How I Met Your Mother Season 9 - Worth the Wait After All?

I am so reluctant to give How I Met Your Mother any more attention that it already has, especially after their Emmy Awards infiltration. But I should acknowledge that, based on last week's season premiere, Cristin Milioti may have been the best casting decision in recent sitcom history. I mean that. I don't think a character's introduction has ever been so (long) anticipated.

Source: facebook.com/HowIMetYourMotherCBS

Her chemistry with Alyson Hannigan's "Lily" was particularly compelling. Milioti brought an energy to the show that made her scenes contrast starkly with Barney's tired tropes. 

The best part of Milioti's performance was its effortlessness. Rather than seeming to be a character who was defined by all the things the audience knew about her, she was a character who happened to include those things. 

I was somewhat less impressed with Milioti's scenes with Josh Radnor's "Ted." But I suspect their chemistry will develop over time. 

So while the premiere of How I Met Your Mother continued in many of the shenanigans that made me so angry last season, the introduction of the titular "mother," whose name we still don't know, gives me hope. Hope that maybe - just maybe - this final season won't be so bad after all.