Let’s face it, being a fan of How I Met Your Mother requires some patience, because much like Ted’s future son and daughter on the couch, all we can do is sit and wait. But, unlike, say, being a fan of Lost, I’m not in as big of a rush to know how all the pieces fit together. Not just because I don’t want the show to end (like, ever) but because it doesn’t feel as urgent. We all know Ted has his happily ever after, so let’s revel in all the stuff that happens beforehand, shall we?
Which brings us to last night’s season 4 finale, aptly titled "Take the Leap." It did what How I Met Your Mother does best, which give us those tiny little hints (more on that later) without giving away the big payoff. As far as season finales go, it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, even if those last few minutes were fantastic. Maybe it was the fact that the weeks leading up had given us such wonderful little nuggets (the yellow umbrella! Stella returns!), but something about it didn’t seem as fulfilling as I was hoping for (I also somewhat blame The Office for filling my quota of painfully good humor and heartbreak).
"Take the Leap" takes place on Ted’s infamous, goat-attended 31st birthday party. While Ted slaved away at his rather sad new architecture project (a rib joint shaped like a cowboy hat) he’s approached by Barney, who used some not-so-subtle metaphors (Robin as a double-breasted Canadian suit) to let Ted know he’s interested in his ex. And Ted, being the perennial good guy that he is, gave Barney his blessing.
Speaking of not-so-subtle, Marshall tried to coax a stressed, sleep-deprived Ted onto the roof (home to many an important HIMYM moment, i.e. the rain dance from season one) for birthday beers (rather, another surprise party) but, he wouldn’t budge. Poor Marshall knew the jig was up ("You don’t get two surprise parties in a row, I mean the fact that anyone showed up to the first one is surprise enough") but was determined to salvage the evening. Marshall attempted to jump on to the neighboring roof, a feat he has tried, and failed at, for years. (Ted pointed out that Marshall has had trouble getting off the couch lately.) As it turns out, that roof, a mere six or seven feet away, has a sweet deck and a hot tub.
Of course, none of this happened before Lily faked out Marshall, and us, by saying she’s pregnant to get him to not jump. (Though this was taped months ago, Alyson Hannigan was still clearly hiding her real-life baby bump here.) There were a few things I really loved about this part of the episode. One was that it’s a story line that has never been introduced to us before — there are still some things going on in their lives that we don’t know about. The montage of Marshall failing at liftoff were some of the funnier moments of the finale, and I couldn’t help but giggle at him dressed up for Halloween and think of Dracula’s Lament. But, what struck me most about this was its authenticity of New York. OK, so the roof and skyline don’t look all that real, but the feel of living in the city is all there. Roof envy is certainly not uncommon in New York City (I suffer from both that and large window envy), and it’s the kind of thing that could bother you for years. Capturing that, HIMYM thrives in a way that NYC-based series like Friends never did.
Meanwhile, Ted met the goat — a fixture early on in the story of how Ted meets his future wife and mother of his children — downstairs. We’ve known how she (yes, a she) got to the apartment (Lily spared the goat from a premature death after a visit to her kindergarten class), but we’ve never heard the goat’s relevance to the end result. Turns out, it’s not so entirely significant after all. But, more on that later.
Back on the roof, Barney worked up the courage to finally tell Robin about his feelings for her, but — finale twist! — Robin beat him to the punch. She said she had something to tell him, too. That something being "I think I’m in love with you." I’ll admit, I was a little thrown by that. Wouldn’t Robin have told Lily by now (though she was wise not to, because Lily, as we all know, can’t keep a secret)? Or wouldn’t we have caught on to her feelings a little while ago? Love is a hard thing to hide, but then again, Robin is no softie.
Of course, leave it to Barney to be, well, Barney. When Robin came clean with her feelings, Barney regressed into his playboy, commitment-phobic old self. Within moments, he was over Robin and had an aspiring dancer hanging off his arm. But, my instincts weren’t so far off: Robin didn’t really have feelings for Barney (or does she?); she was, in fact, pulling "The Mosby." The Mosby, as we learned, is the act of scaring one’s mate by moving way too quickly. Case in point, the very first episode of the series when Ted professed his love to Robin on their first date. So, Robin, The Mosby’s first recipient, made it her own.
This naturally was all the doing of a meddling Lily (she truly is the puppet master of this crew). While Robin swore she didn’t return Barney’s feelings, she does understand his attraction to her. (Marshall, on the other hand, thinks Robin is just meh. She’s "freakishly tall and doesn’t believe in ghosts.")
As Barney and Robin battled with their maybe-they-do-maybe-they-don’t feelings for one another, Ted wrestled with the goat. Literally. Ted got distracted from his work to fight with said goat over a washcloth and quickly became the victim of a vicious goat-on-architect attack. Ted wound up in the hospital (same room, and seemingly the same nurse as seen in the episode "Miracles", last season’s finale) and soon enough a conflicted Barney and Robin found themselves immersed in a kiss.
Out of the hospital, Ted finally gave his presentation to the Rib Town folks, but much to Mr. Mosby’s dismay, the restaurant owners had gone with his architectural rival Sven. After another crushing work disappointment, Lily asked Ted if architecture really is his calling. After all, she’s not a painter, Marshall isn’t an environmental lawyer, and Barney isn’t a violinist. (Neil Patrick Harris’ reaction to Lily spilling this information provided the heartiest laugh of the evening. The guy is going to rock hosting the Tony Awards.)
Metaphorically — and OK, not so metaphorically — the gang all decided it was time to take a leap of faith. Marshall (along with the others) finally made it over to the neighboring roof, but it’s obvious that Ted, Robin, and Barney are all jumping toward bigger things in their lives. The last few moments watching everyone take their respective leaps was simultaneously nerve-wracking and joyous. I’m not one for heights, but I wanted to jump right along with them. While Robin and Barney’s fate is still up in the air, we did learn that Ted (who admittedly had one rather tough, but decidedly important year) did in fact take a job as a professor — and it’s a good thing, because it’s in his very classroom that he meets the mother.
What did you think of the How I Met Your Mother finale, PopWatchers? Did the goat feel like it wasn’t as big a payoff as it should have been? Wasn’t the Rib Town rejection what really pushed him to the next phase, more so than said goat? Are you happy with the way things turned out between Barney and Robin? Did you have a big, fat smile on your face during that roof jump scene, too? And are you already counting down the days to season 5?
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I was glad to find out where he meets the mother, but I agree that I don’t want anything more to be revealed too quickly! I am looking forward to Barney-Robin next season as well. I hope they give the goat more of a point, though!
The goat was a bit of a disappointment, but I guess going to the hospital, just like in last season’s finale, really prompts change in a weird way. Ted proposed to Stella last season–this season, he decided to just go in a new direction. I kind of wanted more closure with Barney and Robin, but I guess that’s all for next season. Overall, a good HIMYM, but a wee bit less than I expected.
It’s been a great season of HIMYM, but I didn’t love this finale. It felt a bit all over the place, and the stuff with the goat was unnecessarily cartoonish. I did really like the Barney-Robin back-and-forth as they mutually “Mosbied” one another. The ‘roof jumping’ ending didn’t move me at all, maybe because it was so literal. Of course I’ll still be back next year. Just hope that they don’t make Barney all squishy/happy and emasculated if he gets coupled up with Robin next season.
…dary.
Let’s face it, as season finales go, this one was hardly legen… wait for it…
I love this show, but this episode was a huge disappointment.
Great episode. It was fun to see all the details (the goat, the nurse, Sven) coming together here. Looking forward to next season – this show always makes me happy.
I wouldn’t worry about Barney and Robin, RustyT – they could hardly admit they liked each other this episode, much less get all mushy. I predict plenty of dysfunctional, wacky Barney/Robin (Barbin? Ronney?) hijinks next season.
Ted Moseby! My man! The architect is in the house, or maybe building the house! Love the hat, but dawg, you do NOT carry off those red cowboy boots. That leap from roof to roof was a little pitchy, but in the end you nailed it. I’ll say it right now! I expect to see you and the goat in the finals!
I think we’re all in agreement that it wasn’t the best episode EVER, but I thought it was great in setting things up for next season. Ted slowly inching toward meeting his wife, and Barney and Robin moving toward, well, whatever it is they’re doing. Both Barney and Robin are so completely emotionally flawed, I actually think they’ll make it work together. It seems like in the grand life scheme, they both want the same things, they just need to figure out monogamy
I was a bit let down with this finale (likewise Big Bang Theory), especially coming off such good episodes with the return of Stella.
I have to say though, I can’t think of which actor I like more on this show. Each character is so stellar, and each is completely lovable for their own reasons.
The rooftop leap at the end was awesome and inspiring. I thought it ended on a strong note especially after last weeks subpar episode. Althougth a subpar HIMYM is better than most shows best. HIMYM and Lost are the two best shows on TV these days.
Counting down the days to Season 5! And when I can buy Season 4!
So in the end Stella had nothing to do with The Mother? Why bring her back? I find that a little frustrating. It was filler? It didn’t make my eyes bleed, by any means, but it wasn’t a great episode. It didn’t tie it all together in a way I had hoped. That said, things may still appear. This show. When i knew it was nearing it’s end I looked at the clock sure that there was more as nothing had happened. I enjoyed how they hid Lilly’s bump. I also giggled at the Dracula. But like Aly, I am still recovering from The Office.
I figured out last night that the character who interests me the least on the show is Ted. I’d much rather find out what Barney and Robin are gonna do, and have more scenes with Marshall and Lily, than find out who the mother is…I’m kinda enjoying the journey. On another note, can we have a proper TV watch for this fabulous show? It consistently cracks me up- it’s one of the best comedies on TV right now.
I actually wish they would just reveal the mother and get it over with. I only get frustrated with the show when they bring up the episodes. The show is best when they forget about this and just focus on the other characters, maybe this is just because Ted is the least interesting character. The show has outgrown this plot device and should just leave it behind.
It wasn’t the best episode but was clearly important in setting up next season. But should fans be alarmed that despite ratings ascending to it’s highest points this season, CBS has yet to pickup HIMYM for the fall?
Stella did have something to do with the mother- it’s because of the guilt her hubby felt at stealing her from Ted that Ted got the job teaching at Columbia.
hey: Randy Jackson random comment generator
you are hilarious.
It actually had everything to do with Stella, Girlaskew. If Ted hadn’t bumped into her and her hubby, he would’ve never offered him the teaching job in the first place.
@Girlaskew It was Stella’s fiance Tony who tipped Ted off to the professor job, right? So Stella sort of did play an important role.
The name of the episode is actually just “The Leap”.
I haven’t really loved this season, I’ll be honest – but I liked the finale. Barney/Robin’s crazy dynamic was hilarious – we don’t know where their relationship is going, but that’s kinda perfect for them, because they’re never going to be like Ted or Marshall/Lily. And I like that Ted is moving forward in life. I used to like Ted, but this season he’s been driving me crazy, so I’m hoping this new jobs leads back to the funny Ted we all love! Also, btw, running into Stella WAS significant – Tony offered to get Ted a teaching job, which clearly Ted takes him up on, which we now know leads to the mother. So.
I was not thrilled by this finale. They have been talking abotu the goat for 4 years and it was so boring. Barney and Robin WHAT I waited since last season finale for that?!?! ARggh not ending on a happy note but I will be glad to have next season back when Lily will return full force. I never realized how integral she is until she was gone.
I think the goat put the stamp on Ted becoming a professor. Sven getting the job alone would have only made Ted try harder the next time. And remember, this is all from Future Ted’s perspective. I am sure most of us can track down the events that lead to something great where the “what if i didn’t meet Stella” might have meant Ted would not have accepted he was over Stella and that he wanted to have that love Stella has for Tony(?), and just like the Murtaugh ep, to let things happen, not plan things out. I’m excited to get to ep 100! Big things for that episode and I predict that’s the episode when we meet “mother”.
“There were a few things I really loved about this part of the episode. One was that it’s a story line that has never been introduced to us before — there are still some things going on in their lives that we don’t know about. ”
Not true. “I can make that jump” has been referenced before. I can’t remember the exact episode.
Kevin — CBS is expected to announce HIMYM’s renewal on May 20th. From what I am hearing, it is a pretty sure thing.
Stella was important. Her current boyfriend, Tony (the one she left Ted at the alter for) helped Ted get the job teaching as a way of making up for stealing Stella from him. If Ted hadn’t run into Stella again, Tony wouldn’t have tried to make it up to Ted, who wouldn’t have gotten a job teaching, where he met his future wife.
The goat was relevant because Lily mentioned how it would chase that towel (just like Ted chasing after his architecture dreams). It was a comparison that helped Ted ultimately decide to take the teaching job…and meet the mother.
Now, with Ted being a professor I am wondering more than ever how he will be able to build the “first building he [I] ever designed” in Spokane…
I didn’t like the final that much, maybe I cannot stand the idea of Barney not being single anymore in season 5. Anyway, I’m glad to coming closer to the answer of the question how Ted found his wife – will be interesting to see whether or not he will already ‘get’ her in season 5 or if there will be a season 6.
The goat, as the umbrella was until today, really was a disappointment, but, just like the whole story of Ted meeting his future wife, it was one piece of the puzzle.