How I Met Your Mother: "The Broken Code"

Unlike last week's episode, "Last Time in New York", this week's episode, "The Broken Code" felt like it actually had a story that was worth telling and that needed to be told. There's nothing wrong with sitcom antics and it's expected that they'll have diminishing returns in later seasons, but How I Met Your Mother's central conceit forces it to give the burden of proof in order to feel truly well and satisfying. I don't find Barney and Robin that interesting of a couple and so my opinions of their storyline avoiding their elderly relatives -- on top of the fact that that joke about old people felt very one-note and uninspired -- was bound to be meh.

Here though the main story about Barney being uncomfortable about Ted's still lingering feelings and Ted attempting to deny them felt like it had some weight to it that the last episode didn't really have. Most importantly there felt like there were actual stakes; Barney and Ted' friendship very well could have been seriously compromised and no doubt will be on an uncertain footing going forward -- and that's all for the better. This season needs to throw out complications to make it have a sense of purpose, conviction and, most importantly, energy. Weddings tend to be fraught with complications and thus far the complications have been too light and disposable (Thankfully we got that old people joke out early and lets hope there's nothing quite as bland as it going forward). 

But even the less meaty subplot between Lily and Robin felt as though as it wasn't completely a throwaway story. The story ultimately moved past the weird tics and insecurities of Robin in regards to her inability to make female friends and onto reaffirming the relationship she has with Lily. HIMYM has always been a show grounded in relationships and character dynamics and in recent seasons it has been at its best when it examines those relationships and assesses what they mean to these characters. Inevitably the commentary is thin here but it elevates a story that while amusing felt needless.

Like I said, a tv show doesn't have to make such purposeful statements all the time; if it's funny and energetic enough then we can roll with it even if it's not suggesting something meaningful (although inevitably they'll be some statement no matter what). But the central conceit of the series and the show's general emphasis on its relationships has unfortunately played against the stories it can meaningfully tell and that are actually satisfying.

Final seasons are statements of what the writers believed the show was about. To me it has always been about these characters, but I'm just a viewer not the author of this work and therefore what I felt this show was about and what it actually will end up being could be very different. I doubt the gap between those two perceptions will be that far apart, but it's still frustrating nonetheless when it loses track of these characters.

This was a good episode that made me feel as though the wedding weekend structure could actually work (and oddly enough it had little to actually to do with the wedding). We could do with more of this and less of what we got last week.

Grade: B