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How I Met Your Mother: Something Blue (season finale)

Posted May 14th 2007 8:39PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews

How I Met Your Mother; Something Blue
(S02E22) OK, folks... those of you who skipped reading my interview with Carter Bays because you were afraid you were going to accidentally read one of the spoilers he dropped for this episode, you can now go back and read the whole thing.

Anyway, things turned out kind of like we all expected, didn't they? Not to give anything away before the jump, but the signs that the show was heading in this direction were all there for us to see. But it was the execution of that conclusion that made this a very satisfying finale that, hopefully, will be the introduction for a very interesting third season.

You've got to give Bays, Thomas, and the writing staff credit for teasing out the Ted and Robin story in this episode. In fact, you have to give them credit for the way they treated their story the entire season; only a handful of episodes focused on their relationship, and any barriers they may have had to cross -- including the one that ultimately broke them up -- were borne out of the nature of their personalities, not some contrivance that's thrown into the script for the sole purpose of keeping them apart (hear that, Gilmore Girls writers?).

But back to the break-up story. Admit it; you were sitting on the edge of your seat, right along with Barney, as Ted and Robin described the ins and outs of their anniversary evening, weren't you? First they were going to break up, then Ted was going to move to Argentina with Robin, then Robin might be pregnant, then finally we learn that they ended up splitting. Every time the story got interrupted, either by Marshall and Lily's quest for food at their own wedding, or the videographer, or some other nuisance, I gritted my teeth in frustration just like Barney did, always happy to hear Ted say the words, "Barney... story's not over."

Even though this wasn't a very Barney-centric episode, his reactions to the story were great, from his initial pleadings to "tell people what?" to the final Best Barneyism of the season: "This is the 12th most worried I've been that someone is pregnant." Runner up? His knowledge of Argentina's current events, because "I hooked up with an Argentinian exchange student in a Port-A-John outside Yankee Stadium. Man, she was chatty."

So now we know why Ted and Robin were covered in tomato sauce in the "Showdown" episode. And, as Carter told me, they had to reshoot some of that episode's scenes, because the ones in Robin's apartment still had the blue French horn up on the mantle, and we know what happened with that. Of course, the horn is the symbol of the Ted/Robin relationship, so when they brought it back to the bistro (did Ted not think the people at Carmichael's would recognize him), you knew things were really over.

But the negotiation to get to that point was really well-written; this wasn't an acrimonious break-up where people are hurt and someone's yelling "we were on a break!" or all of a sudden realizing, "I don't love her!" (hear that, Scrubs writers?) It was two people who love each other, and will continue to love each other, knowing that they want different things out of their lives. It was one of the most mature break-ups I've ever seen on TV, and it bodes well for a season three that's not going to be full of Ted and Robin hating each other and making Barney, Marshall, and Lily choose sides. Heck, Marshall and Lily's break-up had more tension than this one did. Who would have predicted that at the beginning of the season?

Ah, season three. If it happens, it's going to be fun. Ted, slightly more cynical about love and romance, having fun with Barney as his wingman. Not wanting to find "the one" for right now, the Ted of season three is going to be the opposite of the sad-sacky one we had to put up with in season one. And I'm sure he'll be a lot more interesting. I loved the way the guys ended the episode and the season, with Barney saying: "Ted, my boy, this is going to be legend... wait for it..."

More fun:
  • Marshall and Lily are going to be a fun married couple, aren't they? He loves that she burps "yes" after drinking a bunch of Champagne just to get to the strawberries in the glass. Also, their effort to have a cliche-free wedding (aside from the "doin' it in the reception hall bathroom" part) was a valiant one... until Lily got drunk, that is. Then she was a cliche machine.
  • That wait staff at the Van Smoot house are a bunch of taskmasters, aren't they? When it's time for the next course, it's time for the next course, even if you're the bride and groom.
  • Barney did a great job using the couple's desire for food to their advantage, sending them away to get phantom mini-quiches and go to a nonexistent chocolate fountain so he can hear Ted and Robin's story. Cruel but hilarious, especially Lily's disgusted reaction to the first diversion: "Mini-quiche. You're a mega-douche!"
  • Marshall was more excited about having his way with the pepper-crusted rack of lamb than doing the same with Lily. He's ready for marriage, that's for sure.
  • Kudos to the writers to have the cliched "ring in the bottom of the Champagne glass" engagement be for someone else. It was a clever way to bring out the fact that their relationship had an expiration date.
  • Marshall's love of the Loch Ness Monster pops up again: Ted tells Marshall to say hi to him during his Scottish honeymoon, and Marshall responds: "Nessie's a she, Ted, come on..."
  • Marshall's sincere recitation of First Corinthians, followed by everyone going "Lame. Put it on the list."
  • Maybe Lily and Marshall should take the last name "Awesome." I want to see them have two kids called Totally and Freakin'.
  • Very nice of Ranjit not to watch. That's what friends do, right? Thankfully all the bride and groom wanted to do was go to Weinerburger.
  • Barney was sincerely bummed that Ted and Robin broke up. Wow. Who do you think has grown the most this season: Ted or Barney?
  • How great did Cobie Smulders look in this episode? Maybe it was the boots. Or the tomato sauce. Can't really say.
Great lines:
Marshall: "Everytime we get near the food, we're getting cocktail-weiner-blocked."

Ted: "I would have stolen you a whole orchestra."

Marshall: "Hey Stinson... don't lie to a man about a chocolate fountain."

Robin: "I don't want to have kids in Argentina."
Ted: "I don't want to have kids in Argentina."

Ted: "Time to get the horn back to the bistro."
Robin: "Oh, Ted, I don't think I can go again; that tuckered me out..."
Ted: "Not a euphemism."
rating 7
OK, I think I've pretty much gone over this episode from top to bottom. But I liked it that much. This was a really funny, well-done finale to a really funny, well-done season. I'm giving it a 7, our highest rating. We'll find out on Wednesday if it's a season or series finale. I truly hope it's the former.

(How I Met Your Mother - S02E22) How do you rate this episode?




Tags: alyson hannigan, carter bays, cobie smulders, craig thomas, jason segel, josh radnor, may sweeps, MaySweeps, neil patrick harris, season finale, something blue, SomethingBlue

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