It is hard to believe it has been four months since viewers first got their glimpse of the “Mother” in the shocking and oh-so-satisfying 8th season finale of How I Met Your Mother. Now back for one final season, CBS treated HIMYM fans to a double dose of episodes that were legen…wait for it dary.
The entire last season of the sitcom will take place during the weekend of Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) and Robin’s (Cobie Smulders) wedding. Personally, I have never been to a wedding on a Sunday, but I am assuming that to get the entire story told, 3 days were needed. The first episode entitled, “The Locket,” is about the gang making their way to Farhampton for the weekend festivities.
Ted (Josh Radnor) is driving himself and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) to the wedding. In typical Ted-like fashion, he is driving slow, spouting random facts, and sporting driving gloves. All of this is too much for Lily who insists she be dropped off at the train station.
Barney and Robin are venturing out in a limo being driven by our favorite chauffeur, Ranjit. While discussing family members attending the wedding, the couple realizes they both are related to “Crazy Cousin Mitch.” The two spend the remainder of the episode trying to figure out if they are actually related. It was no surprise that they are not and can still get married. This is the first time Barney completely says legendary and states he doesn’t need “to wait for it” anymore because he has Robin. Has Barney finally grown up?
And what about Marshall (Jason Segel)? He is on a flight back home to make it to the nuptials. Sitting next to him is a woman named Daphne. She is played by Sherri Shepherd. If you have ever seen Shepherd play any character on television, Daphne is no different. When Marshall refuses to turn his phone off, Daphne causes a scene and the two are thrown off the plane. They are forced to find other means of transportation to make it back to New York.
When Lily boards the train she quickly befriends “The Mother.” The two hit it off and through casual conversation, Lily figures out Ted deliberately annoyed her in order to get to the resort first to try to give back the locket Robin had lost from last season. When Lily finally makes it to the resort, she tackles Ted before he can give Robin the locket. The gift turns out to be a picture of the gang that can be seen in the opening credits of the show. In a flashback, Ted did go to LA to get the locket back from Stella. Does this mean there will be a guest appearance from Sarah Chalke and that Ted is going to try to stop the wedding?
In episode two entitled, “Coming Back” the gang has made it to the resort sans Marshall. The resort is catered to couples and everyone is feeling bad for Ted since he is all alone. Lily finds out that Marshall was kicked off his flight and might not make it back in time. She quickly goes to the bar and asks for the “Kennedy Package,” which means the bartender will make sure she always has a drink in her hand. Alyson Hannigan plays drunk well, so I am excited to see how this plays out later in the season.
Barney’s brother James (Wayne Brady) has just divorced his husband. Robin is worried that Barney will call of their own wedding because he thought the only real true marriage was that of his brother’s. Though Barney is sad, he knows his love for Robin is the real deal.
Elsewhere, Marshall and Daphne are fighting over the last vehicle at the rental car office. Marshall gets the keys, but it is to a 2006 Monstrosity Sport. Since Marshall is an environmentalist, he does not feel comfortable driving a gas-gussler. Daphne volunteers to drive and also go buy a car seat for baby Marvin. She drives off leaving Marshall and Marvin stranded at the airport. The real twist is she actually comes back and the three set out East.
The most touching moment was when Ted was sitting alone at the resort bar thinking about his life. We then see a vision of him and “The Mother” sitting at the exact same table one year later. He tells his future wife how one year ago to the day he had decided he was going to bring his true love back to the exact same spot. At this point, the two had not even met yet, which made this moment even more poignant. It was awesome to finally get a glimpse of Ted truly happy. Though the season has just begun, I know HIMYM is going to go out with a bang.
