6x15 Oh Honey

Well, you have to say this for HIMYM, even when it gives you a middling episode that doesn't quite achieve what it sets out to do, it does it in an interesting way. The literal game of telephone Marshall played with the rest of the gang to piece together what had been happening in his absence was nice frame story, and managed to both create some fuel for the non-linear storytelling and perspective-changing scenes the show does so well, as well as give the show a chance to poke fun at Marshall's "Minnesota Nice" inability to duck a call.

The catch is that this is founded on the Ted-Zoe relationship, which just hasn't been built up enough to make their coming together here meaningful. The premise of this episode is that there's this big restrained attraction between them that they've had to hold back all this time, and while their ketchup exchange and "offer me a beer" bit is the cutest the two of them have been, the show just hasn't done the legwork to make me buy into the two of them enough to make their confession that they love one another meaningful. The episode can dress things up all it wants with the divorce bit and an admittedly amusing chain of excuses for why Ted can't be friends with Zoe, but at the end of the day it rises and falls on the relationship the episode is centered on, and that relationship just isn't compelling enough to live up to what the episode is going for. Jennifer Morrison does a great job, both at making Zoe more charming than we've seen her previously, and at selling the hurt when Zoe thinks Ted hates her, but at the end of the day, it's just not enough.

And then there's Katy Perry, the latest in a long line of popstars who's meh-to-middling at sitcom acting shoehorned in as a gimmicky love interest. The whole "Oh Honey" was entertaining for a couple of minutes, but quickly spiralled out to outlandish proportions. Barney talking big, and then breaking down about his father issues when asked "who's your daddy" was a spirited attempt at putting a twist this, but it was too little too late.

Overall, it's an episode with a well-done frame story and some laughs, but with a miscalibrated central relationship arc, and a weak guest appearance on top of it.