what he’s doing might be a mistake. Come evening, once he finishes with his task that Victoria can’t even do on her own, he has to question Klaus and gain a bit of heavy insight into relationships leading into another great show staple, the fatherly monologue of life advice. Reality has set in, and we immediately know that Victoria is not long for this show.
The theme of the episode was “a little way down the road,” which is a nice gentle tease to us long time viewers that the end is drawing near. All we have to do is just hang on a little longer as we travel down the road a little bit more. Overall, it was a great and familiar episode of How I Met Your Mother, and I can’t wait for the rest of the season.
Other observations
- Ted’s book. “Love in the Time of Cholera” which is his favorite book. (Season 1 reference)
- Between now and the wedding, Ted tells Robin about the adventure climbing up the drain pipe
- DO Robin and Barney get married?
- I predict Michael Trucco’s abs are going to be a running gag of the season.
- Ted again has women’s handwriting.
- Ted has a cut up hand after Barney and Robin’s wedding?
- We get a full reminder of the mother and a glimpse mere moments before they meet. The ankles, the bass guitar, and the umbrella.
- “Life long treasure of destiny” – It’s not something that developed over time. It’s something that happens instantaneously it courses though you like the water of a river after a storm. Filling you and emptying you all at once. You feel though out your body, in your hands, in your heart, in your stomach, in your skin….If you have to think about it, you have not felt it….Everyone does eventually, you just never know when, or where.
Barneyisms
- Barney got Quinn’s bra off standing aways from here and into his jacket without her knowing. Pro.
- “Challenge Accepted” – Seducing a brides maid over the phone
- Recanting seasons 1-7 in 52 seconds
