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Episode Recap: "Miracles"
I am always pretty wary when season finale time comes around because I feel like most shows try way too hard to wow us into sticking around for the next season’s premiere. Murders, explosions, huge cliffhangers, you name it and most shows will use it. Tonight we did get a cliffhanger, but I didn’t feel like the writers expect us to really worry about Stella’s answer. Mostly I felt like this episode was an amazing end to an up and down season (more up than down toward the end, true, but we ended on a very high note, I thought). There were hilarious jokes and the strength of the characters’ friendships were center stage, which when combined make this show one of the best shows on television. That said, does anyone else have “Reunited” running through their head? No? Just me? On with the recap then.
All plotlines tonight start with one thing – Ted freaking out about the future and breaking up with Stella, followed by Ted tying his shoe at the wrong time and ending up in a car accident when his taxi gets hit by another vehicle. Marshall gets a phone call from the hospital and then proceeds to call Lily and Robin, all three of them dropping everything and running flat out to get to their friend who may or may not be critically injured…but who is actually sitting in bed eating jell-o. Ok, so Ted is fine and we all heave a collective sigh of relief, albeit a slightly saddened sigh due to one very noticeably missing person in our gang. Lily, reading out thoughts, calls Barney to tell him about the accident and Barney, being, well, Barney, hangs up on Lily and then abandons an office full of Koreans (I am assuming here, based off of previous context clues) so that he can flat out run to his bro in need. I’m not going to lie, I cheered when he took off sprinting. Barney may have some pretty serious character flaws, but he really does love his friends beyond belief.
Back at the hospital, Marshall and Robin are debating whether or not miracles exist. Unsurprisingly, Robin does not believe they are real and Marshall is out to prove her wrong. His first (and best, in my opinion) example happened March of 2006 – Marshall, Barney and Ted are at the bar drunkenly trying to get pencils stuck in the ceiling. They get on to stay, cheer, take a shot and then a pencil suddenly falls and bounces off the table into Barney’s nose. My roommate and I were laughing so hard at this that we may have missed something, but I definitely got Barney’s “Am I dead? Am I dead?!” which just sent me off laughing again so please forgive me if I missed anything else. Really, just…classic. Absolutely classic. Either way, Robin isn’t buying that this is a miracle and Marshall throws out his next example. This time it is July of 1999 and Marshall is coming home from a trip to Amsterdam (wearing one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen him wear, by the way). He is about to get stopped by the customs officer (he is, of course, trying to smuggle pot into the country) when suddenly a new guard with the munchies shows up for a shift change and lets Marshall right on through with a big smile. Robin is still totally not buying it.
The debate is put on hold when Stella shows up at the hospital, somehow having heard about Ted’s accident (did anyone catch how she found out?) and she almost immediately launches herself into Ted’s arms. It appears all has been forgiven and both profess their love for one another. Once it looks like the worst is over, Marshall again tries with Robin by saying that this is a miracle, but Robin assures him most miracles should not involve dry humping. Marshall tries yet again, this time with Lily’s kindergarteners giving him lice (hey, Marshall, maybe if you didn’t have so much hair…) and stopping him from crawling back to the job he hated, but he just keeps hitting the brick wall that is Robin’s opinion of miracles. Stella once again diverts attention from the argument when Lily inadvertently alerts Stella to the fact that Ted thought they had broken up. Stella, it seems, had no idea and storms back into Ted’s room to definitively break up with him. That miraculous cab accident seems to have been pretty useless until Ted’s cell phone rings and the nurse tells him that he’s being called because he is listed as Barney’s emergency contact.
Poor Barney has run all the way to the hospital only to get hit by a bus right outside. The gang finds him in ICU, covered in casts and cuts and it looks extremely painful and sad and then, finally Ted and Barney make up. Ted says that Barney is his brother! There is manly crying! Marshall gets in on the action! I might have made happy noises. Lame, maybe, but the entire group is reunited and even though I expected it to happen, I am still thrilled it did! Marshall, seeing one final shining chance, offers the moment up to Robin as a miraculous event and we get our explanation about why she is so anti-miracle. It turns out that Robin had a dog when she was a little girl (named Sir Scratchewan, which is now the best dog’s name I have ever heard). The dog needed to be put to sleep and so Robin’s parents let her say goodbye and took the beloved pet off to the vet. Except, when they came home they brought with them a miracle – the vet had found a cure and had fixed Sir Scratchewan! Just one problem, however – Sir Scratchewan was now a turtle. Well, it took young Robin awhile to figure out that there really was no miracle (the turtle was no good at fetch) and ever since then she hasn’t believed in miracles. I was too busy laughing at this point to feel for her, but man, parents do some misguided (if loving) things to their kids. Maybe this explains why Robin owns so many dogs now.
The miracle talk over, Ted rushes off to find Stella and try to make things right while the other three stay with Barney. Marshall and Lily ask him about the accident and whether or not he saw the things he loved flash before his eyes like Ted did. This is accompanied by lots of talk of boobs that dispense scotch, but Barney only has eyes for Robin. You see? He does love her! I again start making happy noises and start talking myself into calming my glee down for tonight’s blog (how many times can I tell you guys that I absolutely adore the two of them together, really. You are all sharp enough to have caught on the first dozen times) and Barney just keeps on gazing. That’s right, Barney. You go ahead and stare because next season I am sure there will be a lot of man pain and angst you battle your feelings for Robin. I am looking forward to it immensely!
Ok, final scene (I know this has been a long blog, but it’s the season finale – cut me some slack!). Ted has tracked Stella and Lucy down to Kiddie Funland. Pulling Stella into the cab of a racing game, Ted hands her a small orange kangaroo and…proposes. He has seen the error of his ways, he loves her and wants to commit, yadda yadda yadda. We, of course, get no answer. I could ramble about how I still refuse to believe she is the mother, but how that doesn’t necessarily mean she will say no, but there are so many ways this could go. I like Stella and I like the guy Ted is with Stella, so keeping her around awhile longer wouldn’t bother me. I am just anxious to see which road the writers take us down. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until next fall to find out.
Final awesome quotes of the season:
• “I love Springsteen – he’s like the American Bryan Adams!” – Robin
• “Please let me go to Kiddie Funland!” – Ted trying to go after Stella. The nurse thinking he was trying to get morphine was pretty great too.
• “A drunk jacka** called God and a box of pencils called Destiny!” – Marshall’s comeback to Robin’s sarcasm about the pencil in Barney’s nose being a miracle.
• “Metaphorical relationship muffins.” Just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?
• Barney being so distraught that they cut him out of his suit. Oh, Barney.
Ok, well I guess that’s it for me for the season. Thanks for reading and I promise not to make any jokes about having legendary summers or anything like that!
And, one last time in season three - Don't forget to check out some HIMYM videos at our online video guide!
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May 19, 2008 11:23 PM
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“A chunk of jacka** called God and a box of pencils called Destiny!”
Drunk, a drunk jacka**. Closed captioning shares many secrets.
I'm really torn on whether Stella ends up being the mother or not, and I guess it really depends on Sarah Chalke's schedule. I wonder if the writers even know at this point. If Scrubs had finished this season as it was originally intended, maybe, but getting a full season on ABC really ties up her time.
This was another one of those not-so-hilarious-yet-very-sweet episodes, like the one where he met Stella.
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May 19, 2008 11:38 PM
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When Lily, Robin, and Marshall are talking to Ted in the hospital, Ted tells them that he'd been trying to call Stella, but her phone was off. I assume he left a message, and that's how she knew to come to the hospital.
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May 19, 2008 11:45 PM
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Thanks Dianora! I thought that sounded funny but I am DVRless so I took a shot. I've edited the quote.
And thank you too, elibu. I figured I must have just missed a line or two 
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May 20, 2008 12:05 AM
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Also, Marshall's lice miracle also involved the firm being investigated by the SEC, although in reality I doubt a first year associate would get in trouble.
It's always a jam-packed 30 minutes, Justine, and I don't envy anyone trying to keep up without the benefit of a rewind button! I'm both hearing impaired and easily distracted, so I require both the CC and Tivo in order to catch everything.
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May 20, 2008 12:11 AM
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I really love Sarah Chalke, but I don't want her to be the mother. Plus, I don't think she is because she has a daughter and the daughter in the show is not that much older than the brother and they've never mentioned step siblings, so I just don't think it's her. I wouldn't mind her sticking around for awhile, but it's not her.
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May 20, 2008 12:16 AM
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I died laughing at Robin's "longer than I'm proud of!" when they asked her how long it took to figure out the turtle wasn't actually her dog haha but yes, this was a great episode and I too made a ton of happy noises while Barney gazed at Robin. They're so great together!
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May 20, 2008 12:29 AM
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My favorite part of this episode had to be the pencil in the nose bit. Nothing is funnier than a #2 pencil in the nose.
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May 20, 2008 1:00 AM
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Did anyone read the headline on Marshall's newspaper? Did it say something like 'Nude Cabbie Vows to Kill Again'?
My favorite part of the episode was Robin & her dog/turtle.
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May 20, 2008 1:13 AM
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Boy, Sarah Chalke is one busy lady what with this, the final upcoming season of "Scrubs" and those Hanes commercials, she's been all over the place! Hope her "Scrubs" schedule allows some time on "HIMYM". Loved seeing Marshall entertaining Lily's students. Maybe he should try working there. Ahhh, on Robin's anti-Miracle story of her dog "turning" into a turtle but at least it's nice to see how Barney feels about her with their reactions. Loved hearing Barney say how sad he was when they took his suit. Oh, and that scene when he's hit by a bus looked so cartoonish! Before I go, I'd like to congratulate Mr. Jason Siegel for writing and starring in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He took a note from his mentor Judd Apatow and mixed the raunchy and the romantic to satisfying results. And the chemistry he has with Ms. Hannigan here, and with Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis on FSM, tells me how comfortable he is around petite women. Bravo, Mr. Siegel, bravo!
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May 20, 2008 1:55 AM
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Soooo much better than last week.
Normally, Robin is my favorite part but that bit about the turtle was just too dumb. It pulled me out of the reality of the show.
They did get me to finally root for a Barney and Robin hookup. I had been against it until that final scene at Barney's bedside.
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May 20, 2008 3:44 AM
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Wonderful episode. How could you not love Barney's gaze at Robin? Classic. My favorite line was definitely when Robin stated that Springsteen was the American Bryan Adams. I died laughing. And the writers have done a good job with the Stella storyline, but I think they have intentionally given off the impression that she is not the mother. On that note, next season I see an engagement and a break up between Ted and Stella and maybe Lily and Marshall finally move out around the same time of the break up which leads to Ted's need of a friend and roommate which leads to Robin moving in and having lots of sex with Barney, her new beau. Then, through devine intervention and the magic of television, Ted will be walking down the street on a rainy, windy night and he will lose his grip of the yellow umbrella and it will blow toward the original owner of the umbrella who is also the mother. Then Bob Saget will say "And that, kids, is how I met your mother." At least that is how I think next season will turn out.
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May 20, 2008 4:26 AM
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I thought we were supposed to meet the mother by the end of this season. She wasn't supposed to be revealed but we were definately suppossed to meet her. Does anyone else remeber this from an interview with the producers or is it just me?
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May 20, 2008 6:47 AM
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Justine - long-time reader of your HIMYM blog and just wanted to come out of lurkdom to say thank you for one of if not the best blogs on the site. I love this show and enjoy your post every week.
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May 20, 2008 8:50 AM
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Ted needs to have Lily stop talking to Stella ! LOL Second time that Lily and Marshall have gotten Stella mad at Ted.
I think that they are hinting at Stella being the mom in case the show did not get a pick up for another season. But now - who knows. They have to drag this out until the very end so I am guessing that Stella will go away - at least for awhile.
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May 20, 2008 8:55 AM
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