Big Days
| "Big Days" | |
|---|---|
| How I Met Your Mother episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 6 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Pamela Fryman |
| Written by | Carter Bays & Craig Thomas |
| Production code | 6ALH01 |
| Original air date | September 20, 2010 |
| Guest actors | |
|
Rachel Bilson as Cindy | |
| Season 6 episodes | |
| |
"Big Days" is the first episode of the sixth season of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and the 113th episode overall. It originally aired on September 20, 2010.
Plot
Future Ted pontificates on the important days in a relationship: "the day you meet the girl of your dreams, and the day you marry her." The audience is shown a church backyard, where Marshall brings Ted a beer, both men dressed in tuxedos. Marshall notices Ted is nervous by his habit of ripping the beer bottle labels. Flashing back to the present day at MacLaren's, Barney notices Ted doing the same thing as he sits grading papers. Amidst his work, Ted is nervous about a girl at the bar he wants to approach, and Barney boosts his confidence before calling "dibs."
While they argue, Robin walks into the bar, looking disheveled and holding a burger and a bag of fries. After being left by Don weeks earlier, she has sunk into a depression, even going as far as to swear Ted to not sleep with her (which he finds easier in her current state). After a bit of heckling from Barney, Robin cleans up and struts into the bar in a sun dress, showing off her skill before waving off a guy who hits on her.
Ted notices a blond girl (Kaylee DeFer) that he has been watching at the bar is standing next to Cindy (Rachel Bilson), the girl he had briefly dated from his school, and whose roommate Future Ted says is the eponymous mother. After their one date, Cindy had treated him badly when they met during the school day. Ted assumes that the woman at the bar is Cindy's roommate, and is desperate to meet her. Cindy sees Ted and takes him aside, thanking him for helping her realize what she was looking for, and invites him to say goodbye to her before he leaves.
A little later, Marshall and Lily show up at MacLaren's, arguing about trying to get pregnant. Lily had planned a romantic evening at home, with candles and banjo music, but gets angry with Marshall when she finds out that he has told his father that they are trying to have a child. Marshall argues that his father is a part of his life and deserves to know, but Lily can't stand Mr. Eriksen's constant calls and domineering personality. (Barney mentions that if he knew his father's phone number, he'd be calling him all the time, before turning his focus elsewhere.) Lily goes after Marshall, and the two reconcile, agreeing that his father is somewhat insane and very enthusiastic, just like Marshall. They both then head upstairs.
Ted struts up to the two ladies, assuming he is going to be introduced to the woman he thinks is Cindy's roommate, but the two women kiss, and Ted realizes that the blond woman is not Cindy's roommate but her girlfriend/lover. (Future Ted tells his kids that Cindy and the nameless blond woman ended up having a daughter together.) Then, he tells his children that he met their mother at a wedding. The scene flashes forward to a wedding: the church backyard seen earlier in the episode with Ted and Marshall. Ted admits to Marshall that he is nervous about his toast at the wedding and he wants it to be perfect. It is also revealed that Ted is the best man, and is called in by Lily. It starts to rain, and Ted says that he doesn't have an umbrella.
Music
- "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" by George Harrison plays when Ted and Marshall talk outside the church.
- "Run Off the Road" by Ola Podrida plays near the end, when Cindy and her girlfriend are kissing.
Barney's blog
In his blog, Barney contemplates the changes in women's attire due to upcoming cold seasons of the year.[1]
Continuity
- It was later revealed in the season nine episode "How Your Mother Met Me" that moments after dropping Ted because he thought that she had a lot in common but was describing "The Mother" instead, "The Mother's" roommate, Cindy, finds herself falling for her roommate, but leaves only a brief kiss, stunning "The Mother" but does not fall for her and remain friends.
Cultural references
- Cindy's date is reading Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh at the bar.
- Barney's comment "Are you there, Barney? It's me, horny" references Judy Blume's book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
- When Marshall gets out of his office to a crowd at work, he shouts "Can you dig it?", referencing the same phrase from the 1979 film The Warriors, where another crowd went wild at an orator's words.
- Barney's description of Robin having squiggly lines drawn all over her and her appearance refers to Peanuts character Pig-Pen.
- In this episode, it's said that Ted pulls the labels off of bottles when he is nervous but in Dowisetrepla in Season 3, Ted mentions this is a habit of Lily's.
Critical response
Donna Bowman of The AV Club gave the episode a B+ score. She said that the episode put in the show's "core competencies in a shrewdly calculated package," citing flash-forwards to the day Ted meets the Mother and how other elements could have a role in making it happen.[2]
Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.5 out of 10.[3]
DeAnn Welker of Television Without Pity gave the episode a B+.[4]
References
- ↑ Stinson, Barney (2010-09-21). "Barney's Blog: Summer breeze...Up the summer skirt". Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ↑ Donna Bowman (2010-09-20). "How I Met Your Mother "Big Days"". The A.V. Club. The Onion.
- ↑ Robert Canning (2010-09-21). "How I Met Your Mother: "Big Days" Review". IGN. News Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
- ↑ DeAnn Welker (2010-09-22). "How I Met Your Mother: This Is Not How I Thought This Night Was Going To Go!". Television Without Pity. NBC Universal.
External links
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