If you watched this live then at first glance, you might not know that The Best Man and The Naked Truth were two separate episodes, well except for the HUGE cliffhanger that HIMYM throws in at the end of the Season Premiere… With that said, let’s see what else there is to like.
How I Met Your Mother Music
- Victoria by the Kinks (plays as we notice…Victoria)
To be honest, The Naked Truth seemed kind of plain up until the end. Don’t get me wrong…there were some great laughs, emotional times, sweet call backs. But if I had to do a quick summary it would go Martin Short…yatta, yatta, Beercules, yatta yatta, Victoria. Let’s pick those apart for a sec.
Martin Short looks to be hilarious as Marshall’s new boss, Garrison Coots. I was really looking forward to the potential of Dave Foley but I think that Short will nail the roll. his few scenes tonight seemed right in character with everything I’ve ever seen him in. I think this will provide some great times and Marshall continues to wonder away from the path of ‘Corporate Marshall’.
Beercules. If anything, I’m disappointed that more wasn’t done with this. In the past, if HIMYM mentions something on the net related to the show, it’s on the net. Consider Lorenzo Von Matterhorn… But no google searches, no web site, no youtube videos…I digress, more on this later.
Victoria. I’m sure there is other very pertinent stuff in The Naked Truth, but once Victoria appeared on the screen, minds were blown. I had a good source that she was coming back but I really expected it to happen in “the Best Man” at the wedding. I had almost forgot about it until she popped up at the Architect Ball. Even so, there she is! Ashley Williams, who I’ve always loved… if you don’t count Robin, since she is a show regular she is easily the fan favorite of Ted’s girlfriends. And while I know she is not the future mother that we have hear so much and yet so little about, I love the fact that we get to explore the rest of this story line. Victoria to me was always an unresolved issue. I’m extremely interested in where this part of the story goes, but I don’t expect her to be around long unfortunately.
Legendary Lines
Ted:..and Claire reached for the check.
Nora: How do you still think you have a chance with me?
Barney: Because you sat here all night, you could have left right away, but you didn’t.
Old Ted: …Oh my God, Why and I telling you this. Let’s move on
Marshall: Sweeping Declaration!
Lily: Well, that could be anybody.
Robin: If only architects had two balls, right Ted?
Barney: …If we’re splitting hairs then technically, there was a plurality to the times I’ve lied to women for sex having purposes.
Favorite Moments
- The Soul Man… Barnel…did I miss that one in the Playbook?
- Games. I’m a game guys. Really, I even made my own personal copy of Marshgammon for home. So you can imagine how pumped I was to see Marshall playing Xíng háishì bùxínglike Barney did in Season 2’s Atlantic City.
- Along those same line, there should totally be a game based on ‘Pro’s & Con’s’ and ‘Color Chart’. besides that, Ted’s reassurance to his kids thar they really cheered was excellent.
- Edward 40 Hands…it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.
- Barney’s truthfulness with Nora was refreshing…it’s one reason I like them together. WAIT! Now before you stone me, listen. Someone asked me on twitter what I thought about Nora, and the truth is that I do like her. However, I feel like I like the role she plays in maturing Barney more than I like her character. But that that for what you will.
- Beercules. plus…. look at me, I’m a windmill!
- It’s nice to see Ted, using some of his new found fame for good use.
Intervention TIME
Guys & Gals, ( yes, you HIMYM writers, creators ect.)
You had a great opportunity in not one but 2 episodes to posts some funny stuff. but as I search the incredible series of tubes that is the interweb… I don’t see and my Shmosby’s toasts or the autotune, and I don’t see Beercules… You’ve done so well with these opportunities in the past, so why stop now? I guess what I’m trying to say is, ‘What the hell?’
UPDATE: Interventions work. at least we get teh Ted Mosby Autotune video… classic shmosby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Uqe29RAaY
Lingering Questions
- Nora came back, or at least it seems? Does this change you wedding thoughts any?
- Have anything embarrassing of yourself on youtube? Do tell.
- Victoria. Are you excited? How long will she be around? Will this get Ted back on path to find the mother?
- Why does in the flash forward to Marshall winning at what appears to be Xíng háishì bùxíng does his shirt say “Marshall & Steph 4eva” (see below)? We know alcohol is involved but anyone have a good theory?
- What did you think of The Naked Truth?
I think you can add this to the “lingering Questions”:
Why does the expression of Barney in the flash forward?
look at barney s face expression on the flash forward…bad news perhaps…and marshall s shirt…who is steph
explosive start of season 7…very good episodes…and when victoria appears…wow..it tottaly blown my mind..LEGENDARY
Agreed – this episode felt very much like filler, but the ending revelation of Victoria’s return was glorious. She looks gorgeous and so much more mature, and I look forward to where her storyline will go.
Ditto @adrian. Who is Steph? I like that the boys can now plan for two seasons to prepare callbacks galore – but I worry that they might go a little overboard. Two episodes in and we’ve got plenty of threads peeled back just for the sake of it: not a single one felt like a natural revelation. Still very excited about this season!
I know Victoria isn’t the mother but I’m glad to have her back. Also Marshall is happy because he can get more of that cake. I love Nora. In fact I may be on Team Nora. Between her new haircut and that dress, Robin looked amazing tonight. Pity it wasn’t the Lenny Kravitz she wanted.
This episode convinced me that I need to get on the cover of a magazine.
His daughter. (;
Nooo I hated Victoria!
Also, @b.o.b, great guess!
More importantly, who was Barney on the phone with? what news did he just hear?
I enjoyed the episodes, maybe because I just missed new HIMYM. I still feel like the writers don’t know who barney is marrying which is stressful. just decide barney fate…yeesh.
I was so busy looking at marshall’s shirt i didn’t notice barney on that flash forward…interesting. What if he marries Nora and she dies and then he marries Robin. Just saying.I did enjoy the edward 40hands – i did those in college (pre-youtube).
I though the victoria reveal was PERFECT. Loved the song, love the flasbacks to their relationship. loved it all. there is a lot of story to tell and i’m excited to hear it.
I’m really excited about next week’s episode. Carter Bays since it may be his all time favorite episode yet.
We know he will get a son, so I don’t think the first born will be a daughter..
We know he will get a son, so I don’t think the first born will be a daughter..
I love that Victoria is back! I felt like their relationship had kind of an open ending, so this is really great!
Did anyone else notice that Victoria came back while Ted was on a “date” with Robin, the same Robin who answered the phone when Victoria called from Germany and they broke up in season 1?
Episode one ends when Barney and Ted are talking about ties, and Ted says: “Just be glad it’s not the ducky tie”. That’s the tie barney is wearing in the casino in episode two when he gets the bad(?) news.
good catch – it does look like a ducky tie in that flash forward
excellent catch on the Ducky Tie…
It definitely looks like a shocked look on his face btw… at first I thought it was because Marshall had won and he had lost, but it’s definitely more of a shocked look. On a limb here, but it looks like someone just told him they were pregnant.
I wouldn’t say it’s terrible news because though because if you couple it with the tie… which come up in a few weeks… then remember that Barney & Ted laugh about the tie situation in at his wedding. Like I said earlier, there is still too little context to make a great guess. I’m just spitballing stuff here.
I do wonder, how that will play into the situation… as opposed to if he was with another girl.
It wasn’t there last night is all I know.
Interventions work. True Story.
nice guess… I thought that could be true as well… but remember Erkisen kids are all huge boys!
Plus, I thought the shirt seemed a little creepy for a father/daughter thing, maybe?
My best guess, would be it plays into the ducky tie bet in some way.
Legendary Slap Bet Video! Thanks for sharing!
whats your twitter
the ducky tie which isnt barney’s tie’s type and marshall shirt and the freakin game of Xíng háishì bùxíng loll nothing makes sense in that 5 second clip that is gonna be some messed up crazy episode
???????
wow…I’ve never heard that one before. lol
You have to think that this is going to happen in a few weeks. Given that Marshall’s last “Sweeping Declaration” lasted one day Marshall will be drunk by New Year’s.
i hope barney and robin be together i hate nora. and beercules was funny! i loved victoria ono of teds favorite girls.
just so I can hear you say it… You should try to be on the cover of a magazine (don’t leave me hanging here, this is an epic opportunity to accept this challenge…hint, hint)
agreed
me? it’s @bawesomeinstead notice there is no e in be… it was too long for twitter. =(
Am I excited about Victoria being back? Errr…YES! SO excited. I accidentally saw a screencap of her while I was waiting for the ep to load (and I’d been so careful to avoid Twitter etc so I didn’t get spoiled…) so I knew it was coming, but I still squealed and got excited. Knowing that we were going to see Victoria, I was just waiting the whole ep for Ted to agree to take Robin to the ball – it sets up a very interesting situation. Although Victoria only seems to have seen Ted so far, I’m looking forward to Robin coming back into the room…surely as far as Victoria’s concerned, if Ted is at a ball with Robin they’re probably still together. I want to see her reaction, what Ted does to explain himself, what Ted does to try to make up for cheating. And how Victoria can cope with the fact that the woman he cheated with is one of his best friends still…aah, the possibilities are just huge, and I really hope she sticks around for a while yet.
The Victoria-excitement kind of makes you forget the rest of the episode! Haha! But I did love Barney & Nora – I feel similarly to you about them, by the sounds of what you wrote. I think what she will do for his character development will be very interesting. It already is very interesting. Him waiting for her was just wonderful, showed a big change in Barney already. I still feel so sad for Robin, but I’m very excited to see more of Nora. They’re very cute. I want him to end up with Robin, but this episode made me feel like I maybe wouldn’t be devastated if Nora was the bright…don’t shoot!
It’s nice to see Marshall providing the comic relief, after having had quite a serious second half of last season. I have to say, I found his boss a little too much, I think I could get easily annoyed. We shall see. I’d not come across Martin Short before, so maybe I would appreciate the character more if I was a fan of him. I did enjoy the fact that he’d seen the beercules video though. And it’s great to see Marshall finally heading towards what he wants to be doing, job-wise. This is part of what I mentioned in my Best Man comments, about feeling like they’re starting to wrap up some things…Marshall’s job, and Lily being pregnant, feels like they’re really heading towards where we would want them to be at the end. It really struck me that things are starting to come together. I had a general feeling of that in these two episodes, although I can’t put my finger on anything else specific.
Finally, favourite quotes – “Bring out the yellow legal pad!…And kids, they actually cheered!” I have to admit, I did actually cheer…oh dear. But I enjoyed this as a little joke, along with the continuity of what we know about Ted.
And the quote you picked out from Barney – “…If we’re splitting hairs then technically, there was a plurality to the times I’ve lied to women for sex having purposes.” I laughed quite hard at this scene. Neil played it brilliantly.
Roll on next week…is it Monday yet?!
You can call me on this if I’m wrong, but I think the firstborn could still be a girl…all we know is that Marshall stopped smoking the day his son was born. From what we know about Marshall, you would think he would stop as soon as his first child arrived (although why would he not stop when Lily’s pregnant?!) so I’ve always assumed their first child was a boy. But there’s nothing to explicitly say that a daughter didn’t come first.
you know, we all probably should have known because the Victoria song was playing throughout the episode :p
If you look at the screenshot closely, you’ll notice that Barney is not wearing a wedding band; so it either means that his wedding has happened in that flash forward, or he never went through with the wedding at all.
Any speculations?
“And while I know [Victoria] is not the future mother that we have heard so much and yet so little about, I love the fact that we get to explore the rest of this story line.”
Wait, so how do we know Victoria is not the future mother? The narrator only says “The day I met your mother.. was the day of the wedding.” Yes, right after that, they flash ‘forward’ to what we now know is Barneys wedding, but does that mean this is the wedding where Ted met the mom? Not necessarily. That was never stated, and Ted did meet Victoria the day of a wedding. So I am not sure she can be ruled out..
“And while I know [Victoria] is not the future mother that we have heard so much and yet so little about, I love the fact that we get to explore the rest of this story line.”
Wait, so how do we know Victoria is not the future mother? The narrator only says “The day I met your mother.. was the day of the wedding.” Yes, right after that, they flash ‘forward’ to what we now know is Barneys wedding, but does that mean this is the wedding where Ted met the mom? Not necessarily. That was never stated, and Ted did meet Victoria the day of a wedding. So I am not sure she can be ruled out..
She’s ruled out for a lot of reasons… but rather than rake through them all here take a quick look at this article: https://www.beawesomeinstead.com/obsession/2010/more-on-who-is-the-mother-from-himym/ it’s covers it pretty sufficiently.
I know, there seem to be very few of us…
That article did nothing to disprove my theory because the entire article is based on the assumption that he meets the mother at the wedding shown in Big Days. Not only was that never specifically said, the narrator said he meets the mother “the day of” a wedding, and not “at” a wedding. Ted first “encounters” the mother in Season 3 at the St. Patrick’s Day party. If Victoria left in season 1 for a year in Germany, she would’ve been back by then. We really knew nothing about Victoria other than her baking skills and love of cats, so who is to say that she didn’t return to NY, go back to college, become Cindy’s room-mate, etc? It may be a stretch but I don’t think we can definitively say she’s not the mother.
Look. I admire how much you want your theory to be right, I’ve got several theories that not everyone subscribes to. I get it, and I even like it…it’s possible the way you lay it out, but not plausible.
However, the entire article is not based on the big days wedding. It’s a clue, in the show it’s implied, I get that, but it’s been confirmed off camera, so it’s a generally accepted “fact”.
With that said, I really don’t even need “the wedding” to prove she isn’t the mother. The easiest thing to point to is in that same article:
Ted has not met her before “Lucky Penny”. Ted says his destiny was to stay in NY because if he hadn’t he never would have met their mother, while showing a wedding glimpse. (ref. s02e15 “Lucky Penny”)
The basics say that Ted has not “MET” the mother yet. That’s why bump girl still get’s so much attention. Because they never technically met. Victoria however, you can’t say that.
I feel like Victoria is there to bring some closure…to help Ted remember what love was like. But the mother, I think you are grasping at straws.
Haha. “Look.” It’s not that I want my theory to be right. I never stated that I believe or even want Victoria to be the mother–simply, that she shouldn’t be ruled out as a candidate. I believe I even admitted it was a stretch. But we do know that the writers have also confirmed off camera that Victoria was the original “fallback” mother, in case the series was cancelled by episode 13, before the network ordered the back 9. (Stella was the second “fallback” mother, when it looked like the show may be cancelled by the end of Season 3.) We also know that exclusive footage was filmed with the children regarding the mother’s identity, in season 2, which is supposed to be released in the series’ finale. Is it possible that the writers liked Victoria (and Williams’ chemistry with Radnor) so much that they decided to revisit her for the role of the mother? Sure. It is plausible? Hmm maybe not. Is it grasping at traws? Ehh that’s debatable. I’d say no more than the [girl from] Milk theory. Girls vs. Suits “negates” the Milk theory, in the same way that Lucky Penny does the Victoria theory, when the narrator states he is about to hear his first-ever description of the woman he would one day marry (from Cindy). I have to admit that I am less likely to rule Victoria as a candidate, now that she is being brought back this early. If she were the mother, it seems unlikely that they’d introduce her now. And that’s fine. I, like you, have several theories. My biggest one is that Ted does not meet his wife “at” the wedding seen in Big Days, but the “day of” that wedding (as stated in the narration). So for all those theorists trying to justify their candidates by stating how easily so-and-so could be at Barney’s wedding (for example: Barney’s half-sister), that point may be moot, since the mother probably isn’t even there. In the beginning of Season 3, they show the yellow umbrella blowing in the wind at night on the city streets, so I’m guessing his first encounter comes when they–Ted and the mother–both chase that umbrella down in said street, that same day of the wedding. (Perhaps that night, after it is over.) In the end, only time will tell. It’s been fun debating with you, though! *shakes hand*
Ok, I don’t understand what is with Pete Durkinson near the middle and the end. Is there two of him? Is he living a double life of a crazy drunk and a doctor? I really don’t get what is going on? If someone could help that would be great, thanks!
Did anyone else notice the cover of the magazine where on the top it said “Mystery or History: Is it better not to know?” I think that was a great easter egg to put in there. Also, below that is a headline which says “By George! Is Van Smoot Van Smitten?” So, hopefully that means that George Van Smoot (The Captain) will return and, possibly, have a love interest. Next to that is another headline of “Plus Willem… Dafoe”. That is obviously a reference to Marshall’s frog and bird joke in Robots vs Wrestlers. I’m not sure if that is a spoiler or simply an old joke. I hope that that is not the end of the magazine cover. Let me know what you guys all think. Thanks!