Not a bad but the ending with Grodd! Such an awesome show!!
(via TV Blaze for WP)
I'm glad they killed Bradley. I didn't even remember the girl was still alive...
Sometimes, I just wished they killed Norman as well, but if that happened there would be no show. Still, that guy really pisses me off sometimes. I mean, it's not his fault, he's crazy, but he really pisses me off. When he began dating Emma, he started treating her in a really weird way, like they weren't even friends, much less lovers. Luckily, she found Dylan. He's certainly better boyfriend material than Norman and I think she really deserves someone like him (I really liked Dylan's evolution since the beginning of the show). Btw, hope the transplant works out. They can't take her out of the show.
Bradley's death was enlightening. I always thought "his mom" only convinced him to kill the girls, but turns out it's actually "her" who kills them. That was interesting.
Also, I like to see that Norma is finally realizing how dangerous Norman can become and that she's finally doing something about it. It was about time. Still, she doesn't understand that her too close relationship with him it's what's causing this. Well, that and the fact that he has a natural tendency for lunacy (I mean, Norma said his father was crazy too; I assume she meant crazy like disturbed, just as Norman, and some psychiatric conditions are inheritable so I guess Norman got it from his father). Back to Norma, I love those scenes where she is actually worried, kind of lost, not knowing what to do anymore. It's more interesting than when she's in some random bar kissing some random guy who's old enough to be her son. And Farmiga's acting is so on point in those scenes...
It was a good season. There were some weak plots, like Norman and Emma's relationship and Bradley's return, but Dylemma, Bradley's death and Norma's worry (in the last episodes) makes up for that. Hope Dylemma is endgame, and hope they give a better development to Norman's situation next season, like they did in the last episodes, because in the beginning he was really pissing me off.
Perfectly good episode, with good conceits for each. Robin's story felt a little rushed, but I liked the idea of her breaking up with (and being broken up with) a little kid as analogous to real life breakups. Plus, it delves deeper into Robin's fear of having and relating to kids and apart from the high concept hilarity of being dumped by a six-year-old, gives some more emotional depth to her stance on children.
Ted and Barney's story about trying to prove who has more "game" by hitting on the same girl is less successful overall, but still pretty funny and creative, especially with Marshall's desperate attempts to prove he's still relevant to the competition despite dating (and eventually marrying) the same woman over the past 11 years. The visualization of Ted's revulsion to going where Barney's gone before, and the reveal of Barney's Machiavellian plot to win the competition are pretty amusing in that inventive HIMYM-way, even if the mini-Barneys get kind of cheesy after a while.
All-in-all, it's not the sharpest outing from the show, but there's a lot to like, including the little moments like "every blind date has a 'but...'" conversation. Eminently watchable How I Met Your Mother episode.
Good episode. It had a nice balance between the heavier stuff with Ted and Robin figuring out how to be friends for real after their breakup, and the cartoonier stuff with the slap bet.
In truth, the Ted/Robin story is what elevates the episode. Again, it's not revelatory, but the show still has some trenchant insights about the difficulties in maintaining a friendship with an ex, and the earnest way in which Ted and Robin talk about those problems, express their frustration with the other's new partners (Ted seeing Bob as an old man is a nice perspective joke), decide they can't be friends, and then fall back into their inside jokes and realize that they still have a connection even if it's no longer a romantic one, works very well at walking the line between light and serious.
The slap stuff is a little less successful in my book. I'll say it, I think the slap gets overplayed. The initial slap bet episode is amazing, and the surprise slap at Barney's one-man show is my favorite, but the more it went on, the more it turned into a somewhat contrived production and less a fun little part of the show. I did enjoy the various puns and veiled threats (Jason Segel and NPH sell the material like champs), but the song was a bridge too far in my book, even with a somewhat unreliable narrator.
Still, a funny episode with some good Ted-Robin stuff that doubles down on the heart of their friendship is a win in my book.
7.5/10. I have to admit, I started out kind of hating this one. The idea that a shark like Barney would be fooled by the whole "the stripper really likes me!" routine strains credulity, and it was frankly kind of unpleasant to watch him being strung along like that. At the same time, Robin going all Robinson Crusoe with the dull goings on of the East Meadow, Long Island community that Lily and Marshall had immersed themselves in was the kind of broad comedy that lacked the zing that was present in the earlier seasons of the show. And Ted talking to an imaginary version of Robin while he figures out what to do with her old room (whilst making weak meat-smoking jokes to boot) left a lot to be desired.
And then, the episode completely turned things around, somewhat miraculously. Once Barney realized he was duped, it turned into a surprisingly sympathetic storyline. As Barney himself pointed out, for once he was really trying, and even if he deserved to be hoodwinked by all the times he'd done it to other women, here he was making an effort in the Ted-like belief that it was destiny that he and Quinn ran into one another again, and found himself whacked on the nose with a newspaper by the universe. That's understandably dispiriting, and the idea that Barney was going to give up on growth or putting in real effort to woo the women he actually liked because of this bad experience was a sad one.
But the universe threw him a bone, and he and Quinn running into one another at the coffee shop is just the bit of kismet he needed. The pair's conversation is frankly what was missing between both the Barney/Robin and Barney/Nora arcs. There's real chemistry between NPH and the actress who plays Quinn, and their playful if mildly pointed back and forth has the patter of two real people who have some affection for one another, if both some reservations. I have to admit, like Kevin, I don't think I really thought much of Quinn on my first watch of the series, but coming back I like her as a match for Barney, and the fact that their beginning was Barney experiencing a small taste of what he did to so many women, and that being a springboard for him to grow and become someone better.
The confluence of the other two stories, Ted giving up his apartment so that Marshall and Lily can move back into it, is one of those things that makes no sense if you really stop and think about it. (After all, Marshall and Lily like just moved into that house, and where is Ted going to live, if only for the next week or so when he's looking for an apartment, etc. etc. etc.) But you have to strap on your willing suspension of disbelief goggles and appreciate it for the symbolic gesture it's meant to be. I like the idea that, as in the prior episode, Ted is figuring out a way to move on with his life a bit as well, and that the "new life' needed in the apartment will be Marshall and Lily's child. Again, at a logistics level, it feels like a piece-moving ploy by the show to get Marshall and Lily back into the main apartment (which, as I recall, Lily didn't want to move into because it smelled like "dude"), and it's kind of strained on that front, but at a more thematic level, it works that Ted is starting a new chapter in his life and that Marshall and Lily want a place that feels more like home nearer to their friends to raise their family in.
Overall, a very rocky start, but a lot of good work on the back end (not to mention some great "Ted's bad at carpentry" jokes) to pull this one into above average territory.
8.4/10. It's tough to pull out of the tailspin of the last episode, but damn if this one doesn't deliver an unexpected quality follow up.
The thing that really elevates the episode is Ted and Lily's scene on the roof. Lily admitting that there's days she wishes she weren't a mom, and Ted admitting he was hurt by Robin and Barney getting engaged is a nice match of the two good friends sharing their open wounds with one another. It was a particularly good performance from Alyson Hannigan, who rarely gets to go dramatic on the show, but absolutely nails it here. And Josh Radnor holds his own as well, with the montage of times Ted's gotten "hurt," helping to drive the point home. It's that bit of darkness and realness that gives the show weight beyond the sillier sitcom trappings.
But those trappings are fun! Referring to baby poo as "confetti" is the latest in the long line of HIMYM's visual euphemisms, and Marshall getting blasted with confetti was a fun way to pay off the storyline of Little Marvin being constipated. It's a trifle of a storyline, but it worked.
Barney persuading Robin's Dad to give his blessing, and Robin confronting and then accepting her dad to some degree was probably the weakest of the storylines in the episode, just because there was a whiplash in the tone going from goofy to serious pretty rapidly. Ray Wise trying to be "fun" while still being scary resulted in some awkward laughs, though again, the actual comedy went pretty broad.
On a mythos level, I'm still just not persuaded by Ted being hung up on Robin, but Mrs. Bloom pointed out that even if Ted wasn't still chasing after Robin, the fact that the woman who said she'd never be getting married is now getting married could certainly hurt him, especially when he's still looking for his own The One. And the reveal that the whole band vs. DJ thing works out despite Ted's protestations, because it leads to The Mother playing Barney and Robin's wedding is a nice one.
Overall, a nice little rebound from the doldrums of the prior ep.
7.3/10. Let's take this story-by-story. The bit with Barney and Robin's dad playing laser tag was pure fluff. Sure, there was a weak thread about Robin's dad appreciating and accepting Barney as his son, and it added a little texture to the exchange between Ted and Robin at the end of the episode, but for the most part this was an excuse to have Ray Wise and NPH clown around on the laser tag set for a while.
My favorite story was Marshal and Lily packing for Italy with Ted's assistance as an expert packer. There were a lot of laughs, from taking peeks at the stories behind various objects in the apartment, but also a bit of heft with Ted being unable to let go of a bean bag chair because it represents a portion of their friendship that's now ending. As I've often said, HIMYM often does best when it's exploring real things about growing up and growing older, and a fear that moving away means drifting apart is a relatable one. Here, the episode finds a nice mix between the show's trademark goofiness and heart.
I have mixed feelings about the bit with Robin digging up the locket. In and of itself, it feels like a mild retcon, since we've never heard about it before, but that's what the show does from time to time and I've come to accept. More than anything, I'm just not on board with the Ted-Robin-Barney love triangle. But if they're going to do it, I actually liked the way they realized it here. Despite the cheese, Ted and Robin's conversation feels very authentic, and there's something to be said for the idea that Barney is matching up so well with the father Robin could never connect with, while Ted knew something was up with her even after she begged off. I also liked the rain and the "signs from the universe" part of the discussion that works as a nice call back to the end of Season 1.
Ted's come a long way since that point. There's maturity in the idea of not beliving that everything is a fairytale and that the universe is going to magically deliver you to your truly love. But there's sadness on the endlessly optimistic dreamer, Ted, losing faith. I still don't buy this obsession with Robin on his part, but I buy him giving up on finding true love, and that has power independent of the other relationship drama.
7.8/10. This one had three separate stories that each started out pretty rough but pulled their way into being great by the end, which is worth something! The slightest of these was Marshall's story with Daphne and Ted's Stepdad. As a committed Buffy fan, I enjoy Harry Groener as a general rule, but he's just not a good character even as a giant pester to Marshall. That said, the germ at the center of the story is sound, with the ever-yielding Marshall needing to assert himself, and the results being kind of scary. It's a great individual performance from Jason Segel, and even Sherri Shepherd does well with the "what did I just unleash" reaction to it.
Similarly, Ted dragging Cassie through a spiritless trip to the Lighthouse is a drag, with the humor of his resignation at settling being brief but not much fun. And yet, the end of the episode, which shows his proposal to The Mother is a lovely counterpoint (weak green screen effects notwithstanding), that serves as another instance of the show upping its emotional content by giving us little tastes of the future juxtaposed with sorry ones in the present.
The peak of this is Robin's egg-making competition with Barney's mom. While I like that the show explored the idea that despite numerous complaints about and appearances from Robin's dad, we've heard next to nothing about her mom, the fact that it comes to a head with a scrambled egg showdown was too broad for my tastes, even if I liked the little ringing bell notation for the few facts the gang did know about her mom. That said, the episode included two great moments in this storyline.
The first is the flashback where Barney hugs Robin after learning that she can't have kids. It's those sorts of moments, where Barney acts like a caring human being rather than a sex-crazed psychopath, that are all too scant when the show is trying to sell the Barney-Robin romance. It's a nice little instance of him showing that he cares for Robin with a simple but powerful gesture rather than a zany, misguided scheme. The second is Loretta coming around on Robin after Barney explains all this, and telling Robin to call her mom. Sure, the show doesn't lay that much groundwork for the transition, but Cobie Smulders conveys the quiet pain of her character's mommy issues really well, and makes that moment meaningful.
Again, I have some major issues with where the show goes in its final few seasons, but it's nice to see it still able to make these big, emotional moments land, even if it's a bit of a rocky road within the episode to get there.
I take ir back now. The Iron-masked guy has to be a kind of versión of Jay Garrick. Otherwise, why on Earth would the iron-masked guy tapped the name of a guy who does not even exist (Jay Garrick)? It makes no sense.
Besides, this has to be the only explanation to why Zoom is not dead. Moreover, the Jay we saw when he was killed was not even Zoom yet, so Zoom should be dead. Otherwise, it makes no sense because if there's no other explanatiom left, the timeline is not consistent and it gets weirder and weirder. I love time travel and paradoxes but, unless There's another explanation, Zoom should be dead.
Anyhoo, I loved Zoom's dialogue with Joe: Why the charade? to give people hope detegtive. Hope? so I can rip it away from them. That delovery was absolutely awesome. I enjoyed every single minute of it.
But Barry's decision of giving his speed to Zoom was stupid. Now Barry has no speed although eventually, he will get it back.
Anyway, even though I expected a bit more after such long break, the episode was pretty amazing and touchy. I liked every single minute of it and I can't wait for next week and to discover who the hell the Man in the iron-masked is. Hope it makes much more sense than Zoom convincing his remnant to get killed. Besides, who the hell will accept to be killed in order to get a plan done?
Let's wait til' next week to find out.
I love the Flash!!!
This is so stressful and unnecessary.
Why do they have to choose??
Callie & Arizona are their friends.
BOTH are Sofia's mothers.
I don't get this stupid storyline.
Callie is blind, she doesn't see how this would affect not only Arizona but Sofia's life too.
And the saddest thing she is doing this for Penny?? Losing everything she earned??
Arizona is freaking out!! It wasn't nice to yell at Penny but I get she's scared and the fact that she is the woman who's making her little girl to move across the country makes things worse.
Why Callie has more rights over Sofia than Arizona??
Why Meredith and Owen agrees to testify for Callie??
DON'T PICK A SIDE!!
Meredith, you are in the same situation as Arizona. Zola is legally your doughet like Sofia is to Arizona.
I tough she will see that.
Alex was the only sane one.
April was mean and I get it too.
She already lost a kid but Arizona is trying to help them, but is so complicated.
Steph and Kyle were cute together.
Is sad that is over.
Omelia!! Finally!! You guys deserve yo be happy.
Ben & Bailey are so strong characters and stubborn as hell too.
Next week well see how this goes.
I have to admit, I wasn't on board with this one either at first. Robin trying to get Lily to eat so that she can fit into her dress seems like such a sitcom cliche type of story, and Robin's drill sergeant routine didn't do much for me in the comedy department either.
Ted and Marshall's story in the episode about Ted trying to come up with a story from Marshall and Lily's past to use in his best man's speech was a little better, with the peeks back at the group's history being amusing as usual, and the imagine spot about the boring night Marshall and Lily got back together having some comedic juice to it as well.
And then Barney's training to be on The Price Is Right seems like one of those standard goofy Barney schemes. His encyclopedic knowledge of the prices of household items, his practicing his run down to the contestants' booths, was all standard broad comedy from the most cartoonish member of the gang.
But then it all comes together so perfectly. The reveal that Marshall and Lily were sneaking out so that they could curl up with one another was sweet in and of itself, but the way it connected with Lily being too stressed without Marshall to gain any weight, and the fact that it turned into being Ted's best man speech was some perfect storytelling economy, and does convey a great deal about how, almost exaggeratedly close Marshall and Lily are.
And then Barney's actual appearance on The Price Is Right was hilarious, but also touching. The story that he believed Bob Barker was his dad helps add a bit of pathos to a character who can be pretty obnoxious. The hint of sadness to Barney makes him a little more palatable and relatable in his womanizing. The moment where he tries to show Bob his graduation pictures during a game on the show was great, and the end point where he simply congratulates Bob on a 35-year run, and explains that after believing something for so long, it would be hard for "Bob" to have to come to terms with something other than that truth gives more shading to the character in a way that brings him down to earth.
All-in-all, it's an episode that stumbles a little bit out of the gate, but nails the landing so damn well that it makes everything that came before seem better by association.
One of the seminal episodes of the show that brings so much together. The easiest and slightest story is Barney discovering that the words "it's for the bride" are a kind of superpower that make people at weddings jump at your ever command. It's a solid comedic throughline for the character, and it works to a tee.
But the main event is the massive logistical pain that is a wedding and all that can go wrong. Lily trying to keep her calm, and then losing her cool after almost anything that could go wrong does go wrong for a wedding that had already spiraled away from what she and Marshall wanted was well-observed in its take on the insanity and panic of these types of occasions.
At the same time, Marshall's horrific haircut, and the array of poor choices he and the rest of the gang made in trying to cover it up was a hoot. And the end of it, "we thought of Indian headdress before we thought of hat" was the perfect tag to the storyline.
Then, in the end, it all comes together in a beautiful ceremony that is, conveniently, just the five main characters. And it doubles down on the important thing in a wedding, the celebration of two people's love for one another. The vows from both Marshall and Lily reveal the affection and connection between them, as well as their shared sense of goofiness, that makes it all better and let's them have the wedding they want before the wedding they don't. It's one of the sweetest, most romantic moments on the show (and Barney's breakdown while performing the ceremony is kind of adorable in its own right), and works well as the affirmation of the kind of relationship the show has depicted Marshall and Lily as sharing for some time now.
(Plus, the tag's "please don't" call back was the icing on the cake!)
7.7/10. Look, the idea of holding a gameshow to determine who the possible guardian of your child will be is a pretty out there concept, but damn if the show doesn't just have so much fun with it that it's too much to care. From Barney's objectively horrible, though truly in character answers to each question, to Robin basing all of her parenting ideas on the way her horrible Dad parented her, to Ted's dweeby lame response to everything, this one had a lot of goofy laughs to go around and some great lines. (I especially liked Robin's protest that she was "packing a vag'" and thus was naturally inclined to be "nurturing and all that crap." The silliness of bits like Ted's "Professor Infosaurus" and Marshall's outlandish recurring enthusiasm for games was great.
It's a little disjointed in places, and the emotional stakes at the end of the game show feel a bit tacked on. (Plus, come on, who in their right mind would make Barney the guardian of the child, even with Robin and Ted as counterweights?) But it works well enough in the moment and does a lot of the sort of structural, imaginative, character-based comedy that the show can excel at.
8.1/10. A surprisingly good episode. Having people we mentally would put in "the pit" is one of those classic HIMYM concepts that starts out with lots of great comedic potential, but then leads to, as Ted puts it, a moment of "emotional clarity." Marshall jinxing Barney is one of those goofy friend group bits that the show does so well. And the laughs were mostly there too.
Ted going after an architecture professor who decried his skills as an architect to brag about his building, and realizing that he needs to move on and that the best revenge is living well was a nice little story for him, that showed some nice growth for the character. Similarly, Marshall and Lily running into an old college acquaintance (in a nice mini-Buffy reunion with Seth Green!) is mostly for laughs, but Green plays it well and the whole twist on "The Pit" is nice. Heck, even though I still pretty well hate Robin's arc at this point, her harshness to Patrice is at least mediated by Robin not firing her and Patrice comforting her.
As typical at this stage, a lot of it is still pretty broad, but I like the theme of the episode -- letting yourself out of "the pit," and moving on, and the show explored it in a nicely comedic way for the most part. Good stuff!
7.5/10. I don't know what to tell you folks. The Ted storyline, where he tries to pick up the more than a little off-center Cassie, and as he's repeatedly reminded by the knight from The Last Crusade, chose poorly, is the kind of big dumb plot that I normally hate. But this one worked for me, and I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's just that it was so out there and insubstantial as a storyline that I could just go with the silliness of it. Maybe it's the Indiana Jones twist that is equally exaggerated, but a fun device. Maybe it's Josh Radnor, who sells Ted's defeated response to this whole thing like a champ. Long story short, this is a plotline that shouldn't work but does.
I feel the same way about Daphne rehearsing Marshall through his confrontation with Lily. There's a playacting quality that this show does well, and it allowed Marshall to dig a little deeper into his family's dilemma and gain a little perspective on it. I'm still not over the moon about Daphne, but I liked how she was used here (at the risk of conflating two characters for superficial reasons, her story about her husband respecting her career aspirations feels of a piece with Shirley's on Community).
The weakest story in the episode was Barney and Robin trying to mollify their uptight minister by having stolen Marshall and Lily's story. Again, it points at the cracks in the Robin and Barney relationship and their real life story, without doing enough to spackle over them (though I have to admit, having Lily angrily take down everything about Robin and Barney's romance was oddly cathartic). That said, seeing Robin and Barney-qua-Marshall and Lily and vice versa was an enjoyable lark, and made up for the weak premise.
Overall, this is an episode that shouldn't be as good or as fun as it is, but somehow manages to pull it off. Who am I to deny its charms?
After this break we get to see more of the group dynamic. The premise is good and there are certain new characters to talk about. And I thought one timeline would make things easier, yet it leads the way to unnecessary drama. I mean, we get to see our group working with each other and "collaborating" but hatred comes out of nowhere. Owen is out of jail and holds a grudge against Alex, Shelby is angry with Nimah, and León is totally bananas thinking that someone's following him, which was true.
Being back at the farm was weird,but I enjoyed it all the way. Don't ask me why but I loved the moment Shelby and Nimah were surprised the Farm had a spa. I found it funny. And Dayana, she just wants to have some friends. And Ryan and Alex, ew. We just landed in the ex relationship territory and I hate it. Why have we done to deserve all this drama? It's just awful and awkward. They should just just hello to each other and walk aways. Someone make it stop, please. I need more of Alex and Harry. Man, I really missed him. And I did love his surprise entrance. Why isn't he working at the Farm yet? He would be a nice addition to the team.
And what can I say about Clay (not Clanton) Haas. I already love the guy. I'm calling it, by the end of the season this guy and Shelby will be together, no doubt. I like the guy, he says what he has to and he's right. Pure Stream of Consciousness or Freedom of Speech, whatever you wanna call it. His interactions with Shelby are priceless. At first I thought we were having a Caleb on discount, but I like it. He calling the group a bunch of scholars and monitoring them in High School was funny as hell.
I like focusing on a case without having to remember what the characters remember and who to trust. It's a nice addition, actually. But they keep on being idiots. Ryan being catch in a lie by that "journalist" was pretty stupid. You're supposed to be a high functional and trained spy Ryan, wake the hell up.
Wow. This week's episode was both brilliant and terrific. Zoom is absolutely scary and when he said "You can't lock up the darkness" he scared the hell out of me. Teddy Sears was good at portraying Jay, but as Zoom/Hunter, he is absolutely terrific. I enjoyed his performamce a lot. Hunter's backstory is absolutely amazing and now we know why Zoom is the way he is. I enjoyed the role and importancethat family plays in the episode. Just imagine that Barry could have been Zoom if he hadn't lived With Joe and Iris. It's devastating.
But first things first, the fact that after witnessing the murder of his mother with 11 he became a serial killer is pretty much fascinating. Besides, the fact that he is not only a sociopath but that There are traces of humanity left in him is what makes him an amazing villain.
However, even though the episode was good, the events that occured were a means to an end. Barry's choices in this episodes are quite stupid. Zoom is gonna die one way or another, why opening up the breaches to E-1 so that he can come back in and terrorize Your World and threaten Your loved ones? They should have never opened the breach. NEVER. Looked at what happened. And that bargain atthe end, come on, is it really necessary to keep Your deal with a homicide maniac when he has released Wally? That was stupid, precisely because now Barry cannot save Cait and God knows what the hell is he gonma do to her in E-2, even though she seems to be his weakness.
Zoom is amazing but come on, seeing him There sitting with Team flash talking about his plan and how he killed himself was weird.
And this episodes does raise a lot of questions? Shouldn't Hunter/Zoom be dead by now if he killed his time remnant? That's what happened with Eobard when Eddie killed himself, anyway. However, he's Alive, what brings us back to the "you can't lock up the darkness" thing. What if Zoom has split personality due to V6? Therefore, the iron-masked guy would be Jay Garrick, or a version
What an episode!!! Grant Gustin is an incredible actor. He was absolutely amazing in this episode. Besides, when he was quoting that sad and lovely book and Nora just checking he was saying everything. And when they both said at the same time: love you. It was so touching. And when Nora said "run, Barry, run". that one line. Amazing!
I thought this episode was going to be more focused on Zoom. However, it wasn't. Teo episodes left and the mistery still remains. Who Is the Man in the Iron mask? I've been on a New Theory these past weeks. Hope it is very susprising.
The speedforce in this episode was trippy, really trippy. And one question. the speedforce is fast right? I mean, If they are the source of speedster's powers, why are they always sat? Just thought.
Cisco. Nothing to add. He is amazing, as always, but his interaction with Iris was extremely funny and the way they tried to explain what happened to Barry when he was struck by lightning reminded me when I try to explain what the Flash Is all about, making a mess as I go on. Cisco's reference to izombie was great, and pretty funny. When Barry was back and Cisco said "I'm glad you are back, cause we afe about to die" was hillarious. I was very glad at the end of the episode when Iris and Barry didn't Kiss. Honestly, I thought they were about to, but they didn't and it was great.
Did anyone else notice what Henry said? I'm not going anywhere. Sounded pretty much like he is about to die.
Anyway, an amazing episode this one. Trippy, lovely, funny and compelling. Drop some tears actually. Grant Gustin is amazing and that lovely book...Very touching.
Lookimg forward to watching next episode. Can't wait. And next week we got Black Siren. Lovely seeing Laurel back after her death on Arrow.
7.7/10. This episode is a lot like "Lucky Penny" from two episodes ago in terms of structure, where it has an overarching frame story with a cute gimmick that allows it to look back on some past adventures from the gang. The idea of the FIero breaking down and the group looking back at various fun times had in relation to the car was a nice conceit, and the thing that elevates the episode above "Lucky Penny" is that those scenes were a lot more enjoyable. Marshall's story about how he earned the car is a little cheesy, but there's at least a sense of whimsy to it. Marshall and Ted's college road trip was the meatiest of the stories told, and told a tidy-but-amusing little tale about how two dissimilar guys became best friends. Robin and Lily's story about the exploding thai food and Barney's story about learning to drive were each much slighter, but also both very funny (with lots of great non-linear jokes like Marshall's cigars) so it worked. And the message about the end of moving forward and making new adventures as the gang looks to the future was a little cornball, but just sweet enough through Marshall's boyish semi-innocence for the idea to land.
I really enjoyed this one. Barney being at his most Barney-esque and messing up Marshall's bachelor party was one of those "why do they still hang out with this guy?" moments in the show. But then the reveal at the end, with Barney's speech and gesture to Lily not only shows a depth to the character beyond the usual Looney Tune Lothario routine, redeems much of his bad behavior, leads to a sweet moment of co-best manhood, but it makes his caddish behavior earlier in the episode work as a way to build the conflict and contrast up to that point to make the reveal all the more meaningful. In short, in justifies the time the episode devotes to showing Barney being repugnant for much of the episode, and explains his jerkish behavior earlier this season where he kept stealing Marshall's dates to boot! It was well-constructed, and had a number of good laughs (the wink exchange for one) to keep things moving.
And while not nearly as serious, the Lily/Robin bridal shower story was perfectly done comedy. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for double entendres, but this was a great exercise in comedy from panic, with Robin's frantic schemes to avoid being outed as the giver of the vibrator getting sillier and sillier (I love the misunderstood psychic conversation), the stakes getting comically puritan (old ladies, children, and nuns), and most of all the resolution that shows the group of older women as mature and sex-positive as the twenty-somethings who were fretting over the gift. So many laughs and fun little character moments.
Altogether, it's a recipe for a superb episode.
I'm pretty sure I like this one better on rewatch than I did when I originally saw it. I like the central ideas the episode plays in -- Marshall's idea that family is important and not something that you can just cut out of your life, and Lily's that sometimes family members can do things that are so consistently awful and insensitive that your life is better off without them. I also appreciated the fact that by the end of the episode, they'd seen the other's point to where they actually flipped -- Marshall understood why Lily had such a hard time with her father, and Lily understood the idea of making peace even with people who have hurt you because you may regret it if you don't. It's obviously a bit simplified, but it's a nice idea for a Thanksgiving episode.
The slap stuff didn't do it too much for me. Let's face it, the whole slap thing was pretty much exhausting after Slap #2. The build up, the fanfare, the debates, all feel like trying to recreate one of the show's finest hours rather than forge ahead with something new and more original. It's not as though there weren't some funny moments (Mickey explaining that he doesn't know Barney, doesn't have anything against them, but just can't pass up the opportunity to slap someone in the face), but the entire slap-gifting chain was kind of contrived and broad even for a show that can get a little campy. There's a lot to like here, but it feels like the batting average is slipping.
Black Swan. Everything about this movie is fantastic: the score by Clint Mansell, the choreography, Natalie Portman's performance. Darren Aronofsky put a lot of effort into directing this one: the way the camera works around the mirrors without being seen, the artistically place shots, just being an absolute genius with mirrors in general.
The constant shift between diegetic and Non-diegetic music also helps to subconsciously blur the line between reality and fiction. A conflict that occurs between Natalie Portman's character but on a significantly stronger psychological scale. Darren Aronofsky has proved in this movie that he's able to excel in shot after shot consistency as well as effective use of lighting in certain scenes to cause drama.
All of the casting was great in this movie, especially for Mila Kunis's character. She was perfect to play the carefree naughty girl in this movie. This movie does a great job showing the pressure and drama in these dance groups, once you hit a certain age. Other than that, I just love trippy movies, where the character descends into madness. One flaw I had with it though is that the ending did seem a little rushed but it's Darren Aronofsky wanted to tell the story he did for a reason and I can't argue with that.
I'm sure you guys have already seen it, but if you haven't I'd strongly recommend it.
Today, on how to destroy Kara's heart. Why Alex being happy means Kara's lonely? This makes Alex been the bad gut and she's not. Anyways, very good episode. Those in which there's a shapeshifter and everyone's on edge doubting each other are always fun. Like the Flash shapeshifter or even in Supernatural with the Khan worm. It's cliche but I love it. Plus, I love episodes in which the actors have to play themselves and their evil twin.
To me it was too obvious that there were two White Martians. Alex would've never get distracted on a mission. And Winn being all gooed was just gross, lol. I've said before and I'll say it now, Jonn and M'Gann's relationship is lovely, but not as alien love, more a brotherly love.
The MVP of the episode was Winn. Go for the Winn! He's just the best and his one liners are just perfect "this did not use to happen at CatCo". Well, unless you're on The Flash, in which case two people from different earths will smash James' coffee table. I wanted to see his reaction when he found out someone broke his coffee table.
And that ending. What kind of message is that they're sending to young girls? Anyways, poor Kara be like "Karma's a bitch". I love that first scene at the bar with Alex and Kara. It was me speaking:
Kara: "Mon-El told me he likes me the other day"
Alex: "I'm so shocked!"
Kara: "was it really that obvious"
Alex: "duh"
But the ending felt forced. Kara's been Winned. There you go, now you know how it feels.
Did anyone notice that Jonn said M'gann, and I quote "you're willing to put yourself before others" instead of the other way around? Oh, I laughed so hard on that one.
I just want to fill some plotholes. If Kara's faster than Flash, why didn't she fly over the DEO to find Winn? Kara your have X-ray vision, don't look around the corner.
Badass episode. Hope M'Gann comes back. I love that she decided to wear the green Martian skin.
Jonn at the bar like: "Um, hi. M'Gann's gone because, um, her planet needs her. so, bye"
I certainly can't write right now. I LOVE CALEB! Seriously, I missed his sarcasm a lot. He's killing it with those lines: "who's gonna make me waffles?" "Well, I've cut back on the herein" and my favourite one: "This white man, old fascist, he wants Muslims on a list, with a nick neck paddy whack send 'em all back, next he'll come for the Jews". I died laughing. Omg, Caleb.
Going back to the main plot, I have to confess I was too hyped for this episode if only because Fedric Lehne was going to be in. I love the guy and I just want to see more of him. I'm also excited to see Alex infiltrating the collaborators. As always, the mission went horribly wrong, which is not surprising at all. But seriously, do you really think that those guys, who are ten steps ahead of you will change sides that quickly? Well, duh. However, I loved that all the conversations were honest. Our team was all "I know you're a collaborator" and they were all "Yep, and you suck, I'm not scared". The only way to take them down is from the inside and that's what Alex and Owen are doing. I'm honestly impressed that the writers haven't had them romantically involved, but I'm sure that's coming. Shelby and Clay on the other hand...Seriously, what does Shelby have that she makes everyone addicted to her?
Claire and Roake's conversation was just perfect. I love seeing her actually doing something.
Aside from the relationship drama with Clay and Shelby, the episode was actually very good. I enjoyed it quite a lot. who would've thought this show be great not?
Time for an ad: Dayana Mampasi. Please, if found return to Quantico asap. One episode was ok, but three? I hope she doesn't turn up a baddie, I like her character.
This episode made me realize how much I've missed Caleb and how good Maxine is. She's actually quite funny and is not stupid, which is a nice touch.
Okay, I couldn't hold these in any longer:
- Why didn't they put a knife in the "father"? I know, morality and all that jazz, but if they set their mind to kill him, wouldn't that be the most logical thought to try to actually kill him with a 100% sure method, not gamble with those crushed up pills?
- Why the hell didn't Margot just make a run for it when she opened the balcony's door? She stopped like 3 times just to make sure his "father" didn't hear anything instead of actually trying to escape.
- Lol, how TF could "father" dig a little hole into Seth's forehead just by pressing his finger into it?
- And what is Jules so depressed about since like episode 2? She's overreacting to everything, doesn't sleep, always has a dead look on her face... Oh, and...
- When Jules and Margot went through the House for the second time, why did it only contain Margot's fears in all of the rooms? I believe it would be time to know what Jules is so terrified of that she's on edge all the time.
As of the others who went in the House with them:
1) That bearded survivor guy knew too much about the system of the last "room". I'm sure he wasn't a first-timer, but then the question of his wife-or-not rises: who is she really? A girl who escaped from him and started a new life with a new husband in the House? But she didn't seem like she actually knew the bearded guy, so...
2) Remember those realistic face-statues of the participants in the first room? Only the JT replica's head wasn't torn apart. So how come he was killed by his House-self? Wouldn't that head signify that only he stayed sane or something like that? It's a shame they didn't think this through.
I've just started watching this show and I've been loving it. But I have something I've got to say about this episode: I don't know if I have the right, for I'm a person who truly believes in respecting other people's art, but, as a brazilian, I feel very ofended. And we do not feel hurt that easily. This brazilian references were RIDICULOUS! The portuguese spoken in the episode was portuguese from Portugal; NOBODY here talks like that! Actually it was kinda hard for me to understand what that clearly non-brazilian people were saying. That girl whom Amy kissed, god... I can't say based on her looks, but she looked more European than Brazilian. A taned European. You know, we're not all taned. We do come in many shapes AND colors, but we're not all taned or THAT taned. What about that part Amy says the girl turned her into a oompa-loompa? What's the story here? We're also fake taned? Jeez! Also, we speak PORTUGUESE, not fucking spanish! That irritates me so much. A bunch of "Holas" in the walls was seriously disrespecting. I don't understand the point of this episode, really. If the writers wanted to celebrate Brazil, than they really should've done some research on it. Or if they were just talking about someone else's country randomly, they could've, at very least, picked some country they did know a little bit more about the culture. This entire Brazilian-themed part were ridiculous. I had a hard time trying to concentrate on story. (Ps: I get about the Carnaval, churrasco and stuff. I do not feel ofended by it, since it's really part of our culture and, somehow, part of how we're seen in the world) I'll just try and forget this huge failure and continue on loving this adorable show.
That said, I'm liking Liam so much better this season. I'm even sympathizing with him. Nice haircut too. ;)
9.5/10. Pretty stellar, from the non-linear editing to intersperse the guys and the girls, to the heart-to-heart between Robin and Victoria that cut through the hostility, to Ted and Victoria resolving her fellowship in a way that felt very real. One of the great things about this show is that as ridiculous and cartoonish as it gets sometimes, (and in the early seasons when it gets the balance right, that's a feature not a bug), it grounds its best stories and relationships in emotional truth. Robin's dislike for Victoria gets a little broad, but then they have a very real moment where they open up to each other and have an honest, self-reflective conversation about feminism and romance and work that feels true-to-life, and the episode nails the pivot.
At the same time, while a romantic partner having to go overseas for a job at the height of a relationship feels like something of a cliche sitcom conflict (see also: Ross and Emily on Friends), the way the show depicts Ted and Victoria struggling with the decision has the ring of truth to it even in the midst of pet store tailors and cake-covered wedding dresses. Those moments, and the chemistry between Ted and Victoria, ground amidst its broader elements, and give it the power to amuse without feeling like empty calories. It's an impressive balancing act.
(Oh, and on rewatch, I find that I'm not only so much Team Victoria with the way she bonds with the group and seems so good natured, but I may even feel like she's too good for Ted.)
8.5/10. The best part of this one is Lily and Marshall's conversation at the end, which feels very real and earnest and heartbreaking for the way that both of them are open wounds at this point. There's an undercurrent of real emotion even amidst the more outsized gags on the show, and it's a formula that really works for HIMYM.
As for the main stories, it was a nice way to integrate Lily back into the show, even if it feels a little quick, but the necessities of sitcom status quo demand it, so I'm willing to go along with it. I have less disdain for Lily this go-round, if only because the idea that she wanted to find herself a bit doesn't seem as crazy as Ted makes it out to be, even if she handled it poorly. Still, the ending with her and Marshall seems to take that into account, which makes it work.
And the Barney and Marshall storyline is mostly a chance for silly fun. I think I remember the ultimate twist to all this (unless I'm thinking of something else) which colored my view of the proceedings a bit, but it's still fun to see Barney pumping up Marshall's confidence only to swoop in and steal the spoils of war.
I'll be honest. This one probably doesn't deserve the 10/10 rating (and let's call it a 9.5/10, just to be on the safe side), but god this one is so much fun. It's a classic bit of HIMYM schtick, from Ted's dive-in-head-first relationship mentality, to the prank-turned-reverse prank, to hilarious asides like Barney claiming that Jesus invented the 3-day rule. There's nothing especially deep to it. Ted's revelation that whoever his future wife is, she'll be too much on his wavelength to care about rules like that makes a slight attempt at it, but what really drives the episode is the comic farce of the schemes going on.
NPH and Jason Segel in particular deserve a medal for this episode. The way they absolutely sold Ted's imagine spots about what Holly was doing while they were texting was classic; their arguments over who Ted was dreaming about was hilarious in their simultaneous uncomfortableness and flattery, and Marshall's "why do we keep trying to have sex with Ted" realizations were classic. I have to admit, there were points where I wondered if S4 was a bit of a dropoff from S3, and while some seams are showing in certain episodes, this is a great example of how the comedy is still on point.
7.5/10. Since I've been a Robin/Barney skeptic from the beginning, So this should be in my wheelhouse, right? Well, kind of. The idea that Barney and Robin aren't right for each other is a drum I've been beating for a long time, but this didn't really get at why. It posited that two awesomes cancel each other out, which could be a roundabout way of saying the same thing as that Barney is a cartoon character and Robin is a more realistic, self-respecting woman, and that both of them are too (as Marshall diplomatically puts it) independent for them to ever really make a go of being together. Instead, the thesis seems to be that they just suddenly turn into a lame nigh-married couple? We've seen Robin in relationships before, and (very mild spoilers) we'll see Barney in a relationship again, and it never really goes this direction, with little to indicate why it did in the first place.
Maybe that's the issue? The show is kind of wishy-washy about the whole thing. There's the implicit concept that the two of them fight all the time ("every moment's a battle") but have just settled into a groove, but I don't know that even the prior fight-episode adequately built up to that point. The best you can say is that their "think of it as two freinds getting back together" exchange is very sweet, and in my humble opinion, the best arrangement for Barney and Robin.
But you know what elevates the episode despite that? The scheming from Ted, Marshall, and especially Lily to break them up. From Ted's amateur attempts that end up blowing up in his and Marshall's face, to Lily's faux-retirement and then Machiavellian plan to remind them of their biggest fights, to the hilarious sequence in the stake out sttion wagon, with debates about porn, stake out vans, pizza, Alan Thicke, and how Crazy Meg knows so much about everyone's lives. There's a really comedy caper vibe to that portion of the episode, and it really makes the entire thing much more fun and laugh-worthy than it has any right to be. Not a great episode, given the muddled quality it's steeped in, but still a good one given the comedy and at least sticking to the idea that Barney and Robin don't work.
