How I Met Your Mother - Recap: The Walking Elderly
Recap and review of How I Met Your Mother - Season 9 Episode 3 - Last Time In New York:
After two episodes to get reoriented, How I Met Your Mother has settled comfortably into the groove of its new structure, as the series doesn't seem appreciably different than it's always been. The jokes flow about as well now as they ever have, and the story retains much of its narrative punch even despite knowing much of what is going to happen as the story comes to a close (at least where Ted and The Mother are concerned). "Last Time In New York" gets us closer to the endgame of the series, introducing the new life Ted (Josh Radnor) is looking to start, while beginning the process of closing the gap on the subtle feud between he and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) over Robin (Cobie Smulders). It's a solid episode in a final season that is already off and running in grand fashion.
The episode is split mostly down the middle, into a comedic storyline on one end, and a more dramatic one on the other. In the comedic arc, Robin and Barney spend the episode looking for a room to have sex in, away from their families which have arrived in Farhampton for the wedding. The storyline is fast with the quips, from Barney misinterpreting Robin's suggestion that they try "the back door" to the running gag of old people being summoned by the mere mention of actor Mandy Patinkin. It's an incredibly fleet storyline that keeps the pace hectic throughout, as Barney and Robin are terrified of becoming an old married couple, and are desperate to get in one last single-person's bang. In essence, through their constant attempts to escape their elderly family members, Barney and Robin's storyline becomes a horror/zombie movie, and it's a story that plays on several tropes of the genre, such as the unfortunate habit of sacrificing the black guy first. In this instance, it's Barney's brother James (Wayne Brady), who sacrifices himself to the embrace of the elderly in order to allow Barney and Robin the chance to escape.
Of course, the trope ends up being subverted when the elderly relatives don't even notice James there -- and once they do, they go about asking him "a gay question" they have curiosities about, as James does his best to politely endure his own family. It's all charming stuff, mostly because it's done with tongue-in-cheek affectations. It makes the Barney and Robin romance a bit more affecting, as their physical attraction once again gives way to the genuine feelings they have for one another. One of the stronger elements of this new season so far is in both drawing attention to, yet also downplaying, the physical attraction between Barney and Robin, opting instead to exhibit the extent to which their feelings are rooted in something deeper. It's a wise decision if we're going to have any investment in their continued relationship.
The other big storyline of the episode works out pretty well, to boot. Lily (Alyson Hannigan) is helping Ted go through his New York bucket list, since he's moving to Chicago to get a fresh start. However, Lily is perturbed because she's the only one of the gang who knows Ted is planning on leaving. In essence, this wedding is his last hurrah, and Lily astutely points out that Ted is trying to avoid Barney, unsettled by his own lingering attraction to Robin. It's pretty engaging all the way through, but the comedy is also fairly solid throughout, in particular where Ted's list is concerned. His activities involve saying goodbye to the Empire State Building, buying drinks for strangers, and grammatically correcting misspelled graffiti, in the episode's best cutaway gag. Another great bit involves the running gag about sword-fighting, as Ted and Marshall (Jason Segel) end up ruining Lily's rehearsal dinner dress by replaying their own epic swordfight from earlier in the show's run.
Though Lily is furious that yet another swordfight has ended in personal damage to her, we ultimately learn that she and Robin had a swordfight of their own upon realizing how exhilarating it is. Unfortunately, their fight ends with the destruction of Ted and Marshall's bottle of $600 scotch. Their decision to replace the expensive drink with cheap whiskey, coloring it with chocolate syrup, ketchup and hand sanitizer, is a solid bit. But the strongest moment of the Lily/Robin flashback is Lily's mistaken belief that Mandy Patinkin's famous line in The Princess Bride, spoken at the start of the climactic sword fight, is "My name is Rodrigo de Goya, you killed someone I love, prepare to dance!" It's far better than the ongoing storyline with Marshall and Daphne (Sherri Shepherd), with the pair getting stranded in Wisconsin, surrounded by Green Bay Packers fans while Marshall sports his Vikings gear. It's not terrible or anything, but it harms the overall flow of the episode, which was going pretty well just focusing on the Barney/Robin and Ted/Lily plotlines.
Credit: NBC
But the comedy is all setup for the poignant conclusion, in which Lily advises Ted not to say goodbye to the bad things in life, but instead say hello to new chapters, at which point Ted checks off one of the final missing items on his list, “Get one last life lecture from Lily.” It's affecting stuff, and is helped considerably by a fairly dramatic conclusion, in which Barney confronts Ted and reveals that he saw him and Robin at the carousel, implying that their friendship is right on the edge of implosion. It's unlikely that this will prove to be the case, but it's a pretty effective stinger for the close of what is overall a solid half hour of comedy television. This final season is succeeding largely by taking How I Met Your Mother back to its basics, the roots that made it one of the more affecting TV comedies of its era. There are equal parts laughs and warmth here, and that's a heartening aspect about this final collection of episodes.