Brian Damage
05-03-2011, 12:32 PM
I’m convinced the show has outgrown its title’s intentions. I’ve determined that it’s got a case of the Cougar Towns.
While the show certainly began as the story of Ted’s romantic life, it’s grown to be so much more. As has been the case most of this season, last night’s best plot, which found Lily and Robin on the search for the perfect cocktail that would open up the lines of communication between Marshall and Barney, had nothing to do with Ted. And these days, I think many of us find Ted’s romantic life — particularly his doomed relationship with Zoey — to be the least interesting part of this show. (I’m with Barney on this one: She’s a whiny, self-righteous chick with a megaphone.) And while there was a noble attempt to humanize her activism last night, with the reveal that she once lived in the shanty apartments at the Arcadian, I’ve never been invested in that character emotionally enough to care about what her motivations. Perhaps I should have had a beer before watching. (By the way, did the Arcadian always have apartments? I must have missed that mention.)
It’s moot to discuss this as the show closes its sixth season, but the reason I bring this up now is because last night really hammered home what has been boiling underneath my adoration for this show for a while: This is about so much more than the mother. This is about Barney and Marshall, who really broke my heart last night. In fact, I found myself continuously trying to justify why they both wouldn’t treat each other that way. (“Marshall’s too good of a friend! He’d never poop on Ted’s dreams and Barney’s career.” “Barney has a heart. He knows Marshall just lost his dad and is looking for something to believe in.”) The truth is, people sometimes act irrationally. Most fights between friends are irrational. And this scuffle won’t last. As co-creator Craig Thomas reminded me once, we know the end game.
I know this show is not going to change its title now, nor should it necessarily have been named something different. But after all this talk about the mother and viewers’ frustrations with the delay in revealing her identity, I needed an episode like last night’s to remind me how little she matters to me at this point. My personal frustrations with the matter — and yes, there was a time when I was a little peeved — have dissipated. Title be damned.
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/03/how-i-met-your-mother-wrong-title-syndrome/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ew%2Fpopwatch+%28Entertainment+Weekly%2FEW.com%27s%3A+PopWatch%29
While the show certainly began as the story of Ted’s romantic life, it’s grown to be so much more. As has been the case most of this season, last night’s best plot, which found Lily and Robin on the search for the perfect cocktail that would open up the lines of communication between Marshall and Barney, had nothing to do with Ted. And these days, I think many of us find Ted’s romantic life — particularly his doomed relationship with Zoey — to be the least interesting part of this show. (I’m with Barney on this one: She’s a whiny, self-righteous chick with a megaphone.) And while there was a noble attempt to humanize her activism last night, with the reveal that she once lived in the shanty apartments at the Arcadian, I’ve never been invested in that character emotionally enough to care about what her motivations. Perhaps I should have had a beer before watching. (By the way, did the Arcadian always have apartments? I must have missed that mention.)
It’s moot to discuss this as the show closes its sixth season, but the reason I bring this up now is because last night really hammered home what has been boiling underneath my adoration for this show for a while: This is about so much more than the mother. This is about Barney and Marshall, who really broke my heart last night. In fact, I found myself continuously trying to justify why they both wouldn’t treat each other that way. (“Marshall’s too good of a friend! He’d never poop on Ted’s dreams and Barney’s career.” “Barney has a heart. He knows Marshall just lost his dad and is looking for something to believe in.”) The truth is, people sometimes act irrationally. Most fights between friends are irrational. And this scuffle won’t last. As co-creator Craig Thomas reminded me once, we know the end game.
I know this show is not going to change its title now, nor should it necessarily have been named something different. But after all this talk about the mother and viewers’ frustrations with the delay in revealing her identity, I needed an episode like last night’s to remind me how little she matters to me at this point. My personal frustrations with the matter — and yes, there was a time when I was a little peeved — have dissipated. Title be damned.
http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/05/03/how-i-met-your-mother-wrong-title-syndrome/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ew%2Fpopwatch+%28Entertainment+Weekly%2FEW.com%27s%3A+PopWatch%29