167 replies to this topic

[TWoP Barnes]

Per TiVo:

Afraid they will never get pregnant, Lily and Marshall decide to see a specialist; Robin begins her new job.

[shipmate]

As someone who lost their father suddenly to a stroke a few months ago, that ending stung.

I love this show! Love the Mall flashback!

Edited by shipmate, Jan 3, 2011 @ 8:33 PM.

[prodigalchicken]

Wow, I did not see that coming. I was actually crying at the end. Hilarious show, and then whammo--gut punch.

[WendyCR72]

From laser tag and sperm counts to that ending. Yikes. Not sure how I feel about that, even though I know it does happen.

[chicagogirl928]

What was up with the number countdown? Fun to find, but confused with why they were in there...

[alt0233]

That ending even got my husband teared up, and he never cries. Out of nowhere.

[EverythingIsRen]

This was a good episode. I had no idea that they were bringing Sandy back. He was such a fun character. And then there was all that stuff with Robin's past. Yay for continuity!

Gotta say, though, I was a bit distracted by the countdown. I noticed it starting with 49. And the fact that they were counting down to Marshall's dead dad seemed kind of cruel in a way. I was incredibly shocked. I thought that it would be a countdown to Lily getting pregnant. That was just so sad.

I will, however, need to watch this episode again, as the countdown sort of distracted me from the plot a little.

[NYGirl]

Wow..

My husband passed away suddenly of a heart attack just a couple of months ago. My son just happened to walk into the house as Lily was telling him. It just hit us so bad.

I hate that they did that..it's supposed to be a comedy.

[Smackeymouth]

Oh damn. I cried like a baby. Didn't see that coming at all. Really great, funny episode, then THAT?! Hmmm. I just... I'm tuning in to shirtless Brad Womak now and will come back when I can form a coherent thought. Daaaaaaamn, show.

[pengbear]

Agree, the ending was very shocking to me, it didn't click with the numbers until it got to the 2 and the phone is ringing and the toolshed is empty and I was just thinking, No No No No. It was very well done and the final scene was very raw. Having gotten that kind of bad news before, I teared up and I've not done that on HIMYM.

[hjohnson]

Has the show ever done something that series? I was really overwhelmed with them dealing with death that way. Other sitcoms tend to have episodes that have serious moments in them at least within the first 2-3 seasons but I don't remember ever actually crying over HIMYM before but man... that end.

I knew it was coming too, something wasn't sitting right with the whole episode. The constant scenes of the dad at home. It was just a weird feeling I had. Plus the countdown. I was wondering if I had missed something mentioned in the first few minutes because I didnt notice until around 24 (yeah, took me awhile) Weird that it was there without any real explanation.

[Girl86star]

Thoughts…

How did it take nearly 5 seasons for Robin to get the nickname ‘Sparkles’? Legendary.

Sophisticated gynecologist Barney-doppelganger. Perfect alter-ego for getting chicks. Love it!! And I loved the return of Ted’s gadget that bocks out all sound and vision that was used on the Super Bowl episode for not finding out the outcome. Subtle, but so awesome!

Ted’s Kung Fu moves rocked! More please.

Love the bathroom-blow dryer joke. Too awkward and so funny.

Marshall’s dad died. Tear. I loved that guy on coach and it always made me happy when he popped up on How I Met Your Mother and now he’s gone. So sad!!

Finally, this episode was already better several others this season because it didn’t have that nascence Zoey. Thank-you Writers! Please no longer have her on this show! Please!!

[bybrandy]

I guess it was shocking and real but too much like my own story with my dad for me to think anything other than, "that's not why I watch this show."

[Karmalicious]

Funny episode until the last second, definite gut punch. Husband and I thought the countdown was going to be Lily getting pregnant. I expected to see her smiling when she got out of the cab and when I saw her crying, I actually thought "miscarriage" though I knew she wasn't pregnant yet. Very, very sad. I love Marshall's dad and he had such a great relationship with him. This is bound to hit him really hard. I will be interested to see how the show handles this.

[sweetwilliam]

Yep, both my husband and I were crying. That really got me. I don't usually like Lily but I thought Allyson did some great acting at the end.

[wounded]

I thought it odd that number 36 was featured very prominently, but only noticed the countdown at around number 24.

Shock ending, but real great episode.

[hetshup]

I know the writer for this episode, it's actually from what I understand her first credited episode. She's been with the show since the very beginning, which may explain the continuity. But even though I knew they filmed two endings, I didn't see that coming at all.


Great episode, heart wrenching ending. I am curious to see how this will play out in future episodes.

[Astor]

I was really more annoyed by the sudden mood whiplash with Marshall's father, and then a sudden cut to the ending credits, with a thing of people all super happy and excited about the morning news. Took me completely out of the mood.

I didn't notice the countdown at all. What was it?

Doppelganger Barney was clever. I liked it.

Robin's thing just rubbed me all kinds of awful. Like, I can understand it if Sandy Rivers is an insufferable jerk, but to make EVERYONE around the office enjoy Sandy's banter and openly mock Robin? I think I can write it off as old unreliable narrator Ted, unreliably narrating something Robin told him.

And... that's my $.02

[CapsChick]

I didn't notice the countdown either - guess I am oblivious? I noticed a focus on 49 at Marshall's dad's workshop and then the giant "Four Layers of the Uterus" poster when Marshall was leaving the doctor's toward the end. But that's about it. Oh yeah, I did also notice the 21 on the calendar, because I was wondering what month it was supposed to be. Why the gimmick?

I didn't see that ending coming, I can't recall this show ever having an actual serious moment where something really bad happens. It makes the show much more real and I respect that. AH killed it in that last scene. JS, not so much.

Just saw a re-run of the episode where Robin was Barney's bro, which made me question why he didn't ask Robin to be his laser tag partner? As far as I recall, she is the only one of them who has ever actually played laser tag with him. Unless the two of them avoid being alone these days.

Just what is so hilarious about someone spilling coffee on themselves? I would shoot myself if I worked in that office.

Edited by CapsChick, Jan 3, 2011 @ 9:11 PM.

[bonnie77]

I didn't notice the countdown either, but now that you guys mention it, I did see a big number 6 or 9 on the folder in the doctor's office. I just didn't know what it meant at the time.

[EverythingIsRen]

I didn't notice the countdown at all. What was it?

Starting at the beginning of the episode, several scenes featured numbers. I noticed the 49 first, which was probably within the first minute of the episode, so I think it started with 50. As the show continued, scenes featured numbers getting lower and lower. Sometimes there would be sequences of numbers. (There were five in a row on the screen in Robin's workplace's conference room at one point.) They would show up in random places: posters, doors, books, the Robin Sparkles' jacket, etc. I hope this answers your question. If you watch the episode again, you'll probably notice it much more easily this time around, since you already know about it.

Edited by EverythingIsRen, Jan 3, 2011 @ 9:11 PM.

[nilyank]

I noticed the countdown right away with the bright red 50 on the first doctor's desk and realized that it was some sort of countdown when they went back to the office and it changed to either 48 or 49.

I'll admit I kept looking for the numbers and thinking at 1, we find out that Lily would be pregnant. But I should have known better when the title of the show warned us there would be Bad News.

I guess Marshall won't be laser tagging with Barney. God that was such a sad ending.

[LunaSoma]

Wow. My jaw completely dropped at the ending. I am so slow, I noticed the numbers but didn't realize they were forming a countdown until it got to 9. At that point, Mr. Soma and I got really excited because, like a lot of people, we both thought that it was going to end with Lily's pregnancy(and we're way too invested in that storyline). I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me when I found out what the countdown was really for. We re-watched it right away to follow it, but it seemed fairly ominous in retrospect.

I loved the way that this show mixed a hilarious episode with a very serious ending and I'm interested to see how they'll handle the storylines that follow. I don't know if Jason Segel has the acting chops to pull of serious situations, as he sure didn't seem to tonight. Either way, this is one of those episodes that will stick with me for a while.

But even though I knew they filmed two endings, I didn't see that coming at all.

I'm just curious as to where you heard this. Did you know anything about what the other ending was?

[Jlyblylvr]

Wow - this episode blew me away. I didn't find the black cat/uterus joke very funny, but the rest of it was great. The ending was very sad, but it was well-acted and I think this serious turn of events will give the show a chance to redeem some of its former glory.

I too want to know about the "alternate ending" of this episode. And are there any other theories on the significance of the countdown?

[BuggieGirl]

My husband and I are also trying to have a baby and dealing with some infertility stuff. So Lily and Marshall's issues this season have been ridiculously timely and relate-able for me! I loved poor Marshall's problems giving his sample for a semen analysis. And fakeBarney the RE was great. Glad my RE doesn't look like NPH, that'd make things awkward.

I was shocked at the ending though. I thought it was very weird to have a comedic countdown thing that led to a very serious moment. Kind of a disconnect for me.

[number4]

I thought the countdown would lead to the Mother finally showing her face, which makes no sense as there has been no press but as soon as I saw the empty workshop I knew he was dead. Except I thought they were both dead- Marshall's mom and dad, like maybe in a car accident on the way to the airport or on the way home from the airport.
And so I teared up, cause I love his dad and I miss my dad.

[Chit Chat]

I was shocked at the ending though. I thought it was very weird to have a comedic countdown thing that led to a very serious moment. Kind of a disconnect for me.

Huge disconnect for me. I felt like I was going 80 MPH then slammed into a brick wall.

I just don't find much about this show that's funny anymore, and I'm so disappointed in it. I have been a loyal fan since day one and only stick with it hoping that it's going to get better. As I said before, the characters are getting more juvenile the older they get, and it's wearing thin with me. YMMV.

[paul4295]

What the heck was that? The countdown was totally distracting, and the ending was just too sudden and too jarring. I did not feel sad at the end at all. I was confused, and then just angry at how they totally changed the tone of the episode for no other reason (as far as I can tell) than to shock the audience.

Except for those two things, it would have been a perfectly fine episode.

Now I wonder how they're going to start the next episode. Will they be at a funeral, or just returning from a funeral, and then go to the bar and resume their zany antics? Will they just ignore it, or mention it in passing? Will it all turn out to be a dream?

[yolliebear]

The ending hit me in the gut. There are posters, including myself who suddenly lost a loved one. I hope that emotional flash punch gets the respect it deserves, show.

[clevernamehere]

My husband passed away suddenly of a heart attack just a couple of months ago. My son just happened to walk into the house as Lily was telling him. It just hit us so bad.

I hate that they did that..it's supposed to be a comedy.

I have so much sympathy for you and your son. I had a very similar experience with the dead mom episode of Buffy not long after my father passed away. I was expecting dead people, just not dead parents. It sucks and I’m not sure how they’re going to make comedic hay out of it.

I only noticed a few of the numbers, so they managed to surprise me with the ringing phone lead in, which this show hasn’t done in a while.

Sophisticated gynecologist Barney-doppelganger. Perfect alter-ego for getting chicks.

Huh? I’ve always thought gynecologists would be one of the professions I could never date. If you work in an office, you have days when the last thing you want to do is look at a computer screen for any reason. The gynecologist version of sounds even less fun. Plus, medical ethics and all.