Lots of good humor to be wrung from the casual vibe of the gang interacting with a crowd that stuffy. The onslaught of cameos could have been too much, but the show used everyone well, and snobs vs. slobs routine worked. Plus, the thematic idea that Ted initially felt more comfortable with his stuffy acquaintances with his friends, but ultimately realized he liked having them to ground him was a nice one.
The same goes for Barney's abandonment issues extending to the group. I still think Robin's departure was sudden, but the way she puts it on the phone makes a lot of sense in terms of her taking a step back from the group even if it's clear that it's destined to be temporary. Lily and Marshall were particularly sweet here, and their conversation about having a baby was the right mix between realistic and true to their goofy selves and rapport. And NPH was on fire here, with his physical comedy and pitch perfect exaggerated reactions to thing. A lot of good laughs here, with enough of a through line in terms of story and character to keep it all together.
Shout by dgwVIP 10BlockedParentSpoilers2022-03-28T10:59:10Z
All kinds of great, in spite of abandoning the "Marissa Heller" mystery of ten years within just as many minutes.
Seriously, though, that was a lot of set-up work for no payoff. No one even mentioned the misaddressed mail to her? Sigh.