How I Met Your Mother Review- "The Autumn of Break-Ups"

The Autumn of Break-Ups (8x05)

Directed by Pam Fryman

Written by Kourtney Kang

One Paragraph Synopsis: After it's become increasingly apparent that Victoria is dropping hints to Ted, Marshall and Lily tell him that it's time to stop stalling and to accept that she's ready for a deeper commitment. Ted proposes to her, which Victoria accepts on one condition- she still sees Robin as an issue, and doesn't want them to be friends anymore. It takes Ted some time to decide if he can drop Robin, who herself is causing problems with Nick over how she prioritizes her exes, especially while Barney has decided to become a wingman to a stray dog, but the episode ends with Victoria denying the proposal, since he won't drop Robin. As sweet as this sounds, Ted insists that Lily and Marshall never tell Robin, which Future Ted reveals won't be a secret forever.

I really just want to talk about Brover for a bit.

Because frankly, using a dog for a subplot like his usually shouldn't work. It's a cheap way to get a laugh, as dogs are easily able to do so. But the Brover material works in spite of this. Marshall's attempts at advice border on racism and transphobia in too much of an irritating way to register as funny, while Ted and Robin's stories have too few good jokes of their own. Seeing Barney grieve with a dog is a surprisingly funny, welcome change of pace from the rest of the episode.

And frankly, the humor and energy is needed here, since this isn't an all-too funny episode. A necessary episode, given how it closes the book on Ted and Victoria, but not among the show's best. The split is handled fairly well, with both sides being given a fair shake as to their view point. I've heard comparisons of how similar this is to what happened with Ross and someone, but I don't give a fuck about Friends, so I won't compare. I'm just so burned out on Ted and Robin, that this barely registers for me.

It doesn't help that Victoria hasn't been given the same dignity in her later appearances as before. There's nothing to her but plot that needs to be filled, which she does well enough, but without any of the flair that made her such a good fit for Ted in the first season. Ashley Williams seems to agree, as her delivery doesn't compare to how naturally it used to come, just perfunctory enough to fit. This doesn't feel like Victoria at her best, so it wasn't too much of a shame to see them call it a day.

But we have one more break-up before this Autumn ends. Let's hope that Robin and Nick don't end things too poorly.