Ted and Robin race through the airport to try to make a flight to Chicago so that Ted can interview for his dream job. But they're too late, and Ted and Robin argue over whose fault is.
They first decide that its Barney's fault, because months earlier he ran in the NY city marathon without training to prove that he could. This resulted in his legs giving out on the subway, and Ted had to go rescue Barney. Ted jumped a turnstile, and was fined, and had a court date resulting in him missing his flight.
Then they decide that it was actually Robin's fault, because Barney only ran the marathon because Marshall had injured his foot, because Robin walked in on him in the bathroom.
However, Robin argues that it was actually Lily's fault, because she ended up walking in on Marshall because Lily kept her up all night waiting for a wedding dress store to open, and she went to Ted's apartment to sleep.
Ted realizes however that this can all be traced back to him, since they discovered the wedding dress store was having a sale because him and Robin went to buy hot dogs with the money Ted got from a lucky penny he found.
Ted misses his flight, but it turns out the job he wanted would have been transferred to Chicago, and if he had gotten it he might not have met the mother.
Notes
In this episode we get a flashforward to Ted marrying the mother, with Barney and Marshall as his groomsmen. We don't see Robin or Lily, so we have no idea what part they will play in the wedding, or what their relationship with the mother. But Ted does say that if he had moved to Chicago he never would have met the mother. Sine he had already met Robin, it stands to reason that she is NOT the Mother. This is more evidence to refute Ted/Robin fans, but they'll never learn. Also I'm pretty sure that Ted first mentioned finding that penny, back in the second episode of the season. The writers are paying off a very minor plot that most of us never really noticed or cared about. Kudos to them. Also this episode flashes back to Marshall and Lily being together as he trains for the marathon. The timeline on this is very sketchy, as they were probably broken up at this point, but maybe it works. Maybe....
Review
An episode built around non-linear story telling. Its sort of a Memento type episode. Sort of. Not really. Anyways, the idea of Barney running the marathon without training is really funny. He is so awesome. Yet as per usual, his awesomeness has consequences as his legs give out and he is forced to ride the subway. Barney lives life to the fullest, which means he experiences the highest of highs but also the lowest of lows. I also like that even when Ted and Robin are together, the writers keep you interested in finding out who the real mother is. They aren't allowing viewers to simply devote themselves to Ted/Robin, they show that Ted/Robin isn't meant to last. I am sort of annoyed by the timeline issues though. I feel like the writers ignore continuity too often. They're better on this show then in others, but it still annoys me, because I want them to be as close to perfect as possible. I guess its just something we have to deal with. Continuity won't be perfect, but the show is better in my opinion when it strives to make it perfect. It allows for inside jokes and references to really land with fans. On the plus side this episode was pretty funny, and I always enjoy when they use non-linear methods of telling a story. It's a classic HIMYM move.
Ranking
8 out of 10.
Season Comparison: Season 1 vs. Season 2: "Game Night" vs. "Lucky Penny"
I'm starting to worry that Season 2 might not win this episode comparison. I've always considered the first 4 Seasons of HIMYM to be rising in quality, with each season better then the previous one. But that might not be the case, using the pure Episode vs. Episode comparison. Season 2 is definitely funnier, and the acting is spot on, while in Season 1 there was a learning curve. But Season 1 had way more incredible revelations. Game Night is a great example of that. In Game Night we get the story of how Barney became Barney, and are introduced to his past self Granola Barney. Other parts of this episode were lacking, but Barney's story was so good in this episode, I don't care. Game Night is really the definitive Barney episode. Anyone who wants to understand Barney's character, and all Barney/Robin fans who want to see him be able to make a commitment, should look to this episode to understand more about him. He was an innocent, who had his heart ripped out, and thus transformed himself into the Darth Vader of Barney we know today. Game Night also introduced us to Marshall being great at games. Both of these things are great character quirks that helped me fall in love with HIMYM to begin with. Lucky Penny was a good episode, and I enjoyed the way it was told, but it just can't compete.
Winner: Season 1 Episode 15: Game Night
Scoreboard
Season 1: 8
Season 2: 8
No comments:
Post a Comment