Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Stephen Lloyd
One Paragraph Synopsis: The photo I chose makes it seem like the gang is having a great time with Ted's parents, right? Well, not exactly. Marshall and Lily, after failing to reconnect when meeting up again, are successively trying to one-up each other in public, while fooling around again in private. Barney, meanwhile, is trying his best to win over Ted's mother, which is going better than Ted would ever hope for. At the same time, Robin feels that his mother doesn't find her worthy enough to be the mother of Ted's children, even though she still doesn't want them. But nothing here can compete with Virginia and Alfred's own news- they've been separated for a while, neglecting to tell Ted until just now.
In my life, I've learned that hiding everything inside isn't how you should live life. Not to dig up an overused lyric, but conceal, don't feel isn't right. At all. You won't learn anything if your true feelings aren't shared as often as possible, and neither will anyone around you.
Of course, that doesn't mean that you should always tell the truth, especially if whoever you're dealing with is overly sensitive, or the truth could make or break your career. There are times when maybe you should just suck it up and not let out your emotions.
But when you're divorcing from the mother or father of your children, that shouldn't be hidden from your kids. Nor should the death of their grandparents, but this isn't the right place to get into that subject.
"Brunch"'s core theme is that a lack of communication can be deadly. It can break hearts, create toxic environments, and send mixed signals all around. Like many a good HIMYM episode, this goes into extended detail of that belief, allowing for Ted and the gang to deal with their own communication issues while keeping the separation of the Mosbys its own important plot point.
Well, Barney is the outlier, since he actually does use communication to his advantage. What information he knew about Virginia prior to meeting her is unclear, but it seems certain that he understands how middle-aged women function, wisely playing the part of a nice, suburban boy to keep her happy. It only takes Virginia a couple of words for Barney to get exactly where she's at, where he exudes in charisma. But of course he does.
Barney also seems to have communicated well with Alfred, understanding that he is now single and open to trying out today's flirtation methods with him. However, this is where lack of communication does become a problem to Barney, as he doesn't make it clear to Alfred that he has a history with Wendy the Waitress, whom Alfred seduces to Barney's dismay. Barney also neglects to tell Ted about their divorce, but I'll get back to Ted later.
Marshall and Lily can't seem to reach an agreement with words just yet, as apparent in this episode. As unfortunate as that sounds, it is understandable, since they haven't had much of a chance to talk since Lily left, and their one attempt at discussion was too late for Marshall at the time.
With time removed a little, it's obvious that Lily and Marshall are just a little too immature to handle an amicable compromise right now, but it's not like their passion has completely evaporated. The brief fling that Lily and Marshall share holds just as much passion as any of their kisses from the previous season, which seems more than just a clockwork motion for Hannigan and Segel. Fryman has a strong enough grasp on the characters in that she's able to make sure that the actors keep them in the right frame of mind, that even though thy're not dating right now, they still hold a flame for each other.
But of course, neither of them are ready to talk about it just yet. This makes the moment when Robin and Virginia see the two of them come out of the women's room horribly awkward, since we (as in both the audience and the characters) know what Marshall and Lily have been up to, but they're not ready to announce it yet. They both need to grow up fast.
Robin's story is pretty special for her, since one of her biggest personal beliefs comes into play- her stance on children. She may not hate them, but she doesn't want one herself. For much of Ted's life, he assumed that this was contradictory to Virginia's beliefs, especially based on his history with other dates. Although Te himself very much wants to become a married man, while Robin just doesn't.
Robin's disappointment towards Virginia's lack of enthusiasm to her future with Ted becomes a bit silly after all is revealed for the character, but it makes enough sense for Robin. Right now, she doesn't want children, but she very much wants to keep Ted happy, so feeling inadequate to Virginia must be a big blow to her.
But that's the thing- Virginia and Alfred like Robin a lot, but they also know what happens if you settle for someone who doesn't share the same viewpoints as you. They don't want Robin and Ted to waste their potential life on an unsure thing, which is why they warn the new couple about the problems of lacking communication. They're still not great at communication now, obviously.
Poor Ted, he had to just find out about his parent's divorce, years after the fact. But this works as an important lesson for him- while opposites do attract, they eventually repel if there isn't enough mutual understanding to keep them together.
Does this mean that Ted and Robin's relationship is not meant to be? Possibly, but they have enough time to work out a future where it can. Virginia is right when she tells Robin that her career clock is ticking, but she's not stranded enough to meet the alarm so that the two of them can't find a reasonable solution along the way.
Ted spends as much of the episode as he can trying to be a mediator for everyone. Ted tries to keep his parents happy, make sure that Robin feels worthy enough as a potential Mosby, that Lily and Marshall don't have any complications to deal with after their awkward stage, and that Barney doesn't inject his gross ways into Virginia and Alfred's habitat. In typical sitcom fashion, nothing works out as expected, though.
This makes for "Brunch" to be another enjoyable episode of HIMYM, although I'd hesitate to call it great. The attempts at truthtelling are as solid as you'd expect from the show, just as there are some always enjoyable jokes, but this just isn't as invigorating as the show at its best, ultimately making for an enjoyable expedition into the world of the Mosby clan, with some groundwork for better things to come. I wouldn't call this a skippable episode, but there are plenty of better ones to dig through.
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