(S04E24) It's been an interesting season for How I Met Your Mother, hasn't it? The ratings for the show have never been better, but longtime fans (me included) have been concerned about its inconsistency this season. Episodes that would be considered in the pantheon of Mother classics -- ones that mess with timelines and talk about the "mother mythology" and the stories of the rest of the Scooby gang -- were mixed in with standalone plots that were sometimes funny but other times were contrived and sitcommy.I knew that the standalones would be more prevalent this season -- Carter Bays has told me and others as much -- but as I watched this season, I wondered why they were trying to make the show more accessible. Now that I've seen the fourth season finale, I completely understand why the show is going in that direction. And I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Next year is the show's "golden year." By the end of the season, they'll be past episode 100 and will have enough in the can to start syndication in the fall of 2010, a deal that was struck last fall. It's obvious that having a comedy with a continuing storyline and a closed loop of a story -- once Ted finds The One, it's pretty much over -- would affect the audience that would tune into the show on random nights. It's one of the reasons Seinfeld has syndicated so well: flip past an episode and you don't need to know anything about what went before to enjoy it. That's something that you couldn't always say about the first four seasons of HIMYM, no matter how sublime the writing got at times.
But the last words of tonight's finale, as Ted's teaching his new class at Columbia -- "Because, as you know, (your mother) was in that class. Of course, that story's only just beginning." -- signals that we're in for the long haul here. There are hundreds of ways this story can go, because Ted could have met The One during his first year of teaching or his tenth; we don't know. And this buys Bays and Thomas the time to explore everything else that's going on with the gang at as leisurely a pace as the ratings will allow. So don't expect to see the Mother until the final season, maybe not even until the final episode.
Whew. To be honest, that's fine with me, as I've talked about before; the rest of the gang is infinitely more interesting than Ted and his quest. Take the chemistry between Robin and Barney; Barney is finally realizing that he wants to settle down with Robin, and Robin knows she has some sort of feelings for him. But their mutual discomfort with dealing with their feelings leads to that very funny sequence in the hospital where they seem to "Mosby" each other into an embrace.
But instead of harps and fireworks, they decide to sort things out later, which is going to lead to some fun between the two. At least there's no pining anymore, no longing looks from Barney to a clueless Robin. And the way Robin found out, via Barney's suit question to Ted, was a fun way to do it. She overheard it herself; no one -- not even Lily -- spilled the beans by accident. And, despite everything, it's still awkward between the two of them. "It's Barney" is all Robin has to say about that.
Despite the fun of the suit-as-Robin question, the Best Barneyism of the night, though, is one of the most sincere lines Barn has ever uttered on this show: "Maybe i don't want to be saved the trouble. Maybe I want the trouble. I haven't wanted the trouble in a long time, but w/ you the trouble doesn't seem so... troubling."
More fun stuff:
After the entire year of build-up, how anti-climactic was the goat? Sure, the goat beating down Ted was funny, even if it wasn't as violent as Ted remembered. And yes, the goat was a metaphor for Ted constantly chasing his architectural dream. But I thought it would have more of an involvement in the story than just comic relief.- Did Marshall ever figure out what he was going to do on that roof next door if he ever made the leap? Was he going to just jump in the hot tub and have a go? Wouldn't the building's owners catch him?
- It doesn't matter... it was fun to see him on that ledge year after year, chickening out.
- After all this time of comically trying to hide Alyson Hannigan's baby belly -- this was filmed before she left and way before Cobie Smulders started showing -- her using the pregnancy ploy to get Marshall off the ledge was especially funny. I loved how the music started to swell and Marshall said "I noticed you gained some weight lately..." Very clever way of addressing it.
- By the way, the only thing that was in front of Alyson's belly this time around was the "31st Birthday" decoration, which was the filmsiest item yet. Again, very clever.
- Marshall only thinks Robin is "eh" because "you're freakishly tall and you don't believe in ghosts." Good criteria.
- "For the last time, i'm not Linda Knievel, i'll never be Linda Knievel!"
- SVEN screws another Scooby gang member. Wow, that metal dragon building design is versatile.
- "I am never! Eating ribs! Again! In front of Ted!"
A fun ending to an interesting season. I just wonder if this semi-new direction the show is going in means that the magic we saw during the first three or so seasons is over and we're going to be seeing more of the conventional episodes we saw this year. Hopefully, even the conventional episodes are funny, so we won't have to worry about that part of it too much; funny makes up for a lot of sins, even on TV.
How I Met Your Mother' Photos
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), on the roof for Ted's surprise 31st birthday party on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), on the roof for Ted's surprise 31st birthday party on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Marshall (Jason Segel) tries to lure Ted (Josh Radnor) to the roof for a surprise 31st birthday party, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) on the roof on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
FOX
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Marshall (Jason Segel) tries to lure Ted (Josh Radnor) to the roof for a surprise 31st birthday party, Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) on the roof on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) profess his love to Robin (Cobie Smulders), on the fourth season finale"The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Ted (Josh Radnor), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), and Robin (Cobie Smulders) on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Ted (Josh Radnor), Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
FOX
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Robin (Cobie Smulders), Marshall (Jason Segel), and Lily (Alyson Hannigan), on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Robin (Cobie Smulders), Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan), Ted (Josh Radnor) and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER Ted (Josh Radnor) pulls an all-nighter working on a pitch in an attempt to bring business to his fledgling architecture firm, on the fourth season finale "The Great Leap." Airs Monday, May 18, 2009.
CBS
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-18-2009 @ 11:51PM
jean frank said...
"Look Robin is wearing a yellow shirt!" I thought this a couple times when I saw her tonight. Is this a sign that she is Barneys "one", his true "one", or an accident in wardrobe? I can't imagine their relationship being anything but "troubling" for now, and I am excited to see all the bumps in their path to happiness. And I don't mind waiting for the girl with the yellow umbrella if it gives us more HIMYM!
Reply
5-18-2009 @ 11:54PM
Usama said...
I have been let down by this season. Not enough to stop watching the show, but enough so that it's not something I need to see as it airs. DVR or online viewing will suffice.
But yes there have been some great moments this year.
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5-19-2009 @ 12:35AM
WhoElseButME said...
"The ratings for the show have never been better, but longtime fans (me included) have been concerned about its inconsistency this season." - WORD!
I heard of this syndication thing for the first time. It seems like a great way to kill a good thing. Lost, Heroes etc. all went downhill when they started playing the 'milk the rating cow' game. To me, not meeting the mother for another 5 years, or even moving in that direction, robs the show of a bit of its essence. The first three seasons really great. But if its just going to be another 'sitcom' well, there are a few other smart ones I can suggest.
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5-19-2009 @ 1:06AM
Frantic Monkey said...
Not a bad finale. It was awesome to have Lily back in the mix after being away for so long. Plus we got some movement on the Robin/Barney front which is way more interesting that the whole "how i met your mother" quest.
I know that's the central premise of the show, but would anyone really miss that element if they were to suddenly drop it and just focus on the here and now for the gang. I've never been interested in how Ted met his wife. And I've certainly never cared for his damn kids.
http://hollywoodhubbub.com
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5-19-2009 @ 8:28AM
GL said...
I'm with you. Every time Ted and his future wife are mentioned, I feel like retching.
5-19-2009 @ 3:22AM
Heather said...
Felt it was a consistent episode. The goat was very anti-climactic, but what could they do? I suppose the Goat was funny to older Ted at the time. The "Murder Train" song was really funny though. I love that song.
As for this season? It hasn't been as consistently funny as the others have, that's for sure, but it makes sense for syndication. I don't think Lost easied it up for the audience though, I think Lost just gave people more of a headache and left all the casual viewers in the dust.
I like how the mother story will be dragged on. I don't really care at this point since it'll be hard to find an actress that seams well with the established cast and whom the audience likes as the mother. Victoria is the only one I can think of and her story is open. But whatever. I just want to find out what's with Barney/Robin.
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5-19-2009 @ 3:55AM
Jake said...
i just don't feel that the end of the show is when Ted meets his mother - I mean is that the last scene in the last episode? That's crazy. We should have a season where he does find his mother and how that went. Could I make a request that Heather Locklear be the mother???
anyways, what makes this show great is the cast, I just wish the writing was as great as the first season, but really what keeps me watching is the cast -- the very underrated Josh Radnor especially.
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5-19-2009 @ 5:12AM
James said...
heather locklear is like 50...these guys are 31. she cant even have kids anymore.
5-19-2009 @ 8:28AM
GL said...
Lighten up, James.
5-19-2009 @ 6:35AM
Martin Sundstedt said...
"Did Marshall ever figure out what he was going to do on that roof next door if he ever made the leap? Was he going to just jump in the hot tub and have a go? Wouldn't the building's owners catch him?"
Never mind that, Marshall's a lawyer - he's smart so he would probably know what to do. I would like to know how they intend on leaving the neighbouring roof. Their roof is a bit higher up than the hot-tub-roof. Or are there other roofs below, like a stair-effect ?
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5-19-2009 @ 7:01AM
Alicia R. said...
The goat was anti-climatic. I felt let down by it. BUT how much of that was my fault too.
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5-19-2009 @ 8:31AM
Cathy said...
I believe HIMYM is already being shown in syndication-Monday evenings on Lifetime...
Reply
5-19-2009 @ 8:55AM
Joel Keller said...
Yes, but notice it's not on your local stations yet. Usually, off-network rerun deals are struck with cable networks after four seasons, and traditional syndication deals (where the show ends up on your local station twice a day) comes after about 100 episodes. Scrubs was on Comedy Central, for instance, for an entire year before it appeared on local stations.
5-19-2009 @ 8:53AM
Cincinnati Mike said...
Ted: "That was the year I got dumped at the altar. The year I got fired. The year I got beaten up by a girl goat. It was the best year of my life."
Jack Donaghy: "What are you talking about? It's only May!"
Reply
5-19-2009 @ 9:47AM
Tove said...
I thought it was a pretty great episode, and a good season finale. I love the thought of Ted working as a professor, it really suits him.
The Barney/Robin thing was pretty expected but still awesome.
Don't you think it's funny that old Ted said "as you know, that's how i met your mother". If the kids already knew he met their mother at his teaching job, then why would they sit through hours and hours listening to stories before that? But that's what gave us these 4 seasons, so I don't mind, haha.
I think they are doing a pretty good job balancing the main story about the mother, and the other stories. Because I love all of the characters, and think the show is really funny and clever, I want it to go on for some more time, so let Ted ramble on :)
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5-19-2009 @ 9:48AM
Matthew Hood said...
MORE SLAP BET!!!
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5-19-2009 @ 10:21AM
Key Rick said...
MORE "NAKED MAN"
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5-19-2009 @ 12:23PM
George said...
MORE COWBELL!
Reply
5-19-2009 @ 3:28PM
surfer said...
"Ted", the most annoying character on TV anywhere.
Wimpy, whiny and all-around annoying. Someone that would get a beatdown from the people around him in the real world.
Reply
5-19-2009 @ 4:39PM
Laryka said...
In the scene where Marshall is trying to work up the courage to jump, did anyone else notice the slutty pumpkin walk by?
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