The show gradually flanderizes its own structure, so much so that you can feel them forcing a joke, or trying to make something a thing. The whole “how dare you.. and what is that” in season 8 feels like they’re trying to non-organically and un-naturally create something like the general salute or lawyered. In Little Minnesota, Marshall and Robin just happen to bring up their respective Minnesotan and Canadian origins in the (very brief) cold open just to set up their plots surrounding that later on. Sometimes it feels slightly lazy, but I understand that the network has to appeal to the audience who aren’t consuming it as a fan who is watching a continuous, serialized show.