Last Words

Written by Don Gregory

The latest episode of "How I Met Your Mother" may not be the best episode of the series, but it is definitely my favorite. After the last episode had left off with Marshall's father's death, I was anxious to see how the comedy sitcom would handle such a grim theme. While watching it with my wife last Monday on satellite tv dvr, I found myself thinking that they probably could have done a much better job with the episode. Then the last scene came about and just like the movie "The Sixth Sense," one scene made the entire episode legendary.
The episode centers around the funeral, it's theme and how inadequate it feels to be the friend of someone who has had a family member pass away. Wanting to someone aid Marshall in his grief, the gang takes on roles. Robin becomes the person who has things -- from booze to firecrackers. Lily becomes Marshall's mother's "bitch" and let's his mom repeatedly lash out at her. Ted and Barney decide to try to make Marshall laugh with viral videos of people getting hit in the balls. The theme of the funeral is decided to be the last words that Marshall's father spoke to each of his family members. Marshall has a breakdown after he realizes his father's last words to him were something akin to watching "Crocodile Dundee 3." However, once his phone is charged he realizes that his dad left him a message. He debates whether to listen to the message only to learn it's a pocket dial -- or is it?