I'll have to go back and find it, but I thought I read a tweet from Alan Sepinwall over the weekend from that industry conference that the creators intend on having us meet the mother at the end of the show's run. Seems like extending it another season for monetary reasons is putting the show in a pickle.

edit: It was the CBS President:


http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-wat...mother-renewal

While I don't feel we need a whole new season just to work up to it, I like the idea of meeting her in the series finale.

I woiuld have agreed with that idea a couple seasons ago. Now it just feels like they are stretching it out WAY too long. The phrase "jumped the shark" comes to mind.

They have already begun screwing up what could have been some awesome moments with these "flash forwards". If they put it off until the finale they are going to have a lot of people who will tune out until the finale and then only watch that.

I hope we can get a spinoff series called "Why I Cheated On Your Mother".

I'm borrowing bits of my idea from some comments on the avclub, but I think we almost have to have time with the mother, which I've always said, if only because we have to know why she's the one he ended up with. All we've seen so far is that she has qualities Ted has always thought he wanted: she plays bass, she likes The Unicorns, other things I don't recall.

The problem is, we've been shown why Robin was really the perfect girl for Ted, because she had everything he didn't know he wanted. He's pined for her for 8 years. They can't just have him meet the mother and convince me that because she has all of these qualities he adored in his mid to late 20's, that that is what makes her perfect for him.

I will say, the episodes have been a vast improvement over the last 2-3 compared to the earlier episodes of the season.

And the show is back to crap again.

Yeah, this week was mostly crap. But I DO love when they do musical numbers. So Robin's little musical number was a high point.

/tk

Well, we knew Barney's half sister would come up in the story at some point in the future, as they referenced her a couple years for some kind of reason. A part of me will wonder if the creators did intend for her to be the mother all along (a non 20 year old version) but called an audible when people started speculating about that scenario online.

He should meet the mother at the end of this season. Then the final season should be the courtship.

But, they never listen to me, so who knows what they will do.

Well even if they didn't, I think they obviously threw her 20 something story line in so people would stop silly speculation that she could be the mother. Personally, I thought it was kind of fun - esp the invisible Robin stuff.

CBS confirms next year is the final season. Yay!

‘How I Met Your Mother’ Renewed for Final Season - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers

Two years too late.

Holy shit the Canadian montage was one of the funniest things I have ever seen on this show.

Getting all those people to do guest appearances was absolutely amazing. I lost it when Dave Coulier did "Cut. It. Out." and Bob Sagat as the voice over mentioned how much he liked that bit.

Yeah - Dave Coulier was hilarious. :)

Agreed. That episode as was very good.

Liked the montage. Though I liked the previous Sparkles video better, that one was just too funny.

Best HIMYM in a LONG time.

Agreed. I was a little annoyed during the introduction about another "Ted meets a woman and is vague about whether or not its the mother and it turns out they're fucking with us again" moment, but I quickly got over it. Nicely done.

I wouldnt say theyre fucking with us or being vague, we know how he meets the mother.

Yeah, that's a good point, I wasn't thinking about that, I take it back :D

Also if you notice at the voice over in the end he mentions every guy meets one mistake right before he meets the one (or something like that). So it looks like this is the last relationship before the mother is met.

Oh I was just talking about the first 5 minutes. I'm probably overly sensitive to even little turns at this point due to my feelings about the last 2 or 3 seasons.

Great, great episode.

Barney focused ep FTW... seriously, that Fortress of Barnitude was awesome!

the best was when he handed the woman the list of things that set off the sprinklers...i was laughing so hard that i had to rewind to hear the next line

And then "I'm so wet" turned it off :D

Yep, that episode was nonsensical in the right sort of way for this show. Several cuts better than most of what has been foisted upon viewers for the past couple of seasons.

So I'm expecting in no more than 6 weeks that we get to meet the mother, otherwise I'm done with this show and all the gooffy-ass jerking around of us the viewing audience that it does.

You wont even give them the full 45 days they said in the show?

I suppose that's true...7 weeks. LOL.

But I'm guessing it won't correlate otherwise they would have made it a # divisible by 7.

Good episode. As some of the AV club commentariat put it, it would make a lot of sense if either the mother was dead when Ted was telling his kids this story (thus the 45 days more) or Ted was terminally sick ("to the end and beyond"); but that seems awfully dark for a sitcom (we like to pretend everyone lives happily ever after).

I can't imagine they would go down this road. I just took it as he had 45 days between that decision and meeting her and he just wished it could have started right then.

If you were the writers and you wanted the ratings, what is the better option? Reveal the mother at the end of this season so people will tune in next season to see the courting and ultimately a series finale of a wedding? Reveal the mother at the start of next season and follow the same story line? Wait to reveal the mother until the last episode of the series?

I think another point that is missed is Ted referred to Marshal and Lilly's baby as their cousin which means the idea of continually referring to these people as aunt and uncle as just a term of endearment is not the case?

I'm not sure that means anything. I've seen families that use the term cousin as a term of endearment as well for kids of close family friends.

Really? That surprises me I guess.

I loved how well the episode pivoted from the general silliness with the time traveling/dancing to just utter despair when it was revealed Ted was all alone, then transitioning to the hopeful feeling when he delivered the monologue at the mother's apartment. Ted sold the hell out of it all.

The despair and monologue were good - the time traveling/dancing thing was classic "annoying HIMYM" IMO.

I agree, but I think it would be a brave decision to that - why else would all of this make sense? Why tell this story otherwise? I think there's 0.001% chance that it happens like that, but would make more sense and add real poignancy.

PS - I think the mother is revealed end of this season, and next season is all about the courtship, culminating in Ted's wedding to Barney's half-sister.

If they don't reveal the mother this season after the big speech by Ted in last night's episode people (including myself) will go insane.

dola, spending next season on the courtship with the mother, if its done well, would redeem the show in the eyes of many I imagine. I really want to see this happen.

I'm of the opinion that they should have the last episode of the series be meeting the mother and never showing her face. But there are too many loose ends to do that, which is sad. The interaction will be too obvious and it will be hard to convey pain or hurt because we know it's going to happen anyways.

Maybe Ted and the mom are contemplating divorce and that's why the story is being told?

I think we met Barney's half sister earlier this season. We still haven't met Zoe's stepdaughter. That might explain The Captain's reappearance

I think the biggest unanswered question is "How I turned into Bob Saget"

Fantastic episode. Loved all that kookiness of the bar was revealed to be sad Ted's memories. Sometimes things do tend to happen that way and you are the only one of your friends at a bar remembering the old days.


Wow... talk about a potentially amazing ending!

Think bigger gut punch.

I got the vibe that Mom may have passed away, too.

I dunno if I get that vibe.

Let's get really off the wall though while we're at it: Ted meets mom. Mom is dying. Ted and Mom get married. Mom freezes eggs. Mom dies. Ted has babies made from frozen eggs and his sperm...kids never have even met their mother.

Wow.

Let's hope they just play this straight.