How I Met Your Mother: "The Pre-Nup" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

"It's big comedy, but you actually care about these characters."

If only, Ted. If only. In Season 8's second episode "The Pre-Nup," we were informed that one of the four -- or rather, three couples would be broken up by episode's end: "The Autumn of Breakups," as Future Ted so ominously put it. This was an admittedly intriguing claim, and one that would seem to suggest an entertaining, if not dynamic journey to a compelling and tragic end. Instead, we had to tolerate a barrage of pre-nup "suggestions" that landed anywhere from inhumane to ludicrous (and nowhere near funny).

Skipping over the eventless summer, our story picked up in October 2012 as Quinn vented to the girls about Barney's aforementioned pre-nup proposal. Meanwhile, Barney hashed out his own concerns with the guys, which were a little less reasonable. (Sexy pillow fights, anyone?) Soon, however, each character came to admit their own issues with their respective partners.

Unlike last week, Lily and Marshall's storyline proved to be the most entertaining, although that isn't saying a whole lot. This arc was mostly saved by a few key moments from Marshall and his "baby roughhousing" string of sight gags. However, the biggest (and only?) laugh-out-loud bit of the episode was Marshall's genuine defense for why a ghost had made his toast: "I didn't put the bread in! You didn't put the bread in!"

Although Thomas Lennon's appearance in the season premiere was a welcome addition, this week he overstayed his welcome (literally). Perhaps apart from Barney and Quinn's ridiculous pre-nup debate, Ted and Victoria's conflict with Klaus was the weakest story. Not only is the idea of letting your girlfriend's ex-fiancee live in your apartment fundamentally unthinkable, but this was also the only arc that went unresolved. For now, it seems, Klaus apparently remains a part of the equation.

Of course, the real sore thumb this week was Nick, who was pretty much dropped in without any formal introduction other than his distant appearance as "Crush" in Season 6 and the premiere. While another guy added into the mix isn't necessarily a bad thing, Nick's blithe incorporation here was a bit odd. Nevertheless, it's kind of hard to feel one way or another about him since he's quickly heading for the chopping block anyway, along with Victoria -- just one more reason to ignore any and all auxiliary romances that boil up between now and the wedding. I will say, though, Robin's winking to her future self on the news was pretty funny.

How I Met Your Mother Creators on Setting Up the Final Pieces

It's no surprise that this episode had to happen at some point, and perhaps it's better that it was sooner rather than later. We've known for some time now that Quinn's a goner -- even more so now that she's moving over to HIMYM creators Craig Thomas and Carter Bays' new comedy on FOX. It's sad to see her go, especially because it signals the arduous lead up to Barney and Robin's eventual reunion. With any luck, though, maybe we'll see this glossed over in some capacity on another go-round.

All told, there wasn't anything particularly frustrating about tonight's episode, but it was most definitely lackluster in both comedy and all-around enjoyable content. There were a few smirks here or there, but ultimately almost all of the jokes missed their marks, with only passable conclusions to back the stories up. Barney and Quinn's final scene together was indeed kind of sweet, but the buildup surrounding it was so hollow that Quinn's exit didn't really leave the impact that it could have. Unfortunately, what little potential there was in the beginning and end of the episode was overshadowed by one too many humorless gags in between.

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

The Verdict

Save for a sparse few clever moments, HIMYM's "The Pre-Nup" failed to make good on its initially intriguing premise.

Source : ign[dot]com