I’ve had a lot of complaints about How I Met Your Mother this season. It definitely became a more episodic show, one that has relied less on its premise. That’s not to say it’s been bad by any means, but in the show has, at least in my opinion, slipped from the high perch it once occupied. It’s still the smartest comedy on CBS, not that that requires much, but it’s not as solid as it once was.
In the shadow of the Lost finale, it may seem like I’m forcing in a reference here, but the universally loved part of its finale was the emotional resolutions each of the characters got. I couldn’t help but think of that as I watched “Doppelgangers.” From the start, HIMYM has been about these five characters. We’ve grown to know love them, felt like we were a part of their inside jokes, and even a character as sleazy as Barney has endeared him self to us. It’s with this in mind that I watched Season 5 come to a close.
Interestingly, “Doppelgangers” didn’t have a single reference to The Mother. In fact, Ted was the fifth string in the episode. In the A Story (or really the A1 Story), Marshall and Lilly decide their going to have a baby after seeing the final doppelganger, a brunette cab driver Barney. But when Marshall finds out that it’s actually Barney in disguise working on a plan to sleep with a girl from every country it the world, he pauses long enough to realize that perhaps Lilly isn’t ready to have a baby and is going through with it because she thinks she’s seen a sign. But as the episode ends, four months later, Lilly sees a pretzel vender she thinks looks just like Barney, but in fact, they all realize it looks nothing like him. But that’s okay. It just means that Lilly is ready, and next season, she and Marshall are going to try and have s baby.
Meanwhile, Robin is starting to fall seriously in love with Don, just as she gets a call from a station in Chicago that wants her. Despite the protests of her friends, Robin again chooses her career over romance, and decides to go to Chicago. When Robin calls Chicago, however, she has a change of heart while looking at a picture of her and Don. It’s a huge character shift for Robin, who in the first season could hardly be in a couple. But the kick to the stomach comes from Don, who accepts the job in Chicago she had turned down earlier that day. A heartbroken Robin moves back in with Ted, and as he comforts her, the begin to lean in towards each other, ready to kiss, when she remembers that Ted, after being tricked into it by his friends, has dyed his hair blonde.
As I said at the top, I had a lot of complaints about this season of HIMYM, but overall, I think “Doppelgangers” was a solid episode, and one of the more rewarding episodes of the season. As Ted points out Robin, the gang has grown up a lot in the last five years, sure they’re still having telepathic conversations and tricking each other into dying their hair blonde, but now they’re buying houses, settling into committed relationships, and having kids. Sure, I’ve been frustrated that a show I love doesn’t have the same magic it once did but part of that is that I’ve been expecting it to be a show about the people from five years ago. HIMYM has been growing with its characters.
Now I’m not saying the whole season gets redeemed or even that “Doppelgangers” was a perfect episode. But it was one that relied on the same things that made older episodes work. “Slap Bet” was funny, but it also was significant as it features a big step for both Robin and Ted. “Doppelgangers” gave us the framework for a season where we continue to see our characters grow, and while I wasn’t blown away, I’m looking forward to seeing how they change next.
Michael’s Score: 77
TUiW Grade: B+
Michael
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