Many fans, pregnant with anticipation, tuned in to watch the season finale of their beloved How I Met Your Mother tonight.
The delivery of what was just the first half of the evening's culmination was a thing of beauty. Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and their ward of talented writers have been warming this bun in their creative ovens for some time now. "The Magician's Code Part One" was no illusion and delivered in roses.
As usual, we were treated to an array of amazing vintage pop culture references - like when the ATM switched over to The Legend of Zelda on Marshall. Without a doubt, though, the best sequence of the episode was the collection of stories with which Ted and Robin tried to distract Lily. Topping my list were the Door Story, the Halloween they decided to all go as The Breakfast Club but failed to coordinate their costumes and, of course, the time Barney tried to pick up girls as the Terminator.
Help me out here, friends: I couldn't help but think the story about the mystery door was a reference to something. I even went as far as to try and Shazam the background music. Did I miss something or was I reading too much into the story and got Malcoviched?
While scratching my head on that one, I also had to kick myself for thinking Barney was going to appear as any version of the Terminator other than the naked one from the movie's opening scene. Him kneeling there in the buck with the trash blowing by was almost too much amazing to handle.
Robin and Ted once again made it hard to believe they don't end up together, as they played so well off one another all episode long. I know it isn't meant to be, but at least they are friends again. I would also like to take this opportunity to send an, E-High-Five to Cobie Smulders's trainer. Our favorite gal from the Great White North looked simply stunning as she hilariously recounted the times she went elbows deep during foaling season.
While Barney's tender speech about Marshall was almost out done by the bus driver's amazing Cocoon 2 line, in the end Barney was the winner as he lived up to his promise and got the big guy to the hospital in time. For his heroics, the most awesome honor of helping to name the newest addition to the gang was bestowed upon him and together we were introduced to Marvin Waitforit Eriksen.
I'll be right back with the recap of part two of tonight's finale. In the meantime check out tonight's best How I Met your Mother quotes.