Barney and Quinn break up in last night’s HIMYM. Also, this happens.
Warning: Article contains spoilers.
This week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother, “The Pre-Nup,” was the typical boyfriends v. girlfriends scenario that inevitably plays out at least once in sitcoms. Even though some parts felt a little clichéd, there were a lot of solid moments that made the episode worth watching.
I really liked Quinn (Becki Newton, Love Bites). Even though this is probably her last episode, I think her role both in this episode and over the past two seasons was necessary to ground the wild, womanizing Barney (Neil Patrick Harris, American Reunion). She’s always been smart and independent, which is really the kind of woman Barney needs, as was made very clear in this episode. Rather than whining to her friends about Barney and his pre-nup, she hand-delivers her own version, showing that she can be every bit as stubborn as he can. And though the two break up at the end in what seems to be an unsatisfying and hasty attempt to tie up loose ends and bring Robin (Cobie Smulders, The Avengers) back into the mix, I think Quinn has primed Barney for a real and lasting relationship.
This week, Marshall (Jason Segel, The Five-Year Engagement) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan, American Reunion) struggled over their different views of what kind of care to take with baby Marvin. Overall, I’m feeling only so-so about their plots this season. It’s still a bit weird to have a baby thrown into with the gang – they all suddenly feel a lot older. But at the same time, I think it could keep the story line fresh. This season hasn’t provided anything really exciting for those two to do, but I haven’t lost hope yet.
Robin’s plotline in this episode was amusing. Her problem with self-infatuation during sex was funny and not so far-fetched. It makes sense that seeing yourself in a successful and empowering role would be, well, thrilling for some. The plotline provided for some choice moments, including Nick’s (Michael Trucco, Fairly Legal) “Sorry, I didn’t think it took 42 inches to keep you satisfied” and Robin’s conspiratorial wink with her TV self.
At the same time, I’ve never been very happy with Robin’s boyfriends. Excluding her last beau Kevin (Kal Penn, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas), who still wasn’t very interesting, we’ve never seen them develop beyond attractive man-candy of sometimes questionable intelligence. Nick is no different. While this may be because the writers would rather not waste time developing a character who we know won’t last very long anyway, it still would be nice to at least see that Robin’s got taste.
And lastly we have Ted. The running joke with the exuberant German-ness of Victoria’s (Ashley Williams, Royal Pains) ex-fiancé, Klaus (Thomas Lennon, Planet Sheen) didn’t sit well with me last week and it was much the same this time around. I find it hard to believe that the man who so wisely spouted love advice to Ted last episode would suddenly find himself blissfully content to be naked and covered with ferrets on Ted’s couch. Victoria was about to marry this guy – it seems pretty strange if that’s the way he acts on a regular basis. And why isn’t Victoria bothered by the fact that her ex-fiancé is intruding on her life with her new boyfriend? Seems a little fishy to me.
It was clear, however, that viewers were supposed to hear the not-so-subtly metaphorical line Ted delivers right before the end of the episode as they are watching television with Klaus. More than anything else, I think it signals to me a pretty good indication that this might be the last season.
“It’s big comedy,” he said, “but you also really care about the characters.”
No matter what I’ve said about this season so far, my eyes still watered up a bit when I heard Ted utter those true words.
diversions@umdbk.com