How I Met Your Mother

[LoudClearVoice]

It takes a lot to stir up emotion in me when watching fake reality, but I'll admit I teared up when Cristin Milioti said two words:



The essence of what makes us as human beings is the relationships we develop. When a relationship ends, be it by choice or happenstance, there is seemingly always a paradigm shift in our lives. In this case, 'The Mother' gave up on leaving her apartment for two years, and on love altogether. She believed that everyone gets but one chance at love, and when Max died, she lost hers.

The challenge now for the writers of the show is to make Ted as loveable to Milioti's Mother as Max was, a reason for her paradigm to shift. A reason for her to love again. Regarding Max, he didn't give her things she wanted. He-as should be the case in any relationship built on love- gave her things that she needs. And that, in life, is what makes relationships special. People who are able to give us what we need, whether we realize we need them or not. How will Ted be able to do the same?

Huge props to Milioti as she owned what was easily the best episode of the year, and perhaps, in years. The range she displayed with a character over the course of about 20 minutes gave her depth, understanding, and character development from the audience's perspective that usually takes weeks, months, and even years for us to get sometimes with regards to characters. Milioti was able to shine in a way that showed versatility that is very rarely seen. She's got a loveable quirkiness, not beautiful, adorable instead. Most importantly, for a character we hardly know, the ability to bring strong emotion in the blink of an eye.

I thought I'd be bothered by the (virtual) exclusion of the main cast, but I barely noticed, and even moreso, I didn't care. Milioti was that darn good, and I can't wait to see the moment that brings her and Ted together.

Great analysis. I agree with all your points. The episode really provided depth to The Mother, which I was afraid we weren't going to get. The one big secret they're still keeping is The Mother's name. We probably won't find that out until the final moments at the train station.

I thought the episode did a great job of filling in the backstory of the parts Future Ted told us about and we saw. They showed us how close they came to meeting several times and actually we saw that she laughed at Ted's joke in front of the class, the first time she saw him.

While I haven't loved this season, I do think it's gotten much better and I like how they've shown us flashforwards with Ted and The Mother. This was briliant because now they can close out the series with the two actually meeting for the first time rather than showing them meeting and then showing a montage of flashforwards about their life together (which is what I thought they'd do).

 

[Akhilleus]

I loved the last episode. I'm not sure if I can call it my favorite episode in the entire series, but it is definitely up there as one. I love the crossovers from the previous episodes where they showed us a different side of the stories we once saw. It was also nice to get to know The Mother a little more, because as of now we haven't gotten a whole lot. We have gotten a little, but it was nice to have a whole episode dedicated to her.

I'm glad that we are now all caught up for the most part with The Mother's back story in the series.

One thing I actually didn't care for with the episode was how they portrayed her boyfriend Max's death. I assumed something bad had happened when she got the phone call, but it wasn't clear enough for me. I wish they had put a little more attention into that specific moment.

Not only was this episode very serious, but it also had the normal level of comedy that episodes usually have. In fact I might have laughed out loud more often this episode than I have for awhile.

The best part of it all is while although this episode seems like the beginning of the end for our favorite show, this is actually still eight whole episodes left and I'm going to savor each and every one of them.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Ted and the mother have a lot of nerve. From what we've seen in the flash forwards they frequent Farhampton as a vacation spot. Do they have no decency? They could bump in to Lewis at any time. He owns a house (a kick ass awesome house that is probably worth about $4m and looked eerily set up similarly to Marshall and Lily's old house) there. What is the matter with these people? It's a big world, they can go any where to vacation but they choose to go somewhere where it is very possible to run in to poor, rejected Lewis. Plus how weird is it that Ted choose to propose to her at the lighthouse? She can probably see Lewis' house from there and she had probably been there with Lewis many times before.

Lewis deserves his own show. Not these people.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Ted and the mother have a lot of nerve. From what we've seen in the flash forwards they frequent Farhampton as a vacation spot. Do they have no decency? They could bump in to Lewis at any time. He owns a house (a kick ass awesome house that is probably worth about $4m and looked eerily set up similarly to Marshall and Lily's old house) there. What is the matter with these people? It's a big world, they can go any where to vacation but they choose to go somewhere where it is very possible to run in to poor, rejected Lewis. Plus how weird is it that Ted choose to propose to her at the lighthouse? She can probably see Lewis' house from there and she had probably been there with Lewis many times before.

Lewis deserves his own show. Not these people.

You need to let Lewis go. The Mother did.


I still can't get over the last episode. I mean it is prolly one of the best I have seen in recent times on a sitcom and in a weird way, I can't watch it again. If that makes sense. Kinda reminds of the episode when Lily tells Marshal his dad died. Good lord were those two good albeit for like minutes outside McLaren's.



P.S. I keep hearing La Vie A Rose in the distance and awaiting love. Georgy hold me.

 

[CH David]

It tugged at my heartstrings. It was cool to see just where she was during those moments in Ted's life. In the class where Ted thought he was teaching architecture, bathroom in the roommate's apartment, the next room over in Farhampton.

When she said no to Lewis, holy balls I felt bad. Stuff like that is tough for me to watch. Though seeing George talk about how his place was there and her and Ted always visit. What if he sold the place?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Though seeing George talk about how his place was there and her and Ted always visit. What if he sold the place?

I've had some time to think about this and I've come to the conclusion that I clearly missed the subtext in the scenes with Lewis. Obviously he killed the family from Poughkeepsie that vacationed in that home during the summer. He covered himself in their blood and buried their bodies behind the dry wall of each member's bedroom. He then brought an immigrant family from the Czech Republic to Poughkeepsie and burnt them and the other families home all at once so when the coroners examined the Czech families' bodies he assumed that the original family had died in their home.

But here's where things got interesting. Lewis then got his hands on the family's will and threatened their attorney to change the will so that the estate and assets of the family went to a mysterious distant relative or else Lewis would expose the attorney's internet history to his wife. Unbeknownest but possibly assumed by the attorney "Lewis" had secretly locked this relative a week earlier in the cargo hold of a ship he would litter with explosives that were set to go off approximately half way through their journey from Seattle to Bangladesh. He burnt his finger tips off with acid and then used something similar to those iron-ons you could put on to a t-shirt to create new finger prints that matched those of the distant relative. Out of greater fear the attorney had no problem instructing the executor of the will to award everything the original family had to Lewis.

This would all be uncovered in the secret 10th season of HIMYM about 14 weeks in to Ted and the Mother's relationship making Farhampton a wonderful place to be again with no distractions.

Oh, and Lewis also killed Max after he denied his sexual advances. I can't believe it took me so long to figure all this out. Plus he wasn't in the mood for the singing english muffin, so fuck that guy's feelings.

Nice episode, very sweet, fun, and sad. I hope we see more of the original roommate.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

@GSB - At least Ted didn't make a movie about Lewis calling it the Wedding Bride 2.

Anyways I thought Mondays episode hit all the right marks. In 22 minutes they made me give a big shit about the mother and Max, a character we haven't even seen. I've heard a few people criticize who was picked to be the mother but after Monday I can't imagine anyone feeling that way anymore. The mother NAILED it, simple as that and even made me tear up a few times during the episode. Her goeodby talk with Max was absolutely heart-wreching only to follow it by crushing Lewis. Sometimes you just don't love someone and although she obviously likde Lewis but she knew he wasn't right for her (where 1 year later she couldn't wait to say yes to Ted) so she had to do what she had to do.

Its easy to see her and teds chemistry even before they had a single interaction, she fits in well with all of the friends (only Robin to go) and although their similarities went a little too far her story compliments Teds story as well. They are both trying to get over someone, to the pointu they almost give up on love, they both feel they've lost their true love but in 8 episodes they're hitting each others reset buttons on loving again and I for one can't wait.

 

[jmt225]

So last night's episode was great.

I'm curious though... when Ted started getting emotional when YM said, "Who misses their daughter's wedding?" did anyone else interrupt that as YM is dying and is going to miss their daughter's (who I think would have been 11/12 at the time) wedding? I think that plus YM mentioning about how she's worried Ted lives in the past too much gives an indication that she won't be around much longer after that 2024 scene we saw last night, as a way of trying to tell him that when she's gone, don't continue to live in the past with these stories and go on and make new stories.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

And the Wedding Bride Too makes an appearance, I was waiting for that.

I just finished watching the episode and thought it was solid. I forget who on these forums made the prediction that the mother was dead by the time Ted told his kids the story and after last nights episode it seems likely that prediction was accurate (whoever called it good on you). I saw the ending last last night and the first thing I thought was Ted's mother died before his wedding but after paying attention to it, and after watching the whole episode I don't think that's the route at all. At this point I'm pretty much convinced the Mother doesn't make it to 2030 (or maybe Ted and the Mother at that point think she's dead but ends up making a full recovery. I don't see that happening but its possible).

It's a bit of a somber way to end the show no question (it also makes me wonder how they would do the How I Met Your Father spin off if she is dead. Did she write a book about it before she died or something?) but at the end it really doesn't matter. The fun of the show is getting to the meeting of the 2. Although its sad knowing Ted loses the love of his life so early it doesn't take away from the show in any way.

Anyways great episode, only 4 left and I'm getting more and more excited to see how it all wraps up.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Solid episode last night. These last few episodes have really been good, IMO.

As far as The Mother being dead or dying. I think there are more clues than ever now, as some of you pointed out. I recall an interview where the writers said that the ending is "heartbreaking but satisfying."
I was off the mother being dead bandwagon for awhile but now based on these latest hints, I'm starting to get back on that bandwagon.

 

[Blade]

I think the mother is dying in 2024 and dead by 2030. Ted's reaction to the daughter's wedding line, and the mother's subsequent reaction to Ted's reaction really made me feel it.

Some people are saying that Ted was crying because his own mother couldn't make it to his wedding, which is really stupid. 2024 is like eight years after they get married, would Ted still be crying about it eight years later? Furthermore, wouldn't the Mother have apologised for upsetting her husband by reminding him of his death mother?

So, the mother dying is a possibility. Ted dying is a possibility, but a lesser one, admittedly. The one other possibility from this episode is that maybe they had a second daughter who died, and Ted never really got over it? Ted's narration never explicitly says he's only ever had two kids. I know that's clutching at straws, but the HIMYM writers are famous for their misdirects. And now that people are expecting the Mother to die, why not swerve them and reveal that they had a second daughter who died?

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think the mother is dying in 2024 and dead by 2030. Ted's reaction to the daughter's wedding line, and the mother's subsequent reaction to Ted's reaction really made me feel it.

Some people are saying that Ted was crying because his own mother couldn't make it to his wedding, which is really stupid. 2024 is like eight years after they get married, would Ted still be crying about it eight years later? Furthermore, wouldn't the Mother have apologised for upsetting her husband by reminding him of his death mother?

So, the mother dying is a possibility. Ted dying is a possibility, but a lesser one, admittedly. The one other possibility from this episode is that maybe they had a second daughter who died, and Ted never really got over it? Ted's narration never explicitly says he's only ever had two kids. I know that's clutching at straws, but the HIMYM writers are famous for their misdirects. And now that people are expecting the Mother to die, why not swerve them and reveal that they had a second daughter who died?

Since this is just a rumor, and not a spoiler, I'll post:

There are some rumors that Barney dies in the end (presumably Future Barney). One of the reasons is because every time they show a flash forward with Future Ted, Future Lilly, Future Marshall, etc. they never show "Future Barney." Also, the way Future Ted talks to his kids about Barney, sometimes he makes it sound like they don't really know or didn't know Barney. He says things like "What you have to understand about your Uncle Barney is.... "

The theory is that if Barney dies and the Mother dies, then Ted and Robin could end up together but I'm not buying it. The "clues" about Barney dying seem too far-fetched.

I'm anxious to see how these final episodes play out as what we know from the producers is: Ted and The Mother do finally meet at the train station (this is likely when we'll find out what the Mother's name is), the wedding goes "horribly wrong" but Barney and Robin do get married. How is this all going to play out?

Also, is the final scene going to be the fateful meeting at the train station or will it be The Mother's funeral or something? (this is assuming she dies).

 

[JamJam]

DEM FEELS were really working last night when I was watching this episode of HIMYM. Does anyone else think that Ted is the one who's gonna die? When the mother said that he needs to stop living in the his past stories, it kind of made me think that Ted has some sort of disease that makes you forget things which I can probably be very wrong about. But yeah, if this episode is any indication, it does look like the mother doesn't make it until the end. Hard to believe that there are only a handful of episodes left and still so many unanswered questions.

Since this is just a rumor, and not a spoiler, I'll post:

There are some rumors that Barney dies in the end (presumably Future Barney). One of the reasons is because every time they show a flash forward with Future Ted, Future Lilly, Future Marshall, etc. they never show "Future Barney." Also, the way Future Ted talks to his kids about Barney, sometimes he makes it sound like they don't really know or didn't know Barney. He says things like "What you have to understand about your Uncle Barney is.... "

The theory is that if Barney dies and the Mother dies, then Ted and Robin could end up together but I'm not buying it. The "clues" about Barney dying seem too far-fetched.

I'm anxious to see how these final episodes play out as what we know from the producers is: Ted and The Mother do finally meet at the train station (this is likely when we'll find out what the Mother's name is), the wedding goes "horribly wrong" but Barney and Robin do get married. How is this all going to play out?

Also, is the final scene going to be the fateful meeting at the train station or will it be The Mother's funeral or something? (this is assuming she dies).

If this happens, I'm not sure how I'll feel about this. I mean, so much went on with Ted and Robin that I really don't want them to be together in the end. I think that the HIMYM writers are just fooling us into thinking that the mother died. She probably had cancer then recovered later on, hopefully!

 

[Mustang Sally]

I've watched the show sporadically over the years but picked it up since the introduction of YM. The girl melts me; she cancels out all the years I spent hoping Ted would wind up with Robin.....because if I were given the task of casting the woman who would be the mother of Ted's children, this girl is the one I would pick. From everything we've learned about Ted over the years, I can't think of anyone in the world with whom I'd rather he end up.

For that reason, I can't imagine why the producers of HIMYM would want to kill her off in the end. If there's a theme that's run through the entire series, it's hope.....for Ted. Hope that he'd wind up happy. Hope that he'd find the girl who was perfect for him.

I wanted it to be Robin, even though Ted kept referring to her as "Aunt" Robin when speaking to his kids. Once I finally accepted it wouldn't be her, I was completely prepared to hate whomever it turned out to be.....until YM showed up.

After all the years of hope.....which were finally fulfilled.....they'd kill the Mother?

No. If it happens, I march in protest on CBS.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

No. If it happens, I march in protest on CBS.

I just started a Twitter account for everyone attending the next taping of the show #hijackHIMYM. We are going to go and chant stuff like the mother's name. Oh wait, we don't know the mother's name. Well, we'll think of something to chant. The producers and writers will hear our wrath and be forced to not kill The Mother. That's what we'll chant, "The Mother! The Mother! The Mother'".

This one hits close to home. As someone who lost their mom as a kid and someone who has watched an infinite amount of television in his life, I can't believe I didn't pick up on the dialog that the mom may be dying. It wasn't until I came here yesterday that I picked up on the possibility. I hope they don't go down this route. It's basically been a happy show and I want it to end that way.

I would prefer that we find out that Bob Saget stole the mom from whiney Ted in 2028. Moved in to Ted's house and won love and affection from Ted's kids and the rest of the gang. Ted now works at a dry cleaner and is dating a Princess Leia cardboard cutout.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'd love for Blade's second daughter's death prediction to come true, not because I enjoy the death of children, but because it would mean that The Mother and Ted end up together till eternity and Ted getting the happiness he deserves. HIMYM is a sitcom, not a crime drama like Sopranos or Breaking Bad, and a show that is famous for it's feel good moments. I just don't see how an ending where someone is unhappy would be fitting.

But it is often true that the simplest explanation is the correct one and the best explanation to The Mother's dialogue in Vesuvius is that she is dying. I'd hate it to happen but even if it does happen, it is important for Ted not to hook up with Robin later. If he does not hook up with Robin, I guess it would be an OK ending which kind of goes with Ted's character. He met the love of his life after waiting for a really long time, did not get to spend a hell lot of time with her but is content to live with the memories that she has given him without wanting another woman in his life.

But let's just hope that does not happen.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I enjoyed Monday's epsiode.

I liked the twist about

Spoiler

Lily being pregnant with a girl who we later found out to be named Daisy

.

I think this coming epsiode will take us to the point we've seen with Ted and Marshall outside the church and Ted peeling the labels off his beer bottles before Lily calls him in and it starts to rain and then also the part where Robin wonders if she can escape out the window in her dress I saw a promo pic on CBS's webpage that shows Barney, Robin, and the officiant, presumably about to say their vows.

 

[Akhilleus]

I actually dislike the fact that Marshall gave up his dream on becoming a judge. I just never liked the idea of them moving to Italy and away from the gang. Wouldn't it have been better for all of them for the family to stay in New York, for Marshall to become a judge, and for the gang to get back together? I'm also the type of person that would say law > art, so of course I can't really appreciate Lily's dream and career. I'm hoping that they end up working it in somehow where they both win, where Lily gets her job, and then Marshall later returns to become a judge.

 

[Blade]

I don't think it's so bad that Marshall agreed to move to Italy. That Italy thing seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. If Marshall has already been offered a judge position at such a young age, surely he'll be offered the job again later, when they're back in America.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Was never sure what qualified to make Marshall a judge in the first place. He seemed to have very limited courtroom experience. This is pre-Deblasio time we are talking about. No way Bloomberg's minions are fasttracking a young failed environmental litigator with past experience at GNB. If anything we need to learn that Barney pulled some strings and got him that job.

Come on writers this is like seeing Daniel Bryan go over a robot.

I hope they make Chris Elliott living in Italy a spinoff. The man is a comic genius and I use the term 'genuis' very loosely. But still, check out the stuff he did with Letterman 25 years ago. Good stuff.

 

[InsomniaMusic]

I would say that Lilys is a once in a lifetime opportunity

Marshall is young and could return and still get a judgeship.


Plus trust me as someone who is involved in the arts I will give this advice to anyone.

NEVER BE THE REASON YOUR PARTNER DOESN'T GET THERE DREAM.

I don't like that we get to to meet the mother. I didn't want to know who she was until the last moment when he says kids and that's how I met your mother.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

As we wind down, I was thinking about who or what I'm going to miss most from the show. The answer is simple: Barney Stinson. All the other characters, even Ted, were interchangeable, IMO but not Barney. NPH played the character perfectly and I think we can all relate as we probably all have or had a Barney Stinson in our group of friends. Barney's antics were so ridiculous but yet so entertaining. As the show went on, Barney evolved but he was always Barney at heart.

 

[jmt225]

Well, I'd say 70% of the fans of this show absolutely HATE the finale, while 29% thought it was perfect, and there's that small 1% who's somewhere in the middle. I'm apart of that small 1%.

I totally get why people hated it. It seemed like such a cop out of an ending, for the show's point to be wrapped up as "Ted loves Robin." The Mother, Tracy, got such a horrible deal and it was just washed over like it was nothing. The Barney stuff was strange, and we really got zero info on Marshall and Lily's future except that Marshall does eventually become a judge.

I don't know, man. Like I said, I understand the hate it's all getting, but I'm just not feeling that hate myself. I'm also not feeling anything good about the finale either. I guess I just need to let it sink in a bit before I truly feel one way or another. Maybe sometime down the line I'll watch the series again and then really come to a conclusion about it. But for now, all I can say is that I'll miss the show, but I feel completely indifferent about the finale.

 

[Alastor]

I'm also part of the small 1%. The mother's ending was obvious to me since last season's time travellers episode. Just disappointed that I didn't get the obvious signs that the story was always meant to reunite the original couple. I was hoodwinked by the wedding red herring. I might need to rewatch one of the earlier episodes where future Lilly and future Robin were together discussing about Lilly's eldest child again for any clues. (or mistakes! )

I don't know why some expected the writers to provide the main focus to a character that was only introduced in the 9th and last season. I guess people just hated it cause it wasn't a fairytale ending. But if they were true fans of the show, they should have realized by now that the show was always slightly dark with bittersweet moments.

 

[Vageena Hertz]

So old Ted sounded like Bob Saget all the way through the show and at the end he sounded normal? Also can't believe the mother dies. That was a bit shitty.