How I Met Your Mother, Season 2: Brief Thoughts

I already covered the basic of this show in my last post on it, so this one is going to be briefer and season-specific. Overall, though, I found Season 2 to be an improvement over Season 1.

First of all, Season 2 utilizes more of the non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, and other techniques for comedic purposes. Season 1 pioneered this, of course, but the show is getting more comfortable with it now and its style is really unlike a standard sitcom. There are also quite a few episodes that do not directly deal with romantic storylines (and especially Ted's), such as an episode all about anecdotes of Marshall's car, which is a refreshing change from Season 1 and proves that there is still a lot the program can do before it gets stale.

I was initially concerned about Ted and Robin getting together, since it was confirmed at the end of the pilot that she was not the mother, and the will they/won't they in Season 1 tired me as a result. However, I found that their relationship released that stress from the previous season. It was also helpful that Ted's quest took a backseat in Season 2. Looking at these first two seasons as a whole, this storyline was important for proving that Ted and Robin are great together, but they aren't willing to sacrifice that much to make their lives align, so it's time to move on.

Most of this season is focused on Marshall and Lily, which had its up and downs. I'm a big fan, of both the actors and the characters, and I'm really into the idea of having a permanent couple where their storylines don't come from relationship drama and they don't find the relationship boring after a while. So obviously I was disappointed that they broke up and this was dragged out over several episodes when they should have just talked to each other about it. I'm also not sure if blaming Lily was fair, and I don't think they really dealt with the issue in the best way. But getting back together was a relief, and it's also great that it's established that they tell each other everything.

I really enjoyed the wedding finale. Turning an absolute disaster into something hilarious worked because of the intimate, "real" outdoor wedding with the touching vows about how they really love each other in their own quiet, unspectacular way.

As for Barney, he came up with his own share of good lines and crazy schemes, and we finally got to see his bachelor pad. That toilet was one of the funniest moments of the season.  And I am aware that the slap bet will be coming back.

I'm really looking forward to where this goes next season, and it's just generally a lot of fun to watch with my family.

P.S. I noted all of the Joss Whedon actors last time, and this season brought at least two more, both in the episode "Swarley." Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly) plays Marshall's date, and Tom Lenk (Andrew from Buffy) also appears.