TV Review: How I Met Your Mother-- Karma

This episode is the kind of installment I watch every week holding out for, an episode that reminds us all why we loved this show in its early days, and why we've stuck with it for so long.  "Karma" may not have been epic, per se, at least not in the way we spoiled TV viewers have come to expect, but it was a solid half-hour of storytelling, and it tugged at the heartstrings while simultaneously supplying laughs, which is what any HIMYM episode worth its salt manages to do seemingly without effort.

First we addressed the whole "Barney's in love with a stripper" plot line, which is shaping up to be a lot more interesting than trite.  I think after 6 seasons and change of watching Barney deceive woman after woman, it'll be a while before I grow tired of seeing one turn the tables on him for a change.  I also think I might really like Quinn as a match for our Mr. Stinson following this episode, though I'm going to need a few more appearances before I can decide if I want to see her revealed as the bride in the flashforward we've been promised at season's end.

On the other front we had Robin's adventures in the suburbs with Marshall and Lily, as well as Ted struggling with various (disastrous) hobbies as he tried to fill the literal and figurative space left behind by his ex-roommate Robin.  My expectations being mediocre as they were, I assumed both of these would be throwaway stories used as backdrop to Barney's story this week, but in a surprise twist these two plots managed to not only twine themselves together, they provided the dose of forward momentum this show has been sorely in need of over the past few months.  Robin passed on to Ted her discovery that Marshall and Lily were not enjoying life in Long Island nearly as much as they pretended; and Ted realized that the solution to everyone's predicament was a big gesture, (thankfully) a non-romantic one this time.  Turns out he never took Marshall & Lily's names off of the lease for their apartment, and he decides to remove his own so that they can move back to the city, and even decorates Robin's room for the new baby to live in instead.  Cute, right?  Everybody wins, except Ted because he's apparently homeless, and we all know how hard it is to find apartments in NYC.

Additional thoughts:  I feel like, if Karma was using that "let's go on a date" trick with all of her customers, she would have had a host of complaints by now, and maybe even an actual manager who disliked her.  Then again, it's not like I know anything about how strip club politics work.  Also (and on a completely different note), shouldn't Ted be like, at least a little bit better at building things?  I don't think I'd trust an architect who can't even get a table right (though I did enjoy his efforts at pottery).

Overall, this episode was a peak in a season of drastic ups and downs.  At this point there's really no predicting what next week will bring.

TV Review: Glee Gets in Touch with Its Roots

(I picked this photo because of how excited they all look.)


My biggest problem with Glee this season (and parts of last season) has never been the show's theatricality.  I started out legitimately interested in a show that frequently referenced Broadway and made off-beat jokes that not everyone would get.  But this season has been spent too largely on trying to increase Glee's "cool factor" by featuring random guest stars, topical plot lines, and way too much unnecessary drama.  What I liked about last night's episode "New York" was that the writers seemed to remember what the initial forces behind this show were, and remind us all why we started caring in the first place.

It wasn't a perfect episode, of course, but it would have been difficult for anyone to pen perfection in the face of this season's mountain of plot debris.  The kids' excitement about New York felt authentic at times but too over-the-top at others, and I still don't know how I feel about the show basically whoring out a single 10-block radius of Manhattan in order to add color and interest to the show.  I'm also wondering if the people who own Broadway theaters are aware of the apparent break-in epidemic going on in their buildings.

But joking aside, there were some things I really did like about this episode.  Rachel finally did what I've been hoping she'd do all season, which was commit herself to her dream over boys (she got back together with Finn in the end, but it was very clear that the relationship now has an expiration date, and I hope the writers don't conveniently forget that conversation come Season 3).  Rachel's dream of being on Broadway was one of the first really intriguing points of the show, and so I was glad to see the finale revisit that.  I loved (loved, loved) her duet with Kurt, not least because "For Good" is my favorite track from the Wicked soundtrack--they were both phenomenal in that scene.  On that vein, I also loved Kurt serving as Rachel's go-to gal pal/guide in this episode; it gave us another chance to see how well their friendship works. 

I'm glad they didn't draw out the Schuester story too much; we all knew he was going to go back to the kids at some point, and though I predicted they might leave it up in the air over the summer, I think I'm glad he's already sure to be back for another year with the Glee club.  Speaking of people returning for another year, one of the episode's definite highlights was the scene between Santana and Brittany at the episode's end.  I loved Brittany's break down of the New Directions family and the honesty of her feelings toward it and toward Santana.  I liked that we finally got a glimpse of how much she has changed since the show started from the ditzy cheerleader indifferent about who she bullied to someone who actually cares, and not just about herself.  I also got the feeling that only the things she said would have persuaded Santana that she wanted to come back for another year.

Last two things, I promise, both of them praises.  Loved the Blaine and Kurt scene (if you remember, I was hoping, as I'm sure many others were, to have one more glimpse of them before the show went to summer hiatus); the way they said "I love you" was just about perfect, nonchalant and genuine in equal measure.  Another development, and one I was wondering about following the prom episode, was Sam and Mercedes' secret relationship.  I'm legitimately intrigued to see how this one pans out, not to mention excited for the possibility of a duet between the two of them somewhere down the line, because I don't think we've gotten to hear them together before.  Why are my favorite shows choosing right now to write really cute secret couples?  I don't know, but I like it a whole lot.

So Glee is done for the summer, and not much was left hanging.  This episode felt in many ways like both a conclusion and like the show coming full circle back to the beginning of its run, so I will be very interested to see how they intend to proceed for the third season.  My advice:  cut down on the guest stars, etc, and focus on the characters we know and love.  "New York" did exactly that, and I think that's the biggest reason it was a successful episode.