"How I Met Your Mother" Season Finale (You bet there's spoilers)

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Dendarii Dame

I wonder if Ted and Victoria do get married, but then get an annulment or a divorce. The show is How I Met Your Mother, not How I Met My Wife.

By the way, I bet Quinn keeps that engagement ring, even if her wedding to Barney doesn't take place. (That's assuming that she doesn't die.)

It's been thrown around (jokingly) that those aren't his kids. Ted's just picking someone up for a date, waiting for her to get ready and those are her kids and this is the story of how he met her.

But I'm firmly of the opinion that those are his and his future wife's biological kids. Remember, they need to be able to keep this running in syndication. Right now, IMHO, it's got Seinfeld potential. I think the reruns will stick around forever. If they pull some stupid stunt right at the end, that might make the syndication rights a bit less valuable.
If you had never watched it, only heard about it, would you want to start it from the beginning if you knew, all along that at the end it would turn out that the kids weren't his? Some would (it is still a good show) but some may be less interested. It's Ted, he's sappy, we'll get a happy ending.

[Maus Magill]

I finally watched the second part last night. We had a major thunderstorm that disrupted the satellite signal. I'm a little pissed at Ted right now. While the primary fault is not his, he knows what it feels like to be left at the alter, and he's deliberately allowing someone else to feel that way. That is douchery of the highest order.

Also, I'm disappointed that Quinn isn't the bride.

Anyhow, the kids are Ted's. In the episode where Stella leaves him, we are briefly treated to what the kids would look like if he and Stella had gotten married.

Victoria is not the mother. I believe she was in Germany when Ted was lecturing the Econ 3XX class. Besides, if she had been in that class, she probably would have said something to Ted about it when he saw her at the Architecture Thingy dinner she was catering.

[Bob Ducca]

I still think, like others, that Barney's unseen half-sister will be the mother.

It makes sense that she'd be at Barney's wedding and it would mean "Uncle" Barney and "Aunt" Robin are actually Uncle Barney and Aunt Robin for real.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Bob Ducca

I still think, like others, that Barney's unseen half-sister will be the mother.

It makes sense that she'd be at Barney's wedding and it would mean "Uncle" Barney and "Aunt" Robin are actually Uncle Barney and Aunt Robin for real.

Yes, but there's also Aunt Lily and Uncle Marshall, so there's no need to maintain that relationship. The reason I don't find Barney's sister satisfactory is that the kids would surely understand a close family relationship like that already, and would have known that dad wasn't talking about meeting their mother when he talked about Robin and the other women. But it's TV, anything is possible.

[Enderw24]

Originally Posted by TriPolar

Yes, but there's also Aunt Lily and Uncle Marshall, so there's no need to maintain that relationship. The reason I don't find Barney's sister satisfactory is that the kids would surely understand a close family relationship like that already, and would have known that dad wasn't talking about meeting their mother when he talked about Robin and the other women. But it's TV, anything is possible.

I think that Barney's sister makes the most sense at this point, though I agree all the pieces don't fit together. For instance, at the point when Barney went to have dinner with his family, Ted's kids would have interrupted and said "and was mom there? Is that where you met her?"
Or would have, if they didn't stop showing new clips of the kids around season 2.

From what I've heard, they've had an ending planned all along from way way back at the beginning. It's been filmed and is just sitting, waiting for the true end of the series before they cut to it. Presumably it's another clip with the kids.

[kunilou]

I cruised therough a HIMYM board yesterday and the fans are torturing all rules of storytelling (and logic) desperately trying to justify whatever conclusion they want.

Barney and Robin are getting married, but not to each other. It's a double wedding.

Ted marries Robin. After all, it was never conclusively proven that Robin wasn't the roommate/present in the Econ class, etc. (Substitute Stella, Vicotria, the Slutty Pumpkin or any other of Ted's dates.)

Ted is only just getting married in the flashbacks, and the kids are actually his stepchildren.

The "mother" Ted keeps talking about is a surrogate. He's actually married to (Robin or Barney, depending on which way you want the story to end.)

Ted is widowed in the flashbacks, telling the kids about their real mother. The stepmother they're growing up with is actually "Aunt" Robin.

EVERYTHING is a red herring. Ted will simply strike up a conversation with the bass player at the wedding reception -- who won't be Barney's half-sister or anyone else anyone can imagine.

Clearly, we are suffering from a severe lack of imagination on this Board.

[Quimby]

Barney and Robin have a ton in common and are a great match. They each have daddy issues. The have more walls around them than China, they have common interests (Cigars for example), both are very independent. It was a shame the show killed their relationship so quickly and a good idea to bring it back.

As a side note, I hated Robin's short hair in the beginning of the season but now see it was probably because of The Avengers so she is forgiven

ETA: I also really don't care about the Mother all that much. I like the characters and the tone of the show. I just think Victoria (and Robin) had the best Chemistry with him.

[Morbo]

Originally Posted by Joey P

It's been thrown around (jokingly) that those aren't his kids. Ted's just picking someone up for a date, waiting for her to get ready and those are her kids and this is the story of how he met her.

That can't be, b/c they made it clear in an earlier episode that the future scenes are in the fixer-upper house that Ted bought.

[Bob Ducca]

Since Bob Saget is the voice of FutureTed, and the show loves to play with the Unreliable Narrator concept - What are the chances that we see all of the characters together in the future, or even re-shot scenes from the past/current time, but they are all played by other actors/actresses?

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Bob Ducca

Since Bob Saget is the voice of FutureTed, and the show loves to play with the Unreliable Narrator concept - What are the chances that we see all of the characters together in the future, or even re-shot scenes from the past/current time, but they are all played by other actors/actresses?

Maybe he's really unreliable and HIMYM is a prequel/sequel to Full House. Barney and Robin are Uncle Jesse and Becky. Barney's sister is Pam (Danny's widow). Marshall is Joey.

[bouv]

Originally Posted by Enderw24

From what I've heard, they've had an ending planned all along from way way back at the beginning. It's been filmed and is just sitting, waiting for the true end of the series before they cut to it. Presumably it's another clip with the kids.

Yeah, that's what it is. They already have the kids' reaction to the reveal/end of the story "in the can."

Clearly, Barney's wedding will have a band that is made up of 5 bassists, all women, and all of whom at one point roomed with Rachel Bilson's character, and are all businesswomen that were in that ECON class.

Also, they all own matching yellow umbrellas.

Actually, one of the best suggestions for the mother I've heard, is that regardless of who it is "in universe," the character should be played by the same one who plays Ted's Daughter. She's several years older than she is in the "'flash-forwards," and quite the hottie, to boot.

http://i.imgur.com/D6pyh.jpg (quasi-NSFW...no nudity or even that much skin, but a little cleavage and a lot of sultry.)

[Enderw24]

Originally Posted by kunilou

I cruised therough a HIMYM board yesterday and the fans are torturing all rules of storytelling (and logic) desperately trying to justify whatever conclusion they want.

Barney and Robin are getting married, but not to each other. It's a double wedding.

Ted marries Robin. After all, it was never conclusively proven that Robin wasn't the roommate/present in the Econ class, etc. (Substitute Stella, Vicotria, the Slutty Pumpkin or any other of Ted's dates.)

Ted is only just getting married in the flashbacks, and the kids are actually his stepchildren.

The "mother" Ted keeps talking about is a surrogate. He's actually married to (Robin or Barney, depending on which way you want the story to end.)

Ted is widowed in the flashbacks, telling the kids about their real mother. The stepmother they're growing up with is actually "Aunt" Robin.

EVERYTHING is a red herring. Ted will simply strike up a conversation with the bass player at the wedding reception -- who won't be Barney's half-sister or anyone else anyone can imagine.

Clearly, we are suffering from a severe lack of imagination on this Board.

These aren't bad guesses. Some are pretty close to the mark. But I won't say which ones. Not here anyway, but if you guys want to know I'll put it in a spoiler box for you

SPOILER:

Is there a two click rule for these things? Better safe than sorry.

SPOILER:

Wait, is this three clicks? Eh. Too late now.

SPOILER:

Oh hang on. That's just for pr0n! Sorry about that. Click ahead

SPOILER:

Crap. I'm not doing something right here. Can I go backwards? No one needs this many spoiler boxes

SPOILER:

OK, maybe Jigsaw did. That guy sure racked up a death toll.

SPOILER:

I'm just kidding (I think). I never actually saw any of the Saw movies.

SPOILER:

Seriously. Not a single one.

SPOILER:

Because I was busy ok? People are allowed to have a life!

SPOILER:

Not me, though. My life now entirely consists of creating new spoiler boxes.

SPOILER:

And your life consists of clicking on them.

SPOILER:

Hey, this reminds me. Have you ever read the book "There's a monster at the end of this book!" It was from Seseme Street and it was pretty funny. This kinda reminds me of that. Hey! There's a monster at the end of these spoiler boxes! Don't click the next one!

SPOILER:

You're much stronger than you look. Did you know that?

SPOILER:

That book is now on an iPad app too. It's still funny.

SPOILER:

I'm uncertain if it's called "There's a monster at the end of this App" or not. I think it probably should be.

SPOILER:

Oh. The mother. Yes. Sorry about that. OK, I think I've completely exhausted the joke potential of this setup anyway. I mean, you know how jokes can start going on for so long they just stop being funny? Yeah, I've pretty much hit the wall here.

SPOILER:

AND THEN THEY TOTALLY GET FUNNY AGAIN!

SPOILER:

Sorry. I'm better now.

SPOILER:

Won't happen again.

SPOILER:

Kids, did I ever tell you about the time when I was putting spoilers on everything? My friends had to stage an intervention.

SPOILER:

And it totally worked! I'm not posting any more spoiler boxes besides this next one.

SPOILER:

Seriously!

SPOILER:

Why does no one believe me on that?

SPOILER:

OK fine. The answer is that we've actually had the answer to who the mother is all along. It's been discussed here on the boards. I'll even link to it. I won't even spoiler it for you!

Well.

More than has been.

Sheesh. It's right here http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=651837

SPOILER:

You're welcome.

SPOILER:

MONSTER!

[JSexton]

That...is one hell of a ziggurat.

[Maus Magill]

Originally Posted by Enderw24

I think that Barney's sister makes the most sense at this point, though I agree all the pieces don't fit together. For instance, at the point when Barney went to have dinner with his family, Ted's kids would have interrupted and said "and was mom there? Is that where you met her?"
Or would have, if they didn't stop showing new clips of the kids around season 2.

From what I've heard, they've had an ending planned all along from way way back at the beginning. It's been filmed and is just sitting, waiting for the true end of the series before they cut to it. Presumably it's another clip with the kids.

Oh, I hope so, since I would have a hard time buying this as a fifteen year-old.

[TruCelt]

Originally Posted by Joey P

It's been thrown around (jokingly) that those aren't his kids. Ted's just picking someone up for a date, waiting for her to get ready and those are her kids and this is the story of how he met her.

But I'm firmly of the opinion that those are his and his future wife's biological kids. Remember, they need to be able to keep this running in syndication. Right now, IMHO, it's got Seinfeld potential. I think the reruns will stick around forever. If they pull some stupid stunt right at the end, that might make the syndication rights a bit less valuable.
If you had never watched it, only heard about it, would you want to start it from the beginning if you knew, all along that at the end it would turn out that the kids weren't his? Some would (it is still a good show) but some may be less interested. It's Ted, he's sappy, we'll get a happy ending.

If I were trying to make the argument that a show could thrive in syndication despite a finale so bad, so twisted, and so ridiculously inapropos that it nearly ruined the good will every fan had toward the show, Seinfeld would be the first, best example I could provide.


I still can't understand how we get past the "Robin doesn't want/can't have children" vs "Barney desperately wants to be a Dad" conflict. If that's not resolved, this should be yet another interrupted wedding. :: roll eyes ::

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

If I were trying to make the argument that a show could thrive in syndication despite a finale so bad, so twisted, and so ridiculously inapropos that it nearly ruined the good will every fan had toward the show, Seinfeld would be the first, best example I could provide.

But Seinfeld didn't spend years and years building up towards anything in particular. It was annoying but it didn't take anything away from watching the reruns. Finding out that those aren't his kids would take something away from watching the reruns. Especially for viewers watching the reruns for the first time knowing that he's telling the story to some random kids about some random person and the tales he's telling don't really carry any weight.

[sachertorte]

I don't think anyone takes Barney's desire to be a Dad seriously.

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by sachertorte

I don't think anyone takes Barney's desire to be a Dad seriously.

I don't know. I think Barney wants kids, and to obsessively be the father he wished he'd had. I wouldn't put the rest of the usually associated family life in the same category though.

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by atlantic

<snip>

Edited to add: The daughter refers to Ted as Dad in the season 2 premiere - "Dad, can't you just skip ahead to the part where you meet Mom? I feel like you've been talking for, like, a year." Thanks, IMDB!

According to Lily at one point, too, Ted does go on about a bitch.

Originally Posted by Enderw24

These aren't bad guesses. Some are pretty close to the mark. But I won't say which ones. Not here anyway, but if you guys want to know I'll put it in a spoiler box for you
<snip>

So, if I understand you right, *I'm* the mother?!?

Originally Posted by TruCelt

<snip>
I still can't understand how we get past the "Robin doesn't want/can't have children" vs "Barney desperately wants to be a Dad" conflict. If that's not resolved, this should be yet another interrupted wedding. :: roll eyes ::

If there's anything we've learned about Barney, it's that he's a guy who knows how to...get things.

[Maus Magill]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

If there's anything we've learned about Barney, it's that he's a guy who knows how to...get things.

He's got a gut for that?

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Maus Magill

He's got a gut for that?

Now there's a sentence that came out wrong.

[Cat Whisperer]

Barney's got a guy for everything - he's got a gut for pretty much everything, too.

[Maus Magill]

Except Phantom Menace.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

Originally Posted by Maus Magill

Except Phantom Menace.

It ages well, that's the thing.

[Gedd]

Originally Posted by kunilou

[Snip] Clearly, we are suffering from a severe lack of imagination on this Board.

How about this: Barney and Quinn do get married, but she dies in a tragic accident in the bedroom involving a pineapple and the ducky tie. Robin comforts him and their relationship restarts. At the wedding Robin's long lost half sister who had been locked in the basement during her childhood but escaped at the age of 7 and was presumed dead shows up. She had been taken in by a commune of Canadian hippies and moved to NYC to get a degree in business and roomed with a girl named Rachel Bilson. After becoming a successful businesswoman she used her vast resources to track down her father, the recently deceased Marvin Eriksen Sr. Months later she saw the name "Scherbatsky" in the paper and, deciding it is time to reunite with her family, crashed the wedding. She not only makes a big scene but also catches the eye of Ted.

Thus the “Aunt” and “Uncle” titles are all correct.



Or maybe I’m channeling too much “Desperate Housewives.”

[Maus Magill]

I like the cut of your jib, sir.

[TruCelt]

Oh frack. Please don't let poor Victoria be his date at the wedding when he meets the true love of his life. Ohferpete's sake, now I'm gonna worry all year!

[Munch]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

Oh frack. Please don't let poor Victoria be his date at the wedding when he meets the true love of his life. Ohferpete's sake, now I'm gonna worry all year!

The bad news: we have to watch Ted and Victoria destroy their relationship.
The good news: More Victoria!

[kunilou]

If we were willing to accept the whole Zooey storyline, I don't see anything outrageous about Gedd's scenario.

Oh wait. If Marvin, Sr. were revealed to have another family, Marshall would undergo another existential crisis. Haven't we have enough of that with Lily's breakup and his father's death?

In the last flash forward (the one that revealed Robin) didn't future Ted say something like "a wedding where everything went wrong"? It's entirely possible the actual wedding never takes place.

Barney ends up with Ted's sister ("Uncle Barney") and Aunt Robin ends up married to the real mother's brother? There have been worse resolutions in sitcoms.

Here's the real question. Do the producers want to end things so that we all say "awww, it all wrapped up so nicely," or do they want to leave us wide-eyed and jaws agape?

[Death of Rats]

Originally Posted by Joey P

But Seinfeld didn't spend years and years building up towards anything in particular. It was annoying but it didn't take anything away from watching the reruns. Finding out that those aren't his kids would take something away from watching the reruns. Especially for viewers watching the reruns for the first time knowing that he's telling the story to some random kids about some random person and the tales he's telling don't really carry any weight.

Except the emotional weight that his kids have to carry after learn that much about the sex lives of thier father and his friends.

Seriously, I would go full on murder/suicide if either of my parents tried to tell me that much about the sex they had.

[AK84]

Originally Posted by kunilou

In the last flash forward (the one that revealed Robin) didn't future Ted say something like "a wedding where everything went wrong"? It's entirely possible the actual wedding never takes place.

In an interview after the episode Craig Thomas states that they do get married at the end of the day.

[TruCelt]

How could any wedding be more messed up than Lily/Marshall's?

I'm making a hard prediction: the first episode of next season includes Victoria shaking her head "no" and we find Ted wisely having made her decide for herself, so that she wouldn't go into her married life with any doubts.

[atlantic]

Originally Posted by AK84

In an interview after the episode Craig Thomas states that they do get married at the end of the day.

Link to a TV Guide interview ... Possible SPOILERS for future episodes.

[Khadaji]

When Ted tells the story about that terrible house he bought when he freaks out at his mother's wedding, he ends it by telling the kids: And as you know, this is the house you grew up in. (or something like that.) The kids are his.

Barney's sub-plot in this sucked.

Marshall is packing on the pounds, eh?

I knew all along that the bride was Robin.

I love Victoria's smile! Has she slimmed down a little?

[Tapiotar]

Jason Segal had to gain weight for a movie he did recently, and then had to lose weight for the next one. I guess this episode was filmed during the weight gain phase.

The actors did a nice job of showing how much Barney and Robin still care for one another during the engagement announcement. I don't like Quinn -- she is poison mean -- and watching how the break-up unfolds should be interesting.

I'm betting that Ted's better nature will prevail. Ted is fundamentally decent, though the temptation of having an old lover throw herself at him, giving him a chance to restore that bit of ego that was destroyed by Stella, is something hard for him to resist.

Oh, and I LOVED the story of the Cursed Pants. And the door story. And Lily saying "I am not a farm animal" and then mooing.

[Munch]

Salt lick?

[Joey P]

Originally Posted by Khadaji

I love Victoria's smile! Has she slimmed down a little?

I think she slimmed down a lot. I wasn't even sure it was her.

[Fair Rarity]

Originally Posted by TruCelt

I'm making a hard prediction: the first episode of next season includes Victoria shaking her head "no" and we find Ted wisely having made her decide for herself, so that she wouldn't go into her married life with any doubts.

I agree with this. When she first appeared and got her fellowship, she and Ted debated whether or not she should go to Germany. She decided to stay, he wanted her to go. As soon as they reconnected after their decision, he said to stay and she said she had to go. It'd be a nice call back if they repeated the opposite-decision thing.

[Andy L]

Was the bit where Lily's Dad talked about hanging a slate around Lily's neck so she could write (if she lost the power of speech) an allusion to the Buffy episode "Hush"?

[Cat Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Andy L

Was the bit where Lily's Dad talked about hanging a slate around Lily's neck so she could write (if she lost the power of speech) an allusion to the Buffy episode "Hush"?

Probably - Barney has practically turned and winked at the camera when they did the episode with his "wife" and "son" and were talking about child actors.

ETA: I missed a few minutes at the start of the episode, and apparently I missed a lot!

[Andy L]

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

Probably - Barney has practically turned and winked at the camera when they did the episode with his "wife" and "son" and were talking about child actors.

They played a bit of the Doogie Howser theme music then too.