In HIMYM Ted has said that if he had not met Robin or Stella (at the bus stop) or Zoey, he would never have met the mother.
But we now know he met the mother at Barney’s wedding; and he would have been there independently of ever meeting any of the above.
So how can these be reconciled, and each meeting will play an important role. I mean unless the real reason is he did not want to tell his kids, “Kids, if I had not needed to pee at that moment, I would never had met your mother”, which as of right now incidentally looks more plausible, there is no reason that never meeting Robin, Stella, Zoey would prevent him from meeting the mother.
“But we now know he met the mother at Barney’s wedding; and he would have been there independently of ever meeting any of the above.”
Ah - but she wouldn’t have been memorable. Without Robin, there’d be no yellow umbrella (or, in fact, a wedding). Without Zoey, there’d be no… I dunno - maybe discussion about the building he blew up? The giant lion head in Barney’s bedroom?
There wouldn’t have been a wedding because poon-chasing Barney wouldn’t have been turned into sweet marrying Barney because of severe brain damage caused by a gigantic stone lion’s head falling off the wall and landing on him in bed.
I do actually wonder if the goofy bit where Barney (apparently) mounted the thing to the wall by hand with a phillips screwdriver is going to come back and get him.
I’m pretty sure the Stella connection is that meeting her at the bus stop led to him being a college professor where he met his mother’s roommate (and return the mom’s yellow umbrella).
When did he say he needed to meet Zoey to meet the mother? I don’t remember that.
I still say the greatest “eff you” of all time would be to have the camera pan out in the very last scene of the very last episode…and he’s marrying Lily. No explanation, roll credits.