Lily's Not-So-Dirty Secret

In tonight's episode of How I Met Your Mother, we do, indeed, learn a name. While some may have speculated that the title "Daisy" could have potentially been referring to the mother's name, it was, in fact, referring to a plant in The Captain's powder room that was shielding Lily's greatest secret. Yes, it seems that Lily was unable to kick the dirty habit… of conceiving.

At first, the episode hints that Lily may have had a tryst with The Captain, her new employer, after storming out after an argument with Marshall. Marshall wonders how she so quickly accepted staying in the United States when Italy was her dream, and William Zabka recalls seeing her at an E.Z. Pick early that morning. They quickly agree that Ranjit should drive them to The Captain's house for an obligatory punch to the nose, administered by Marshall.

Once the punch has been administered, however, The Captain reveals that Lily had simply asked him to pick her up, made a stop at the E.Z. Pick, and used his powder room. Ted drags everyone through an Agatha-Christie-esque period of heightened suspense before he makes his announcement: Lily has picked up smoking again. It ties together Lily's decision to take the train (so she could smoke without Ted knowing, in the bathroom) and to stop by the E.Z. Pick on the way to The Captain's. It explains why she was chewing gum when she returned. They eagerly dig up the daisy in The Captain's bathroom, searching for the cigarette stub as evidence, only to unearth… a pregnancy test. Barney quips, "You can smoke those?"

At this point, my roommate let me know, "Anyone who's as big a fan as me knew the whole time that it's not her smoking." How, you may ask? In episode 11 of season 5, also known as "Last Cigarette Ever," the gang starts smoking together and subsequently pledges to stop smoking together. They agree to share one "last cigarette" as the sun rises, but it is revealed that they actually stop smoking at later dates that are significant to each of them. Lily quits when she starts trying to have a baby, while Marshall quits when their son is born. How fitting, then, that the show calls back the specter of a cigarette to announce the conception of their daughter.

When Marshall returns to confront Lily about her positive pregnancy test, he tells her, "You're going to live in Rome and you're going to get your dream. Because you're going to be a mommy, again." What a beautiful moment, in which a woman with a career can have her cake and eat it, too. And speaking of a girl's dream come true…

The episode closes with a flash forward to Lily and Marshall's life together in Rome, as the two argue about Funyons in delightfully mangled Italian accents. Mickey Aldrin and Judy Eriksen appear to help them walk their children around the park, and Marshall stoops to take a loving look at his daughter, Daisy.

Ultimately, the episode focuses mainly on Lily's mystery, although it does delve lightly into Robin's nervousness about marrying a man who resembles her father. Her mother rattles off the warning signals she saw in her ex-husband, which ranged from him being engaged to a stripper to him commissioning a painting of a Prussian diplomat and standing in front of said painting, dressed as a Prussian diplomat. As they stand on the balcony outside of Robin's room, post-Lily-pregnancy reveal, Robin is relieved as her mother tells her, "If you've got someone who's really there for you... you're going to be fine." Robin admits that, yes, she does have that person.

But is it Barney?

Only time, a.k.a. the remaining hours before the wedding, will tell.

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