Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Carter Bays & Craig Thomas
One Paragraph Synopsis: Even with his father gone, Marshall still intends to keep their tradition of watching the Vikings and the Bears' yearly game against each other alive, by tailgating at Marvin's stone. In between passes, Marshall shares some of what's gone on in the past few days, primarily New Years Eve. This includes Robin playing cruise control for Sandy during the ball drop, Ted and Barney bringing the bar Puzzles to life in their apartment, and Marshall and Lily's argument about faith (in the supernatural), as she reels over her father's disinterest in her pregnancy.
46 Minutes (7x14)
Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Dan Gregor & Doug Mand
One Paragraph Synopsis: Lily and Marshall's move to Long Island is official, as they head out shortly after the gang's nightly MacLarens trip. Even though it's really a short distance from them, it's still a rough blow to the gang, but Barney tries to keep Ted, Robin, and Kevin's spirits alive by taking them to a strip club. Here, they meet Stripper Lily again, and well, things go crazy from there. Meanwhile, Mickey's last-minute moving into Lily and Marshall's new house is increasingly getting on their nerves, as he constantly goes too far. After rightfully being kicked out, Mickey goes ballistic and sets traps up for the two before they reach an agreement.
"Tailgate"'s a good episode, but not quite a great, especially compared to the previous episode.
The wraparound of funeral goers, along with Marshall and his brothers at Marvin's burial comes off as a sweet way to end the episode, but almost doesn't feel tied to the rest of it. Marshall's annoyance with visiters coming over while he tries to tailgate is only something that occurs in his little bits, and doesn't really connect to the rest of the episode's stories. As such, I find it a little cloy, even if Bays and Thomas can usually make cloy work.
However, the rest of the episode's material is generally strong. Robin's quest to keep Sandy around for the ball drop continues her quest for finding her place in the journalism industry, by showing how it's not exactly her biggest issue right now. Between everything that's happened to her lately, Robin is superficially interested in keeping her job steady, to the point that she's almost forgetting her goals. Kevin proves his worth as a boyfriend by pushing her to take Sandy's place at the end, which is not only good on his part, but does allow Robin to push herself forward. Maybe 2012 will be her year after all. I also give points to her delivery of the line stating that she gave up dreams that she didn't know she had, which really stings in context. Brilliantly keeping the memory of the previous episode alive.
Marshall and Lily's paranormal discussions are true to his character, as Marshall's fascination for conspiracies like Bigfoot and Nessie are attributed to the way he views faith. Marshall takes everything by face value and to heart, as his defense for Nessie's existence reflects.
This more or less takes over for a debate about religion, as Lily plays the skeptic to Marshall's believer. The gang's beliefs isn't otherwise mentioned on the show, so this almost works as a way to announce Lily's atheism, and having her suggest that they raise their children without religion.
This also brings faith into the mix, as Lily has no faith in her father. Which, to be fair, is warranted, although Mickey does come through at the end. Lily has little reason to believe that her father can help out, let alone has much interest in their child, given his years of neglect. Lily seems to hold some faith onto a turn around for Mickey though, as he comes by to little surprise.
Meanwhile, Ted and Barney's bar plot is pretty silly, although it works for what it is. Bringing Doug back from season 4's "The Fight" is a welcome surprise, as he adds some funny moments, but this is pretty common stuff, some of which was repeated from season 4's "Three Days of Snow". Kevin, surprisingly, brings in some of the more fun moments, primarily with his disharmony added to the two's Cheers-like theme song. Funny stuff.
"46 Minutes" is a little less strong, primarily due to the Long Island plot. Chris Elliot's shtick gets old fast, as his Mickey is starting to overstay his welcome for the audience as well as for Lily and Marshall. There are only so many masturbation jokes that an episode can pull off, and this gets old by the second act. The Paranormal Activity-esq bits also don't work, and almost come off as lazy.
The material with the rest of the gang is more fun, delving us into the crazy adventures the gang could have if they listen to Barney more often. So yeah, don't do that. But Stripper Lily and New Marshall do bring up some funny scenarios. Again, Kevin allows for some of my favorite moments, as his and Robin's quest to maintain their position as a fun, new couple increasingly tires them out, despite their best efforts to stay chill. Smulders and Kal Penn keep the pace going well, in particular.
But what makes the episode a keeper is its last line, stating that the gang will always be close together, no matter what. It's the bond of these five people that has kept the show afloat thus far, and is what keeps me going through the series again.
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