I can see why it would make sense to have the mom passed away (why would the kids listen to this long convoluted story otherwise?). But knowing this show, it'll likely more of a happy ending type thing.

Yeah - I should have added that I hope this isn't the case at all - I want a happy, play-it-straight ending.

Are the kids twins?

How long has this fucking show been on the air and nobody has met the goddamn mother yet?

We know a decent amount about her and we've seen roughly how when and why they meet, we just haven't seen her face or heard her speak yet.

When we saw the Mom in the season premier ("Farhampton"), the music playing in the background was "The Funeral" by Band of Horses.

The kids's bemused expressions throughout the story would seem very strange to me if he was telling them about their dead mother whom he adored.

Also, the what-if scene where he would have married Stella (where the kids look blonder and she comes in and asks if they want ice cream) seems like it would have been very strange to present that way. "Hey, kids, if I had married Stella, she'd be your Mom and so your Mom wouldn't be dead."

Yeah - there's no way the mother is dead.

You mean you guys never asked your parents how they met when you were a kid?

We still to this day tease my dad because he waited almost too long before calling my mom after their first date - she almost didn't give him a second date.

my parents met at a bridge game in grad school.

just saying.

My parents met because my dad was tutoring my mom's roommate and my mom's roommate passed off my mom's food as her own. :D

The mom better not be dead/dying. I will throw things.

/tk

My parents met because my dad was dating my aunt. (yes...my mom's sister)

The Mom dead angle in interesting and lets not forget the show has had some sad times such as Marshalls dad dying

Entirely different to end the whole series with that.

It's going to get a happy ending, if only for future syndication deals.

Roseanne had an incredibly sad ending to the show. It's not unprecedented. I still think they have to come up with some explanation for why the story is being told. Would give it a shot that the Mother died at birth and he's telling the kids about it.

Yeah, it has been a very long story but it no longer makes any sense.

Has anyone ever told their kids about everything they did for the years leading up to meeting their mother?

That wouldn't make sense for a "memorial" about the mother.

It wouldn't make sense as a way to give advice to the kids, they are too young to be at a stage in life where he would be telling them how long it took him to find his "true love". I could see it as a story that a parent could relay to a grown child that is struggling finding that type of relationship but not a mid teen.

It would be funny if the kids ever acknowledged it - saying "we don't need to know all this stuff, Dad" and Ted going "I know, I'm sorry... but wait, let me tell you about this cool story".

Unfortunately I know folks like that... not anywhere near to this extent, but the show has always been about exaggerated actions.

I think it would be funny if they had Lyndsy Fonseca play the Mother. She's old enough now to fit the role.

I also think we'll get a reveal before the end of the season. Simply because it would be too difficult to keep the actress under wraps shooting a whole season this Summer.

Good point.

Exactly. I agree that its unlikely that they will take this path (especially because people want to see Ted happy - not what comes after happily ever after), but it would make a lot of sense as to why he's telling this story - either his mortality or hers. The 45 days bit in the last episode was oddly specific about a desire for extra time.

That was a pretty great HIMYM episode

Yeah - that was an example of when it does things right I think.

While the payoff ended up pretty solid, I just found the first 15 minutes or so very painful.

Agreed.

best episode in a while

Ted's neuroses are so stupid and annoying at this point. They're not even amusing or remotely plausible, they're just frigging stupid. Honestly, what sort of girl would want to end up with such a fucking toolbag?

This has become like watching a great ballplayer hang on too long so your lasting memories aren't of the greatness but how ugly it was at the end.

Ted is basically all of the bad parts of Joey, Chandler, and Ross from Friends.

WTF?!?!

It's the old "fake a Ted-Robin swerve" crap again.

How I Met Your Mother - The story of this guy telling his kids that their mother wasn't even close to his first choice.

That was one of the worst episodes of any show I've ever seen. Ever.

So true...so true.

I like Ted, and I understand the well the writers are going to (he's a sinciere dude, and his douchiness is basically nerdiness), but its not clear why they keep going back to this one. Honestly, don't Ted and Robin just work better together than Barney and her? To me, they clearly do. I know they aren't going to end up that way, but I can only tell you what my eyes see.

Holy crap I hated this week's episode. So ready to be done.

/tk

Yeah, cool.

Rumor has it she was in season 5 episode 1 class scene... if the picture I've seen is real.

I liked that episode. I've always sympathized with Ted, who's more JD from scrubs than a traditional alpha male - of course this is killing him, and I appreciated him and Lilly together.

Is it weird that I don't really care about the mother? Ie, I want Ted to be happy, but I root for him as Ted, not for who the character is (of the mother).

I think the looks of the mom don't matter. I also hope they don't have fake breakups next year

I've read people taking what the creators have said (paraphrasing: something like how they may take liberties with how they tell the story, and anyone will immediately know when they're watching a Season 9 episode in reruns) and thinking that may mean a massive slowdown in the pace of the story for next year, almost a real time element. It did seem pretty weird that they made a point of saying "56 hours until the wedding".

At least you all can rest easy now knowing that the mother has been met.

After How I Met Your Mother finale, what comes next?

Ugh - sounds like that's exactly what they're doing...they're going to drag that one weekend into a full season.

Fuck that - I'll tune in for the series finale then.

Seems like the gimmick has turned into a thorn in the side of this show.

That's dumb. Why not just introduce them at the start and show the way they interact once she's introduced. I think more people would tune in for that than this idiocy of a whole wedding.

My guess is that theyre concerned that the more of a personality she has the more fans are going to HATE her for not living up to some bizarre ideal theyve been holding on to all these years. If we only see little glimpses its easier to show "oh yeah, shes the one and he falls for her instantly" but if they show a real relationship then shell have to have flaws.

I think at this point if it wasn't for NPH I'd delete this show from my DVR and just tune in for the last 5 minutes of the series finale, which is when I'm sure we'll get the actual meeting.

I'd link it but there's not much more detail than this.

Lame.

I think if it was 4 seasons ago, the wedding conceit could be legen.... wait for it... But I just don't think they've done anything over the past 2-3 seasons that make me think they can figure out how to make it work well... dairy.