2x03 Brunch

8.25/10. I liked the three-part convering story structure of the epiosde. Again, if there's one thing that helps HIMYM break out from a certain conventionality in its sitcom beats, it's the way that it plays around with non-linear storytelling and other quirks in the presentation that keeps it feeling fresh.

Marshall and Lily's story, to the point, was some fairly standard sitcom jealousy fare, but it was silly enough to work. Barney's story had the same vibe to it, but NPH gives such a charismatic-if-exaggerated performance that it works. And the story with Ted, Robin, and Ted's parents was the meatiest of the three stories, but still had a decent amount of laughs. Ted's parents being repressed about sharing things to an extreme got a little overboard even for a show with a heightened reality, but Robin's jealousy and Ted's anger spilling over into the parallels between why Ted's parents didn't work out and why Ted and Robin face similar problems (with great jokes about Ted's mom not wanting kids and Ted's promise to tell a more robust story about how he met his children's mother) had plenty of laughs and insight into the characters.

Again, this one was slighter and sillier than some of the prior episodes, but still very solidly enjoyable.