What a nice thing to say to me, thank you and THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION. The resounding answer is the free pass scene. You'll see it in episode 103, which is called FREE PASS, for this exact reason. Do you have a scene you're excited to see?

On the other question, yes. Lizzy was far cooler than I think I wrote Libby. Claire was kinder to Rachel than I thought a person would be. Jesse was unflinching in a way that I think a lesser actor would have tried to be cuddlier. Adam gave Seth so much depth; I have a friend who thought Seth in the book was an extraneous character (which is mean, Anna) but watching the show, she now understands what he's doing there. That's all Adam.. Josh was a great surprise because my kids are watching HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER now and seeing him take on such a grown-up role was a revelation; I was grateful he did it. All these variations were executed by the actors but done under the auspices of our incredible directors. What actors do when they love their directors is quite moving and beautiful to me.

- Taffy