Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Jamie Rhonheimer
Man, it's crazy to see Bryan Cranston from Malcolm in the Middle in here, and not Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad. Yet at the same time, one thing is for sure, Cranston has always been a terrific actor. With a memorable recurring role on Seinfeld and the last season of Malcolm airing at the time here, many had known about his chops as a comedic talent, but his dramatic strength had yet to be shown to a wide audience.
While Cranston will forever be immortalized as Walter White (which I could possibly write about after I finish HIMYM? We'll see!), let us never forget how great his comedic timing is. As Druthers, Cranston nails his vocal inflection at all the right times, raising his voice just so to a brilliant comic effect at any given instant, surprising his employees but making perfect sense for the audience. It's just a hoot to see him perform, and his material is mostly strong here.
It helps that Druthers plays a good counterbalance to Lily's self-righteousness, which would have made the episode unbearable if it didn't address both sides to her belief system here.
On the one hand, it's insane to steal someone's property in hopes of teaching them a lesson, at least for people over the age of 7. Especially if you don't even bother to directly confront them about it, and just leave a note hoping to explain why their possessions have been stolen. Like, what? Ted calls her out on it immediately, and Lily gets her comeuppance for adhering to a weird method.
On the other hand, Druthers deserves to be taught a lesson. This doesn't entirely validate Lily's actions, but she does mean well. Druthers has proven frequently that he isn't a good person, that he shows little concern for others. He could very well be what Barney will become in 10 years. But Lily's kindergarten method of teaching respect isn't enough for Druthers to come to a moment of clarity. Perhaps having his building concept turned down would work better.
As wrong as Lily's train of thought may seem, there is a bit of important character to it, since it gives an idea of what she should be doing right now- her current place in life is to teach kindergarten again. While she may not have felt complete focusing on her students before the summer, it really does seem as if Lily has found a reasonable niche in her previous career. She is readily able to update herself on whoever she's focusing on's well-being, out of a combination of instinct and love. Say what you will about Lily Aldrin as a person, but I see her as a solid kindergarten teacher.
Regardless, Lily spent her summer and much of the fall up until the end escaping this. It's the Disney princess method; aspiration to be more than the life you currently lead. It doesn't matter if your life is fine or not, but it's perfectly logical to want to try something different out. While we never actually see Lily attempt any of her expeditions as mentioned in the beginning, it's basically told that she may just not be fit for much of her ideas, though, and that she's best fit to be a teacher. And there's nothing wrong with that.
One thing Lily and Ted have in common here is a shared desire to excel out of their current lives. While Lily has yet to find a niche she can succeed in beyond teaching, Ted has already proven his worth in architectural design. But he's only a pawn in Druthers' game, which is why he didn't share his design for the longest time. You can only imagine what would have happened if he did beforehand, though, as it's clearly a winner from what we hear. Instead, Ted is helping to stroke up Druthers' ego in a long-running and only marginally funny penis joke. While I don't think the gag as a whole works, I think it turns out a lot better that we don't get to see the building in question, but rather only hear about it from those who do get to see.
It takes the course of the episode for Ted to gain to courage to reveal to the company's partners what his idea looks like, but the moment he does, all seems right in his world. While Lily's initial dream of being an artist didn't pan out, Ted is meant to be a architect, as we see in his success. Not only does he impress everyone in the meeting, but Ted's relief at the end is indicative of this being a step in the right direction for him, that Ted is where he needs to be.
Lily and Ted's lesson of discovery doesn't exactly fit into Marshall and Barney's own story, but it does share a flash of an idea that to succeed, you sometimes must go to great extremes, sometimes even just for a friend. Although, it's not like Barney needs an excuse to win over a cougar.
The main jokes from this subplot comes from Barney's nature documentary facsimiles of Marshall's professor, which miss more than hit. I don't think Barney's descriptions really work at part due to obvious sexism, as well as the fact that they just aren't that funny. It only becomes a little more interesting if you consider who was meaner in this episode, Barney as he goes into animal-like detail towards the professor, or Ted after he horrifies the previous secretary out of her job.
The rest of Barney and Marshall's story works a little better, since it's a little refreshing to see Barney actively fail to please a woman. It especially becomes entertaining when Professor Lewis grades Barney after their encounters, and goes on to the share the grade with Marshall's paper. The joke of combining sex with school keeps itself fresh throughout, as it also gets Barney to his breaking point to excel. This may not be the best subplot the show has used, every time Barney and Lewis talk after his test is a winner in my eyes.
Robin sadly doesn't contribute much here, but she is still important enough as she tells Lily of how great Ted's design is. As Robin and Ted become more comfortable with each other as a couple, they are beginning to slip into the sides as other plots come into the show, which is ultimately a good thing. It means that things are going fine for the two of them, and there is more to do for the show. But I do think it's a shame that Robin doesn't get much to do on her own. I don't even recall her having a scene outside of the bar.
"Aldrin Justice" was an improvement over the previous episode, even if it isn't a classic. Both stories have enough strengths to make them stand out as memorable, but are also flawed enough to where I'm not as enthused about the episode as a whole. Marshall and Barney's plot could have used another draft with tighter jokes, while Lily's part needed some extra work as well. But this is still pretty far from being a bad episode.
And since this is the episode where that classic gif comes from, let's end the review with it!
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