Last night's How I Met Your Mother threw a wrench into Ted's happily ever after by implying that the mother may actually be dying/dead. In the year 2024, Ted and the mother are out eating together and he tells her the story of the time Robin's mom actually did show up fro Robin's wedding. It's clear that's supposed to be the big twist of the episode until... the mother scoffs at this twist saying, “Of course she showed up. What mom is going to miss her daughter’s wedding?”
All is possibly revealed as a tearful Ted looks back at the mother as though she has spoken too soon, as though possibly the mother misses her own daughter's wedding because she dies. "Oh hey, no, come on," she says patting Ted's hand and trying to bravely console him though there are tears in her eyes, too. "It's okay," Ted says. "I'm fine, I'm okay." BUT IT'S CLEAR THEY ARE BOTH NOT OKAY. This revelation has fans worrying that the mother is going to die in the future and that possibly that's why Ted is telling his children this long-winded story — to memorialize her.
But caution is advised when taking that theory to heart. How I Met Your Mother has had its share of mega plot twists over the years, so keep this list in mind whenever the writers lay this sort of trap for the viewer.
TWIST 1: ROBIN WAS THE MOTHER
HIMYM is so known for their twists that they put one into the very first episode. Ted is telling his children about how he met their mother and he describes the day he met Robin and the kids are probably like "Cool, that was a 22 minute story. We can live with that." But then Ted says, "That, kids, is the true story of how I met your Aunt Robin." So when a show starts with a large plot twist it's safe to say they plan on adding more.
TWIST 2: ROBIN IS PREGNANT
In Season 7, Robin thinks she's pregnant and that it's Barney's kid since they'd recently slept together. But then part one of Robin's big pregnancy twist is revealed and she's actually infertile and can't have children.
TWIST 3: ROBIN HAS CHILDREN ANYWAY
Robin narrates an episode to her children much like Ted's episodes usually start off and the audience wonders, did she adopt? Was there a mistake? Nope, just a plot twist to show us that Robin is never going to have kids and she's okay with that. And so the fake children fade away.
TWIST 4: ROBIN AND BARNEY HAVE KIDS — PART 2
This season the HIMYM writers decided to play the old "Robin has kids" joke again, having her and Barney wake up drunk to the sound of a crying baby. "I got her," Robin says lifting the baby out of the crib to comfort her only then realizing that she doesn't have a baby.
TWIST 5: ROBIN WAS ALREADY MARRIED
In Season 2, Robin won't go to the mall and Ted wonders if she's hiding something. He cooks up this theory that Robin is already married and she got married in a mall and that's why she hates malls. Robin confirms this theory, but wait! A plot twist reveals that the real reason Robin hates malls is that she was a Canadian pop star named Robin Sparkles forced to sing her hit "Let's Go to the Mall" in malls all over the country. (Somehow the first theory is easier to believe.)
TWIST 6: BARNEY IS MARRIED AND HAS A SON
In Season 4 it's revealed that to keep his mother happy he pretends he got married and had a child. Both parts are actually played by actors he hired because Season 4 Barney ain't about to be tied down.
TWIST 7: BARNEY WAS DATING/GOING TO PROPOSE TO PATRICE
For the better part of a season Barney had renounced his banging ways and was going to settle down with none other than Robin's work nemesis Patrice. "You make me want to be a better person," Barney tells her with convincing sincerity. He's even going to propose to her, right up until the moment that Robin rushes to stop him. Turns out dating Patrice was just a ruse to actually propose to Robin.
TWIST 8: BARNEY BURNS THE PLAYBOOK
To prove his fake love for Patrice, Barney burns his beloved Playbook in Season 8. Only not really because no one should trust Barney to be telling the truth about anything. Six episodes later, the Playbook makes a reappearance so the gang can act out Weekend at Barney's 2.
TWIST 9: STELLA AND TED WE'RE GOING TO GET MARRIED
They really might have gone through with it too if she hadn't left Ted at the altar.
TWIST 10: LILY CAN'T GET PREGNANT
One of the worst HIMYM twists was when you're led to believe throughout the whole episode in Season 6 that Lily can't get pregnant. In the final moments of the show we get the good news: she's all good to go on the fertility front! Marshall races to call his dad (aka his BFF) when he learns... that his dad just died. This twist was a heartbreaking one, and I can only hope the HIMYM writers don't lead us down the road to the mother's death only to reveal an even worse and sadder plot twist.
TWIST 11: LILY AND MARSHALL DON'T GET MARRIED
In Season 1 Lily leaves Marshall crying in the rain with an engagement ring in his hand. Fans are supposed to believe that Lily has left Marshall for good to go discover her artistic talent. Of course she eventually comes back and they get married because how could it have gone any other way? These two are perfect for each other.
So if the future for Ted and the mother looks bleak now, just remember these 11 plot twists that came before it. Plus this is a show where a goat attacked Ted, so literally anything can happen, including some innocuous bizarre reason why the mother and Ted get misty eyed over their daughter's potentially-missed wedding.
Images: CBS
