"Last Words" is the 14th episode of the sixth season of the American television sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The episode was written by series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, and was directed by Pamela Fryman. It originally aired on January 17, 2011, on CBS to an audience of 10.51 million viewers, the highest ratings of the season. Upon airing, the episode received generally positive reviews from critics for its comedy and subject matter; it has received thematic analysis from both scholars and critics.
The gang travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to attend the funeral of Marshall's father Marvin. Marshall's mother, Judy, keeps herself distracted and has not eaten or slept in two days. Lily offers to help Judy, which results in Judy yelling at her before taking a nap. Robin accidentally gives alcohol to Marshall's teenaged cousin, however Lily takes the blame allowing Judy to vent all her emotions. Finally, an exhausted Judy eats and rests.
The theme of Marvin's funeral is "last words". However, Marshall is reluctant to tell his story as his last conversation with his father was about renting Crocodile Dundee 3, while the stories told by his family are very touching and inspiring. After charging his phone, Marshall discovers that he has a voicemail from his father. Wary about listening to the message, he asks the gang what their father's last words to them would be; they realize that none of them would have anything special to say.
During the service, after hearing stories told by Judy, Marcus, and Marvin Jr., Marshall's turn to speak at the memorial service comes. He impulsively goes out to hear his father's message, which appears to be a pocket dial. An outraged Marshall says how much his father meant to him and how unfair it is that his last message to him was a "pocket dial". However, as he continues to rant, Marvin's voice jokes about his mistake, before telling Marshall that he enjoyed his visit before saying "I love you". He keeps his father’s real message private and instead tells everyone that the last thing his father said to him was to rent Crocodile Dundee 3. Judy thanks Lily for helping her throughout the service, resolving their strained relationship. After reflecting on the service, Ted, Lily, and Robin call their fathers to have meaningful conversations with them. Meanwhile, Barney calls his mother and tells her that he is ready to meet his father.
Production
"Last Words" was written by series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.[1] It was directed by Pamela Fryman who directed nearly every episode of the series,[2] and was the fourteenth episode of the season to be filmed.[1] The closing moments of the episode feature Barney attempting to contact his absent father;[3][4] Barney's father had first been mentioned in How I Met Your Mother's second season.[5] The character, later named Jerome Whittaker, was formally introduced later in the season in "Legendaddy".[6]
Suzie Plakson and Chris Elliott reprise their roles as Marshall's mother Judy and Lily's father Mickey, respectively.[11]Danny Strong guest stars as Marshall's childhood bully Trey.[8] According to Harris, Eric Braeden was set to reprise his role as Robin Scherbatsky Sr, Robin's father, but backed out at the last minute, claiming that his cameo appearance was not "substantial" enough. The character was recast as Ray Wise who remained in the role through the remainder of the series.[12] Harris publicly criticized Braeden's decision over Twitter calling him a "D-Bag". Braeden told Deadline Hollywood that while he enjoyed working on the series, he ultimately pulled out as he felt overworked with his role on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. He noted that he had never met Harris while working on How I Met Your Mother.[13][14] In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, he described Harris as a "little boy" who "needs to be spanked".[14]
Analysis
The episode's overall impact on the series has been compared to an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
The main theme of the episode is how quickly death can come, as seen by the abrupt reveal of Marshall's father dying at the end of the previous episode, "Bad News", and how soon the funeral comes in the series' timeline.[15] Author Elize de Mul felt the episode represented how looking for "linear narrative[s]" in life could be worthless in the long run. She asserts that Marshall's struggle to come up with meaningful last words showcases how the series was able to differentiate itself from other sitcoms, and instead uses different types of storytelling to get it's theming of identity and purpose across.[16] Henry Hanks of CNN.com's Marquee Blog compared the episode's impact on the series to that of The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust", and the first episode of NewsRadio to air after Phil Hartman's death in 1998.[17] The episode contains much darker undertones than what is expected from the series, yet critic Erin Strecker felt this tonal switch was symbolic of how the series was able to blend slapstick humor and "a hit to the heart".[18]
Reception
"Last Words" was first aired on CBS in the United States on January 17, 2011, to an audience of 10.51 million viewers with a 3.9/9 share among adults 18-49. It was the most viewed broadcast in its 8 PM timeslot and fifth highest of the night overall. "Last Words" was the highest rated episode of the season.[19] It marked an increase in viewership from the previous episode, "Bad News", which drew in 10.15 million viewers, the previous season high.[20]
"Last Words" was met with generally positive reviews from critics. Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, noting it "unpretentious, unobtrusive, funny, balanced, and shot through with genuine feeling and unexpected grace".[15] Robert Canning of IGN rated the episode a 8.5 out of 10. He said the episode built on the momentum from "Bad News" and enjoyed the storyline, however he felt Barney and Ted's subplot was relatively weak.[3]
DeAnn Welker of Television Without Pity graded the episode at A.[4] In a review by the staff of Time, the episode was praised for the realistic premise and for "not backing down" from a series topic. However, they felt the episode had a strong ending, they felt the plot had "some rough patches". While they praised the major running gags were well done, Danny Strong's character was unfunny and the cutaway gag was boring.[21] Writing for Vulture, Phoebe Reilly praised the episodes handling of the subject matter, noting it easily could have felt hollow. However, she criticized some of the episode's gags as being overdone.[22]
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