Directed by Pam Fryman
Written by Robia Rashid
One Paragraph Synopsis: It's Lily's birthday, and all she wants is for it to go exactly as she wants- with nice gifts and a showering of appreciation from her four favorite people... and Amanda. You see, Ted has a history of inviting his most recent dates to certain milestones of the gang's, to the dismay of Lily. The two argue about this as they both bring up their sound points, all resulting in Amanda joining in the group picture, only to be forgotten about months later. Oh, and Barney never takes bad pictures, while Marshall never takes good ones. Almost.
This is an episode where there are clearly problematic aspects, but enough good is present for me to forgive it anyway.
The main problematic issue is how Ted's previous dates are labelled as skanks, and do I even need to refer to why this is gross? The best line of defense that I can use is that this is coming from Lily, who is emotionally distressed from Ted's negligence, which is causing her unnecessary slut shaming.
I do also find it interesting how the series is now addressing one of its main criticisms, how Ted focuses more on the women he's dated or even just slept with more than his quest to find the mother, by making it front and center here. The parade of Ted's random women comes into a typically entertaining highlight reel, with each date and circumstance for the date's appearance becoming increasingly outlandish, right down to a surprisingly welcome appearance of Karen, the only returning ex. It also portrays another of the show's points, how Ted and Barney aren't so far off in terms of character. Barney just doesn't hide how much of a horndog that he is.
But is Lily's annoyance justified? Yeah, kind of. This is her birthday, a day that she gets the rare chance to make all about herself. If she just wants the core gang to celebrate, she has every right to make it happen. And Ted's all-too-recent girlfriend seems to be of a lower priority to stay at such an event than, say, Lily's dad for Thanksgiving.
It's also important to consider the points used for Ted's defense. One, Robin was originally a random date of Ted's that became a part of the gang. This is something that Lily seems to put in consideration, but more as the exception that proves the rule than anything. Robin fit all of the requirements that Ted and Lily could have hoped for, except for being the right girl for Ted. For this, it made sense that they did not work out, but Robin is a great enough friend for that to not matter anyway.
The other point is that, well, Lily was a random girlfriend at one point herself. But even when she and Marshall were just dating, Ted knew that they worked well together enough to suggest that she stay to be in their first picture and join them in their activities. Ted may not always make the best choices in women, but he got this decision right, and it's one that's still proving to be worthwhile. Ted and Lily are great friends, and no random date should get in the way when it comes to their bond.
Not a bad way to resolve the issue, and thankfully the episode itself is paced well. The show has done limited primary setting episodes before, usually relying on flashbacks and chemistry to keep the momentum going, and it works well here. Lily and Marshall's apartment isn't as familiar as Ted or Barney's yet, but it feels welcome here as the birthday situation continually goes wrong, and as everyone keeps their spirits going.
The additional elements are also strong, with Marshall trying his strongest to keep a good face going. His birthday song micro-plot is funny, allowing Segel to show off his musical chops a little more while also playing with voices to a good manner. Meanwhile, Robin's quest to get a bad picture out of Barney is equally entertaining, right down to the almost cathartic ending.
But that's the thing that helps this to be a good episode, even if it isn't really one of the greats. Seeing all of the previous photos of the characters together really puts you into their world and makes it feel like you can be a part of them. Marshall's universal blinking, Lily's lying smile, Robin's poor posing decision, and especially Barney's perfect pose feel natural, just as their friendship does. And that's what makes the difference for the show, why I'm still happy to review it.
No comments:
Post a Comment