How I Met Your Mother Season 9 (1 Viewer)

[Stan]

We've got the famous "You had me at hello" line from Jerry Maguire.

With this show, "You lost me in September".

Should have bowed out gracefully like the MTM show years ago.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I really enjoyed last night's episode. I still almost think we'd have been better off never knowing what Barney does for a living, but the reveal was pretty darn good. It wasn't nearly the filler that the slap episode was.I AM beginning to get the impression that Ted and the Mother basically live at the Farhampton Inn between Barney and Robin's wedding and the birth of their son (Luke!).

 

[Scott-S]

I know this is just fiction, but I am pretty mad at Lilly right now. She is being very selfish. Marshal gets a great job which will provide a great future for their family, and Lilly wants him to throw it away for a hobby. I agree 100% with Marshal on this, especially given her past leaving to pursue her art.

Then she bails out the night before her friends Wedding. I know she will come back in time, but it is a really selfish move.

I actually found myself really mad at a fictional character.

Sorry, had to vent. LOL

 

[mattCR]

I thought Barneys reveal was terrible, and hurts the character. Marshall throwing up SF to Lilly was great... That's a show that remembers events, and it worked.Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Tapatalk

 

[Citizen87645]

But what was the point of having Robin, Lily and Ted fill those roles at all? Since the characters weren't technically Robin, Lily and Ted, but nameless slap masters (who could be argued were supposed to be Asian), the only reason to do so was to generate a laugh at seeing established characters, playing another character (or even caricature) in a funny costume and situation (not unlike seeing Family Guy in the Star Wars universe). While I wasn't particularly offended by it, mostly think it was just stupid of them to do, I certainly understand the perspective of those who took objection to it on grounds beyond just quality of humor and storytelling.

They could have used Asian actors to fill those slap master roles, which would have avoided the heart of the controversy, but in the end the episode still would have been one-note and lazily written. I think that's something everyone has so far agreed on.

As to the complaint about yellowface, the point was to have Robin, Lily and Ted in those roles, so the argument that Asian actors should have been cast doesn't hold up. Casting Asian actors instead of a Caucasian in make-up is a valid complaint if the role in question is truly an Asian character, hence the mention of Mickey Rourke back in the day (Breakfast At Tiffany's), or for that matter, what I always consider the ultimate travesty, David Carradine instead of Bruce Lee in Kung Fu.

 

[DaveF]

I enjoyed this episode a good deal. I loved the opening and closing scenes with the Mother. And Jedi Barney; I mean, who among us hasn't talked like Jabba from time to time? Truth telling Barney was an unexpected treat, and a really great gag that fits HIMYM style and history.I didn't like the PLEASE reveal. It didn't feel right, and I don't think it was wholly true to Barney. Willow and Marshall's fight...Marshall holding on to that anger is believable but I didn't love it as a part of the show. I don't know. Mistakes have been made on both sides. Will see how it plays out.

 

[Yee-Ming]

I don't think Marshall was hanging onto the anger per se, but it was just one big point he raised in his argument. Remember, he's a lawyer. And in some ways that one point was a "trump card" in his argument, which Lily recognised and hence had no answer to.

Although I'd have to disagree slightly that his job secures his family's future: while a judgeship is secure (assuming it is an appointed position as is implied here, and not an elected one), it isn't very high-paying either -- witness the hoo-ha about what Supreme Court justices are paid ($165K p.a. IIRC) in comparison to the high-priced lawyers (millions?) that appear before them, or put the other way around, considering what a successful lawyer has to give up financially when becoming a judge (it was raised in the press during CJ Roberts's nomination process).

Always nice to see more of Ted with The Mother, since that's what the entire show has been building up to. Although I'm a bit surprised that they couldn't milk the truth-telling Barney gag for more laughs in relation to all the stuff he's pulled off over the years.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I know this is just fiction, but I am pretty mad at Lilly right now. She is being very selfish. Marshal gets a great job which will provide a great future for their family, and Lilly wants him to throw it away for a hobby. I agree 100% with Marshal on this, especially given her past leaving to pursue her art.

Then she bails out the night before her friends Wedding. I know she will come back in time, but it is a really selfish move.

I actually found myself really mad at a fictional character.

Sorry, had to vent. LOL

Marshall throwing up SF to Lilly was great... That's a show that remembers events, and it worked.

Different strokes I guess. I HATED the Marshall and Lily fight because Marshall was being a dick. He agreed to move to Italy, then changed his mind when his dream job appeared. not acknowledging that the situation was created by himself is completely selfish. But even bigger than that, his SF argument is complete bullshit. "What if you didn't come back?" But she did, you dumbass. (Marshall, not you guys. ) Call it a strawman argument or arguing on facts not in evidence, it was just stupid. If if if. But she didn't. If my aunt had a dick, she'd be my uncle.

 

[DaveF]

I don't think Marshall was hanging onto the anger per se, but it was just one big point he raised in his argument. Remember, he's a lawyer. And in some ways that one point was a "trump card" in his argument, which Lily recognised and hence had no answer to.

Could be. My personal experience is that someone bringing up arguments from emotional events years previously, are revealing their long-standing anger. I didn't read like making an argument to win an argument. To me it was vomiting up deep-seated hurt and insecurity that's been left unforgiven for years.

And if he's merely throwing out the worst, most damaging argument he can simply to win this fight with Lily, then Marshall's a far greater asshole than I ever understood from the show.

Different strokes I guess. I HATED the Marshall and Lily fight because Marshall was being a dick. He agreed to move to Italy, then changed his mind when his dream job appeared. not acknowledging that the situation was created by himself is completely selfish. But even bigger than that, his SF argument is complete bullshit. "What if you didn't come back?" But she did, you dumbass. (Marshall, not you guys. ) Call it a strawman argument or arguing on facts not in evidence, it was just stupid. If if if. But she didn't. If my aunt had a dick, she'd be my uncle.

I liked that the show knows and re-uses its past. In that sense, this was a great episode. But the fight is painful. Marshall deeply screwed up. As a conservative guy, it makes a lot of sense to take the stable long-term job and give up the one-year galavanting hobby-job in Italy. But he needed to talk it over with Lily before accepting. And maybe he would have had to give up this part of his dream for his wife. Mistakes have been made, and he's making more on top of those. But that tension still leaves me liking this episode. As this show goes, it's emotionally honest and fits the characters.

 

[Chip_HT]

Although I'd have to disagree slightly that his job secures his family's future: while a judgeship is secure (assuming it is an appointed position as is implied here, and not an elected one), it isn't very high-paying either -- witness the hoo-ha about what Supreme Court justices are paid ($165K p.a. IIRC) in comparison to the high-priced lawyers (millions?) that appear before them, or put the other way around, considering what a successful lawyer has to give up financially when becoming a judge (it was raised in the press during CJ Roberts's nomination process).

But Marshall's never been in a well paying position during the course of the show. Is he even employed at this point?

Compared to his low level lawyer positions and volunteer work, and Lily's kindergarten teaching and art agent jobs, being a judge is by far the best opportunity either one has had.

 

[Chip_HT]

Different strokes I guess. I HATED the Marshall and Lily fight because Marshall was being a dick.

Meanwhile, Lily's being a bitch. She won't let Marshall pause the argument to take back what he said in the heat of the moment, but when she doesn't have a decent comeback, she leaves.

It's the same one-sidedness that she's had the entire series. She makes all of these rules for everyone else, but doesn't play by them herself. This goes back to the Christmas episode in season 2 when she got mad that Ted called her a Grinch for leaving during the summer that she was gone, and she heard about it six months later. Never takes responsibility for just leaving Marshall, and acts like a total Grinch to Ted.

Yes, Marshall should have talked to Lily. But part of the conversation when he was offered the job did highlight his decision making. If he declined, he would probably never get that opportunity again. It's also not like these two jobs are on the same level of "dream" job. Marshall's dream job was working for the NRDC. Becoming a judge was just the next logical step for him after life happened.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And as unpleasant to watch play out as their fight is, to be perfectly honest I find it a lot more satisfying than how the characters have been treated the last few seasons. Here they feel like real people, arguing about a matter of substance. That's something I can invest in as a viewer in a way I can't with goofy naive Marshall obsessing about imaginary creatures and horny, sex-crazed Lily lusting over Robin. It's nice to see Segel and Hannigan, two very talented performers, get to play some different notes.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

What a great concept for the series's 200th episode. I really loved getting to see a cliff notes version of the journey from the Mother's perspective. If I had a complaint, it's that it was only a half-hour episode. I would have really liked to have had an hour-long episode, to flesh out the Mother's life a bit more in between the previously known intersections and near misses between the two of them. I particularly would have liked her relationship with the deceased and clearly missed Max fleshed out more.

The scene where she's singing with the ukelele that Max gave her with Ted listening from the other side of the wall absolutely moved me.

 

[David Weicker]

What a fantastic episode tonight.I swear there was, umm, something in my eye during the La Vie En Rose scene.

And I just froze (and almost dropped my drink) when she came home and found Mitch waiting for her (and glad they did what they did).

One of the best this season (and most of this year has been terrific, IMO).

 

[mattCR]

This is some great storytelling. Best episode of the season. Great stuff.

 

[TonyD]

The mother still leaves me cold. She just isn't working for me.

 

[AlexF]

I really enjoyed tonight's episode... I just wish that they'd had longer to go into some detail on a few things (such as the Max stuff). I totally recognized Mitch when he appeared, but didn't clue into the Naked Man until... too late.

 

[Chip_HT]

I got distracted by the gross continuity error. The screen said April 2008, but it was St. Patrick's Day.

 

[DaveF]

That was a fantastic episode. If every episode was that quality, this would be the best show on TV, with a season to go down in history. I'm a broken record, but where has this actress been the whole series? She fits in perfectly. And not merely being written to be Ted's perfect mate, with references to yellow umbrellas and Ren-AY-sance fairs. I believe her as a character in her right, and against this this long-standing cast. This is so hard to do, bringing in a new character late in a series. And it's more to the detriment than benefit for a show, in my viewing. But somehow, HIMYM casted perfectly.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The Mother's rendition of "La Vie En Rose" is available for purchase on iTunes.