5.5./10 This is Ted at his most ridiculous and awful. Going to hit on a girl he knows is in a relationship and hamfistedly drop things he learned from stealing a copy of her online dating profile is bad enough, but then continuing to do so once he knows she's engaged, and then trying to talk her out of the marriage and telling her to call him if it doesn't work out is just insane. Sure, there's a certain sitcom tone that allows for ridiculous things that would be way more terrible if they happened in real life, but still, this whole thing was a bridge too far.
Apart from that, Cameron Manheim didn't necessarily have the right energy for the show. Ted trying to reassure her that he'll find someone was a cute little flip, but her performance was a little broad, even for a show that can get pretty broad itself. Plus the whole "a computer can't tell you who to love," while well-meaning as a message, feels mildly Luddite and tone deaf given the number of folks who do use dating services in this day and age.
And while the cock-a-mouse is one of those goofy talismans for the show's fans, I have to admit that the subplot never really did much for me. Marshall is the best part of it, and it's the start of his fascination and appreciation for mythical creatures on the show. His chalkboard explanation in particular, and the solemnity with which they discussed its habits was funny. But the cock-a-mouse itself and Robin's skepticism of it felt a little too slight.
A crappy A-story that makes me want to say "you're a bad person," and a streaky-at-best B-story means this is far from the best the show had to offer.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2016-01-27T02:29:52Z
5.5./10 This is Ted at his most ridiculous and awful. Going to hit on a girl he knows is in a relationship and hamfistedly drop things he learned from stealing a copy of her online dating profile is bad enough, but then continuing to do so once he knows she's engaged, and then trying to talk her out of the marriage and telling her to call him if it doesn't work out is just insane. Sure, there's a certain sitcom tone that allows for ridiculous things that would be way more terrible if they happened in real life, but still, this whole thing was a bridge too far.
Apart from that, Cameron Manheim didn't necessarily have the right energy for the show. Ted trying to reassure her that he'll find someone was a cute little flip, but her performance was a little broad, even for a show that can get pretty broad itself. Plus the whole "a computer can't tell you who to love," while well-meaning as a message, feels mildly Luddite and tone deaf given the number of folks who do use dating services in this day and age.
And while the cock-a-mouse is one of those goofy talismans for the show's fans, I have to admit that the subplot never really did much for me. Marshall is the best part of it, and it's the start of his fascination and appreciation for mythical creatures on the show. His chalkboard explanation in particular, and the solemnity with which they discussed its habits was funny. But the cock-a-mouse itself and Robin's skepticism of it felt a little too slight.
A crappy A-story that makes me want to say "you're a bad person," and a streaky-at-best B-story means this is far from the best the show had to offer.