How I Met Your Mother Season 9 (1 Viewer)

[Lromero1396]

I'm not sure what to make of the latest episode. It was funny, and yet the whole time I feel the show was making me like the characters less.

Marshall not really being part of the show is getting old, and his bro-code judgements were getting pretentious, not funny. Likewise, the bro-code itself. It's a joke outliving its usefulness. Robin's inability to get along with other women is a long-standing gag, but it was taken to new levels of misanthropy making her look mean and petty.

And Ross is getting tedious mooning over Rachel. I mean Ted, over Robin. They make it hard to believe this is a man who is going to be able to finally meet his soul-mate in two days. Or be a man said soul-mate would want to meet.

I actually enjoyed the episode, but I can't stand the thought of not having Marshall around for the whole season, which is very likely given that he showed up at the last second when Lily was in labor back in season 6 or 7. For the most part, the episode was really just filler in my opinion. Here's hoping that the entire season doesn't get to that point.

I was thinking the whole Robin hating women thing was going to be a lead up to her meeting the mother and hitting it off with her.

That would be good.


Who else noticed the lousy audio quality during the rainstorm? Ted and Barney's dialogue was very muffled and canned in. Why the hell didn't they loop that? HIMYM has long been weak in the audio department, but that's just unacceptable.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm not sure what to make of the latest episode. It was funny, and yet the whole time I feel the show was making me like the characters less.

After a strong first three episodes, this is the first episode of the season that felt like the crappy later seasons instead of the great early seasons.

Marshall not really being part of the show is getting old, and his bro-code judgements were getting pretentious, not funny.

I was just happy Marshall got a storyline that wasn't about him being a total doofus. Given the timeline of the season, I'm guessing his cross country trek to the wedding will wrap up around episode eight. I can't imagine it going on any longer than that.

And Ross is getting tedious mooning over Rachel. I mean Ted, over Robin. They make it hard to believe this is a man who is going to be able to finally meet his soul-mate in two days. Or be a man said soul-mate would want to meet.

Part of this is an artifact of a show that should have been five or six seasons being stretched into nine seasons. They've just gone to that well too many times. There were a handful of times during seasons five through eight where the show wasn't sure what to do with Ted, so they just had him pining for Robin again.

I was thinking the whole Robin hating women thing was going to be a lead up to her meeting the mother and hitting it off with her.

Me too. I was really expecting Future Ted to tell his kids that for years Aunt Lily was Aunt Robin's only female friend, but then she met their mother. It would have been predictable but sweet. It'll be interesting to see what actually happens when Robin meets the mother sometime between now and the finale.Speaking of the Mother: She was made a series regular and had a heavy presence in the season premiere, but hasn't been seen since. I wonder when she'll show up next.

 

[David Weicker]

two words about tonight's episodeSlutty Pumpkin

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Fantastic cameo. I was wondering when I spotted her whether Katie Holmes came back just for that one shot, or if they shot Marshall and Ted on green screen and superimposed them over some unused b-roll footage from the earlier episode.As much as I love Frances Conroy as the deliciously demented Loretta Stinson, I'm finding that the show flags a bit when the Mother's not in the picture. The last two episodes didn't feel essential in the way that the first two did.

 

[DaveF]

I liked this episode more than the previous one. It was standard HIMYM, playing to its strengths. The Present / Note dual story was a lot of fun. Barney bouncing from rail to rail on supporting family vs wife was also well done, and fit his extreme personality. But I'm ready to see the Mother.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

James Van Der Beek just posted this photo on his Instagram:

So I'm guessing we're going to be seeing Robin's Canadian ex-boyfriend at some point this season.

 

[Walter Kittel]

So I'm guessing we're going to be seeing Robin's Canadian ex-boyfriend at some point this season.

I think that fans of the show deserve at least one more episode with Robin Sparkles. At least I hope so.

- Walter.

 

[DaveF]

Pretty good episode. I like the character-swapping alternate stories. But I'm ready for Ted to move from random women to having snappy dialog with the Mother.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

First really strong Marshall episode in a long time. Halfway through it I was all set to come on here and complain about it's inexcusable for the show to waste an episode on filler this close to the end -- but then Marshall told Lily about the judgeship.

 

[DaveF]

Middling humor. Solid finish. Enjoyed Ted in a mailbox.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Speaking of the mailbox: Does anyone know why they use non-USPS knockoff logos on all of their mailboxes and postal stuff? The mailbox in question was obviously a dressed real one, because you could see the collection times sticker with the real logo on it.

What dictates whether a movie or TV show gets to use the real name and logos or has to doctor up a knock off.

 

[Jason_V]

I thought I missed an episode here for sure since I just finished watching No Questions Asked on CBS.com. Nope, got them all, so it looks like I'm caught up for the first time ever on this show.

Now then...it surprises me how far this show has changed since the beginning of the series. I always perceived this as a show about friends, rooted in reality. More and more, it's become fanciful. I'm okay with it, but I'm wondering if a lot of this hasn't been embellished for the kids by future Ted to cover some of the less savory pieces of the story.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

They really knocked it out of the park this week. The stuff with Robin/Barney/Loretta was great; it's nice when the show occasionally reminds us why Robin's marrying Barney. The return of the Mother, and getting to see of the real milestones of their relationship. As much as I regret her absence in the episodes she's not in, I'm glad they're not wasting her. Every time she appears, it's an important moment and I appreciate that. I'm solidly in the camp that finds Clint hilarious, so even the Marshall/Daphne wasn't a total loss.

 

[Walter Kittel]

They really knocked it out of the park this week.

Agreed. Just about everything in the episode worked tonight. I was really surprised and pleased at our glimpse into the future. (I did get a little bit of a Pretty in Pink flashback when they played Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness in that scene. )

- Walter.

 

[mattCR]

I kept thinking to myself as Robin poured maple syrup all over herself: that is an actress taking one for the team..

 

[Lromero1396]

I kept thinking to myself as Robin poured maple syrup all over herself: that is an actress taking one for the team..

Same here.

They really knocked it out of the park this week. The stuff with Robin/Barney/Loretta was great; it's nice when the show occasionally reminds us why Robin's marrying Barney. The return of the Mother, and getting to see of the real milestones of their relationship. As much as I regret her absence in the episodes she's not in, I'm glad they're not wasting her. Every time she appears, it's an important moment and I appreciate that. I'm solidly in the camp that finds Clint hilarious, so even the Marshall/Daphne wasn't a total loss.

I couldn't agree more! This is the kind of gold that we started to see again in season 8. This was easily the best episode of the season so far. Even better than the two premiere episodes.

 

[DaveF]

I didn't care much for this episode. I don't like the incessant conflict driving his season. If I wanted to watch angry people, I'd still be watching Mike and Molly. I still don't really understand the conflict between Robin and Loretta. Even for a comedy built on outrageous character quirks, this conflict seems forced.And it was especially disappointing for such a lackluster episode to get the pivotal moment of Ted's proposal bolted on the end. The entire episode should have built to that great moment. Instead it was wasted on the throwaway blonde.Meh.I really want to get on with the "Mother". She fits in so well, and seems to have great chemistry with Ted.

 

[Chip_HT]

Did I mix something up in the future timeline?

I thought that the scenes at the end of the second episode were supposed to be one year later, at Ted's wedding. But this last episode showed him proposing, and it appeared to be two years later.

But two years later wouldn't fit with the timeline established with the Star Wars episode where they showed Ted with a kid in 2015. (Plus, you know, the kids have to be teenagers by 2030.)

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight's episode was another one where it starts out being what appears to be another run-of-the-mill episode retreading well-worn ground and then becomes something else entirely.I spent the first fifteen minutes groaning at another spin on the Ted/Robin merry-go-round, with only the delightful novelty of Ted and Marshall as Generals fans at a Harlem Globetrotters game to sustain me.But then Barney walks into the pharmacy, and who's his target? The Mother. I love that she's the one who pointed him back on the path to winning over Robin, and in doing so set the pieces in motion for meeting Ted. I also like that she's the one Barney's play didn't work on. And it continues the trend of only using her for important moments.

Did I mix something up in the future timeline? I thought that the scenes at the end of the second episode were supposed to be one year later, at Ted's wedding. But this last episode showed him proposing, and it appeared to be two years later. But two years later wouldn't fit with the timeline established with the Star Wars episode where they showed Ted with a kid in 2015. (Plus, you know, the kids have to be teenagers by 2030.)

This has been pointed out elsewhere, and I do think they goofed since the Mother doesn't look even a little bit pregnant. But on the lighthouse, Ted actually said "not two years later", so it's possible that the scene took place in the autumn of 2014.It helps to remember that the show's story time is no longer keeping pace with real time; Barney and Robin's wedding takes place on the weekend of May 25th 2013, or roughly when the season eight finale aired. We are now roughly six months past when the story ends.

 

[Scott-S]

The Generals game scenes were too distracting. The HORRIBLE acting of the little kid next to them was so distracting, I could not watch Ted and Marshall. Couldn't the director see the repeated hamming/miming that kid was doing?

As for the rest of the episode, I love the fact that the "mom" didn't fall for the Barney's game. Pretty interesting how the "mom" is meeting everyone and helping them. That will help it make sense when the gang finally accepts her as one of their own.