How I Met Your Mother Season 8 has had some blah episodes this season, but they picked up with a constant pace from Episode 10, "The Over-Correction." The mystery surrounding the Swarley-Patrice "romance," tickled viewers to speculate what is really going on. Then the engagement happened, so viewers are hooked again.

The break-ups are over. The gang now has a wedding to look forward to. This same wedding will likely begin a season-long conclusion to the hit sitcom. It is good that show runners Carter Bays and Craig Thomas still have some tricks up their sleeves to deliver solid comedy week after week - even when fans pretty much know what is going to happen next. (Or do they?)

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This fan-created HIMYM meme was created when there were persistent rumours that Season 8 was going to be the show's final season. In fact, the show's creators had prepared two directions in 2012. Now a ninth season is almost official. (Image: FakePlus.com)

This week's episode, "Ring Up," showed some signs that How I Met Your Mother can still deliver better comedic dishes up to its final episode.

5. Ted is depressed. He is not showing huge signs about it, but he is extremely vulnerable right now. Sad Ted makes stupid decisions like dating a girl she absolutely has no connection with, not to mention she's barely legal. What crazy things would he do before he meets the one and piece things together?

4. Robin is adjusting to being committed again. From "I don't want to get married" in Season 1, Robin gets engaged a second time, but this time with the man she really couldn't get over with. Remember the time Robin and Barney broke up because they appeared to be so bad for each other? They're not wired for conventional relationships, but they love each other. More struggles, more romantic comedy. After all, they always come around in the end.

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3. Lily and Marshall are not some boring parents in a drama series. They are adjusting to parenthood, but they're still the same Lily and Marshall who deliver some of the best punch lines in the series.

2. Ted just dated a young girl -- Swarley's sister, no less. It's almost like Ross Geller of "Friends." A couple of seasons back, viewers learned the "mother" was in a class that Ted mistakenly attended. Will "Pretty Little Liars" star Ashley Benson eventually lead Ted to the mother? There must be a more-on-that-later between these two.

1. The gang is together. When the season premiered, Ted was always with Victoria. Barney and Robin were on their own separate paths to breaking up. Now they're a solid group again (ergo, comedy is stronger). And now it's time for Ted to keep looking - even as it kills him every day to see Robin and Barney happy with each other.

Also read:

How I Met Your Mother Season 8 Episode 13: Scherbatsky Sr Comes In, 7 Things Robin's Dad Must Know

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