joeyg-67150

I don't want to give any spoilers, but it's nearly impossible to write a review that is spoiler free if your opinion on what a spoiler is mirrors that of Frank Costanza's.

With that being said, this episode does what HIMYM did best, and that is connecting seemingly unrelated things from past and present episodes in a skillful, emotionally moving way. This episode was the first or second that truly felt like a product cut from the same silk of HIMYM, rather than a sitcom just holding on to the namesake. Fans of the original will not be disappointed, I think.

I rated this episode a 10/10. While I know that's a perfect score, I do think that there are a few jokes that weren't hilarious or didn't land quite well, but I think that as this is a laugh-track sitcom, it is assumed that not every joke will land and therefore the 10/10 is relative to other episodes in this series and other laugh-track sitcoms, and not just a general 10/10.

To keep it spoiler free, this episode does its best to make sure almost every main character has a deep and meaningful character arc that will surely lead to substantial development and growth as the series continues.

On a different note, I found this episode's use of the laugh track to be MUCH better than most sitcoms made in the past 20 years. While obviously the laugh track is still a bit too much at times, there were noticeable times where it could have been used but wasn't. Not every joke needs a laugh track, and I think this episode did well to balance that. I hope they continue with this trend.

I introduced my wife to HIMYM two years ago since she is from a country where it never aired on tv, and she loved it. So let me tell you she was quite excited about the fact that a spin-off was coming. I told her not to get her hopes up as I honestly had low expectations, but as of writing this (episode 5), the show has really grown on me.

To people who automatically gave it 1 star immediately after seeing only the first 2 episodes, you really aren't giving it enough of a chance. I watched HIMYM as it aired and not in order. So when I finally went back and watched it in order for the first time I was surprised at how awkward and lacking in charm the first handful of episodes in the first season were. HIMYF is no different, you are just viewing it the bias of already knowing that HIMYM is a legendary show.

I'll admit that HMIYF isn't definitely not perfect, but the cast really gets a good bit of chemistry as the episodes go on, and Josh Peck is fantastic in it. It is a show that, while tries to pay homage to its predecessor, also tries hard not to just be a carbon copy and rely too much on past successes, and for that I am a fan of this spin-off.

Not a 10-star show, but not a 1-star show either.