How I Met Your Mother “Sunrise” Review (9×17)

What exactly does “letting go” imply?

Is it simply forgetting about someone? Is it something that can be reversed? Or, is it letting go of a fantasy? That’s what Ted has to deal with in this episode; in fact, I’d like to see him not merely let go of the person, but rather the idea of a relationship with Robin.

For, we’ve seen this before. Sure, Ted’s never explicitly let go of Robin, but we’ve seen a variation on that plot many times prior to this. Although I haven’t been a huge fan of the recurring Ted-Robin bits, I do admit that “Sunrise” is a nice coda (hopefully) to their relationship. It’s also a nice touch that we get a big, cathartic monologue about love and moving on a week after we get one from The Mother; this is a nice tie-in, thematically and character-based, to her situation. Both believe they’ve found that special someone, but there’s a bit of an obstruction in front of them. They need to let go, as Ted does with the locket and with Robin herself.

As for the rest of the episode, we get a nice Barney subplot in which he mentors the guys from BriTANick, and it’s a storyline that keeps in line with the theme of moving on. In fact, this might be handled with more nuance and emotional payoff than the Ted-Robin one, and the unveiling of the Playbook at the end is a nice moment. Our final plot involves Marshall and Lily discussing their problems with Marshall’s dad and some ghosts, and at the end, Lily decides to stay in New York. The episode is a bit too harsh on Marshall, but it’s a nice resolution to a problem that, much like with our other characters, has been holding them back.

Ultimately, I’m not as moved with this as the show wants me to be, but it’s still an emotionally satisfying episode that sets up the final arc of the show. Here’s to the final seven.

GRADE: B

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-The “Robin floating away” moment is so goddamn cheesy; it nearly ruins all the goodwill I have for this episode. No show needs to be that on the nose.

-The use of the green screen in this episode is awful. Just awful.

-“Whatever you do in this life, it’s not legendary unless your friends are there to see it.”

-Although I like the plot, I find the BriTANica guys to be fairly mediocre actors.

-We get a bunch of Ted’s old girlfriends in this episode: Jeanette, Stella, Victoria…how would you rank them?

-Radnor’s doing consistently excellent work, and he delivers his monologue with such emotion that he pulls it off. Much like with Milioti’s last week, I’m not so sure this would work in the hands of most other actors.

Photo credit: CBS, How I Met Your Mother

Tags: Barney Stinson bros Britanick strip club, Bill Fagerbakke How I Met Your Mother, Floating Robin balloon How I Met Your Mother, How I Met Your Mother Review Recap, How I Met Your Mother season 9 episode 17, How I Met Your Mother Sunrise, Justin Kyle Barney How I Met Your Mother, Marshall and Lily stay in New York HIMYM, Marshall father Lily ghost Italy How I Met Your Mother, Sarah Chalke Ashley Williams Abby Elliott How I Met Your Mother guest cameo, Stella Victoria Sluttpy Pumpkin How I Met Your Mother, Ted and Robin love beach How I Met Your Mother, Ted Jeanette bridge How I Met Your Mother, Ted Mosby girlfriend Robin's list, Ted Mosby Josh Radnor love speech locket, The Playbook How I Met Your Mother