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By Max Nicholson
Looking for our review of the first part of How I Met Your Mother's Season 9 premiere, “The Locket”? Click here.
Đang xem: How i met your mother: “double date”
Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.Picking up mere moments after the end of HIMYM's season premiere, “Coming Back” included strong turnouts from Lily and Ted, who made themselves quite comfortable at Farhampton Inn — well, at least Lily did. Easily, the best recurring bit in this episode was Lily's “Kennedy Package.” The idea that she plans to maintain a steady level of tipsiness throughout the weekend is actually one of the best character stories she's had in awhile. What's even better, though, is that she could potentially keep this up for the majority of the season, which I am all for. In truth, her character is kind of dead weight at this point anyway (at least until Marshall gets there), so she might as well booze it up in the meantime. “Thank you, Linus,” indeed!
HIMYM: What We Hope to See in the Final Season
“Coming Back” also introduced my new favorite character, Curtis the desk clerk, played by Roger Bart (Desperate Housewives, Revenge). His overly sympathetic pity for Ted was definitely one of the highlights this week. He also had, I think, the best line of the episode, as he described the inn's impeccable romantic features, followed by the underplayed mention of “one… grisly murder.”Of course the focus of this episode was on Barney, who regaled Robin with the tale of the Stinson Curse — a blight that had plagued his family with unquenchable horniness for generations. The curse was thought to be broken by James, but, as we soon learned, that was no longer the case since James had divorced his husband. This storyline was noticeably stronger than Barney and Robin's previous cousin scare in that it planted the seeds for Robin's insecurity of getting married. As James pointed out, if Robin thinks her relationship with Barney is so fragile that a made-up curse could break them up, then are they really ready to tie the knot? I imagine this is only the beginning of their doubts resurfacing as the weekend progresses, though they were temporarily subsided in this episode, thanks in part to Barney's, ahem… “elaborate” anniversary gift to James.
Here's to erotic cakes!
Still, the scenes leading up to that were pretty tame. The flashback sequence with the spiteful gypsy and guitar solo were only mildly amusing, and the curse itself felt a little contrived. I was at least glad that Barney was unfazed by James' news, although Barney might not be the person we need to worry about anymore…Meanwhile, Marshall continued his slow-moving journey to Farhampton, as he and Daphne's rivalry persisted. Honestly, this storyline was about as interesting as waiting in line for a rental car, which is exactly all that happened. While it was somewhat funny to see Marshall and Daphne duke it out over the gas-guzzling Monstrosity, there just wasn't that much here that couldn't have been glossed over in one quick scene. Overall, not that great.
What was great, however, was the surprise-twist ending with the Mother and Ted. Here, we got to see a flashforward of the couple returning to Farhampton one year after the wedding weekend. It was a brief exchange, but obviously a very important one. I think the most striking about this scene — other than its momentousness — was how it was presented, with Ted sitting opposite Future Ted and the Mother. I was especially fond of the Future Mother's longing gaze at Present Ted, and then how, when she faded, Ted vowed to bring “her” back to Farhampton one year from now. For me, this was an excellent conclusion to the one-hour premiere, and a fitting lead-in to the rest of the final season.
Lily stole the spotlight in part two of How I Met Your Mother”s season premiere, as the “Kennedy Package” drove her to epic tipsiness. Meanwhile, James” divorce news sparked some good character development for Robin. Marshall”s sluggish car rental subplot pumped the breaks on the Farhampton fun, but Ted”s scene with the Mother managed to conclude “Coming Back” on a high note. (Oh, and did I mention Curtis, the world”s most sympathetic desk clerk?)
Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on ustone.com.vn.
In This Article
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is a comedy about Ted and how he fell in love. It all starts when Ted”s best friend, Marshall, drops the bombshell that he”s going to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Lily, a kindergarten teacher. At that moment, Ted realizes that he had better get a move on if he too hopes to find true love. Helping him in his quest is Barney, a friend with endless, sometimes outrageous opinions, a penchant for suits and a foolproof way to meet women. When Ted meets Robin, he”s sure it”s love at first sight, but destiny may have something else in store. The series is narrated through flashbacks from the future.