If How I Met Your Mother had a different title or premise, I think I'd still be perfectly fine with it. The writing is loaded with jokes and the characters remain as likable as they were in the beginning. I laugh at everything, the smallest of gags or stupidest of lines.
When it comes to Ted actually meeting the Mother, the show has taken a huge detour, stretching out the time for Ted to find his bride for the sake of keeping the show on air longer. There's been plenty of misdirects, never anything substantial. "Big Days" essentially does the same, dangling out a definite possibility, a flash forward to Future Ted at a wedding and a woman who could be Cindy's roommate in present-time. If the presumed facts add up, we have the Mother. Except the endgame is still years later, and like the 20 instances before, everything crumbles. Cindy kisses the woman, and they later adopt a girl together. And Ted is actually the best man at the wedding, though he does meet the Mother at the wedding. Notably absent from the future: Barney and Robin. Maybe their wedding?
In the present, there was plenty of material to keep the episode afloat, even if Ted's story was another foregone conclusion. Lily and Marshall try to get pregnant, despite Marshall's father barging in. Robin comes into the episode in a filthy heap, coming off her break up, but in 14 seconds, sheds her exterior and nabs a guy. Meanwhile, Barney sits back and does what he does best--make us laugh.
Score: 9.0/10
