7.5/10. Plenty of good things here. It's Sitcom 101 stuff, but I especially appreciated how Marshall preaching to Ted that he can't hole up in Minnesota just because he's afraid of things getting serious with Zoe and how much pressure that is after her divorce since that's just an attempt to escape from reality, led to him realizing that he did the exact same thing when it came to coping with his father's death. The story about long road trips with his family and the comfort he had of knowing that his father was driving them even when little Marshall couldn't see because of how dark and snowy it was is a well-observed symbol of parental trust, and the "ghost" of his dad confessing that he couldn't see either, but was just doing his best to keep moving forward was a nice grace note to that.
Ted and Zoe's stuff had less heft to it, but at least there was some solid relationship stuff, with Ted being true to form and not knowing how to read signals and blowing things out of proportion. I do like when Ted goes to the gang for advice, because whether it's Barney's awful stuff, Robin's insights into women, Lily's practical advice, or heart-to-hearts with Marshall, it tends to bring out the best and funniest out of the group.
And there was some very solid comedy here. Lily carried a lot of the comedic load for once, with the whole "Marshpillow" thing being a great source of laughs, and her interactions with Judy and an arrested development Marshall manchild were very funny as well. Plus, the gang ribbing Ted for his "british morning socks" and Robin's coworkers was good for some solid comedy as well (Bev especially).
The actual "Desperation Day" hijinx with Barney and Nora was probably the weakest part. Maybe I've just grown too inured to Barney's shtick after how much of it we've seen, but it just doesn't have the same pizzazz that it once did. And Nora seems like another standard "does buy into Barney's B.S." love interest like we've seen so many times before. The whole laser tag switcheroo is a nice touch, but otherwise the story gets a little forced to once again try to show some growth with Barney.
Overall, it's a good episode with some real heart and good comedy to it that falters a little bit with its Barney-romance focused elements and cheesy Roman humor.
SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON, AND POSSIBLY SERIES! AVOID IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE WHOLE THING ALREADY
I forgot that this was where Nora shows up. To be frank, she kind of blends together with Barney's stripper girlfriend in my mind, mostly because I don't really remember what, if anything, Barney gained from these relationships. All I really recall about Nora is that Barney lies to her about something or lets her down in some way and she breaks up with him and then he tries to prove his worth once more and it falls apart for reasons that left me nonplussed at the time. I kind of remember their relationship as a big waste of time, but then again it feels like most of Barney's relationships end up being mostly a waste of time, and that it's his family and friends that motivate growth, so who knows!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-06-18T02:06:47Z
7.5/10. Plenty of good things here. It's Sitcom 101 stuff, but I especially appreciated how Marshall preaching to Ted that he can't hole up in Minnesota just because he's afraid of things getting serious with Zoe and how much pressure that is after her divorce since that's just an attempt to escape from reality, led to him realizing that he did the exact same thing when it came to coping with his father's death. The story about long road trips with his family and the comfort he had of knowing that his father was driving them even when little Marshall couldn't see because of how dark and snowy it was is a well-observed symbol of parental trust, and the "ghost" of his dad confessing that he couldn't see either, but was just doing his best to keep moving forward was a nice grace note to that.
Ted and Zoe's stuff had less heft to it, but at least there was some solid relationship stuff, with Ted being true to form and not knowing how to read signals and blowing things out of proportion. I do like when Ted goes to the gang for advice, because whether it's Barney's awful stuff, Robin's insights into women, Lily's practical advice, or heart-to-hearts with Marshall, it tends to bring out the best and funniest out of the group.
And there was some very solid comedy here. Lily carried a lot of the comedic load for once, with the whole "Marshpillow" thing being a great source of laughs, and her interactions with Judy and an arrested development Marshall manchild were very funny as well. Plus, the gang ribbing Ted for his "british morning socks" and Robin's coworkers was good for some solid comedy as well (Bev especially).
The actual "Desperation Day" hijinx with Barney and Nora was probably the weakest part. Maybe I've just grown too inured to Barney's shtick after how much of it we've seen, but it just doesn't have the same pizzazz that it once did. And Nora seems like another standard "does buy into Barney's B.S." love interest like we've seen so many times before. The whole laser tag switcheroo is a nice touch, but otherwise the story gets a little forced to once again try to show some growth with Barney.
Overall, it's a good episode with some real heart and good comedy to it that falters a little bit with its Barney-romance focused elements and cheesy Roman humor.
SPOILERS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON, AND POSSIBLY SERIES! AVOID IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE WHOLE THING ALREADY
I forgot that this was where Nora shows up. To be frank, she kind of blends together with Barney's stripper girlfriend in my mind, mostly because I don't really remember what, if anything, Barney gained from these relationships. All I really recall about Nora is that Barney lies to her about something or lets her down in some way and she breaks up with him and then he tries to prove his worth once more and it falls apart for reasons that left me nonplussed at the time. I kind of remember their relationship as a big waste of time, but then again it feels like most of Barney's relationships end up being mostly a waste of time, and that it's his family and friends that motivate growth, so who knows!