Episode 15 - P.S. I Love You
26 March 2013
Synopsis: Ted meets a woman on the subway with the same book as him and tries to find her. When she does the same he sees it as destiny. Marshall and Lily accuse her of being a stalker and Ted keeps questioning her but finds a way to see her efforts as charming. Robin admits that when she was younger she became obsessed with a man. Barney goes to great lengths to find out who he is.
The Good: The Ted story managed to hold my interest and stuck the landing by having Ted stay with Jeanette. The twist that she was stalking him was fairly obvious but the question lingered as to whether Ted would run a mile or somehow get sucked in. I thought Jeanette (Abby Elliott) did a good job with the role, never playing it as a stalker and sounding convincing each time she had to say that she "couldn't stand the idea of not meeting you." I don't hold out hopes for anything amazing but by acknowledging the problems with the relationship up front perhaps this could be an interesting arc. I liked the use of Ted's magazine cover as a plausible way for an obsession to start.
Lily and Marshall plausibly called stalker on Ted and Jeanette based on the evidence they had. The tampering with their 'destiny' first meeting didn't destroy anything too precious and fitted the theme of the episode that anyone can become obsessed with another person. I actually really liked an imagined exaggeration for once when Marshall correctly points out that his song asking Lily out could easily have been seen as creepy.
I've never been a fan of Robin Sparkles or the endless Canadian jokes but again by tying it all into a mystery I was kept entertained. The producers didn't half-ass this either as they gathered as many celebrities as they could and went all out with parodies of the Super Bowl and Behind the Music. The idea that Robin sang P.S. I love you and then the P.S. turned out to be the guy's initials was kind of clever.
The Bad: The idea that Robin was so famous as to warrant a Behind the Music style documentary damages our suspension of disbelief. Even if the gang in the States could have remained ignorant, how come Barney has never found any of this out before? Needless to say I found all the Canadian gags tiresome and childish. If you are going to satirise a country at least pick something other than all their most famous clichés.
It also seems worrying that Barney would break into Robin's apartment. Of course she would have to know what she was getting into by marrying him but it's still a criminal act.
You do have to ask how elaborate was Jeanette's plan was though. Why did she get off the subway in the first place? If she had just said hi to Ted then he would never have had reason to suspect she was stalking him.
Comic Highlight: I thought Marshall's creepy song was a fun idea but I'll admit seeing Robin transform from teen pop to grunge had its smile-worthy moments.
How I rate your episode: This was one of those occasions when the theme of the episode dragged all the characters nicely into the frame and held my interest.
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