'How I Met Your Mother' recap: For whom the wedding bells toll
“Kids, there are two big days in any love story: The day you meet the girl of your dreams and the day you marry her.”
That's how Monday night's “How I Met Your Mother” season premiere started. After a summer summer of telling TV reporters and critics that Season 6 would be a return to the show's early seasons, co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas delivered a solid episode that got things off to a promising start with a sweet Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) story and a classic “Mother” twist ending, but back to the beginning first.
The episode started with a flash forward to a wedding. Marshall brings a nervous Ted (Josh Radnor) a beer. Could this be Ted's wedding day? Back in the present day, a nervous Ted is trying to work up the nerve to approach a hot girl at the bar. When Cindy (Rachel Bilson) shows up and greets the girl, Ted realizes that she may be Cindy's perfect-for-Ted roommate, but getting to her will be even harder now since he and Cindy didn't end things on good terms. Cue flashback to Ted and Cindy having an awkward exchange on campus.
Meanwhile, Marshall and Lily are trying to make a baby, but Marshall's father is getting in the way. Lily is upset that Marshall told his overly involved, no-boundaries dad about their baby-making attempts. I was siding with Marshall until he revealed that his dad and mother were going to come live with them for three months. Bad move, Marshall. Lily insists that he tell his father that they've decided not to have a baby.
“You want me to give my dad a stroke?!” Marshall exclaims.
“Only if you want to give this a stroke,” Lily replies, motioning at her body. Nice move, Lily. But after a brief heart to heart with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) – yes, Barney – who tells her he'd be on the phone with his dad all the time if he had his number, Lily realizes Marshall and his dad both just care too much. And Marshall reassures her that she could never let him down, even if she can't have a baby. This is the kind of emotional, touching and funny Marshall and Lily storyline I can get behind. More of this, less of the nagging twosome who attacked last season.
Robin (Cobie Smulders), however, seems to have progressed backward. Upset over her breakup with Don, which was months ago – was she really that into him? – she's looking like a homeless person and eating Cheetos found in her hair. To quote Bilson on another show, “Ew!” Still, it's pretty hard to make Smulders look terrible, even in dirty sweatpants and hair that looks like it hasn't been brushed in weeks. Robin gets her groove back when Barney insists that she's past her expiration date. To prove him wrong, she not only sundresses up, she white-sundresses up.
“Robin, you do look super hot,” Barney says, admiring her.
“Oh, do I?” she asks.
“Yeah, you do,” he replies, a little softer and more genuinely this time as she pops a Cheeto out of her purse. Also, notice the way Barney checks her out when she isn't looking. I think there's still a chance for these two.
The episode ends back at the wedding, where Lily comes and says the best man, Ted, is needed. In the voiceover, Ted tells his kids this is the day he met their mother, and then it begins to rain. The “I'm hoping it doesn't rain” at the beginning of the episode was great foreshadowing to the infamous yellow umbrella. So if this isn't Ted's wedding, then whose is it? There's only so many people who would make Ted their best man, I think. My mind immediately jumped to Barney's and possibly Robin's wedding. But then why is Cindy's roommate there? Did Cindy make Ted the best man at her wedding?
Readers, what do you think? Are you pleased with this new chapter in the mother mystery? I must admit I was expecting a bigger reveal about the mother. Cindy's surprise liplock upstaged the ending for me, but at least we now know when Ted meets the mother and, supposedly, it's not too far off.
— Vlada Gelman (follow my TV musings on Twitter at @stayingin)
Related:
'How I Met Your Mother': Maybe baby
Complete 'How I Met Your Mother' coverage on Showtracker
Photo: Ted (Josh Radnor) runs into Cindy (Rachel Bilson) at the bar. Credit: Eric McCandless / Fox.
I hope it's not punchy's wedding..! remember? punchy asked ted to be is best man in the "glitter" episode!that would be one hell of a disappointment!(possibly not; as marshall would not be that excited to be there in that case)
anyway, i would hate myself for watching the show if barney and robin don't get married. (though writers-directors and these two actors would literally have to create magic to make that sound convincing) and, that is the way show has to end! (which i don't think is be going to be this season)
BTW, do we really care who THE MOTHER is anyway! i watch it for NPH and NPH alone! go barney!
Posted by: madhu | November 26, 2010 at 10:38 AM
Here's a thought, what's one of Ted must have qualities in his future wife? the she's a base player. well, as we previously learned, the mother plays base in a band. Let's do the math, band + wedding = wedding band, Cindy could have easily suggested it to them. and think about it, wouldn't the first time ted meets her be amazing if she was playing the base? I think so :)
Posted by: Carolyne | January 28, 2011 at 03:11 PM
Zoey is definitely not the mother.
Posted by: David | February 21, 2011 at 06:08 PM
i think its punchy's wedding cuz punchy made him his best man and cindy's roommate cud be connected to punchy or his girl friend as a relative or as a frien
Posted by: Tanzim | February 24, 2011 at 11:32 PM
Personally, I would absolutely LOVE for this to be Barney & Robin's wedding. In my opinion, they're on par with Marshall & Lily as far as being perfect for one another. It would make me SO incredibly happy if it was then. I believe it could be for a number of reasons.
1) Ted is the best man.
We basically know for a fact that IF Barney ever got married, his best man would most definitely be Ted. The whole show he has been talking about how he's best friends with Ted.
2)Marshall is in the wedding party.
For essentially the same reasons as Ted, we know that Marshall would most definitely be one of the groomsmen in Barney's wedding.
3)Lily is a bridesmaid (and most likely a maid of honor, judging from character interactions. e.g., "Best man, you're needed"--or whatever she says).
Lily would definitely be a bridesmaid in Robin's wedding, no doubt about it, and most likely a maid of honor. Although I'm not positive on that, because Robin would choose her sister as maid of honor. That's debatable, but not overly important.
It's been argued that the mother probably would have no reason to be at Barney & Robin's wedding, if it is theirs. However, Ted never says he meets the mother AT a wedding. Just that it is the day OF a wedding. Ted also makes a comment saying he hope it doesn't rain. And there's the obvious yellow umbrella connection. An obvious allusion, but an allusion nonetheless. Thought it's obviously a very likely, and very real possibility, I don't think the mother will be someone we've already met. At least not met extensively, like Victoria. Because if she was in the class and Ted already knew her well, I would think he would notice her. Granted, it was a huge class, but if they dated and knew each other well, he would've seen her, and there would've been a storyline around that. At least I think so. There are many different possibilities of what could be happening at this mysterious, wedding, but hopefully no matter what, us die hard fans will be pleased!
Side note: I hope to GOD it's not Robin & Don, as someone else suggested. I HATED them on the show. They were definitely one of my least favorite couple's in the history of the show. PLEASE NO MORE ROBIN & DON, HIMYM WRITERS!
Posted by: Molly | April 11, 2011 at 06:38 PM