I usually include How I Met Your Mother in my weekly sitcom roundup, but given the nature of last night’s episode I thought I’d write a solo post this week. If you’ve watched “The Final Page” parts one and two, click on through.
I have conflicted feelings about this episode. I have some major issues with HIMYM that can likely never be rectified. I dislike some major story decisions, and that has changed how I’m able to ingest the show. I’ll begin with the bad, so that I can end the review on a happier note.
My problem was the proposal. It should have been amazing, but it either should have happened several seasons ago or not at all. By telling us that Barney and Robin would end up engaged, it’s been difficult to feel invested in anything this season. It turns out we were never supposed to – Barney was playing the long con, the last play he’d ever need. He enlisted Patrice to participate in a fake relationship…for what? To trick Robin? To test out whether Ted was truly over her? OK, but it was still rather cruel.
Robin knew it was cruel, and she said what most of us were thinking – how could she ever have a relationship with someone who would manipulate her like that? And then Barney pulled out a ring and Robin all but said “Ooh, sparkly!” and IMMEDIATELY changed her mind. Yeah yeah, I know, she’s in love with him. But I found the transition jarring.
The other reason I couldn’t fully appreciate the proposal is because we already know that Robin is going to have some serious cold feet on her wedding day. Her engagement to Barney took place under less than normal circumstances, and she’s still not sure on the actual day? How am I supposed to feel warm and fuzzy about this? This relationship has been dragged out way too much for me to like it anymore.
It’s a shame, because I loved the rest of the episodes. The stuff about having a “pit person” (someone you’re so obsessed with hating that you’d throw them in a pit in your basement) was hilarious, and felt like classic HIMYM. I loved Ted’s mission to prove to his former prof that he’d become a successful architect, and I loved that he was willing to bail on his own big celebration to help his friend. I think Ted was at his best in this episode. The Marshall and Lily stuff was also, for the most part, pleasant.
I don’t want to sound too down on this, because I actually enjoyed viewing the episode. I laughed at it more than I have in a while. It’s just that there are some underlying problems that run too deep for me to ignore. If there’s only one more season left of HIMYM, I’ll stick around to see it through. But if they try to stretch it out longer, I might have to cut the cord.
Best moment: “Damn it, Patrice!” is still funny, and I laughed out loud when Robin freaked out that she was the one who showed Patrice the roof of the World Wide News building.
Runner up: The jinx was a brilliant way to make use of Neil Patrick Harris’s physical comedy skills. “For the love of Destiny’s Child, SAY MY NAME!”
