(S02E01) Fans of How I Met Your Mother all know how last season ended. It can all be summed up in one sentence: Ted and Robin got together and Lilly and Marshall broke up. So for the opener of season two, we pick up exactly where we left off last year. Ted and Robin are overjoyed that they're finally together, but they have to put that on the back burner while they try to nursemaid the shattered Marshall after the love of his life gave him his engagement ring and flew off to San Francisco.
Oh, and the kids are still there. Those two kids that the Bob Saget version of Ted talks to are still listening to his story, but their attention is kind of wavering. "Can you skip to the part where you meet mom? I feel like you've been talking for, like, a year," the girl tells Middle-Aged Ted. Uh huh. I'm with you on that one, sister. Hopefully, that little gimmick will slowly fade away this year so we can concentrate on our favorite five New York twenty-somethings.
I do think the move of having Lilly and Marshall break up was a good one. The Ted-Robin thing was starting to wear on me, mainly because it was following that Ross-Rachel trajectory that eventually became a parody of itself on Friends. Not to say that we won't see more Ted and Robin relationship hijinks in the future, but concentrating on another couple is the right way to go for now. And, anyway, Marshall and Lilly were way too cute last year; that couple needed a small dose of reality to make them a little more relatable.
Ok, so this entire episode consists of the Ted, Robin, and Barney spending the summer trying to help Marshall get over Lilly. We see very little of Lilly, in fact; just once in a fantasy sequence involving George Clinton (Marshall conjures it up after looking at her credit card bill) and at the very end. We do find out her last name, which I don't think we knew last year: it's Aldrin.
Anyway, just when we think Marshall's through being depressed, just when we think he's sobbed uncontrollably for the last time, he sees something that reminds him of Lilly and he breaks down again. Robin even tries to break Marshall out of it by bringing him to a firing range, but that only works for a short time (by the way, can I tell you how much I like the Robin character? Carter and Craig really do a good job of writing her as a "one of they guys" type, but with enough vulnerability to make her a realistic woman, too). It gets to the point where Ted just snaps and calls Marshall "pathetic." It's a good scene because it gives Ted some personality beyond the whole mopey longing act he had for most of last year.
I also liked the parallels Middle-aged Ted makes between the first days of a relationship and the first days of a break-up. "You both spend a lot of time in not wearing pants," he says, which is reflected in Ted and Robin's constant bedroom antics while Marshall languishes on the couch in his shorts. It's putting a bit of a cramp in the budding Ted-Robin relationship, but it speaks to how tight-knit the group is that they still want to help, even if it means sacrificing a romantic weekend to keep Marshall from confronting Lilly when he thinks she's come back to New York.
Oh, and when I said Barney helps out, I mean he helps out in his Barney-like way; he takes Marshall to a strip club. Barney's in fine form in this episode, and there are a lot of Barneyisms to choose from, but the Best Barneyism award for the week goes to his creative suicidal pantomimes that he does whenever he's around the oh-so-adorable Ted and Robin or the pathetic Marshall. From putting a finger-pistol in his mouth and pulling the trigger, to stringing himself up, to committing hara-kiri, it's all so overly detailed, it's really funny. "Stop being a couple!" he tells the new couple once, with a look of disgust on his face. A close second is his description of boob images that fill your brain; he calls them BPEGs. Thank goodness Barney's around; he stops HIMYM from getting too saccharine for its own good.
The episode ends on an interesting note: Marshall is finally over Lilly, after 67 days. But then we see Lilly, looking a little different, in a context that makes me think that it's going to take her a few episodes to work herself back into the fold. It's a very, very strong opening to the season, and right now the show feels like it's about to break out into a monster hit. They just have to get rid of Middle-aged Ted, and everything will be great.
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Have any questions for Vik Sahay of Chuck? Ask them here!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-19-2006 @ 11:05PM
jake said...
More people should watch this show, it's great!
Reply
9-18-2006 @ 9:40PM
Ryan j Budke said...
Do me proud Joel. This episode was great. I was looking forward to this more than just about any other premiere this fall. Can not wait to see what happens.
Reply
9-18-2006 @ 9:46PM
Ryan said...
Oh man seeing the newly dark-haired Lily at the end looking in on all her friends... yeah, it was a very strong opening indeed. Must see TV all the way!
Reply
9-18-2006 @ 9:48PM
MrsEldubya said...
This is one season opener I have been looking forward to this year. I love this show. It's a got a great balance and nothing beats Barney. I hope they let Ted and Robin develop some and not break them up too soon. It just seems to be what they do on television, they can't let story lines develop slowly over many episodes, it's usually about the 3 or 5 episode arch.
Anyway, I'm glad HIMYM is back! Actually I'm glad Barney is back! :)
Reply
9-18-2006 @ 9:48PM
MrsEldubya said...
Thanks Ryan for reminding me... I meant to give a shout out to the Evil Willow hair!
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 1:21AM
Ryan said...
High 5 to the Evil Willow hair!
Seriously Alyson Hannigan probably looks good with green hair, but man I am just in love with her dark hair. I want to see more! Why can't it be next Monday already?
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 2:49AM
brett said...
yea...the ted-robin thing was kinda boring...but that wasnt the point of the episode...
god love Barney....i have B-pegs too
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 7:47AM
eugene said...
i think that's a little harsh on the saget ted and kids. last season after the first few shows you didn't see them that much. and the saget ted narration is only for bits and it works fine. without it how would the comparions between breakup and new relationship have played out. not with radin ted narrating...
besides, i think they used the kids in the season premier to get new ppl into the concept. also to quell the early rumors of last season that the kids are his nephew/niece...
i'm holding out hope that the ted robin thing plays out better and more realistically (for a sitcom) than the ross-rachel thing, which i thought was decent in the early going and initial part of the breakup, but then as you stated, became a parody. though i think it'll come down to some hard differing viewpoints. already suggested in last season's kids and marriage versus not and this season's guns versus not.
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 9:37AM
Porchland said...
This may be season the show starts to get some award consideration if it ticks up in the ratings. Neil Patrick Harris deserved Emmy and Globe nods last season, and he's off to a good start with last night's episode.
I hope "The Class" -- which I don't see making it past Christmas -- doesn't pull it down.
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 11:11AM
George said...
Am I the only one who kept getting a Star Trek (TOS) vibe from Marshall's shirt combo in the photo above?
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 12:49PM
Tammy said...
I'd like to see them get rid of middle-age Ted's kids. The things he tells them still creep me out, like how in a new relationship you spend the first month in bed together.
I thought this episode was good, but not as good as I would expect from a season premiere. But I have a feeling that the overall season could be quite good, so I'll continue to tune in.
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 1:00PM
dagon said...
I don't know what show you people are watching. I gave this show a couple of chances in season 1 and my hannigan-love aside, i am STILL shocked as to how this dreck got greenlit in the first place much less picked up for a second season.
This is perhaps the single worst written sit-com that i have seen in a long-time, with the possible exception of Fox's new "Happy Hour"; very slim praise indeed.
Occasional flairs of characterization, such as Lilly's appearance at the end or some of the much-welcomed deepening insights into Barney's character from last season do little to ameliorate the cringe-inducing awfulness of the dialogue, the preciousness of the premise or the tendency to go for cheap and sophmoric gags like the George Clinton - Lilly dream sequence.
This crap would barely past muster at a high school sketch troup. I suggest that the writers re-watch the 1st 3 seasons of friends, whcih is clearly the vibe that they are trying to recreate. They are both smarter, fresher, better written and acted and most importanly, more respectful of the audience's intelligence than anything this extremely dissapointing show has had to offer thus far.
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 4:15PM
Matt said...
It's weird there was no B-plot and it wasn't quite as funny with Alyson and NPH somewhat out of the action, but Season 2 episode 1 felt comfortable. HIMYM keeps me believing in the traditional sitcom.
Reply
9-19-2006 @ 5:13PM
Sierro said...
I thought this was a pretty good start to the season. I like the middle aged Ted - the voiceovers really add to it I think. Though it's strange to see Ted happy in a relationship, and the show focus elsewhere, it worked pretty well. Looking forward to the rest of the season!
Reply
9-20-2006 @ 2:26AM
Ben R. said...
Day 21 and Day 67 can't both be Sundays! ah, details. But I love this show, too.
Reply
9-20-2006 @ 2:03PM
Ben R. said...
I meant 22 and 67 - still, same point. Pretty lame that no one caught that.
Reply
9-20-2006 @ 7:38PM
VTS said...
I may have imagined this. Does anyone remember, in the first episode ever, the grown-up Ted telling the kids, "And that's how I met your Aunt Robin."
Did I dream that?
Reply
9-21-2006 @ 2:53AM
Ben R. said...
VTS - Yes; what's your point?
Reply
9-25-2006 @ 12:52AM
VTS said...
That has never been mentioned again. So, do we presume Ted ends up marrying Robin's sister?
Reply
9-22-2006 @ 8:02PM
Dave said...
Question: who did the cover of Boys Don't Cry at the end?
I loved the episode, by the by. I was looking forward to this. :)
Reply