Well, I was basically jumping for joy when I thought Barney and Robin were going to get married and have 2 kids. Robin decking Barney in the face was absolutely hilarious! It was NOT cool that the pregnancy would have been a product of cheating, but I just wanted Barney & Robin happy together --it's not looking like it will be that way, but who knows. People who are against Barney/Robin may be happy about this episode, but I was pretty bummed out when their fake kids disappeared and she cheerlessly said "I'm glad you guys aren't real". It's heart-breaking that Robin will never have kids, but I suppose she never wanted them.
Seeing Marshall attempt to decorate the house while getting mad at the Scott kid was a pretty funny storyline; his "angry father" faces were hilarious.
It seems the show is setting up for everyone to move on: Lily and Marshall with their baby and new home, Barney and Ted eventually get married, and Robin becomes a journalist/world-traveler/business-women/bull-fighter (haha!). This is the direction they are leading us, but there's bound to be unexpected twists and turns along the way. We shall see! (:
The episode was very well done and had some very funny moments, but it did punch me in the heart a little.
The episode started great with the HIMYM Robin edition giving us what we thought was a glimpse into the future but it brings up some other questions. When Barney and Nora broke up most of assumed that, that meant Barney and Robin where going to end up together or at least I did and I still haven't given up on that theory but this theory was dealt a huge blow last night... with the show heading into break I can say this... I'm excited for it's return in 2012 :) this coming year is going to be legend... wait for it... dary :D
Luring with its appeal, yet delivering only a tease, How I Met Your Mother has unfortunately provided its fans with television blue balls on numerous occasions. Symphony of Illumination, however, was another level of cruelty.
Regardless, after few declining episodes since the season premiere, this episode quietly elevates the season. The exploration of parenthood from the characters in this episode is intriguing.
For Barney, "Are you sure you are not just getting fat?" and "Did someone forget to tell your boobs?" were two hilarious *punch* lines to open the episode.
From there, the episode unravels with a twist. Upon repeated attempts to layer Robin's character, the writers succeeded in the Symphony of Illumination. In one episode, Robin illustrates despair from two extremes, sandwiched with comic relief via the "non-prego" dance.
The subplot of Marshall and Lily's interactions with the teenager suggest comically lenient parents in the future.
Finally, no HIMYM holiday episode can be complete unless the main character goes overboard touching. Ted's surprise holiday decorations was genuinely heartwarming and a fitting end to a holiday episode.
Additionally, the writers managed to sneak a critical development towards the main story arc into this episode. If Robin cannot be pregnant, she cannot be the biological mother. Thankfully, could all the nonsense "Robin is the mother" fans FINALLY put this theory to rest?
Although one last thought to end this review... if an illumination is the case of this episode, what could stop Ted from pulling a Robin in the series finale?
the writers wasted no time. I wasn't ready for Robin to open the show as the narrator talking to her kids -the boy in a suit who looks like Barney and a girl is a spitting image of Robin. It was hard to pay attention to the smaller details on tonight's episode because I was too busy trying to mentally process what had just happened in the open and then throughout the episode. For me this was the best episode since "The Naked Truth."
I'll get back to Robin and the kids, but let's briefly talk about the other plotlines in this episode.
Marshall out on Long Island (or Lawnguyland as us who were born and raised there call it) decorating the house for Christmas. Also fun fact, East Meadow is a real town. I actually ran a half marathon there. What up! Marshall and his kid neighbor that took advantage of his naïve Midwestern ways and softness due to impending fatherhood. I would have loved to see Marshall final product including the Symphony of Illumination he was trying to do on the roof.
Lily was registering for items at We b Babies for her shower with the rest of the gang in tow. Nipple butter and vagina numbing cream – makes me want rethink motherhood one day. yuck! At We b Babies we meet Insane Dwayne who was Barney's former bro turned bedraggled father who married his one night stand that he picked up by only saying the word boner. Classic.
So Robin. Robin opens the episode telling her kids about the moment she told their father (Barney) she was pregnant. Typical Barney hijinx ensues along with some legendary lines (see below) and physical comedy. We also find out Robin and Kevin haven't had sex yet. We very quickly find out that Robin isn't pregnant which has me confused, but intrigued. Robin then basks in the glow of an empty uterus with alcohol, junk food and watching Teenage Mommies.
Robin gets called back to the doctor where she finds out she can't have a baby and in true Robin fashion keeps everything to herself, however she imagines the gang's reactions to the news. However Barney, Lily and Ted know something up. Ted as the roommate tries to cheer Robin up, but they fight which made me uncomfortable just watching.
Robin then goes on to talk as the narrator about how much better her life is since she couldn't have kids which confuses me. Then she says, "if you want to know the truth of it, I'm glad you guys aren't real." and they fade away.mind blown..
I'm sure everyone was pumped up with the cliffhanger in the last fortnight's episode and the sneak peek confirming Barney was the dad also made us robin/barney fans jump to the sky. The way that they started off the episode with "Barney jr" and "Robin jr", you would think they have ruined the wedding where Ted meets the titular mother.
The other story arc was pretty decent with a few laughs. The moment Marshal climbed the ladder, it was very obvious the kid was upto no good.
The twist where the kids are imaginary and the news that Robin receives that she cannot have kids is pretty brutal and totally unexpected. Even Barney's uncertainty is very nicely handled. The last Christmas scene with Ted was pretty superb with Highway to Hell playing in the background and a really nice way to end the 2011's batch of How I Met Your Mother episodes. And remember what the older Ted says in the end, 'One thing Robin never was, she was Never Alone'. That's still opens the possibility that she might have kids and probably with some 'legend-daddy' as we hoped before this episode was aired.
(Spoilers ahead)>
We left off last week with Robin telling Barney she's pregnant. And we open this week with Robin talking to her kids and her telling Barney she hasn't slept with Kevin, so the baby's his. And it all kind of went downhill from there.
Robin and Barney go to the doctor and the doctor tells Robin she's not pregnant, and then the doctor tells her later she can never get pregnant, and it turns out her "kids" she's been talking to the whole episode aren't real. She doesn't tell anybody in the gang because she knows how they'd react but Ted sets out to cheer her up anyway. At the very end, old Ted tells us even though she accomplishes a lot, Robin never becomes a mom.
I thought this episode was a step down from last week because I got excited thinking about seeing Robin as a parent and it's sad in this episode we learn for sure she never will. Especially because Robin always talked about never wanting kids, it would be cool to see her have kids and what kind of mother she would be. And knowing for absolute sure she can't is a bit of a bummer. There is hope that Barney can still have kids with somebody.
The B plot was pretty standard, Marshall tries to bond with a teenager in their new neighborhood and is duped and trapped on the roof of their new house. But overall, I just think it's sad Robin never gets to have kids.
The start of the episode was wonderful, Robin freaking out about having children (while telling her future children about it) and Barney being thrilled to be a father. Robin's reaction to Barney's happiness was hilarious. However, when confronted about what it is really like to be a parent, and husband, Barney wants back out, and is unsure as to how it would work. Robin goes to the doctor with Barney, and they discover that she is, in fact, not pregnant, and they do a happy dance. When Robin is discussing this with her future children, she continually apologizes.
Robin goes back to the doctor the next day, or shortly thereafter, and finds out that she can never have children. She covers, but is disappointed. She never wanted children, but to be told that she never can surprisingly hurts her. With the gang, she covers, and says she can't be on the Canadian pole-vaulting team. Everyone does, to comfort her, what she imagined they would do when (if) she told them that she couldn't have children. Barney tries to tell jokes, Lily cries, Marshall tries to problem solve and Ted goes for comfort.
When they go back to help Lily register for baby gifts, Robin is somewhat distraught, and Ted assumes she wishes she could go home for Christmas, so he buys her a ticket to join him. She declines, says all that she wants is to be alone, and that is isn't his job to comfort her. He says is it, they have a sweet disagreement about it, and she decides to go for a walk, when we find out that her future children, were never her future children. She gets home and Ted comforts her with a Christmas light display to AC/DC, and his voiceover to his kids mention that she never becomes a mother, but she is a successful reporter and much more.
The secondary story of Marshall decorating and the kid taking over his house was a bit silly, but somewhat enjoyable. You got a glimpse of their new life, and how Marshall might be as a dad.
The best part of this episode, to me, was the surprise that Barney and Robin don't have kids. I'm glad. The story was a great story, slightly sad, but not the worst thing ever. I would have been disappointed if Barney had been the father, and she had been pregnant. It would have ruined the surprise of the bride in the wedding that Barney is the groom. Now, we don't know. barney could meet someone new, maybe he works things out with Robin, who knows?! And that is part of the reason we all watch the show... for the surprise. Now... can we get a clue about the mother!!! PLEASE!
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