Wait For It

How I Met Your Mother returns tonight. Last season ended with Barney's trademark line "Wait for it..." and cut to credits. So was three months worth the wait? Let's see...

Marshall and Lily are happily married. Ted grew a break-up beard. Barney needs a wingman, but Ted's not ready after his break-up with Robin. Robin went to Argentina and came back to the States with Enrique Iglesias in tow. So he's good looking and has an accent. Suddenly Ted's ready. He shaves and hits the bar with Barney, where he meets his own singer: Mandy Moore.

I like Mandy Moore. In a more than friends kind of way. But this isn't the Mandy Moore we've all grown to love. This isn't little Jamie Sullivan taking Ted on a walk to remember. No, no... this is anti-type-casting Mandy Moore, complete with fake tattoos and fishnet stockings. Didn't see that coming did ya? Well, you probably did if you saw any promos for the season premiere at all.

So, was "Wait For It" worth the wait? Sure. Was it the best episode of How I Met Your Mother? Not so much. Funny, yes, but I still give best episode status to the Slap Bet episode from last season. Good times. If you haven't seen that one you should check it out (Season 2 DVD on sale October 2nd).

Honestly, I wish they hadn't wrangled two big name guest stars for this episode. The best part about this show is the chemistry between our main characters. Mandy and Enrique just got in the way. Sure they advanced the plot a little, but did little for the overall comedy of the show. Also, shameless plug for Mandy Moore's new album.

The big reveal for the episode: the yellow umbrella. At the beginning, Old Ted is talking to his kids and, in what could be written off as a throw away line, mentions that they already know the short story of how he met their mother, involving a yellow umbrella. At the end, the camera pans outside the bar to the rainy sidewalk where dozens of black umbrellas pass by. And one yellow umbrella. So will season 3 see the introduction of the show's title character? One episode down, twentyish to go.