How I Met Your Mother: "Farhampton" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

It's been a long time coming -- a looooong time coming -- but with this season of How I Met Your Mother possibly acting as its last, it's clear after watching "Farhampton" that the show definitely has its sights set on the end. This, of course, was mainly due to the fact that we got the closest we ever have to seeing the mother, and for once, it almost feels like the end of our tale is within reach. Unfortunately, that fleeting exhilaration of that final moment was more or less undercut by the 21 humdrum minutes preceding it.

Once again, Barney and Robin were back on the long road to reuniting -- did I mention? -- again. In what is possibly the most roundabout way of writing someone off a show, it's borderline infuriating that we'll soon be forced to witness the train wreck that will eventually become Barney and Quinn's inevitable breakup. More than anything, I almost just feel sorry for Becki Newton, whose presence on the show now only serves as a constant reminder that she's leaving. We already know how the story ends, must we spell out how it all happens? At this point, I think we can put the pieces together. It's kind of like watching The Sixth Sense and knowing the whole time that (spoilers?) Bruce Willis is a ghost. It's simply not as interesting to watch.

How I Met Your Mother Creators on Crafting the (Probable) Final Seaosn

However, Lily and Marshall's storyline was easily the laziest of the bunch. Not only have we seen the "sleep deprived parents" bit in countless other sitcoms, but it seemed like there were some mixed metaphors going on between the initial zombie references and the bizarre recurring fish tank gag. Hopefully their season arc will improve, as theirs is currently the only one without a predetermined destination. It's a shame they got the shaft this week, as their hackneyed B-story could have easily been reworked into a stronger social rules bit. Admittedly, though, I did chuckle when Quinn explained why she had overheard the dazed couple's conversation, "'Hey, Quinn. Let's all hang out in Marvin's room!'"

Meanwhile, we also got a followup from Ted and Victoria, who, last we saw, had driven off into the sunset together. But as someone well versed in the etiquette of being left at the altar, Ted was appalled to learn that Victoria had not left a note for her fiancee Klaus. After all, "it's common courtesy!" Honestly, this arc -- while ultimately about as meaningless as Barney/Robin/Quinn's -- was perhaps the most entertaining. Ted's not so stealthy attempts at leaving the note were among some of the better sequences, particularly Barney's remote distraction of Andrea the Giant. ("Quinn's on board!")

However, it was Thomas Lennon's portrayal of Klaus that truly elevated this story. His conversation with Ted at the train station definitely added a bit of much needed weight to the episode. Although Band of Horses' "Funeral" wasn't exactly the most appropriate underscore for the montage, Klaus's speech was still a rather well-written summation of the presumed events to come, and provided a nice lead-in to the aforementioned mother sequence.

"Farhampton" was not without its occasional redeeming qualities, but as far as HIMYM episodes go, this one was certainly not a standout. In fact, the only substantial joke was Barney's one-minute recap of the entire series thus far, which seemed oddly fitting for HIMYM's potentially final premiere. Likewise, Robin's bridal cold feet at the top of the episode also provided an additional nugget of intrigue (although this obviously won't be addressed until later on). Aside from that, the episode was pretty lacking in both laughs and dramatic content. While it's a plus that Season 8 is heading somewhere assuredly interesting, I only hope the road ahead is a little more scenic.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com