"How I Met Your Mother" season 8 is bringing back Robin Sparkles in the next episode, and on Tuesday, Jan. 29, we joined in on a conference call with Cobie Smulders and executive producer Craig Thomas to find out what's coming up not only in the next episode, "P.S. I Love You," but for the rest of the season as well.
Robin Sparkles' return. In "HIMYM" episode 815, Robin Sparkles does make a return appearance in the episode filled with the highest number of celebrity cameos ever on the show, almost all Canadians and most playing themselves, but it's "definitely a darker side of Robin Sparkles," Smulders told reporters, adding "it was a lot of fun." Thomas did call this "the appropriate next step of Robin Sparkles," as well as "a potential final chapter" and "fitting end" to her story. However, Smulders did say she was open to more. That chapter of her life has always had some affect on her and Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), and as Smulders explained, this time, that's still the case: "An argument comes up about having one become obsessed with another person. Robin reveals that she was very much obsessed with somebody in her past, she acted a little bit crazy, and it sort of makes Barney go out there and try to find who that person is until he becomes obsessed with finding this person. He goes on this mission and at the end of this mission, he finds this video."
Crazy versus love. Of course the entire gang is going to be very excited that there's more to see from the Canadian pop star, but that's not the only effect it will have on them. According to Thomas, "The central theme of this episode is obsession: what's the fine line between love and insanity, and can anyone become obsessed and stalker-y? Could that happen to anybody? And everybody's storyline in the episode falls under that one theme. So in the end, the story of Robin Sparkles and her new identity and her new song sheds light on all the rest of the gang and where they fall on that [fine] line of crazy or in love." In fact, Abby Elliot's Jeannette, Ted's (Josh Radnor) new girlfriend in this episode, plays a central role in this theme. She "sparks this entire episode, the debate of…what's charming and what's alarming, what kind of gesture counts as a grand romantic gesture of trying to win someone over and what counts as 'Oh my god, this person is f---ing insane.' So it's within that debate that all of this takes place."
The issue of kids. That's a topic that hasn't been addressed yet. As has been revealed, Robin can't have kids—and they even already said she doesn't have any kids (though that could just be kids of her own). So will it be covered? The EP did say it's something they'd like to cover, but it won't necessarily happen before the wedding: "I think ultimately Barney and Robin aren't the most touchy-feely couple that talks about every issue and would cover all of the ground before getting married, and they are on a pretty accelerated timeline towards getting married, so I think what's interesting is seeing, as the spring goes by, Robin and Barney realize all the topics that they do need to cover." After all, remember, they weren't even dating when they got engaged, and speaking of that accelerated timeline…
The wedding date is set. They've said the date—May 25, 2013—and they're not going to take it back, as Thomas revealed, "That will definitely happen. We are heading toward a set date. We said it on TV, and we will stick to it." So that doesn't give them too much time to talk about everything that should be on the plate to discuss with someone you're marrying.
Closing the door. One door that is not completely closed is Ted and Robin. "It's so built into the DNA of the show," Thomas shared. "Of course that dynamic has to be addressed again." And speaking of Ted's love life, when will The Mother be introduced? All the EP would say was, "It will happen before the series ends."
Those slaps have not been forgotten. There are still two slaps to be slapped, and they will happen at some point, according to the EP: "Ultimately on "How I Met Your Mother," we do have this bucket list of things we need to get to. One of those things was this installment, possibly the final, of Robin Sparkles, and there's two more slaps left. …We're hoping to pay off every loose end before the end of the series, whether that's sooner or later." But when will the end of the series be? Will it be in May or in at least another year?
Season 9. Nothing is official yet, but Thomas did say, "We'd be surprised if a deal weren't done shortly and we didn't have an announcement to make pretty soon. We feel confident about it, but we're still waiting," while Smulders added, "It's the greatest job on the planet, so it would be nice if it continued."
"How I Met Your Mother" season 8 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBS. What are you hoping to see in the rest of the season? Are you looking forward to more Robin Sparkles in "P.S. I Love You"?
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