# "How I Met Your Mother" Season Finale (You bet there's spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965 "2012-05-15T04:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/41 "2012-05-15T23:59:00Z")
Was anyone else bothered that a 30 something year old person who loves everything about Canada didn’t realize that that guy wasn’t Neil Young? I know he’s been here far longer then he’s been there, but I always figured the Canadians still claim him as one of their own. And if there’s something Robin knows…it’s Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/42 "2012-05-16T00:15:21Z")
I assumed that she was drunk enough that she _didn’t_ realize that he wasn’t Neil Young. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/43 "2012-05-16T02:22:40Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I, on the other hand, like Ted, never really liked Barney much Me either. He lacks any kind of focus. I don’t understand the pro-Barney/Robin crowd, they seem completely mismatched to me. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > Was anyone else bothered that a 30 something year old person who loves everything about Canada didn’t realize that that guy wasn’t Neil Young? I think it was Neil Young. That’s why they didn’t show his face on camera. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/44 "2012-05-16T03:01:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I assumed that she was drunk enough that she _didn’t_ realize that he wasn’t Neil Young. You think she wouldn’t be able to pick Wayne Gretzky out of a crowd after a few Canadian Clubs? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/45 "2012-05-16T05:14:10Z")
Do we know for sure that the kids are Ted’s kids? ---
**Author:** ![atlantic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@atlantic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atlantic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/46 "2012-05-16T09:46:07Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Do we know for sure that the kids are Ted’s kids? In the episode where his mom remarries, future Ted refers to his mom and stepdad as “your Grandma” and “Grandpa Clint” when talking to the kids. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/47 "2012-05-16T11:52:20Z")
> [@atlantic](#): > > In the episode where his mom remarries, future Ted refers to his mom and stepdad as “your Grandma” and “Grandpa Clint” when talking to the kids. He’s also referred to Robin and Lily the kid’s aunts. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/48 "2012-05-16T12:05:53Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > He’s also referred to Robin and Lily the kid’s aunts. I suppose they could be the children of someone else entirely. How do we know Ted’s not crazy, holding a firearm in the direction of some random kids he’s abducted? Now _that’d_ be a series finale. The “mother” turns out to be Jodie Foster … ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/49 "2012-05-16T12:40:16Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![atlantic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@atlantic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atlantic)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/50 "2012-05-16T12:41:30Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > He’s also referred to Robin and Lily the kid’s aunts. Not that uncommon for friends of parents to be called Aunt or Uncle. I’m fairly certain the kids have called future Ted “Dad” on more than one occasion. 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! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/51 "2012-05-16T13:01:25Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/52 "2012-05-16T14:05:54Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/53 "2012-05-16T14:24:44Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/54 "2012-05-16T14:49:52Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/55 "2012-05-16T15:26:04Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/56 "2012-05-16T16:15:30Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/57 "2012-05-16T16:18:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/58 "2012-05-16T16:35:58Z")
> [@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. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/59 "2012-05-16T16:45:50Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965/60 "2012-05-16T17:00:57Z")
> [@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. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-i-met-your-mother-season-finale-you-bet-theres-spoilers/621965.md?page=4)