Facebook. HIMYM Bad News Episode. Spoilers for last night’s How I Met Your Mother coming up: A couple of things that distinguish How I Met Your Mother as a sitcom are its love of throwing in Easter eggs that reward attention, and its willingness to ground its comedy in serious, even dramatic, personal stories.
“Bad News” showcased both traits, though not necessarily in such a way that they complimented each other, but first let’s focus on the episode’s very strong ending. Handling a death on a comedy, non-comically, is tricky business without getting into Very Special Episode territory, but although the “bad news” about Marshall’s father was fairly well telegraphed, HIMYM handled the moment just right. The scene neither lingered on the pathos of the development or cut away to avoid risking discomfort; it let us see Marshall stunned and broken up by the shock, and Jason Segel played it credibly. Just as important, his reaction—telling Lily that he’s not ready for this news—was spot-on.