Tessa Needs To Think Again

Suburgatory, S02E10

Ryan and Tessa made their love public, and Tessa was induted into the group of the football girlfriends.  George, Noah, and Fred formed together to make a rock band, and the dynamic was in danger when George wanted Shela to be their vocalist.

I am really loving the reboot of Ryan and Tessa dating.  Last time, it was like they were just having this fling where they just made out and nothing else really.  Ryan was so cute when he was literally shouting about their love in the halls.  I didn't see anything wrong with that until Amber came along to introduce Tessa into the "football girlfriends club."

I could see that entering that cult of girls only living to pump up their jock boyfriends would rile Tessa up enough that she would conduct a rebellion.  Usually, I'm on board with her outrages at school and all, but this time I couldn't ignore that she is now Ryan's girlfriend and shouldn't try to screw up things for him.  Sure she felt like she was liberating all those girls, but it felt more like she was doing it all for herself.  She had barely dipped her toe into Ryan's world before she abndoned ship and started destroying things.  I was pretty afraid of what was going to happen once she "freed" all those girls from the sweatshop.

However, when Ryan and the other players arrived to the pep rally without their paper banner and no enthusiasm from the bleachers, I was cracking up at Ryan's rage.  Lisa was so right that Ryan would be on kill mode when he saw all of that--he was shouting for the person responsible like he was going to tear them apart.  I was laughing so hard, especially when Tessa ran for dear life from the gym.  I was scared that even when she confessed her responsibility for the failed pep rally that he might still throw her into some lockers or something (not really, because Ryan's a sweetheart).  I was, though, afraid that he wouldn't forgive her because he made it clear that Tessa had barely given any effort to fit in with his friends and experience his world.  I really wanted to shake Tessa then when she tried to make what she did seem all right because it's what she always does.  Ryan didn't really have the vocabulary to shoot her down, but I still enjoyed him telling her to "think again, thinker."  What was important is he got across that he was pissed and what she did was not cool.

I was taking more of Ryan's side when he grabbed her in the hall after their fight and cutely said "interception" (Tessa didn't care for it, but I liked his goofy attempt to make up).  Instead of staying mad at her, he made her a paper banner for her to run through with her name on it.  It might have been of poor quality and unnecessary because she was just going to class, but I think that was just about the nicest thing he could have done to smooth things over and make Tessa walk in his shoes for a second.  I was a little angry he had to convince her a bit to do it, even if it was silly.  Geez, Tessa, show a little more remorse for mocking his way of life and not really seeing that it isn't all terrible.  Anyway, I loved when she ran through and looked like an idiot, but she enjoyed it.  And Ryan cheering her on about math--wonderful.  Tessa might have been a bit of a jerk in this episode, but as long as they were able to get a little closer despite some problems along the way, it's all good to me.

George's story was just silly.  I was surprised, though, that they were all good musicians.  I expected them to sound like a bunch of random dads trying to be rock stars--in other words, like they had never played an instrument in their lives.  But they were pretty good.  Shelia wasn't bad either, but I was just as displeased that he let her into the band as Noah and Fred were.  Like, the point of the band was to have some fun and not be bothered by the pressure of the women they loved, and yet George threw that all away so that he could make a band that sounded amazing.  Good thing that Shelia dissed Dallas, so that George could see the damage his new band was doing.  Casting aside his friends is one thing, but treating Dallas like a groupie or something was starting to cross the line.  Anyways, I just really didn't want to see George and Shelia hanging out.  She's just so overbearing that I can't stand to see George around her.

This was good episode, but I was just really loving the start of Ryan and Tessa.  They had me worried that they were going to let their differences throw them for a loop straight from the beginning, but now they have made me a bit more confident that they can work through their issues where they don't particularly agree.  I really want to see Tessa make more of an effort to accept Ryan and change a little instead of him doing all the changing and compromising for her sake.  Now that this relationship is in round two, I can't bear for it fall apart again.

Stone Cold Slytherin

How I Met Your Mother, S08E13

Barney had a hard time asking Robin's father for permission to marry her.  Robin was shocked that her father was not only more relaxed and fun, but had gotten married without telling her.  Ted and Lily fought over whether Barney and Robin should have a DJ or a band for the wedding.

This isn't much related to the story, but I felt like Robin was recovering from a cold the whole time and it sort of distracted me.  I mean, she didn't sound like a frog or anything, but she definitely sounded like she might need to clear her throat or something.  Must be difficult to be sick when you have to use your voice constantly.

Anyway, I might have never noticed how funny Robin's father was until now.  He was definitely my favorite part of the whole episode.  Before he even showed up Ted and Marshall were saying such funny things about him:

[Ted] Dude’s a stone cold Slytherin.
[Marshall] He always looks like he just came from slapping some guy tied to a chair in a back room.

I don't even like Harry Potter and Ted's line still has been chuckling to myself.  They set me up to expect to see some really scary guy appearing (I had forgotten what the man looks like), and Robin's dad didn't disappoint.

I loved his hard, intense expressions, especially when he was looking at Barney.  Barney's not exactly the bravest guy around, but I still liked seeing him sweat in the presence of Robin's dad.  Barney didn't look that good with dark hair, but it was really funny that he felt the need to do that after Robin's dad evaluated Barney's appearance:

This is Barney?  This man is blond.  Grown men are not blond.

Of all the things you could find wrong with Barney, that would be at the end of my list.  If he's bothered by just the surface of Barney, he's going to have a field day with what's underneath that blonde hair and expensive suits.

I wonder how, as terrified as Barney was of his future father-in-law, he was able to get the man to apologize to Robin?  Maybe now that he's married to someone like Carol, he's able to access some of those feelings that he's neglected all those years he raised Robin.  I thought they might say what Barney did, but that was left up to our imaginations.

I was also wondering why Ted was so set on a DJ throughout the episode.  I knew what Lily's deal was--she just wanted to be part of the planning and show that she knew what was best for the wedding.  I don't know why I didn't think it was because he was still stuck up on Robin.  For the love of everything, Ted--let it go.  I get that his love for Robin is deep, but he really looks so damn pathetic.  I believed him when he had accepted that Robin wouldn't be his and had really let her go.  Instead he was just fooling everyone, even himself.  Come on, Ted.  When are you gonna pick yourself up and stop grasping at straws?

There was a glimmer of hope in Ted's ridiculous battle for the DJ--they revealed that Ted would finally meet his future wife at Robin and Barney's wedding.  She'll be the bassist in the band, and we even got a sneak peek at her arm.  It's frustrating that this fated meeting is further down the road, but at least we know it's semi-soon.  We most likely won't have to wait another season to find out at least what she looks like.  There will be plenty of stories left once he does meet her because just because they met doesn't mean they'll fall in love in a second.  Especially with Ted, I think it'll take a lot before any woman decides to spend a lifetime with him.  He's a mess and even with the girl of his dreams, that'll never change.

The part where Marshall got "confetti" all over his face was so gross, but a little funny.  I would have vomited to see what actually flew out of little Marvin's behind, so I'm glad they had a cute way of conveying that.  I'm just glad that something came out of Marshall and Lily complaining about Marvin being constipated.  I just didn't think it was going to be the confetti explosion in Marshall's face.

This episode wouldn't have been half as good if Robin's father wasn't in it.  I couldn't stop laughing at his cold, dead-serious stares at everyone, especially Barney.  As for Ted, I just felt bad for him as usual that he can't commit to the things he's resolved to do or feel.  I think he's had more than enough time to get over Robin and truly be happy for Barbin finally becoming a thing.  Hurry up and get on the Barbin train, Ted!