May 15, 2012 - 9:54pm
'How I Met Your Mother' RECAP: Barney's bride
BY PROMA KHOSLA AND RADHIKA MENON
- CBS
Daily Arts Writers Proma Khosla and Radhika Menon recap the seventh season finale of CBS’s sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.”
Proma: Well, after that season, this finale definitely deserves an 8 or higher.
Radhika: Agreed. A lot of it was predictable, but I think it gave the audience exactly what they were looking for in the end. We got an Eriksen baby and a face to Barney’s bride!
Proma: And what a face it was! We knew it would be Robin all along, but that didn’t make the episode any less nerve-racking.
Radhika: Especially given the classic HIMYM fake-out. Although Barney’s proposal to Quinn was too cute.
Proma: Yes, if complete fantasy. Real airport security would have killed him within five minutes. But yes, the longer we spent with Quinn, the more optimistic I became about Robin. One of the things keeping this episode from being a perfect 10 is the obnoxious amount of Quinn.
Radhika: Yeah ... and she turned Barney’s bro pad into a 5-year-old’s room with an obnoxious amount of pink. Yuck. If that wasn’t a sign that she wasn’t right for him, I don’t know what is.
Proma: I have stayed in that room. My younger cousin in England has pretty much the exact decor sense of the designer Quinn talked to, and let me just state, for the record, that rooms like that are inherently haunted. But I digress.
Radhika: Haha. Moving onto Ted and Victoria, this is a storyline I kind of hated. Maybe it’s because we know she’s not the mother or maybe it’s because Ted is doing to her fiancé Klaus exactly what Stella did to him a few years back. Whatever it was, it didn’t sit well with me. And don’t get me wrong, I love the character of Victoria. But the timing is off.
Proma: In keeping with his character arc this season, Ted Mosby once again shows zero personal growth. The fact that he acknowledged doing what Stella did to him and still went ahead with it is really disturbing. Ted, you and I need to have a talk about masochism.
Radhika: I guess I’m interested in seeing what exactly they plan on doing now that they’re both free of restrictions, seeing as that’s what kept them apart before. But honestly, I’m ready to meet the mother already. Hopefully this is the last hoop to jump through before she’s revealed.
Proma: Which brings us to the other thing keeping this episode from a 10: barely a mention of Mother. I was under the impression that we’d meet her at the wedding, but it became clear early in the finale that there just wasn’t going to be enough time. We’ve talked before in our recaps about how meeting the Mother is a gimmick the show started with but no longer necessarily needs, but don’t forgetabout her!
Radhika: Exactly! And we’ve been teased about meeting her at Barney’s wedding but just show us her face already! I accept it’s all part of the plan but the plan is being drawn out a bit too long now. I mean, Ted isn’t exactly the young stallion he once was.
Proma: It has actually been two full seasons that this wedding thing has been going on. Interestingly, Josh Radnor seems to have aged the least of the main cast. Again, I digress.
Radhika: Yes, the years have treated him well.
Proma: The show has to get renewed; I just don’t see how all this can be wrapped up in one season. Unless they end with just meeting the Mother, which would be nothing short of cruel. Again, we’ve said it before, but people truly care about these characters. Even though Ted’s stuck in a romantic cesspool, I want to see him fall in love, woo the woman of his dreams, and get married.
Radhika: I think it will be renewed. HIMYM is one of CBS’s most popular and solid comedies and I think they’ll milk it for what it’s worth. And frankly, I want to hang out with these characters for a bit longer. I’d like to meet the Mother soon — and the beauty about this show is that their meeting doesn’t necessarily have to be the end. Although it would be magical for the last words of the series to be “...and kids, that’s how I met your mother.”
Proma: The writers are smart enough to see the appeal of that phrase. Sounds like a perfect finale for season 8 to me ...
12:11 AM
Radhika: Your speculation is as good as mine. With all this romance talk, we forgot about the little bundle of joy we got tonight — Marvin Waitforit Eriksen!
Proma: That is the coolest middle name ever.
Radhika: That kid is going to be a badass.
Proma: I’m sure he’ll hate them for it, but it’s just too good. They also picked an adorable baby.
Radhika: Great casting.
Proma: The senior citizens on the bus were a great touch as well. It was unexpected, touching and humorous: CLASSIC HIMYM.
Radhika: I loved that. I also loved the various gags in the form of stories to calm Lily down during her contractions.
Proma: THE DOOR.
Radhika: I loved the end of that one! I expected there to be an unlimited supply of beer or something. Or Narnia. My favorite one was the Halloween that they all showed up as Bender from The Breakfast Club.
Proma: Hahaha, oh the hair.
Radhika: ’Twas perfect.
Proma: ’Twas.
