How I Met Your Mother - Recap: Let Her Go
Recap and review of How I Met Your Mother - Season 9 Episode 17 - Sunrise:
As How I Met Your Mother heads for the end, I wonder if the series might not be illustrating the entire point of why Future Ted (Bob Saget) is telling such a Robin-centric story to his children. There have been plenty of theories over the years that somebody in the main cast is dead in the future, and while I've never subscribed to any of those theories in the past, this episode seemed to paint a portrait intended to suggest that Robin might not be long for Ted's world. Whether that means she dies or that she and Ted just lose touch in the future, I don't know. But "Sunrise" feels like a statement of purpose, a declaration that this show isn't about how Ted met the mother of his children, but how one crucial person in his life prepared him to be the man he needed to be in order to meet the woman with whom he was truly meant to be.
Credit: CBS
The episode sees Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders) searching throughout Farhampton for Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), who has drunkenly wandered off without a trace. The premise itself, however, is merely a setup for the climax to the off-and-on Ted and Robin romance that has been running for nine seasons now. In recounting his past relationships, from Stella (Sarah Chalke) to Victoria (Ashley Williams) right down to Jeanette (Abby Elliott), Ted basically takes inventory of the decisions that have brought him to this point in recognizing not only how much Robin means to him, but just how badly he needs to let her go. It's a parallel that's is illustrated via Ted's childhood recollections of his affinity for a balloon he ended up losing after letting go. In essence, Robin is that balloon for adult Ted: while searching for Barney, Robin recounts Ted's top five relationships, and this pushes Ted to the breaking point, as he reveals that there is no top five for him, just Robin. It's about more than simply that his relationship with Victoria ended because of their friendship; it's that Ted still feels as strongly about Robin now as he did when he decided to end things with Victoria. In spilling his guts to Robin, he reveals his decision to move to Chicago, explaining that while a lot of good things happened to him in New York, a lot of bad things happened as well.
Credit: CBS
However, despite baring his soul to Robin, he has no intention of stealing her away from Barney, saying that he intends to see her down the aisle, even if he has to hold the shotgun himself. But Ted spends much of the episode working his way up to the point where he can finally let Robin go, unresolved feelings be damned. It's a recognition he comes to after we see several flashbacks of his recent meetings with his ex-girlfriends, all the result of his attempt to get Robin's locket back as a wedding gift. All of the girlfriends recognize what Ted doesn't, that this is extremely abnormal (I disagree, but I suppose I never saw it as all that strange that Ted and Robin would remain close. Not every relationship has to end acrimoniously). It's ultimately Jeanette who breaks him down, prompting Ted to admit that he's in love with Robin, and that he doesn't want to just "move on" like everyone keeps insisting he should: if he were able to simply move on from Robin and wash his feelings away, it would mean that what he felt for her wasn't really love in the first place. And this is something Ted refuses to even consider.
Credit: CBS
But in the end, Ted comes to realize that letting go is a form of love, not only for the other person, but for oneself. Ted is allowing himself the hope of a life, no longer anchored by his own unrequited feelings for Robin. Meanwhile, Robin can move on without the burden of feeling she's continually a source of hardship for one of her best friends. Robin is strangely stoic throughout the entire second half of the episode, taking on an almost angelic significance, particularly when Ted metaphorically lets go of Robin in a sequence scored to a cover of “Eternal Flame”. Robin drifts into the sky like a balloon in one of the cheesiest special effects this show has ever done, but hey, it still wasn't as bad as the greenscreen in "Central Park", so I can't really complain. And the earnestness of Josh Radnor's performance really sold the moment, as did his interaction with Cobie Smulders, with whom he shares a tremendous onscreen rapport. It's a real credit to the two actors that the bond between Ted and Robin feels as equally vital and lived-in as it does, and it may have just been their best work this season (so far, anyway). This was a sweet way of closing the loop on this nine-year romance, as Ted is pretty much ready to go for the final push towards The Mother (Cristin Milioti). We're in the home stretch, and it shows in the dramatic weight of the stories here, which are far more affecting than funny (which, frankly, I don't really mind).
As for other meaningful dramatic developments, Marshall (Jason Segel) spends the entirety of the episode having a dream argument with projections of Lily (Alyson Hannigan): the 2013 Lily and the 2006 Lily. The difference between the two Lilys offers some decent comedy, such as 2006 Lily wondering how many Myspace friends she has, and wondering what poor, desperate woman would be dumb enough to marry Barney Stinson. But this is all just a screen for the inevitable drama underneath, as Marshall argues with no just Lily but also the ghost of his late father, all of whom draw attention to just how selfish he's been in holding old grudges and bitterly framing marriage in terms of "wins" and "losses". Present-day Lily tells Marshall that he might lose her if he keeps viewing their relationship in this way, and it's a wake-up call for him, in more ways than one: he stirs from sleep to find Lily waiting for him. We don't know where she's been, but that doesn't really matter now that she's back. Marshall is relieved to see her and tells her he doesn't care where they live as long as they're together. But Lily has already made a decision of her own: they're going to stay in New York. I appreciate the work Segel and Hannigan are doing here, as it's an undervalued storyline that doesn't really get the attention it should. I almost felt like the dream aspect did disservice to the much more realistic issue underpinning the drama, that of a marriage faced with the challenges of supporting the goals and dreams of two very different individuals who've joined their lives. It's the story of any marriage, really, but it works here specifically because we've spent nine seasons becoming invested in this marriage, in particular.
Credit: CBS
But we still have the matter of Barney to address, as we follow his strange, drunken journey throughout Farhampton, encountering two young strangers -- Kyle (Nick Kocher) and Justin (Brian McElhaney) -- and essentially training them to take his place as the heir apparent to "the game" of bachelorhood. He takes them to a strip club, and then later to get tailored suits by Tim Gunn, and, lastly, to a party where he gets them on the good side of the women at the party with a game of “Haveeee you met…?” The sun rises and he leaves his newfound friends with a sheaf of napkins and a word of advice: “whatever you do in this life, it’s not legendary if your friends aren’t there to see it.” It's a poignant little moment made all the more significant by the reveal that the sheaf of napkins are a handwritten version of “The Playbook”. He tells the boys to "take care of the game" for him, and they promise to do just that. Barney leaves them to their future, having safely ensured his skills have been passed to a new generation. It's not exactly the most substantial plotline in the world, but it's emblematic of Barney's continued growth and readiness to become Robin's husband.
"Sunrise" is an episode of considerable dramatic heft, but it never feels self-important or overwrought. As we head into the home stretch of How I Met Your Mother, it's become clear that the series is beginning to wrap up loose ends, meaning we're likely in for a poignant close.