Now, this was a long con worth waiting for. "Daisy," a title which took on a few different meanings during last night's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," was a payoff in a lot of ways. With only a few episodes to go -- three to be exact -- I expect each moment to count. There's no doubt that Craig Thomas and Carter Bays obsessed over about each look, each gesture and each line as they stumbled towards the Season 9 finish line. In "Daisy," that precision showed.
First and foremost, "HIMYM" revealed where Lily ran off to in the middle of the night a few episodes back. At the time, I was confused at the lack of time spent on her disappearance, and was only mildly concerned where she went or who she left with. But, it was the same confusion I felt when she demanded to get out of Ted's car on the drive to Farhampton in the very beginning of the season. I thought both instances were time wasters.
I'm glad I was wrong. Turns out, Lily called the Captain, whose car took her to his mansion close by. As Ted unfolded the story of Lily's disappearance, revealing the gum-snapping, the anxious car ride and that daisy pot in the Captain's bathroom, I, too, wrote down "LILY SMOKES!" in my notes. I love that this was his immediate suspicion, because it recalled "Last Cigarette Ever" from Season 5. (Major "HIMYM" fans will also note that in that episode, future Ted said Lily had her last cigarette ever when she started trying to get pregnant, negating the notion she would smoke on Robin's wedding day.)
No, Lily didn't leave the Farhampton Inn to have a cigarette at the Captain's. She left to take a pregnancy test. The little blue plus sign brought back all those warm, gooey feelings I have when I look at Marshall and Lily in total marital bliss. Immediately Marshall said they have to move to Italy so Lily can live out her dream because she already gave him his ... twice. (I mean, come on. All the mush right there!)
One year later we see them in Italy with Marshall's mom, Lily's dad, a bag of Funyuns, Marvin and new baby Daisy. It was the most satisfying scene we've had since the mother's rendition of "La Vie En Rose" in "How Your Mother Met Me."
I love these kind of episodes in "How I Met Your Mother" land. They remind me that in Bays and Thomas' world, every scene has a purpose, even if we didn't know it at the time. They may be gushy and tied up in neat little packages with ribbons, but as the finale comes closer, I have to admit, that's kind of what I want.
- Looping Linus in for the long con was brilliant.
- I'm really quite sad this is the first time we've gotten to know Robin's mother (Tracey Ullman). She's become my favorite "HIMYM" parent.
- Robin realized she's not marrying a man just like her dad, but the fact that she has a gay black uncle is top notch.
- Tearjerker Lily quote: "I told you I could keep a secret.
"How I Met Your Mother" airs Mondays, 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
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