Past Purges
New Girl "Prince"
Seemed appropriate for an After Superbowl episode. Prince was a big get and they used his quirkiness is a funny way without it feeling like they were working around them to make the episode work. The stunt casting gave the episode that gravitas it needed. The "I love you" confession gave it importance, although am I the only one who got the sense they wrote this to fit anywhere in the season in case the schedule got messed up? I caught that Ford Fusion ad they tried to sneak in. It was funny though, so no complaints there.
Best joke: Fire and Ice = Warm Water
Brooklyn Nine Nine "Operation: Broken Feather"
This had much less of the feel of a special Post Post Superbowl episode. I'm fine with that. They threw in the football segment at the beginning (side note: Terry Crews is a frightening specimen) and otherwise went about a normal episode which did a good job highlighting what every character does well. I've accepted this Peralta/Santiago business, so as long as I like both characters individually, I can accept their inevitable (unless they throw a curve ball in there) coupling. Capt. Holt was excellent in the episode. From the Icarus story to him watching Moneyball, everything Andre Braugher did was great.
How I Met Your Mother "Sunrise"
I've been tossing and turning on this one for a while. I had to rewatch it even. My first instinct was that I didn't like it. After all, no Mother. I've made my opinion known about the three things each episode needs this season (Mother, call-backs, emotions). The more I've considered it, we can exchange Mother this week for another thing I once loved about the show: structure. Let's break it down.
Emotion: The ending of each of the three stories were genuine in this regard. Ted finally lets go of Robin (despite having an awful definition for what love is). Given that there's no taking back all the stupid stuff happening before this with Ted, this was probably the best resolution they had available. Marshall and Lily got a cop-out of a resolution to a long-brewing argument. Again, the thought behind it though, there's no winning and losing in a good relationship, leaves them in a good place and frees us of having to see them at odds for the rest of the season. Barney's is the most ridiculous story. Yet, it was a good summation of him as a character and plausibly explained his reason for being willing to change.
Call Backs: This was heavy in them, thankfully. Ted talks to loves of the past. There's a sense that Abby Elliot was available and Jennifer Morrison wasn't, which is why Jeanette got so much to do. Very little of this was funny. It recognized the history of Ted's dating head on in a good way. Marshall has an argument with 2006 Lily. He is literally fighting with a callback. San Francisco is addressed in ways it hadn't before and Marshall's dad even finds a way to sneak in. Barney and his two new proteges is essentially a summary of every conversation with Ted he's ever had. It completely covers everything the old Barney was.
Structure: By that, I mean, "was it all a dream?". The short answer is "no". The fact that Robin now knows about Ted moving to Chicago proves that. Some of this really happened. Let's think about it though. Marshall is in bed, talking to imaginary people. Clearly, we aren't supposed to think this is real. It's not a leap to call this a dream. Barney is in a drunken stupor and teaches complete strangers everything he knows in a strip club that appears out of nowhere. This is about as symbolic as you can get. Short of the two guys showing up at the wedding, scamming on the Mother, I'm fine believing Barney is passed out in a ditch, imagining all this. Finally, Ted and Robin. It's interesting that we go from Ted alone last week to with Robin now. It's good that he got help, but why her? It's a bit convenient, and I don't mean that in a bad writing sense. They are alone the entire time, doing a bad job looking for Barney, and happen to discuss exactly what Ted needs to at that moment. Oh, and let's not forget, the refrain of the song when Robin is floating away is "dreaming".
Now that I've thought it through, this is an impressively done episode. Even if I am completely misreading it, the end result is that all of our characters' struggles are wiped clean in one fell swoop. Ted is open to loving someone other than Robin. Robin is set to marry Barney. Barney has passed on the Playbook and [most of] his old ways. Marshall and Lily are staying in New York and a happy couple again. Ladies and gentlemen, it's looking like we are in the How I Met Your Mother Victory lap.*
*I hereby reserve the write to take back this claim if the writers revert back to their old ways in the coming weeks since that's what they do best.
Archer "Archer Vice: House Call"
After that HIMYM dicertation, I don't have a lot left in me. This was a small and funny episode. Taking place entirely inside Cheryl's manor, it's like an animated bottle episode. I feel bad that I never have more to say about this incredibly smartly written show. I mean, all those jokes about metric conversion. Who does that? It was great.
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