How I Met Your Mother "Desperation Day" Review

I'm surprised a concept like Desperation Day didn't enter into the How I Met Your Mother world until the sixth season. It seems like a concept Barney would've introduced in the first season when he was a more authentic womanizer. In the sixth season, while the man still womanizes, he's much more inclined to fall for a girl romantically than ever before. Perhaps the reason for the introduction of Desperation Day was done because of Barney's character growth. As much as he mocked the "desperate" single women he encountered on February 13, Barney essentially projected his feelings of loneliness onto those women. While Robin's friends succumbed to the lure of a Valentine's Day date, women such as Robin and her cute British friend Nora know who they are and what they want--being single on Valentine's Day doesn't bother them. Such longing wouldn't be a stretch for Barney who, in the past, loved Robin. Maybe I read too much into the concept of Desperation Day and its place in the timeline. Barney's womanizing act is getting old though. Hopefully, Barney's first Valentine's Day date is a sign of things to come. Hopefully Nora doesn't disappear like any other guest star involved in a zany Barney store. Hopefully, like his two buddies (Marshall and Ted), Barney grows up.

Speaking of Marshall and Ted, both try to cope with their own individual realities. Marshall hasn't left Minnesota because he claims his mother needs his help. Lily decides to visit to help her husband and mother-in-law; however, she discovers that Judy has been taking care of Marshall. Marshall has struggled to move on past his father's death. It'd be lazy if the series decided to use the hiatus for Marshall's grieving process. It's important for the audience to witness Marshall's mourning period because he experienced the most life-changing moment of his life (until the birth of his child). In Minnesota, Marshall tried to return to a simpler, happier place in his life when his father was alive. No matter how hard he tried, Marshall couldn't ignore the reality that his father was gone. He told Ted a story that represented the father-son relationship--it was an image of a snowy night in Minnesota and of the security Marshall felt with his father around. Even though he's a married man in his 30s, Marshall has to figure out how to live without the security his father provided by just being a phone call away.

Marshall returns to New York by the end of the episode so he can return to his normal life, which essentially concludes this arc for Marshall. Craig Bays, Carter Thomas and the other writers handled the arc rather well for a network sitcom. They devoted necessary time to the days and weeks following the funeral--the period which is the hardest after the death of a loved one. I don't recall many sitcoms delving into that period. Most devote two parts to the death of a character before seamlessly returning to the comfortable sitcom formula. Jason Segal was terrific throughout the arc as well.

Meanwhile, my criticisms of the Ted-Zoey relationship were rather premature because the episode slowed the relationship down for the characters to contemplate the situation they're in. Ted's entering into a relationship with a recently-separated-soon-to-be-divorced-female while Zoey's entering into a relationship not even two months after the end of her marriage. Both characters behaved in neurotic ways throughout "Desperation Day." Ted brought a carry-on bag to Zoey's. Zoey freaked herself out when she invited Ted over for sex with the euphemism of "bake cookies." Ted ran away to Minnesota for a few hours until he realized he must confront realities of the external circumstances in his relationship. Zoey decided she wanted to be with Ted. Ted felt comfortable with Zoey. In my opinion, the relationship is absolutely destined for failure because Zoey has too much baggage and Ted's far too neurotic. Their relationship will resemble the New York Islanders franchise.

Overall, I enjoyed "Desperation Day." Every story worked well tonight. There were some sweet moments throughout like Lily/Marshall at the end and Nora and Barney at laser tag.

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