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How I Met Your Mother S08E05: "The Autumn of Breakups"

Victoria is gone.

A season ago, I never thought I'd be celebrating the moment when How I Met Your Mother jettisoned the once-popular girlfriend of Ted Mosby, but after "The Autumn of Breakups," I am. I'm sorry, Ashley Williams, but the HIMYM writers took your character—a character who was possibly the greatest missed opportunity of Ted's life—and turned her into a one-note, caricatured, and even petty individual. If HIMYM were to introduce some soap opera-esque twist that the woman Ted had been dating wasn't actually Victoria but was instead her boring twin sister (let's call her Wictoria), I'd be completely on board.

Anyway, after a hurricane delay, HIMYM returned this week looking to find its narrative strength once again. The series has been all over the place in this still very young season, but "The Autumn of Breakups" showed a few signs that HIMYM is ready to get things back on track. There were still a few rough patches, but with Victoria gone, we've cleared out another piece of dead wood that HIMYM has been stumbling over.

The demise of Ted and Victoria was pretty straightforward, and it was something most of us saw coming from the very start of the season. Victoria made some joking comments about leaving Klaus at the altar for Ted and talking about how crazy it would be to accept a job in Denver. Marshall and Lily pointed out to Ted that Victoria was obviously looking for something more serious and not particularly interested in taking it slow. Ted confronted Victoria about this... and then proposed to Victoria. Victoria told Ted she'd say yes under one condition—that he end his friendship with Robin.

When Victoria started hanging out with the group and Robin in the beginning of this season, I thought HIMYM had forgotten about Victoria's warning to Ted last season that as long as he remained friends with Robin, his ex-girlfriend, he'd never find "the one." Looks like I was wrong: The writers were just letting it eat away at Victoria until the time came for her to give Ted an ultimatum. Ted had to choose between Victoria as his wife or Robin in his life.

Ted's decision to pick Robin over Victoria should finally close the door on Victoria. Like Marshall and Lily, I'm torn on what Ted should've done. If we were dealing with Victoria 1.0, it would've been a lot easier to pick her as the woman who could have been his wife. But Victoria 2.0 just wasn't worth losing Robin over.

So what's next for Ted? Former Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliott (who's also the daughter of Chris Elliott, the actor who plays Lily's dad) is slated to appear in a few upcoming episodes of HIMYM. Will she be Ted's last fling before he finds the mother? One thing that keeps coming up in the comments of these reviews is that we should care less about the mother reveal and more about the actual stories that are happening in each episode. If Elliott's character is anything like Victoria's second coming, I'm going to have to start agreeing with that sentiment. The journey to find the mother should be rewarding. It should be fun. This recent Ted storyline wasn't either of those things. And so I hope that HIMYM mixes things up with Ted's next relationship.

While Ted's relationship with Victoria was crumbling, Marshall and Lily spent the episode serving as Ted's sassy friends, dolling out relationship advice with a side helping of MMMHMMMs and snaps. Marshall attempted to channel his inner goddess (who spoke with a borderline racist accent) but couldn't nail down the role after he gave out horrible advice to everyone at MacLaren's.

While the Ted/Victoria storyline drove this episode, it was Barney's latest round of adventures that gave the episode its spark. Without Ted around to help him look for ladies, Barney stumbled across the perfect replacement wingman—er, wingdog: Brover. After finding this dog on the street, Barney not only made Brover a huge part of his pickup game, he also made the pup a huge part of his life. For a short time, Barney and Brover went everywhere together, both of them decked out in fine suits. At MacLaren's, Brover was allowed to stand on the bar as women flocked to him. Bringing your dog into a bar? That just seems unfair when it comes to getting girls to notice you. Also, it seems a bit unhygienic, but I'll leave that one up to MacLaren's management. The Barney-Brover bromance was cut short when Brover's true owner called Barney to say that her dog had run away. Barney may have been disappointed to find out that Brover's real name was Mr. Sprinkles, but the owner invited him inside for a drink.

Barney's reaction to discovering that Brover had an owner reminded me of his reaction to learning that Robin hadn't broken up with Kevin last season—the quiet excusal, the slow walk away. While Barney left MacLaren's to remove rose petals from Robin's room after his last heartbreak, he was ready to throw himself off Robin's balcony this time. Ouch. Poor Barney. How many episodes do we have left until he gets back together with Robin?

Speaking of Robin, anyone who had hers and Nick's relationship down as the final survivor of the Autumn of Breakups should now collect his or her prize. Nick, the character who up until this episode never even had a personality, is still standing. Surprisingly, I actually warmed up to Nick with this episode. His awful attempts at coming up with a catchphrase for his local-access cooking show, Nick: The Bad Boy Chef, were quite funny. The character's acceptance of Robin having guy friends in her life may prove to be stupid, but at least it showed that he wasn't just a one-dimensional character.

– I'm still not used to Ted living in Quinn's former apartment. After seven seasons, I guess it'll take some time to remember that Marshall and Lily are now the full-time residents of the original pad.

– Barney gushing about Brover, his new wingman: "The bitches love him. He buries bones all day. No one chases tail like him."

– Ted asking Lily about Marshall's inner goddess search: "When did Marshall become a slightly more feminine you?

– Honestly, the whole "Marshall's inner goddess" storyline didn't do it for me. Didn't really fit in with the characters. Marshall searching for his inner Sasquatch would be something I'd completely buy, though.

– When Barney first introduced Brover at the bar, I didn't even realize Robin was sitting with Nick. I thought it was Ted. Upon realizing that it was Robin's boyfriend, I then realized that I didn't remember his name. That doesn't bode well for Nick's staying power.

– Victoria to Ted after pulling out her wedding dress: "Should I keep this wedding dress or do you think I'll never ever need it again?"

– Victoria debunking the myth of the Mosby boys and their detective skills: "The Mosby boys were you, your sister, and a neighborhood squirrel you thought you had tamed."

– Barney (as Brover's wingman) to another dog's owner: "How old's your dog?" Other owner: "Five." Barney: "How old's that in dog years?" Other owner: "Like 35." Barney: "We're done here."

– Ted to Marshall and Lily: "You guys are the worst."

– Ted has now proposed to two women on HIMYM. Even though Victoria's proposal came with a real ring and roses, his proposal to Stella had so much more going for it. I think I got too invested in Stella …

– Victoria on why Ted can't remain friends with Robin: "There's too much history there. Robin's the reason we broke up the first time. Robin's our roadblock. Robin's the deep, dark pit where our relationship goes to die. But nicest girl in the world. Salt of the earth."

– Nick's attempts at finding a catchphrase: "Oh my gosh, who's ready to nosh?" "Who's popping a chub for some grub?" "Who's ready to eat my meat?"

– Did we know that Barney went with Robin to drop off her dogs at her aunt's farm in Season 1? I don't remember that ever being mentioned. It seems like a very sweet thing for Season 1 Barney to do. Either way, Robin's realization that her aunt's close friend was more than that was great. "No she's not a lesbian … nor does she farm them."

– Did anyone else have trouble recording this episode last night? It seems some cable providers never updated their listings after last week's preemption due to Hurricane Sandy, and my DVR thought HIMYM was a repeat last night. If yours missed it too, you can watch the episode online right here.

HIMYM "The Autumn of Breakups" Photos

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Warehouse 13 S04E09: "The Ones You Love"

Way to call it, you guys! In the penultimate episode of the first half of Warehouse 13's current season (after next week's mid-season finale, the warehouse gang won't be back until April), we finally learned the truth behind behind Brother Adrian's seemingly unlimited access to the warehouse.

It was Artie all along.

Now, before we judge him too harshly, Warehouse 13 has made it very clear that Artie had, for all intents and purposes, experienced some sort of psychotic break after using the astrolabe to turn back time and save the day back in the Season 4 premiere. Artie hasn't gone darkside, he just isn't mentally home right now, and hasn't been for apparently the entire season. But while it's essential that we and Artie's fellow agents understand that aspect of Artie's current thought process, it doesn't excuse the fact that Leena has apparently died as a result of his instability. It certainly isn't going to make Artie feel any better when he inevitably comes back to himself.

Leena! We hardly knew you! That's not even a joke. Despite Gennelle Williams being a main cast member from the very beginning of the series, the proprietor of the local bed and breakfast has largely remained a mysterious figure among the warehouse regulars. She had her occasional moments in the spotlight, particularly during the MacPherson storyline in Season 1, but unlike the detailed histories accompanying Artie, Claudia, Myka, Pete, and even Jinks, Leena's past remains an unknown.

That didn't make her demise any easier to witness. With her aura-reading abilities and various caretaker duties at the bed and breakfast, Leena's fellow agents thought of her as a sort of mother figure. She took care of the details back home so that the others could run off and save the world every other week, and though we have never seen nor heard anything of Leena's "real" family over the course of the series, it's hard not to feel like she considered her peers at the warehouse to fill that vacuum nicely—and vice versa. "The Ones You Love" ended with a shot of Pete fruitlessly trying to contact Leena on her Farnsworth, the communicator laying uselessly just a few inches from her most likely dead body.

Ow. Warehouse 13 brings a lot of death scenes to television. Almost every warehouse affiliate has died, with most of them being resurrected eventually, and even though the Warehouse 13 death toll has grown to rival that of Misfits or Supernatural in recent seasons, Warehouse 13's writing team still manages to make each and every one of them a powerful sucker punch, right to the gut. I can appreciate that. I love a good death scene.

But I also love Leena and while she makes a good candidate for a permanent warehouse death, a part of me kind of hopes she joins the ranks of dead warehouse personnel who eventually come back to life. Leena's is the sort of demise that has the potential to change the very fabric of the series itself. On one hand, that screams, "YAY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!" but on the other hand, Artie will not take Leena's death, or his role in it, lightly. If done right, this experience will permanently change Artie. But are we prepared for that level of darkness to take up permanent residence on Warehouse 13?

Or are we fairly certain that Leena will be alive and well by the end of this season? The root of all current warehouse troubles is time travel, after all.

"The Ones You Love" went a long way toward reinvesting us in the story arc for Season 4, with high stakes throughout the entire episode and the payoff with Brother Adrian's real identity being a very good reveal, despite the fact that we all pretty much saw it coming. Can we just take a moment to bask in the glow of Saul Rubinek's awesomeness? He acted the hell out of Artie's final breakdown, when he realized that in fighting Brother Adrian, he had been battling himself all along... and lost. Whatever or whoever Artie currently is, it/he is absolutely chilling. You the man, Mr. Rubinek. You the man.

– So, Brother Adrian is real, but the evil Adrian who wreaked havoc on the warehouse all season long is just a figment of Artie's imagination or some sentient "evil" unleashed by the astrolabe? What do you think? Is Artie just lost in his imagination or is he possessed by something?

– Should Jinks and Mrs. Frederic go on more sassy adventures together? (Yes.)

– Who else wants a pair of Claudia's fabulous work goggles?

– I think Pete's solo adventure with ex-wife Amanda was supposed to remind us that he's actually an intelligent and accomplished Secret Service agent, but I thought the whole solution of transferring the tattoo artifact to the leather box that it came in because leather is technically skin was a little too "no duh," to reverse an entire season's worth of being a dumbass. Not to mention the fact that it was Myka's idea anyway. Nice effort, though, and "Tell them to name something after me... not a mall," made me giggle.

– I couldn't get into Myka and her sister's artifact-driven brawl. I have to admit, though, that curly OR straight, I'm super jealous of Joanne Kelly's hair.

– Where to next? Is Leena a goner for good?

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Misfits S01E02 & S02E02: "One" & "Two"

Editor's Note: Hey everyone! Logo has started airing Misfits again on Thursdays here in the U.S. (and they episodes are all on Hulu anyway), but we've been a little bogged down with fall premieres and unable to get these reviews posted. And be "we've," I mean *I* have been a little bogged down with fall premieres, and even though MaryAnn wrote these reviews over the last two Thursdays, *I* wasn't able to get them posted. So here they are now, and we'll return to a regular schedule of weekly Mistfits reviews next week! — Jen

A mysterious note sent via paper airplane (clever!) had our gang gathering around not-so-dead Nathan's grave just in time for Kelly to overhear him wanking off in his coffin because he's classy like that. Also, being buried alive probably gets really boring after awhile when you're immortal. That's why vampires always end up out of their minds after a couple decades underground, right? And I'm talking about Anne Rice vampires, not the sparkly ones. I'm also possibly talking about the Being Human vampires, but I'm pretty sure Suren was nuts before Mommy Dearest locked her up a few decades, so she might not count.

Anyway, Nathan was eventually freed from his grave, went home to visit his mother, and apparently shocked her so badly that she fainted and knocked a few teeth loose. I guess that means he'll continue to be homeless in the community center for the foreseeable future, then?

Catching up with the other ASBO kids, we learned that Simon is still pining for Sally the Corpse Bride, Kelly is really bummed about her almost-boyfriend getting impaled in the Season 1 finale, aaaand Curtis and Alisha are still the golden couple. With Sally on ice, Simon and the others have yet another probation officer, but at least this time he's full of dry sarcasm and general crotchety awesomeness. The third time's the charm, though, and someone—Sally's friend at the police station—has finally noticed the alarming frequency with which this particular ASBO group's probation officers seem to disappear.

The gang's new probation officer made them hang out in an art therapy class where Nathan made the mistake of mocking one of the girls, Lucy, and Simon made the mistake of pretending he didn't spend some quality time with her in a psych ward before landing his community service gig. So I wasn't at all surprised when Alisha appeared to come on to Simon. I mean, I was surprised, but I didn't think for a second that it was actually her, especially after her lips touched Simon's danger zone and he didn't go crazy with superpowered lust. It's all in the details, kids.

However, Simon didn't catch that minor detail and as though it was the blow job that blew his mind (and knowing Simon, it probably was), Simon decided to bury Sally once and for all.

Then everything got a little bit crazy. Stories with shape shifters tend to do that. Still rocking Alisha's face, Lucy went to Curtis and accused Simon of beating her up. Curtis was, understandably, not happy about that and intercepted Simon as he was moving Sally's corpse. Simon protested, saying that he didn't beat Alisha up, but that she totally went down on him, shifting Curtis's ire to his ladyfriend. Lucy's machinations started to fall apart when the real Alisha showed up completely unharmed and insisted that not only did she not hook up with Simon, but he didn't punch her either... by which time Lucy had morphed into Nathan.

Oh, and everyone found out about Sally the Dead Probation Officer. It was a bonding experience, though. Hiding a dead body tends to bring people together, for better or for worse. Usually worse. The realization that Lucy was rocking her Nathan costume and suddenly knew all about the pile of dead probation officers led to, well, ultimately another dead probation officer. But Curtis fixed that. "If I could tuuuuurn back tiiii-ime..." Yup, I'm still singing Cher to myself every time C-dog does this thing.

Lucy impaled Nathan, but now that we know he'll be fine my reaction was more LOL than OMG.

Letting all her crazy hang out, Lucy finally donned Simon's face and devised a plan to confess to the killings of Tony and Sally. She was certain that Simon would end up back in their old unit at the psych hospital, where they would rekindle their friendship and live happily ever after. Working his invisibility mojo, Simon followed Lucy to the police station, where he apologized for having ignored her earlier and made a case for his freedom. No, things weren't perfect with his group of friends, but he HAD a group of friends. Simon admitted to finally being happy and being content with who he was. He couldn't go back to the psych ward with her because he just wasn't that Simon anymore. He's come a long way, hasn't he? We should all be very proud.

And in the span of one episode, Lucy made some progress herself. Despite the obvious obsession with Simon that led to her antics in the first place, Lucy managed to reach an understanding with her former target and maybe even an understanding with herself. Simon said that he liked the person he became during their time apart, a concept that Lucy initially didn't seem to understand, asking Simon if he REALLY thought the other ASBO kids would want to be friends with someone like him. Simon nodded. It was small and a little bit uncertain, but it was there, which speaks clearly to how far his social ineptness and basement-level self-esteem have come.

If the powers on Misfits are meant to reflect an aspect of an individual's personality, then the fact that Lucy can take another individual's (or animal's) shape and essentially become someone else for an extended period of time fits well with her disbelief that Simon could have changed, grown, and evolved into a happy and healthy person who is comfortable in his own skin. Simon essentially outgrew her, which is sad for both of them, but it's one of those things that happens. Relationships change as the people in them change.

So of course I have to ask, does this mean that powers can change too? Or is that just crazy talk?

– Will we see Lucy again? Do we WANT to see Lucy again? (I kind of want to see Lucy again.)

– Is impaling Nathan for laughs the new thing? I can't decide if that would be hilarious or annoying. I'm leaning toward annoying.

– I really like the new douchebag probation officer. Tell me this one doesn't meet (another) untimely demise.

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BUSINESS TIME

... A & E is staying in The Glades. The fourth season of the drama, about a detective in southern Florida, will debut in early 2013. I've really stretched out my knowledge of The Glades for this news blurb! [A & E via press release]

... Cougar Town has a premiere date: Season 4 begins Tuesday, January 8 on the series' new home of TBS, as sung by the cast in the following video (which also features a coolcoolcool cameo by the series' biggest fan):

... Does The CW want a show about a monster high school? Of course it does! Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, etc.), Bret Easton Ellis (the author of American Psycho), and Catherine Hardwicke (the director of Twilight) have sold Copeland Prep to the network. The drama is about a competitive secondary school that turns its students into monsters, because, ummm, I dunno. I couldn't really figure it out. Are we talking teenage Wolfman and teenage Frankenstein or completely new monsters? These are important details, Hollywood trades. Do your job! This also marks Schwartz's 78th show in development at The CW give or take a billion. [Deadline Hollywood]

... Community's Donald Glover is developing a new comedy at NBC loosely based on his life. He'll star in it, too, if the project makes it to series. So does that mean he's leaving Community? No! He's still good to go for Season 4, and then he'll be free to work on his new show when Community is canceled after the upcoming season. Listen, I love Community just as much as you do, I'm just getting mentally ready for reality. [TV Guide]

... In addition to lighting someone on fire last night, Sons of Anarchy kicked some serious ass in the ratings department. The Season 5 premiere was watched by 5.37 million viewers, not only good enough to be a series high, but (probably) also a network high (FX still has to crunch some numbers). If anyone needs more proof that posting older series on Netflix streaming works, here it is. [FX via press release]

... NBC had a few new comedies make time-period debuts last night, so let's see how they did, shall we? Go On, which I liked, drew a solid 9.6 million viewers and a 3.4 rating in the 18-49 demo. That was followed by The New Normal, which Price thought was okay (I hate it), drawing an audience of 7 million and a 2.5 demo rating. Both were strategically placed after The Voice, which is serving as the great launching pad for new shows this season for NBC. [TV Line]

... Bravo is rebooting the great 1989 film Heathers for television. And the network is doing it in a very lame way. The new version will feature the daughter of Winona Ryder's character in high school, coping with the cruel attitudes of the Heathers' daughters, this time called the Ashleys. It's like, "Hey let's remake Star Wars with Luke's son flying around space with Han's son and Chewbacca's son and the decapitated head of Jar Jar Binks!" Okay that last bit was a some fantasizing by me. [THR]

... Entourage creator Doug Ellin is almost done with his Entourage feature screenplay, which will take place six months after the series ended. This is fantastic news for all seven people who still think Entourage is a good show. [Deadline Hollywood]

CASTING NEWS

... Everyboringman Jason Biggs has landed a role on Netflix's original Orange Is the New Black, from Weeds creator Jenji Kohan. The dramedy takes place in a women's prison, which is okay by me. Biggs will play the fiancé of the main character, who gets thrown in the slammer due to an old relationship with a drug dealer. [THR]

... Bill Maher will play himself in an upcoming episode of The Good Wife. Sample dialogue... Alicia: I agree with this guy's stances but does he have to be so annoying about it? [THR]

... Hey, this is kind of cool! Jonathan Banks, who just wrapped playing Mike on Breaking Bad, will guest-star on Parks and Recreation as Ben's dad. Look for his appearance in late October or early November. And he better kill someone on the show. [Hitfix]

... Saturday Night Live is re-electing a new cast member to play President Barack Obama. Jay Pharaoh will take over for Fred Armisen in the upcoming season, which begins this weekend. [NY Times]

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