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This week, the guys and gals of How I Met Your Mother “gots to know.” From looking up the skinny on Ted’s dating prospects, to finding out the sex of baby Eriksen, the gang battles the “Mystery vs. History” question on several fronts. The one person not in on the fun was Robin’s new beau, Kevin, who hasn’t yet found his place in the group.
I can only imagine how much the Internet has changed how dating works these days. With our generation so insistent on putting our lives on Twitter, Facebook, and every other social media network that pops up each week, you really can get to know someone before you even meet them (Yes, I know … Pot meet Kettle). For Ted, I doubt that this is a good thing; despite his promise, he couldn’t get through the appetizer course without giving into his curiosity.
Lily and Marshall’s quandary was a bit different from Ted’s. For him, there’s no promise of anything past the first date, but the Eriksen’s boy will be around for a while. Considering Lily and Marshall’s approach at parenting, the color of the room will likely be the least of baby Eriksen’s troubles. Lily seems to have a much more liberal mindset than Marshall when it comes to how their child will be raised. And considering Robin’s flashback to her gender-confused upbringing and the group’s necessity to meddle in each other’s lives, I can’t help but imagine this will be something we see come up again as Lily and Marshall travel down the road of parenthood.
I’m giving Kal Penn’s Kevin one more episode before I completely give up on him. He doesn’t fit in the group, which — at least in this episode — was obviously intentional. But the flip side is that he doesn’t necessarily click with Robin either. At the very least, the writers haven’t taken the time to show us that there is any chemistry between the two of them. Considering the knowledge bomb that Victoria dropped on Ted a couple of weeks ago, we know that something is going to change in Robin’s relationship status. Plus, by the time we get to Barney’s wedding, she has to be available enough to be part of the mystery. So this makes Kevin a manufactured obstacle, something that this show has already done way too much.