The Ted storyline is perfect for Josh Radnor. Radnor's carved out an indie niche for himself with two independent romantic comedies. Seven seasons in and a struggle to move on after a relationship seems old and done. There's perhaps a message about how one will always experience the same emotions post-rejection and post-relationship. The cycle of life brings people back to the same basic emotional points. Ted's part of the cycle, which he doesn't mind. Barney wants Ted to cleanse his mind of Robin though. Barney arranges three dates for Ted, but the three dates all remind of Robin in some way. Indeed, the tiniest things can remind someone of someone else. Ted hears the name Wayne, thinks of Bruce Wayne, and traces everything to Robin, which ultimately depresses him. Robin is always on his mind and until she's not he can't honestly be with someone. This isn't new territory for the show. The execution is the problem. Ted's dates are bland as any one-note character in a forgettable Kate Hudson film. The first girl is a Canadian named Robyn; the second girl is a black hair, tattooed, depressed nihilist; the third girl needs her palate cleansed. I get the intent of the storyline. Bays and Thomas can't keep Ted in an apartment, alone, isolated, thinking of only Robin. Ted needs to be active, involved, evolving. The execution of his psyche could've been better. I loathe the tropes of romantic comedies and "Good Crazy" employed the worst of them.
Ted's epiphany in McClaren's was a good for the character if indeed I understood it. Ted seemed to accept Robin's platonic love for him. If so, do proceed, show. Ted couldn't tell Robin about his epiphany because they needed to help a suddenly in-labor Lily. Lily and Marshall fought over future parenting skills. Marshall prepared for the baby by setting alarms at intervals during the night, comforting a practice baby (a watermelon), and such. Marshall took on the role of mother and Lily the father. Their argument led to a scheme of Lily's to get rid of Marshall for a night for much-needed peace and quiet. The reversal of gender roles was amusing. It's the sort of wacky story Segal excels at portraying. I knew Lily would go into labor just when Marshall got drunk in Atlantic City. The story wasn't great. The writers exhausted any interesting baby-related storyline already. I dread the 'Marshall-and-Lily-as-parents!' storyline; these storylines never go well.
The romantic comedy tropes extend into the Barney/Quinn storyline. Heck, it's the plot of a bad romantic comedy. I've never seen Pretty Woman but I'm certain a parallel exists between the two. Barney finally tells Quinn how he feels about her profession. Quinn doesn't want to quit because she'd sacrifice a part of herself for Barney, find herself in a cage, and she'd never want to hate Barney for something in her life. I don't care how their story resolves; I just want resolution. I can't stress enough how much I loathe lousy romantic comedies. Every Barney romance is stuff of generic romantic comedies. Quinn told Barney she'd quit if he married her. One doesn't need to be Anton Chekov to understand what will happen next, as Barney exhausted his other options.
The seventh season finale airs its one hour season finale on May 14. Next week belongs to 2 Broke Girls. Things are set up for a significant hour. Lily and Marshall will be parents. The wedding supposedly happens. Ted is supposed to meet the mother. I'm indifferent about "Good Crazy." Perhaps the finale will breathe new life and energy into the series and make it special once more.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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