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How I Met Your Mother – “Challenge Accepted” (B)
I was expecting a lot from “Challenge Accepted”, maybe a little too much. We got a few big revelations – I’ll touch on those in a sec – but still I was left a little disappointed. Now I’d be the first to argue that How I Met Your Mother has become a lot more than Ted’s quest to find his future wife. Saying otherwise would be ignoring the great ensemble cast on this show. But still I can relate to some of the fans out there who say that it’s hard to get invested in any of Ted’s relationships anymore knowing that they’re doomed to fail. That’s what I hoped this episode would address and therein lies my disappointment.
Now I know, it’s not fair to expect the writers to cater to every individual expectation. This isn’t criticism of the episode per se, just a commentary on the direction I’d like the show to take. I’ve had few theories on what the writers would do with the mysterious wedding shown at the start of the season – the wedding where Ted said he first met his wife – and mainly what I was hoping they would do was finally give Ted a few relationship possibilities that could actually end up working out. It didn’t necessarily have to be in the way I suggested, but I like the idea of getting to see the mother character before we know that she’s the mother. I think one of the big problems with Zoey was that we knew from early on it wasn’t going to work out. It makes it hard to care about the little moments in a relationship when you know it isn’t going anywhere.
The real irony here though is that the writers actually did exactly what I was just talking about in this episode, just not with Ted. The big reveal that the wedding was in fact Barney’s was a great plot development, especially the way the writers so skilfully reintroduced Robin as one of his possible brides (that conversation in the car was more about the two of them than it was Zoey and Ted). It’s going to end up making Barney’s story infinitely more interesting as we try figure out who he’s going to marry (I’m still hoping for Robin) and what all of a sudden made him the marrying type.
The other mini-revelation in this episode is that Lily is pregnant. It didn’t come as a huge surprise as the writers had already foreshadowed that event before this episode but it did give us a hint of what to expect for next season. I really hope the How I Met Your Mother staff can come up with a few new takes on the traditional pregnancy storyline.
Now the one the thing this finale did lose marks on was that it wasn’t very funny. They get a bit of pass because I’d rather my finales have plot movement, but in certain parts of this episode it was hard to ignore. I didn’t really like the bit where Marshall was shown disgusting pictures by his potential employer nor was I a huge fan of Lily’s Velociraptor vomiting. I was also kind of hoping that after the great way they ended things between her and Ted in the previous episode Zoey wasn’t going to be back again this week.
But still, while the episode may not have been exactly what I was hoping for, the show finished its season with a few promising possibilities, and there’s not a lot more you could ask for than that. “Challenge Accepted” should give them a lot to work with next season.
Line of the episode:
ROBIN: Guys, I dated you both, and neither of you is good at pressing or even finding the button. After some awkward pawing around that building is going to fake an implosion, say “baby that was great”, and go to sleep.
The Event – “The Beginning of the End” (B-)
As I mentioned in my last post this show just got cancelled, so I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on it. To be honest, having watched it from the beginning I can’t say I’m surprised it didn’t make it. From a creative standpoint it was never really able to gain its footing and ended up being quite frustrating because of that. The real question now is whether or not the show will end on a satisfying conclusion or a cliffhanger. Unfortunately, with one episode left I’m guessing it’s probably going to be the latter.
The big reveal in this episode was that the NTBs were here even before humans. I’d theorized a little on that point before but it made me happy to see that there is some explanation for why the NTBs are so human like (I assume that’s where they’re taking it anyway). It was also pretty cool to see Simon hook onto that scroll that Sean’s been carrying around. If anything I’d like to see the full back story of the NTBs before the show bites the dust.
I liked that the writers decided to pair Sean and Vicky with Sterling and Simon to create a super team. It was kind fun watching them all bond over their shared expertise, even if there were a few cheesy lines thrown in here and there. More than anything though it was just nice to see some of these characters meet each other for the first time. Honestly, how has something like this not happened sooner?
I’m also glad to the see the President up and moving again, just so we didn’t have to spend an entire episode watching him lie in a hospital bed again. Martinez is still plagued by a few annoying character traits, but I like that we finally have someone who can get Jarvis out of power. I really hope we don’t have to spend the whole finale watching him try to get the Presidency back though.
House – “After Hours” (A-)
This was one of the best episodes of House I’ve seen all season. Certainly the best since Thirteen walked out of that prison. I apologise if I keep harping this point week after week, but the best episodes of House these days seem to happen when the writers ditch the traditional patient of the week formula and try something new.
Last week, when I speculated that House would end up as a patient before seasons end, I kind of expected he would have a part in his own diagnosis. It’s House after all. There was no way he was going to completely give up control. What I didn’t expect though was that he would have a part in his own surgery.
The bathtub scene was brilliant. His pale complexion, shaking hands, writhing in pain with each cut of the scalpel. It may not have been for the faint of heart, but it was hard to deny the intensity of the sequence. And what I liked most about the ending was that it seemed to be a real wake up call for the character. His admission to Wilson that he knew something needed to change was understated but quite powerful. I’m hoping that sentiment more than anything guides the season finale next week (Disclaimer: I didn’t see the preview for it, so I have no idea what’s coming).
With House operating on himself, Thirteen and Chase ended up getting what most would consider the patient of the week. Of course their story was about a lot more than just diagnosing a patient. Since his divorce with Cameron Chase has become almost a caricature of his former self, sleeping with hordes of women and generally being relegated to comic relief. But often forgotten is the fact that Chase actually killed a man on purpose only a season ago.
Thirteen on the other hand just got out of prison for euthanizing her brother, and while she’s had a fair amount of screen time since her return we still hadn’t seen her discuss her feelings over what she’d done. Which is why watching Thirteen and Chase connect over their shared experienced was an extremely compelling moment for both characters. Chase gave Thirteen an outlet to express her grief and Thirteen gave Chase a little substance for the first time in almost a season and a half. It’s a great pairing and I sincerely hope the writers continue the bond between the two of them going forward.
Lastly, we had Taub and his surprise pregnancy storyline. Earlier in the season the writers looked to be making a concerted effort to make Taub a more likeable character, but after Thirteen’s return they sort of forget about that storyline. Well they picked up on it again in this episode and I like where they seem to be taking his story. Foreman’s right, Taub would probably make a horrible father, but at his core Taub is a good person – just look at what he was willing to go through to make sure that stripper was alright – and I think having a kid would be an excellent opportunity for the character to grow. I just wonder if it means Taub is going to move out of Foreman’s apartment. How funny would it be watching the two of them try to raise a kid?
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