(S03E01) Welcome to season three of How I Met Your Mother. If you read my Early Look post on the season premiere, you'll know that season three picks up where season two left off.

Well, kinda. Yes, Robin and Ted have gone their separate ways after a year together. Yes, Marshall and Lily have just gotten married (and I guess are back from their honeymoon, but they never say).

But something didn't happen --at least not right at the start of the episode -- that I think almost every HIMYM fan expected to happen.

When we last left the group of five intrepid twenty-somethings from How I Met Your Mother, Ted and Barney were smoking cigars after Lily and Marshall's wedding. Ted had just finished telling the tale of how he and Robin broke up. And, after some uncharacteristic sympathy, Barney gets all charged up about being a wingman for Single Ted. The season ends with Barn launching into his signature line: "Ted, my boy, this is going to be legend... wait for it..."

Well, we waited all summer. And Carter Bays and Craig Thomas know how long we waited; they named the third season premiere, which airs on CBS at 8 PM ET on Monday, "Wait For It." Was it worth the wait? Some non-spoilery thoughts after the jump.