HIMYM Review: Season 9 Premiere - The Locket/Coming Back

How I Met Your Mother

Season 9 Premiere

 "The Locket" Review

How I Met Your Mother has returned for its ninth and final season. Considering how long this show has gone on for it was pleasantly surprising that it still has some drive in continuing this crazily long story arc. 

Season 9's premiere begins directly after the ending of season 8 with the cast making their way to Farhampton for Barney and Robins wedding.

Although they all seemed to have an equal amount of screen time, it was the continuing plot between Lily and Ted which seemed to be the more prominent. 

At first it began rather stupidly with Ted being his rather anal self by attempting to have a pretentious road trip filled with visits to windmills and a driving gloves. Thankfully this transpired into a more serious affair with Robins locket coming back into play and whether or not Ted will give it to her. Interestingly a flashback produced a bit of a twist about the locket, with the episode ending with Ted in LA. 

As with Lily it was great to see her meet the mother, of course completely unaware that this will eventually be Teds future wife. Apart from the little over exaggeration about a batch of cookies, the two of them worked really well together, I dare say those few moments had more genuine bonding than Lily and Robin ever had.

Barney and Robin were saddled with a running side gag of the two possibly being related to one another (Remember Barney is 1/4 Canadian). It was fairly funny, with Robin speaking in her native tongue and Barney asking her to speak English, but it wasn't anything amazing. What made it good was that it loosely tied into Teds plot with the two of them questioning who may be a wildcard at the wedding, potentially ruining it.             

As for poor Marshall, he was left with a sub plot which was not overly entertaining. It wasn't so over the top that it became ridiculous but the jokes were simply lacklustre and Daphne was annoyingly loud and obnoxious. It looks to be an epic journey for Marshall to get to the wedding. But I hope he arrives in Farhampton soon.  
Overall the premiere episode was well done. Remove the anomaly of Marshall's plot and you have a pretty great episode. I have always preferred the serious side of Ted and it was nice for that side of him to make a big comeback. The flashbacks also have left me intrigued as to what happened and if the show will develop it more (I'm sure they will).

"Coming Back" Review 

Moving onto the second part of CBS's double episode, "Coming Back" was as equally as good as the premiere. 

For Barney and Robin their plot was a little bit more fleshed out than the previous episode. In this case Robin still has fears of Barney freaking out before the wedding and reverting back to his old gigolo ways. It was good that her fears were heightened even more after James's (Barneys brother) secret is revealed to his sibling. It ended up with a nice little resolution for the couple, one which showed that Robin need not worry as Barney has grown up tremendously. The ending was a little sappy for my taste, but was still well received.

As for Ted he was left with sympathetic yet pitying behaviour for being a singleton at a couples hotel. The joke between him and the concierge ran for little bit too long, combined with a minor gripe that this was used in a previous episode when He, Marshall and Lily take a road trip to Chicago. Aside from that Ted had a great scene with the mother, although it was a flashforward, I hadn't anticipated seeing the two of them on camera together so early on in the season. The chemistry between the two was outstanding and you can truly believe that this ends up being Teds love of his life, a perfect match.

As for Lily and Marshall they were left with some mediocre gags. Lily's "Kennedy package", which consisted of her constantly getting served drinks in order for her to cope with Marshall and Marvin's absence was poorly implemented. It was an excuse to reveal James' secret but it felt lazy.

Marshall's continuing adventure to get to New York also remained a low point. Marshall's caricatured kindness to others was a bit annoying knowing that he can also be an assertive, force to be reckoned with. Again Daphne was not likable in the slightest. There was a tiny moment of redemption for her but it wasn't enough.       

The second episode was surprising, it was stated that season 9 would focus primarily on Teds journey to the inevitable finish line yet focus was on Robin and Barney for the most part. Of course the remaining cast can't be shunted aside but the writers could try to make more akin to Season 1 whereby Ted was on the forefront whilst his friends helped him along the way. Furthermore, It was interesting that there was no continuation about the locket, but no doubt all will be revealed in a later episode.

The double episode was a great way to introduce season 9, particularly with the new structure of the show spanning the 56 hour period before the wedding. Although there's slight concern that the hotel setting might get stale over time, it might bring about some great storylines, possibly the feeling of claustrophobia for Ted as he is surrounded by his best friend and ex-girlfriend's wedding and the inevitable conflict to arise between Marshall and Lily.
It definitely feels like the beginning of the end, like one giant season finale and I like that. It was a smart decision by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas to not rush the show and deliver the ending it deserves.  

7.8/10