HIMYM Review: Knight Vision

How I Met Your Mother 

"Knight Vision" Review

Last week's The Poker Game had quite a bit to be desired, remaining in a stalemate position regarding Robin and Barney's fears about marriage. Luckily last nights episode eradicated this really humdrum plot in favour of one of acceptance and pride in their relationship.

Robin and Barney's story begins with their moody Reverend coming to visit. As Maid of Honour, Lily attempts to appease the reverend only to find out that Robin and Barney stole the story of how she and Marshall met for their own benefit to secure the church. 

This worked really well, particularly with the character switch over flashback with Robin and Barney spoofing Marshall and Lily's behaviour. This whole sequence proved to work even better with Lily retelling an altered version of Ted meeting Robin, but with her and Marshall instead. It was a little bitter to say against Robin, but acceptable considering the circumstances. Luckily Ted wasn't around during this retelling as this harsh truth and realisation might have sparked some possible resentment towards Barney.

I was under the assumption that this whole "stolen story" was going to run through the entire episode with Barney and Robin forcing it onto multiple subjects, reassuring themselves that their relationship is solid, whilst diminishing the tie of the dorm room encounter to Marshall and Lily, but thankfully this was not the case. 

Instead we were greeted with the couple finally reaffirming how strong their relationship is, even after all the trials and tribulations along the way. It was nice that that two name dropped certain events throughout the show to emphasize how well they know each other.

As for Marshall, he was put back in place of the road trip to Farhampton with Daphne. But this time things took a turn for the more serious with the two having a discussion about Marshall taking the judgeship job and preparing him for the inevitable confrontation with Lily. 

The practice confrontations were pretty funny with an imaginary flashforward of Marshall telling Lily the news. Lily's miming with Daphne's voice dubbed over was really well done as Alyson Hannigan really exaggerated her lip movements and the voice sync was perfect making it somewhat believable. Marshall's  interruptions of the sequences whilst feeling uncomfortable about Lily talking in Daphne's voice was also fairly funny. 

Finally moving onto Ted, although his plot should be considered to be the main story (especially considering the episode title is named after his antics) it felt more of a side filler piece than anything else.

His attempt to try and hook up with one of three girls for the weekend worked fairly well in line with the introductory "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" reference, but the knight constantly popping up throughout got a little bit annoying after a while. We all knew what he was going to say to Ted each time. 

It was good though that even with Ted wanting so desperately to hook up with this girl Cassie, he still remained a proper gentleman. 

I was kind of hoping to see the mother wandering around in the background whilst Ted was having to cope with Cassie's hysteria but unfortunately this didn't surface. it would have been a really nice touch.

Overall Knight Vision had a fair amount going for it. Instantly from the introduction scene with Barney's little jab at Ted's dry spell and the Indiana Jones reference I knew this was going to be a more solid episode. 

The silliness of both Ted's and Robin and Barney's plots combined with the seriousness of Marshall's created a nice balance, even if it was in a little bit more in favour of the stupidity (e.g. Barney's imaginary Weekend at Bernie's Reverend scene). 

What becomes of the Reverend was a little bit dramatic, but at least Barney and Robins search for a new one will hopefully remove any need to bring back their questioning of marriage. 

Finally, the cliffhanger was a bit harsh of Daphne to do, but the truth had to be outed eventually. Definitely looking forward to Lily's reaction and probable conflict between her and Marshall.

7.9/10

Speculative Note: Has anyone else realised that The Princess Bride and Indiana Jones have been referenced in both HIMYM and Big Bang Theory over the last few weeks?? Is there a link or reasoning behind this??

HIMYM Review: The Poker Game

How I Met Your Mother 

"The Poker Game" Review

Last weeks HIMYM ended with The Karate Kid's Billy Zabka not amused by Ted's returning role as Barneys best man. Immediately I anticipated a slapstick episode with a "war" being waged between the two to follow. Interestingly this did not happen but instead a different war had sparked, this time between Robin and the Stinson family.   

With Barney and Robin's plot they were once again in a bit of a repeated situation, still testing the strength of the relationship. In this case James was making bad jokes about the issues of marriage. Although it did not seem to be affecting Barney negatively in any way making him uneasy at all, Robin was still concerned that it could amount to Barney getting cold feet. Ultimately Robin's hand at a poker game, stripping what was left of James dignity by acquiring his wedding ring proves to be her tactic of revenge.

This situation seemed peculiar at best. It was understandable that James was upset with his divorce, but it wasn't to be expected that he would try and make Barney question marriage. especially as in the previous episodes he was trying to help the couple out.

The same can be said for Robin. Yes she has been known to have a harsh side to herself, but taking her brother-in-laws wedding ring was a little too much to prove a point.

The addition of Loretta (Barneys mum) did not add much to this simply satisfactory story. Her instant distaste in Robin was a little odd seeing as the two seemed comfortable in each others company at the end of Season 8's The Bro Mitzvah. To add insult to injury Barneys outlandish denouncement of his brother and mother at the end was far too crazy. This only seemed to act as an excuse for the war to be officially waged between Robin and Loretta.

As for the remainder of the cast, Ted, Marshall and Lily 's story was actually a lot better than anticipated.

It all begins with Ted bragging that he bought three wedding gifts for Robin and Barney only for Lily to be furious as Ted had supposedly not given her and Marshall a present for their own wedding. 

The structure of this plot was reminiscent of the standard episodes of the previous seasons with multiple flashbacks to uncover the actual truth behind the series of events. Not only was it nice to have flashbacks of the times spent in the apartment, on the roof and in the bar (particularly as I noted last week that the Farhampton location is getting somewhat stale) but the plot was actually funny; from both Ted and Marshall's assumptions that each one had understood their subtle hints, to the present day immature little innuendo's.

A great addition was the return of some old friends, Claudia and Stuart. Although they did not play a tremendous part in the scheme of things, it was intriguing to question why they're not together anymore. (Unless Stuart's shower partner is actually his mistress! if so it could cause some dilemmas during the wedding. But this is just speculative)   

Another nice touch was small glimpse of the Slutty Pumpkin, A nice little memento to keep up with the continuity of the show and to highlight that Ted did not pay that much attention in the search for her for all those years.

Overall The Poker Game would not have survived without the forgotten wedding present scenario. Barney and Robins situation seems to be in a constant state of repetition and was neither interesting nor funny. Luckily the secondary storyline was the opposite, creating a little bit of curiosity about the truth of the gift and providing a fair amount of laughs. 

It has to be noted that the cast of HIMYM stated at the San Diego Comic-Con that their roles in season 9 would remain minimal in order for Ted's part to play as the main focus again. This does not seem to be the case yet. Additionally it is really unfortunate that the mother has not made an appearance again after that lovely introduction and fair amount of screen time in the initial two episodes of the season, ultimately it now feels like a major tease.

7.1/10

HIMYM Review: The Broken Code

How I Met Your Mother 

"The Broken Code" Review

Last week's episode of HIMYM ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger with Barney telling Ted that he saw the events unfolding at the carousel. There has been great curiosity during the period between the episodes, questioning whether Barney would ultimately be cold hearted about it, much like his small confrontation with Ted in last season's Romeward Bound, or simply brush it off, they are bro's after all. What we ended up with was little bit of both.

The main plot started off rather simply with Barney accepting that Ted's moment with Robin was nothing to be worried about. It was a little surprising at first to think that the situation would be resolved so quickly but it clearly wasn't going to be as simple as that. Eventually Barney's constant best man requests to Ted were proof that he was not happy about the situation. Of course Ted being his polite self rushed to aid his best friend without any hesitation. 

The requests thankfully weren't overtly ridiculous and it was funny to hear Ted go on in adoration of himself with his calligraphy skills, especially with his note on his travelling quills. It made him sound stupendously pretentious. Although Ted eventually realised that Barney was still upset, it was a little bit too long for him to cotton on to this fact. Ted is smarter than that.

As for the remainder of the plot, it amounted to Barney trying to prove that Teds actions was a felony within the laws of the Bro Code. It was a low blow for Barney to take on Ted, especially considering that Robin was originally Ted's partner who eventually forgave Barney for sleeping with her after their split. Barney should have given the same amount of respect. 

The overall situation was somewhat resolved, but there still remains to be a bit of hesitancy about Teds possible future actions.        

As for Lily and Robin, their side story seemed to be a bit of filler. After the realisation that Robin has no other female friends, Lily goes on a hunt for a new girlfriend to somewhat fill her place once she's in Rome (if that trip ever happens). 

Although we know this to be true that Robin has a lack of female friends, it didn't really justify the need to bring back her annoyingly shrill persona, particularly with Patrice. It honestly does not bode well with her overall character. 

This side plot felt useless in some sense because Lily instantly rejects what she is trying to do to help Robin in the first place. Her psychotic behaviour towards this potential new friend of Robins was not effective in any way, purely because the exchange lasted a minute at most. 

Thoughts have come to mind that this event is in preparation for Robin to meet and befriend the mother whilst Lily accepts this transition but whether or not this will be the case is yet to be seen.   

Finally Marshall had a bit more priority in this episode. He became more involved with the goings on at Farhampton with the help of Marshpillow Version 2.0; simply an iPad attached to the head, using video calling to be involved with the shenanigans. 

He was offered a few good little jokes based on the delay of the video calls and there were some great references to Weekend at Bernie's whilst Marshall tried to aid and assist with Ted and Barney's problem. 

It was nice to see Marshall once more involved with his friends rather than on his own little trip with Daphne to Farhampton. 

Overall The Broken Code felt a little similar to last weeks episode in that it attempted to be equally as serious towards the end, in this case for Ted and Barney. But unfortunately this time it did not have any profound effect, except for some expectations of the inevitable. 

There were a few nice guest star returns, but Tim Gunn's jokes were very much hit and miss and Billy Zabka did not have much presence until a few words muttered to Ted at the end, although I must say I'm a little intrigued to see what The Karate Kid star's role will be with Ted in later episodes.  

6.8/10    

Sidenote: Only four episodes in, is anyone else feeling that the hotel location is getting a bit stale??

HIMYM Review: Last Time In New York

How I Met Your Mother 

"Last Time In New York" 

Review

After last weeks two good introductory episodes for season 9, the expectation for the show to continue this way was put in place. Whilst this weeks episode wasn't as well delivered, it still was a fairly decent offering with the same overall tone.

Starting off with Lily and Ted, yet again their story arc was the best of the episode. Once more it was played nice and seriously for the majority of the time. Yes there were little side gags here and there such as the return of Linus serving Lily drinks, but for the most part they kind of worked. 

This was most definitely the case for the return of the swords. It was a nice subtle nod towards the season one episode "The Duel" but was also great in that it worked within Ted's list. It was also a great touch that Lily and Robin got involved too with their own little duel with funny little incorrect references to The Princess Bride. But what was more important was that it all linked into Robin finding the list. Although Lily saved him from admitting the truth about it, for now anyway, it was great to see her maternally protective side towards Ted.

Unfortunately apart from Ted and Lily's sincere storyline, the rest of the gang were left with rather lacklustre plots. 

For the case of Barney and Robin they were once again freaking out about the consequences of tying the knot, concerned that once they commit they will end up in an argumentative, sexless marriage. Fair enough that there is a nice little resolution for the two of them at the end of the episode, but it is a little bit concerning that this fear is still ongoing. I cannot tell if it's the writers are simply running out of ideas for the two of them together or whether it may actually play a stronger role later on in the season. Let's hope it is the latter.

Additionally Barney and Robin were left with a plethora of bad jokes about the old relatives coming to the wedding, comparing them to zombies and the like. Apart from a small joke from brother James "sacrificing" himself to the old people to save Barney, the rest was not funny in the slightest.   

As for Marshall he was practically non existent in this episode, only making minor appearances here and there. It's a little tough to highlight his place in the show. There were references to his NFL Viking loving antics in the Packers state of Wisconsin, only for him to be eventually made a fool out of, but me being British, these jokes flew right over my head.

Overall the episode was generally satisfactory, but in true HIMYM form it was the final moments that heightened its sense of purpose. 

Lily's speech to Ted was a really nice touch with all the flashbacks of the last 8 years. It really brought about the sense that the show is really ending. 

But more importantly it was the last few seconds which resulted in a major cliffhanger between Ted and Barney and calls into question how seriously Barney will treat this whole affair.

Although a bit of a bumpy ride, Last Time In New York still managed to pull me in and made me extremely curious about what will happen in next weeks episode.

7/10