I'm going to punch someone.
If you've run out of story ideas that you have to keep putting Robin and Ted back together -- than either let us meet the mother already or end the damn show.
Oh, wait. So they aren't back together again?
In that case, excellent episode.
At the very end of "No Pressure", Lily tells Marshall to pay up on the bet, because Robin and Ted aren't ending up together. To which Marshall replies, "not yet."
Oh, wait. So maybe they w ill end up together later?
So who do I want to punch?
Did they really have to throw that line in at the end? Just when we thought, that finally, FINALLY, the back and forth between Robin and Ted was over, they leave it open once again that they will return to the Robin-Ted relationship.
Just like how Ted and Robin can never figure out what/who they want, neither can the writers. Actually, wait, yes they can. The writers know precisely what they want: to string us along and piss us off along the way.
For the record, I kinda like Robin and Ted together, but what I don't like is Robin going back and forth between Ted and Barney, Ted and Barney, on and off, on and off. There's only so much a viewer can take. It's Season 7, damnit. We know she's not the mother, so let's just move on from that already.
And despite that "not yet" at the end, I think that the show finally has moved on from Robin and Ted. I don't think that they will get back together at any point, but the same can't be said for Robin and Barney -- which seems inevitable at this juncture.
Complaining aside, this was a really well-done episode. The future-bets storyline involving Marshall and Lily led to some amusing flashbacks, good laughs and nicely interwove with the overall story of the episode. Despite Lily's reprehensible behavior of always trying to sabotage all of Ted's relationships (she almost makes Walter White look like a Saint for the things she's done to Ted), it did lead to him realizing that there was a reason why things never work out between him and Robin. You know, other than Lily admitting a few episodes ago that it was HER who broke them up in first place.
And the moments between Robin and Ted were really good (especially when Ted asked if she loved him) and having it all connect back with what happened between Robin and Barney earlier this season made a lot of sense and will hopefully push that storyline forward as the season is nearing an end at Barney's wedding.
Listening to what the fans want may not always be the right play, but meeting the mother sometime before we all die might be a good idea. Call me crazy.
NOTABLE QUOTABLES:
MARSHALL: "I gotta say, making money off of this bet, just makes me feel..."
LILY: "More alive than in years!?"
MARSHALL: "YES!"
TED: Barney, you've really grown up, you know that?"
BARNEY: Thanks. Now let's watch our two best friends have sex on tape."
TED: "I'll make the popcorn."
TED: "Oh my god, Robin's in love with you."
ROBIN: "I'm not rooting against you, I just don't think Robin is the girl you marry. That's why I made the stupid bet to begin with. I mean, yes, it's five years later and you haven't settled down with anyone else, but you haven't settled with Robin either. There must be a reason for that. What's standing in the way?"
TED: "As long as the door is even a little bit open, then I have this feeling that I'll be waiting around to see if I win the lottery when you turn 40. I think you know how you feel about me now and I don't think time is gonna change that. Just tell me. Do you love me?"
ROBIN: "No".
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
--Bars are open at 7 a.m. in New York? When is the next flight? I'm moving.
--Should future Ted be telling stories to his kids about a Lily-Marshall sex tape? Because in previous episodes, future Ted would alter inappropriate parts of the story to spare his children. Not this time.
--Damnit, Barney. You just destroyed the last VCR on Earth.
--Even if you were in love with Robin, would you be able to spell Scherbatsky? (Thanks IMDb)
--Heck, the writers even like to mess with us regarding the yellow umbrella. For a split second it looked like Ted was just about to see his future wife, but then all of a sudden there are 30 girls with yellow umbrellas. Ugh.
SCORE: 75 out of 100
Part of me loved it.
Part of me hated it (and wanted to kill someone).
The part of me that loved is stronger, so 75 it is.
