Sunrise (How I Met Your Mother)
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"Sunrise" is the seventeenth episode of the ninth season of the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...
'', and the 201st episode overall.


Plot

Future Ted tells a story about how he watched his balloon "friend" fly away, stating the event caused him to believe that if you let go of the things you love, you will lose them forever. In the present, on Sunday at 5 AM, 13 hours before the wedding, Ted and Robin are walking along the beach, reminiscing about Ted's top five exes: 5. Stella, 4. Zoey, 3. Slutty Pumpkin, 2.
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
from the time he and Ted pretended to be a couple to try to sell Barney's apartment, 1. Victoria; and his five worst exes: 5. Blah Blah (Carol), 4. "Boats, Boats, Boats" (Becky), 3. Karen, 2. Zoey (who made both lists), and 1. Jeanette. Meanwhile, a drunk Barney walks out of the hotel to find two
men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...
on the street and takes them to a
strip club A strip club (also known as a strip joint, striptease bar, peeler bar, gentlemen's club, among others) is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease and other erotic dances including lap dances. St ...
saying he will teach them how to live. The two men are dismissive of Barney's claims that the way they dress will be key to picking up women when Barney takes them to
Tim Gunn Timothy MacKenzie Gunn (born July 29, 1953) is an American author, academic, and television personality. He served on the faculty of Parsons School of Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March ...
to be fitted for suits, but change their minds when they go to a party where Barney plays the "Have you met-" game, setting the boys up with two women. At sunrise, Barney tells the boys what he kept telling Ted earlier in the series, that every moment will be legendary if it's shared with friends. Barney hands the two men a stack of napkins; the top napkin says "The Playbook". Barney leaves after passing on everything he knew about the bachelor life to them without revealing his name. At the hotel, Marshall imagines a ghost
Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
in the hotel room with him. After he brings up
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, the ghost Lily says he should have this argument with 2006 Lily. When he tells the 2006 Lily that her leaving him was the saddest he's ever felt, she reminds him of his father's death, which brings a shade of his father into the room. Marshall argues with his ghosts until the present imaginary Lily tells him that as long as he thinks of their arguments in terms of winning and losing, he is gradually going to lose her. When the real Lily returns, she and Marshall reconcile after she tells him that they should stay in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. When Robin asks if Ted has kept in touch with his ex-girlfriends, he says that he has not, though
Future Ted Theodore Evelyn Mosby is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Josh Radnor. He serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the " ...
reveals that he had lied. In truth, Ted had contacted Stella, Victoria, and Jeanette to locate Robin's missing locket. After calling Stella and failing to find the locket in
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, he learned that Victoria had taken the locket with her to
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. Victoria agreed to send the locket to Ted, but the package had been intercepted by Jeanette. In the present, Ted confesses to Robin that he and Victoria broke up because he was unwilling to end his friendship with Robin. A stunned Robin tells him that she would have been unhappy, but understanding and that she demands to know why Ted would give up Victoria for their friendship; he admits it is because, for him, there is no top 5 – only a top 1, which is Robin. It is revealed that Ted's attempt to recover Robin's locket had concluded when Jeanette dropped the locket into the river after, ironically, pointing out how irrational he is for being unwilling to let go of Robin. Ted and Robin end their evening watching the sunrise together and Ted finally lets go of Robin, who is shown flying away in his mind, but is still disappointed to learn that Robin thought he should have kissed her at the end of their
first date A first date is the initial meeting during the dating process of two individuals, in which an effort is made to ask about each other, plan a potential relationship, and/or organize some sort of romantic activity. Aims vary between finding a ...
.


Critical reception

Bill Kuchman of Popculturology gave the episode high marks, noting that it didn't just rehash previous episodes focusing on Ted and Robin's relationship. "There was never a 'will they or won’t they?' moment in this episode, a change from past Ted/Robin episodes like in last season's
Something Old "Something old" is the first line of a traditional rhyme that details what a bride should wear at her wedding for good luck: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a ilversixpence in her shoe. The old item ...
," Kuchman said. Jessica Goodman from the ''
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'' gave a positive review, although she criticized a few scenes from the episode: "This week, "Sunrise" catapulted us back to present day in Season 9, the morning of Robin and Barney's wedding. The shenanigans we've come to expect from the final season were back – some in an "ugh" kind of way (ahem ghosts) – but Ted's confession left me in a sweet spot." Donna Bowman of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' graded the episode an A. Max Nicholson of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
gave the episode 7.0/10, saying it was definitely engaging, and sometimes even funny, but it also ended on an irritating note.


References


External links

* {{How I Met Your Mother episodes, 9 How I Met Your Mother season 9 episodes 2014 American television episodes