In the seventh season of CBS's "How I Met Your Mother" ("HIMYM"), viewers are finally seeing some hints that an ending is in sight. Though the show has yet to reveal whom Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) will actually marry, it has addressed a couple of old possibilities.
First, "HIMYM" brought back Victoria (Ashley Williams), Ted's fan−beloved girlfriend from season one. Now, in the show's aptly named Halloween episode, "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns," Ted is reunited with Naomi (Katie Holmes), whose phone number he legendarily scored and lost many Halloweens ago. The episode is a success — but not for the reasons one might expect.
Surprisingly, of the three separate plots in the episode, Ted's courting of Naomi is the weakest link. Though it gets off to a good start — "Halloween, 10 years ago. Now that's a slow play," Naomi says after Ted knocks on her door — the pair's story runs its course too quickly. Their fling offers viewers a few awkward laughs, but viewers have been waiting six years to finally meet Ted's wife, and both Ted and Naomi have spent a decade's worth of Halloweens trying to find each other again. The weight of those expectations leaves the episode feeling anticlimactic, unsubstantial and unfinished.
Meanwhile, Marshall (Jason Segel) deals with Lily's (Alyson Hannigan) "pregnancy brain" as the couple decides whether or not to move to the suburbs. Though at times campy, this arc offers more natural and comical scenarios. Sometimes Lily's absent−mindedness is exaggerated a bit too much — for example, she forgets how to get back from the bathroom — but it's a solid gag, largely due to Hannigan's acting prowess.
Stellar performances from both Segal and Hannigan keep the dialogue from falling flat. In their hands, an innuendo−laden musing on life in the suburbs was funny, if not particularly original or unique — "You can get that pinball machine you've always wanted, you can put it anywhere you want ... you can stick it in the back." In less−capable hands, the scene could have been painful to watch, but the couple's interactions are generally well−done and believable. Marshall's character continues to move audiences as he values his wife's desires over his own.
However, as usual, Barney Stinson's (Neil Patrick Harris) storyline stole the show. Robin Scherbatsky (CobieSmulders), the show's resident Canadian, discovers that Barney's grandmother hailed from Manitoba, a fact previously unknown to either of them. This discovery is preceded by a quick montage of Barney ridiculing Canada — complete with clips from the show's history — and followed by Robin taking revenge on Barney by cracking numerous Canadian jokes at his quarter−Canadian expense. This storyline sounds like a very simple premise, but Smulders and Harris both play their parts brilliantly.
Harris and Smulders are also aided by excellent writing. The script includes nicely executed references to "Star Wars" (1977), "Rocky IV" (1985) and "Superman III" (1983). Barney squeezes a couple of great quips into the other plot lines. Without his and Robin's contributions, the episode might merit only a lukewarm response, but the dynamic duo's brilliantly executed back−and−forth turn it into something praiseworthy.
In context with the rest of the season so far, "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" falls somewhere in the middle — it certainly does not reach the heights of "The Best Man" or "Ducky Tie," episodes penned by series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. It has funny moments, but altogether it feels a little pointless. Though Ted, Naomi and longtime viewers have waited a long time for the reunion of Ted and his fabled slutty pumpkin, it seems that "HIMYM" touched on the story only for the sake of closure.
That's not to say the return of the slutty pumpkin was a bad plot, but it felt forced and worked against the two more natural and entertaining arcs in the episode. Yet, this failure may speak to some of "HIMYM's" more impressive triumphs. In this episode, the simple banter between familiar and well−developed characters saves the show from disappointing audiences with a storyline they've anticipated for half a decade. This unexpected success is a testament to the caliber of the show's characters as well as the writers and cast members that bring them to life.
