How I Met Your Mother "Noretta" Review

There isn't much to unpack in "Noretta." Of course, How I Met Your Mother episodes are never thematically loaded. In "Noretta," each character (besides Robin) recognizes the resemblance between their significant other and their parent. The characters accept this resemblance, and even feel glad that they found someone as good as one who raised them. The episode's more interested in jokes than storytelling, which made it a more entertaining 21 minutes of HIMYM. For the second week in a row, I have mostly good words to write about the series.

Before I compliment the episode's second act, I'd prefer to begin with the Nora problem. Oh yes, it is now the Nora Problem. Nora's introduction last season was successful because I respond well to people with accents. I began listening to The Guardian's Football Weekly podcast a year ago and nodded my head in agreement for an extended period of time because the English accents made the pundits and podcast host sound so darn sophisticated. Now, I'm annoyed whenever James Richardson ignores fantastic points made by Sid Lowe or cuts him off before the run-down of La Liga is complete. Once, Lowe painted a vivid picture of the scene in Madrid during the two weeks young Catholics flocked to the city for World Youth and Jimbo ignored it entirely, but I digress. Likewise, I responded to Nora because of her English accent. Perhaps Bays & Thomas were equally enamored with the actress' accent because they've done nothing to develop the character or her relationship with Barney.

I wonder about the writers rooms for sitcoms. I've heard questions directed at sitcom writers about the emphasis on story vs. the emphasis on jokes. The NBC sitcom writers focus on story first then pepper in jokes later. I've no idea how an episode's broken in the HIMYM room. I theorize that the jokes come first because characters have been sacrificed in the telling of a joke. Anyway, this is a long-winded way of stating my opinion that Nora and Barney are dating because the writers want them to. The summer, seemingly, wasn't a time for the writers to think about why Barney and Nora are together. The second episode of the season focused on the relationship and why Barney would wait all night in a diner for her. Barney wanted to change. I think Barney would've jumped into a monogamous relationship with an ice cream sundae. By that, I mean there's nothing about Nora that convinces me Barney's dating her for her--he's dating her for himself and to prove something about himself to his friends. I felt the same way about last season's terrible 'Barney-meets-his-father' arc. I suppose one would argue that "Noretta" showed what Barney liked about Nora. I'd retort that the traits Nora shared with Loretta weren't in existence until tonight.

Anyway, I thought the second act of the episode was a blast. I laughed. I thought the use of the fathers of Lily and Marshall was terrific for every joke. I didn't care to overanalyze the oedipal themes because psychoanalytic theory sucks so much. I just wanted to laugh. I'd like to know how many takes the actors did. Ted, Robin, and Kevin were involved in a successful C story. Robin wondered how Ted felt about Kevin's presence in the apartment, which sparked a story about relationship dynamics. Kevin felt weird about the former couple living together until he realized how platonic the relationship truly is. Several things cracked me up, including Ted's choice to watch a documentary about a coin collector. Kal Penn's reactions to Ted's quirks as well as his delivery were terrific. Penn's been a fantastic addition to the series. It's a shame he's too famous to stick around until the end of the series because I wouldn't mind Robin and Kevin ending the series together.

I don't have much else to write about "Noretta." I probably should've mentioned how Marshall's trying to make his wife feel sexy throughout the episode but it doesn't matter enough to earn two sentences. Next week's the much anticipated Slutty Pumpkin episode, which marks Katie Holmes' return to television. Don't be surprised if I write one or two paragraphs about Katie Holmes, even though I wrote several paragraphs about her during my beloved Dawson's Creek re-watch over the summer. My feelings about HIMYM are mostly positive now--I laugh and I feel satisfied after episodes (albeit only two episodes). Perhaps it will continue for the entire season.

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