History Fridge / HowIMetYourMother

* More like Fridge Sadness than anything. In one episode, it ends with Ted reminding the kids about all the pictures they used to draw of themselves doing fun things with Robin. It's [[HeartwarmingMoments cute]], right? Then comes the latest episode where Robin finds out [[spoiler: she can't get pregnant]] and you realize [[spoiler: the reason she's in all those pictures might be because Ted's kids are the closet thing she'll ever have to a child.]]

* Robin learned in the third season that "getting the kid is winning" in a divorce. In the fourth season, we finally learn about all of her daddy issues, how he always wanted a boy and Robin moved in with her mother after he couldn't deny any longer that she wasn't one.

* In Three Days of Snow, Lily and Marshall get each other six packs with punny names. Neither one understands Aspen Yard's Ale. This is a play on the words "Yard Sale".

* In "Bellyful of Turkey," Ted can't understand why it's so hard to volunteer at the homeless shelter on Thanksgiving, especially when Kendall tells him that it's the biggest volunteer day of the year. Simply this: all the volunteers are like Amanda; they are serving dinner to get all the "really good" food that won't be eaten to take home with themselves. Barney doesn't know that since he is there for court-ordered community service.
** Plus, it actually ''is'' a big volunteer day, with a lot of people deciding to give back (being thankful, spirit of the holiday, etc.) and going to soup kitchens or homeless shelters.

* Just a minor one, but in "The Poker Game" Barney mentions that James has "Just Short of a Pair of Sixes". The fridge logic comes in when you realise that if a six is your best card, you can't have any combination that's worse than a pair of sixes. If you have five cards and they're a 2,3,4,5 and 6 then you have a straight. Otherwise, you need to either have multiple sixes or at least one card of greater value than six (meaning you have "almost" a pair of sevens, for example). In essence, it's impossible to have a hand as bad as James' was implied to be since, if you don't at least have a pair, you'll at least a high card of seven. Of course given the writers clearly do understand poker, this is probably just RuleOfFunny, but it's easy to miss.

** It's [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Barney]]. He's got it coming, for karmic balance if nothing else. At that point in the series alone, besides the dozens of women he's deceived, he set up one of his closest friends with a huge bill (for a single suit, no less!) in order to force him to work at a company he had no interest in working at.

** Questionable whether this is fridge logic or fridge brilliance, since Barney's biggest obstacle to his getting laid consistently is his own ComplexityAddiction, relying on insane plays like the Mrs. Stinsfire or the Scuba Diver or the Weekend At Barney's to pick up women. His desire to use the move interfered with what might have been an otherwise perfectly workable one-night stand. On the other hand, Barney doesn't seem to get that The Naked Man is something you use when you know you're not going to score otherwise, since Barney a) thinks he's virtually irresistible and b) typically just walks away when he knows it's not going to happen. He's never been in the situation where you would use the move, because he usually [[JustForPun pulls out immediately when things start going badly.]]

* Perhaps this is more Fridge Jerkiness than anything, but before Lily returned from San Francisco Barney was apparently being a jerk and stealing every girl Marshall had a chance with. When Lily gets back, she pays Barney back on Marhall's behalf by ruining his chance to sleep with two twins claiming to have been given Chlamydia by him. However, we later learnt that he had actually flown to San Francisco to insist Lily fly back and come see Marshall and that he was intentionally stealing girls from him in order to keep him single because he wanted them to end up back together. He even told Lily this. So when Lily ruined his chance with these women she did so after he'd done a huge favour for her and Marshall. Ruining his chance with the women was unwarranted.

*** Though that turned to just be a case of remembering something that happened later because Barney brought up the Mermaid Theory then as well.

** The bet wasn't that Robin will have ever done porn, it's that she has done porn. Even if we count the sex tape it would be akin to making a bet "I bet you it is year 2013 AD" today on 26 Sept 2012 and then coming back in January claiming you won.

* In "The Best Burger in New York" (4.4) Regis Philbin hosts a TV show called "Million Dollar Heads or Tails". Yet, a couple of seasons later in "False Positive" (6.12), when we see the show again, it's hosted by Alec Trebek. While it's possible they just couldn't get Philbin back for a second cameo - it's also very likely that Philbin was probably fired from "Million Dollar Heads or Tails" for walking off the set for the sake of a burger!

*** [[spoiler:Ted is on the Farhampton train station platform because he is leaving Robin and Barney's wedding to catch a plane so that he can leave New York, and Robin, behind. The Mother is ultimately there because of Robin. The Mother's roommate got her the wedding gig because the roommate's former boyfriend said he needed a band for a friend's wedding. The roommate met the boyfriend because he taught at Columbia thanks to a man who helped the boyfriend's dermatologist fiance run from the altar. The boyfriend met the fiance because he wanted to get a butterfly tattoo removed from his sacrum. He got the butterfly tattoo thanks to the rebound boyfriend Gael that came back from Argentina with Robin. Because of Robin, both parents are there at the same time, alone.]]

** Ted sure had trouble remembering why Lily and Barney was fighting in "The Mermaid Theory".

* Knowing the last scene in the finale was planned from almost the beginning, pretty much everything involving the mother. [[spoiler: No matter who she was, Ted Mosby's wife was always doomed to die young and never see her children grow up. Nothing about her actually mattered in the long run besides her ability to bear children.]] That's practically a curse from an evil warlock!

*** The needle gets buried [[UptoEleven up to eleven]] if you consider the opening caption states it's the year 2024, the year Tracy dies.

** If you're willing to [[HandWave hand wave]] things for sake of suspension of disbelief, Barney spends one "crapload" per year on suits, but makes *sixteen* craploads per year in salary, and had done so for ten years. Any sum that serves as the "crapload" which inspires such shock in his friends when he tells them implies that sixteen craploads is an impressive income. He also seems to have gotten past his gambling addiction, for the most part. Aside from all that, the acumen and [[MagnificentBastard foresight]] he displays throughout the series suggests that he has some kind of long-term support plan, though it may very well be insane.

** If you're willing to [[HandWave]] things for sake of suspension of disbelief, Barney spends one "crapload" per year on suits, but makes *sixteen* craploads per year in salary, and had done so for ten years. Any sum that serves as the "crapload" which inspires such shock in his friends when he tells them implies that sixteen craploads is an impressive income. He also seems to have gotten past his gambling addiction, for the most part. Aside from all that, the acumen and [[MagnificentBastard foresight]] he displays throughout the series suggests that he has some kind of long-term support plan, though it may very well be insane.

** If you're willing to hand-wave things for sake of suspension of disbelief, Barney spends one "crapload" a year on suits, but makes *sixteen* craploads a year in salary, and had done so for ten years. Any sum that serves as the "crapload" which inspires the shock in his friends when he tells them implies that sixteen craploads is an impressive income. He also seems to have gotten past his gambling addiction, for the most part. Aside from all that, the acumen and [[MagnificentBastard foresight]] he displays throughout the series suggests that he has some kind of long-term support plan, though it may very well be insane.

* What exactly will happen to Barney's financial situation after the series has ended? [[spoiler:It's been established that soon after the finale he left his high paying corporate job after cooperating with the government against them. He's not exactly known for living prudently, being both a gambling addict and spending a "crapload" on suits (Ted's words). He had said that he didn't need to worry about money because Robin's family is rich but they got divorced (and Robin herself didn't seem to have any money so it's unlikely he got a big payout, if anything probably just taking out what he put in). During he and Robin's marriage he wasn't shown actually being employed and was able to be dragged around the world with her. Now he has a kid to take care of. While he may have been able to find another job, if he's gotten a reputation as a whistleblower then any company with shady practices will be reluctant to hire him which of course is what he has the most experience with. Granted, this is Barney we're talking about and he probably could talk a company into hiring him. Still, it's probable he wouldn't earn as much working for an honest company as he was used to.]]

%% No. Rape by fraud is when you pretend to be someone's significant other to obtain consent. Simply lying to get a woman into bed, while scummy, doesn't count. If you think about it, that would be INCREDIBLY broad.

* In Vesuvius, when the future Ted is talking with the mother, they had this conversation:

* In "The Bro Mitzvah," Marshall gets taken as collateral when Barney loses his high stakes game of ... chance. It struck me as weird, because Marshall himself is not only exceptionally good at every game, but was specifically shown to be a savant at the particular game being played. He should've been able to at least coach Barney in the game. At the end, of course, it's revealed to have all been a hoax everyone was playing along with. Still, I didn't get why Barney didn't think to at least ask Marshall for help. (Barney's proud, but he's not exactly dumb) I didn't realize until later that even this was because the gang actively worked to distract Barney to the point where he couldn't think of this very logical course of action. Not only was he upset over the nights lameness, but he also has Ted there the entire time talking and taking guesses about how the game is played, the clown being a wise-ass, and Ralph Macchio (whom Barney hates) flirting with Lily (whom Barney probably still lusts for at least a little), with Marshall mostly being in the background. It was all misdirection to distract Barney from asking Marshall to help like he had last time.
* Why does Barney say in "Coming Back" that James's marriage helped him believe in love, while not saying the same for Lily and Marshall? Barney has always known Lily and Marshall as a couple, and he likes them together, but they're also "lame married people" in his mind. The way they are in their marriage, sweet with lots of corny rituals and very monogamous for each other, turned him off because he could never see himself in a relationship like that. James was his wingman for a long time, and grew up with the same non-monogamous single mother he did. James was a lot like Barney. James even admitted when he told Barney about his relationship with Tom that it initially scared him, that it wasn't what he was used to, but he still committed to that lifestyle. [[spoiler: Well, at least until we discover that they were getting a divorce and James cheated on Tom, but Barney didn't know that at the time.]] His faith in Lily and Marshall showed that he believed in love and marriage to some degree, but not until it happened to James did he believe it could happen to him.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why is Robin so desolate when she finds out she cannot have children, even when she never wanted them? Because, like lobster and Barney, she wants the things she cannot have.

** Also, he was unknowingly sensing how much the Mother would have loved to hit Darren herself for all the crap he put her through. He was acting on behalf of his soul mate!

* Why did Barney fall in love with Quinn who is completely the opposite of Nora? Why? Because it was an overcorrection.

* FridgeBrilliance: In "How Your Mother Met Me", it seems like a great coincidence how Ted was on the balcony at that exact time to hear the Mother sing. He was probably there for a smoke, since he hadn't quit yet.

* FridgeBrilliance: In the stinger for "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns," Barney morphs into American Barney (Apollo Creed USA Suit) and Canadian Barney (Dudley Do-Right). You can tell it's a dream sequence (he's not wearing The Ducky Tie).
** Boomerangs around into Fridge Horror - did Barney ''kill'' the Canadian part of himself?

* Season 9 spoiler: [[spoiler:In the first season Thanksgiving episode, a stripper introduces herself as Tracy to Ted. Future Ted then tells his kids "And that's how I met your mother." Causing them to shout "What?!" in surprise before Future Ted says that he's just kidding. But in the series finale we find out that the Mother's name is also Tracy. The reaction of the kids in the future would not have made sense if the stripper didn't share her first name with the Mother.]]

* Fans complaining about the finale where [[spoiler: Robin and Barney divorce, the mother dies six years before Ted starts telling the story, and his kids talk him into rekindling his relationship with Robin]] forget that the series finale (especially the kids reactions, which were filmed years ago) was settled on back at the end of season 2. [[spoiler: the mother ''always'' died, Robin and Barney ''couldn't'' stay together, and Ted ''always'' went back to Robin. In other words the writers ''didn't'' throw character growth out the window or simply [[DieForOurShip brush the mother aside]] for the hell of it or their own whims, they simply wrote themselves into a corner because they didn't want their teenage actors to grow out of their roles and had to work with what they had.]]
** By the other hand, the whole series had the message about Ted's balloon: If you love something, you have to let it go and keep living, if it's meant to be, I'll find it's way to go back to you. [[spoiler:It's exactly what happens in the end: Robin finally found her way to get back into Ted's life.]]
** While we're talking about the finale... [[spoiler: Marshall]] won the bet after all!
** Except all that gets blown clear out of the water by the fact that they have an alternate ending where [[spoiler: the Mother is alive and well and there's hope for Barney and Robin yet.]]

* In the last episode, Ted and the mother, Tracy, have an adorable conversation around the acronym T.M. T.M = Ted Mosby. T.M. = Tracy [=McConnell=]. T.M. = '''The Mother'''

* FridgeHorror: The Ho-be-gone system seems funny...until you realize Barney doesn't know where it leads.

* FridgeHorror: We laugh, but think about it: Scooter has been in love with Lily, and actively pursuing her and trying to get her to dump Marshall, for ''fifteen years''. Despite the fact that he was just her high school boyfriend, and Lily has rejected him time after time. The guy has basically wasted half his life chasing an unattainable woman on the doomed hope that a perfectly happy, stable marriage will collapse.

* FridgeHorror: (Season 7, Episode 2) Peter Durkenson, drunk master of Edward Forty-Hands, is actually a [[spoiler: Surgeon]]

* FridgeHorror: AGAIN, You know how Robin was the love interest of the main character for so long? How would you feel as a child having your dad constantly talking about all the great time he had with her and how he kept living with her even when they were not together anymore. Wouldn't you feel like your mother served as a "Second prize" and there whole relationship including YOU was the best way Ted could make up for not being with Robin.
** Not so; Future Ted is showing ''how much more'' The Mother is right for him than Robin. Sure, Robin was there first, but TM is his soul-mate. It just took that long to find her.
*** [[spoiler: Aaaand then the Finale happened]]

* FridgeHorror: An in-show example.

*** They have smartphones. Even if Uber or Lyft weren't popular around then, they can call a cab or Ranjit.
** Another: The Toothbrush. Season Five. Watch Ted's expression. *shudder*
** One more from "Jenkins": When Robin ended the Robin Scherbatsky drinking game: didn't Ted tell his class he'd pay for their drinks?
** Think about "The Blitz". There's a phenomenon that suspends the rules of physics (and triples the rule of awesome) ''just'' to make the Blitz feel bad.
** Barney's entire childhood.
** For that matter, Lily and Robin's childhoods as well. This show really loves the HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood thing.
** What about Lily, the cute, perky one, who ''made'' Scooter date her, and then dumps him when she goes off to college. No wonder he turned into a stalker.

* Ted mentions he would give a homeless man a dollar every day after promising him a million dollars for Marshall's charts and graphs, which Ted threw out. Ted has probably been supporting that homeless man's alcoholism or drug addiction for years.
** With a dollar a day?
*** Of course since not all homeless are alcoholics or abusers he could very well have been giving a homeless man a hot cup of coffee or a cheap meal for years.

* In "Sunrise" We see three of Ted's past girlfriends, among them Jeanette. We learn that on the day Victoria overnighted the package containing Robin's GRANDMOTHER'S locket, she signed for it, claiming to be Ted's wife. Lets see...she committed fraud, tampered with another persons mail. Add her two white-collar crimes to her end less list of stalking, harassment, and property damage how is this woman employed by the police? She should be locked up!

* This one hit me after re-watching "The End of the Aisle". When Robin is talking about Barney's predisposition to lying to her, she refers to his catch-phrase 'Legendary' as being not real, right? Well at the end of the episode, FutureTed says the following line about Barney and Robin's vows.

* My second run-through of the series made me realize something: Barney cries ''a lot.'' A majority of the time it's about something really stupid and insignificant, and it's PlayedForLaughs. It got me thinking, though--and maybe I'm reading too much into this--but it actually kind of makes sense. Barney is completely ''obsessed'' with making sure every minute of every day is absolutely awesome, and that's gotta be stressful. Deep down, he ''knows'' all of his pursuits are meaningless, but he keeps clamping down on his insecurities by trying to stack more awesome onto everything he does. He builds up these really high hopes about how legen...wait for it...dary something is gonna be, so even the tiniest thing going wrong is enough to bring those doubts bubbling to the surface again. His crying over the little, stupid things just shows what a fragile person he really is.

* This used to bother me and then turned into FridgeBrilliance: They only seem to characterize Nora as being a lot like Robin, except British, bilingual, and wanting a family. Also significant sweet-moments between Robin and Barney become repeated with her, like her playing laser tag with him and her taking care of him when he's sick. At first I was annoyed that they didn't come up with different moments for Nora to make her unique, instead making her sort of a perfect version of Robin. But this makes sense when you think about how Ted didn't know her very well, so most memories of her probably are coming from Barney. How would Barney remember her? [[spoiler: As the woman he dumped for Robin after realizing he still had feelings for her.]] So probably the things he liked about her [[spoiler: were the things that [[LovingAShadow reminded him of Robin]], or at least that's all he remembers about her.]] The only thing not-too-similar to Robin he seemed to remember was the kids thing, because she was also the one who initially got him realizing he wanted kids.

* FridgeBrilliance similar to the above example: why did Robin feel so strongly about Don? He was an annoying, unprofessional sleaze at first, and a bland bore later on. It was certainly never shown why Robin would give up a great job in Chicago for him when she wouldn't do the same for her best friends. Then when you remember that this is all in Ted's memory, he probably just remembers Don as that jackass who broke Robin's heart, and Robin probably never told Ted about any of their sweet or loving moments together because all her memories of him were tainted by their bad breakup. So Ted's knowledge of their relationship is pretty rudimentary. He just remembers the stuff that actually affected the group: his shenanigans on the morning show, Robin giving up a job for him, Marshall being bizarrely infatuated with him (although probably neither Ted nor Marshall remember exactly ''why''.)

* This one started as FridgeLogic then became FridgeBrilliance: Why would Punchy invite Ted's entire group to his wedding? He grew up with Ted and he's his best man, but does that really earn him a +4 invite? They've met and hung out but don't seem nearly close enough to invite them to the wedding. The FridgeBrilliance comes in when you realize that his father-in-law is footing the bill, and they hate each other. He invited them in order to drive up the bill. Given that Punchy had never really left Shaker Heights he could probably stand to bolster his guest list.

* Barney is shown to prefer women with daddy issues, even bringing it up in his song. When he finally falls for someone, it's Robin, who also happens to have what? Major daddy issues. Boo-yah.

* Whenever we see younger versions of the characters in flashbacks (like teenage Robin in the episode with her old boyfriend Simon), they're often portrayed by the same actors. That makes a lot of sense though: Ted might have been told what happened, but unless he's seen photos, he doesn't know what they looked like then. So he imagines them looking almost like they do in the story's present, and that's what we see.
** This logic doesn't really work. Ted HAS seen all of the characters when they were in their late teens/early 20s (the ages at which most flashbacks occur). He saw teen!Robin because she was in three videos, he saw teen!Lily because he met her in college (her flashbacks go back to her final days of high school), same with teen!Marshall and he saw younger!Barney in Game Night.\\
However, there is some FridgeBrilliance in the use of the adult actors: they're normally used in late-teen flashbacks, when most people stop physically changing.
*** The theory still holds up if you assume the show is about how the kids are picturing the story from their fathers description, rather than how Ted remembers it.
** But we see pre-teen Marshal and Barney, and they aren't played by the same actors.
*** Exactly: pre-teen. See above--"they're normally used in LATE-TEEN flashbacks

** All the doctor did was confirm she was physically ready all along; he didn't DO anything to make her ready.

* The shows' framing device seems absurd at first - a father narrating a story ''that'' long and meandering? - but after a while you see that some of the story might only be shown to the viewers and not told to the kids. But after watching the show a while long, it demonstrates that this is completely in character for Ted. He really is that pedantic.
** More importantly, he is telling them the story in 2030; the kids are around 16, which means they were born in 2014. By the time the series ends its 8 seasons, it will be 2013 -- a likely year the kids were conceived. The viewers are seeing Ted meet their mother in real-time. Basically, Ted is telling the story in the future, but the story he's telling is taking place in our present, at the same time we are watching it.
*** The son is born 2017. At the time the daughter is at most two. That puts them at 13 and 15 respectively.
** Who's to say how much detail Future!Ted actually puts into the stories? No character-told flashback in TV or film could possibly be as detailed as it seems to the viewer because almost nobody's memory is that good. [[FridgeLogic Granted, his memory is good enough to recall over 200 stories from over 20 years ago...]] All this speculation is in the name of good fun, but [[MST3KMantra it really doesn't seem worth dwelling on]].
* In the season six episode 'Blitzgiving' the Blitz, Steve, leaves early because he's "getting really into Madden 2k1", and Robin is clearly seen in the group. While at first it seems to be an anachronism, as Robin wouldn't join the group until 2005, it makes perfect sense when you remember that Ted is an unreliable narrator. Robin is such a permanent fixture in the group's collective unconscious that Ted just assumes she was there.
*** I always thought that Steve just liked to play really old video games, but that works also.
*** Given the theme of the Blitz is that he's chronically late, it's probably a subtle way for them to show how he's always late, not just to events but in games as well.

** The real Fridge Brilliance here is when you remember that, like mentioned in the first Robin Sparkles music video, Canada is always about 10 years behind America. It would make sense that the game he's playing is outdated by about ten years.
* FridgeBrilliance: In the episode "Ted Mosby: Architect," Robin assumes that Ted has been cheating on her based on stories that she's been hearing from strangers all night, including Ted bragging to a girl that he ended Frank Gehry's career (because he's so awesome). As it turns out, it was actually Barney masquerading as Ted all night in order to pick up chicks. Sleazy as usual, but it ''does'' show that Barney actually ''listens'' to Ted when he goes on for hours about architecture, at least enough to name drop Frank Gehry to the average bimbo.

* FridgeBrilliance: At first, it seems odd: Ted really didn't realize that something went down between Barney and Robin when he saw Barney cleaning up the candles and rose petals around her bed in "Tick Tick Tick"? He wasn't under some false impression either, since he connects the dots all on his own in "No Pressure," but how come it took so long? Then you realize that Ted was still very stoned from his and Marshall's escapade at the concert at the end of "Tick Tick Tick", and probably dismissed what he saw as more drugged-up weirdness, until the events of "No Pressure" made it suddenly click for him.

** Related to Film/TheWeddingBride, who's to say that that version of the story isn't the more realistic? With Ted skewing the facts in his narration of the series.
** Except, as has been stated previously, Ted has a pretty good track record of either: A) Stating outright what a jerk he was about something (like in "Hooked"), or B) Retroactively realizing when he was total ass (like in "No Tomorrow"). In the interest of consistency, you'd think that if any part of Film/TheWeddingBride was truer to life than Ted thought at the time, Ted (or Future!Ted) would have said something about it.
* FridgeBrilliance: In pilot episode, in the very first scene with Robin, Barney, and Ted, Ted's describing it as "like something from an old movie, where the sailor sees the girl across the crowded dance floor, turns to his buddy and says 'See that girl? I'm gonna marry her some day...'", except that he never actually finishes his sentence IRL because Barney interrupts him. This is [[spoiler: foreshadowing. Ted doesn't marry Robin; ''Barney'' does.]]

* Ted comments to Robin that they are all their own doppelgängers- different versions of themselves that have developed over time. The real 'doppelgängers' that they spot around the city could also be seen as different versions of most of the main characters. Robin's doppelgänger is a short-haired boyish figure, similar to how she is seen in flashbacks growing up with her father, and could be an allusion to the person her father would have preferred her to be. Lily's doppelgänger is a stripper, which relates to her personality as a very sexual person, and is further suggested in the show where she dresses in her doppelgänger's clothes to get up on the pole and try out the lifestyle of her alter ego. Marshall's doppelgänger's main characteristic is a mustache, which Marshall is shown to equate with success when, in "Trilogy Time", Marshall's idea of himself in the future as successful and happy always shows him with the mustache he is unable to grow in real life. Barney's doppelgänger... well, he's a guy that looks at lady parts all day. It fits Barney's personality so much that Lily refuses to believe it's actually not Barney. Also ironic, as the man who always tells people not to have kids has a doppelgänger whose career is centered on fertility and helping couples to have children.

** In addition, 'Mustache Marshall' is seen wielding a judge's gavel, and with the name "Señor Justicia"- that's "Mr. Justice" in English. This is foreshadowing the events of 'Twelve Horny Women' where Marshall is shown applying to become a judge. The 'successful, mustached' judge doppelgänger is even more closely linked to the person Marshall wants to become.
* In "The Best Burger in New York" (4.4) Regis Philbin hosts a TV show called "Million Dollar Heads or Tails". Yet, a couple of seasons later in "False Positive" (6.12), when we see the show again, it's hosted by Alec Trebek. The first thing I thought was that they just couldn't get Philbin back for a second cameo, and most likely that's true - but then I realized that Philbin probably would have gotten fired from "Million Dollar Heads or Tails" for walking off the set for the sake of a burger anyway!

** That, or he's still pining for her in the future.
*** [[spoiler:The ending of season 8 shows that Ted meets the mother at the train station? So why didn't he just say that? He has to explain why he was at the train station, which was to move away after Barney and Robin's wedding? And he has to explain why he had to move away, which is the reason the story is so long.]]

** He ''IS!''
** Also, the story started with Marshall being about to propose to Lilly. This makes Ted realise that he's still nowhere near meeting the soul mate he's always dreamed of in those {{ImagineSpot}}s - which is implied to be the point when he starts actually trying to meet the Mother.

%%* I'm fairly certain this is just me being abysmally late to the punchline, but in 6x21 (Hopeless) when kid Barney is saying goodbye to his [[spoiler: father]] He says that not being able to see the Led Zeppelin cover band will suck because it would have been 'Ledengery.' It looks like he's mangled what will become his catchphrase?, but at the same time, it would be Led-an-Gerry. His father is called Gerry, the band was Led Zeppelin, Led-and-Gerry.

* FridgeBrilliance: Marshall picks up on the ridiculously convoluted Chinese gambling game in "Atlantic City" because he is just unbeatable at games.
** Also he ''is'' going to law school and by all evidence seems to be brilliant at it, with as many people as he's [[CatchPhrase Lawyered]], so he's probably able to look at a game for a couple rounds and know just about every rule that matters.
** Put these two theories together, and you get a complete theory of Marshall's personality, explaining his career and board game enthusiasm.

** Given that the show is ''not'' a comic book and that there are people actually called Clint, [[FauxSymbolism isn't this kinda reaching?]]
*** Given the 'Clint' effect is pretty well-known urban legend...ehhhh, I give it a fifty-fifty.
*** The word "cunt" is still rarely used in the States. It's safer to assume that the word is "bitch". It also kind of sounds like it.
*** But they've used the word "bitch" on the show. (Lily calling someone a son of a bitch for example). Cunt is not a word you can say on network tv, so it makes more sense the word that grinch is a euphemism for.
*** But has 'bitch' been used outside of the "son of a bitch" moments? And has it been used continuously many times throughout an episode? Frequency and context count in censorship.
*** It has. Not certain on exactly when, but somebody has straight up called Lily a bitch at least once in-show.
*** And Lily says, when Ted describes meeting Victoria, "So you chickened out like a little bitch?" Oh, and, "I drank all five, bitch!" Robin says, "Say you're my bitch!" Look, just take it that there is no barrier to them explicitly saying the word on the show, so it would be weird for them to suddenly tap dance around it like it was verboten. Then there's the fact that Ted, in narration, describes it as "a very bad word." Bitch isn't exactly beyond the pale. It's a pretty garden variety curse word.
*** Indeed. Watch the episode and see the reactions: there's no way it's just the word "bitch" being used. It's almost certainly "cunt", it's the only insult strong enough for the episode to make sense.

** I wouldn't count Marshall out of that either. Yes he had a close relationship with his dad but there are several references to it seeming 'too close' (such as Lily getting angry when he interferes in them trying for a baby). Also, when Marshall teaches Lily's kindergarteners basketball, the brutal, cruel method he used was from how he was treated by his dad. Not such a healthy relationship after all. Then[[spoiler: he dies. Even if the relationship was a bit too close, possibly controlling his dad "leaving him" by dying messed him up big time.]]

** I wouldn't count Marshall out of that either. Yes he had a close relationship with his dad but there are several references to it seeming 'too close' (such as Lily getting angry when he interferes in them trying for a baby). Also, when Marshall teaches Lily's kindergarteners basketball, the brutal, cruel method he used was from how he was treated by his dad. Not such a healthy relationship after all.

** Put these two theories together, and you get a complete theory of Marshall's personality, explaining his career and board game enthusiasm

* Why did Barney falls in love with Quinn who is completely the opposite of Nora? Why? Because it was an overcorrection.

* In the episode "Gary Blauman" we learn years earlier Ted had become obsessed with former president UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt after reading his biography and bored the gang with Teddy Roosevelt facts like how he was blinded in one eye during a boxing match while in office. The one fact about Roosevelt that isn't mentioned in the episode which predicts the finale? [[spoiler: Teddy Roosevelt's beloved first wife dies of an illness just after a short period of marriage and he later remarries an old friend (who had attended his wedding to his other first wife).]]

* FridgeBrilliance: Ted comments to Robin that they are all their own doppelgängers- different versions of themselves that have developed over time. The real 'doppelgängers' that they spot around the city could also be seen as different versions of most of the main characters. Robin's doppelgänger is a short-haired boyish figure, similar to how she is seen in flashbacks growing up with her father, and could be an allusion to the person her father would have preferred her to be. Lily's doppelgänger is a stripper, which relates to her personality as a very sexual person, and is further suggested in the show where she dresses in her doppelgänger's clothes to get up on the pole and try out the lifestyle of her alter ego. Marshall's doppelgänger's main characteristic is a mustache, which Marshall is shown to equate with success when, in "Trilogy Time", Marshall's idea of himself in the future as successful and happy always shows him with the mustache he is unable to grow in real life. Barney's doppelgänger... well, he's a guy that looks at lady parts all day. It fits Barney's personality so much that Lily refuses to believe it's actually not Barney. Also ironic, as the man who always tells people not to have kids has a doppelgänger whose career is centered on fertility and helping couples to have children.

* In "The Best Burger in New York" (4.4) Regis Philbin hosts a TV show called "Million Dollar Heads or Tails". Yet, a couple of seasons later in "False Positive" (6.12), when we see the show again, it's hosted by Alec Trebek. The first thing I thought was that they just couldn't get Phibin back for a second cameo, and most likely that's true - but then I realized that Philbin probably would have gotten fired from "Million Dollar Heads or Tails" for walking off the set for the sake of a burger anyway! - Forceheretic

*** [[spoiler: The ending of season 8 shows that Ted meet's the mother at the train station? So why didn't he just say that? He has to explain why he was at the train station, which was to move away after Barney and Robin's wedding? And he has to explain why he had to move away, which is the reason the story is so long.]]
*** [[spoiler: Ted is on the Farhampton train station platform because he is leaving Robin and Barney's wedding to catch a plane so that he can leave New York, and Robin, behind. The Mother is ultimately there because of Robin. The Mother's roommate got her the wedding gig because the roommate's former boyfriend said he needed a band for a friend's wedding. The roommate met the boyfriend because he taught at Columbia thanks to a man who helped the boyfriend's dermatologist fiance run from the altar. The boyfriend met the fiance because he wanted to get a butterfly tattoo removed from his sacrum. He got the butterfly tattoo thanks to the rebound boyfriend Gael that came back from Argentina with Robin. Because of Robin, both parents are there at the same time, alone.]]
** He '''IS!''

* I'm fairly certain this is just me being abysmally late to the punchline, but in 6x21 (Hopeless) when kid Barney is saying goodbye to his [[spoiler: father]] He says that not being able to see the Led Zeppelin cover band will suck because it would have been 'Ledengery.' It looks like he's mangled what will become his catchphrase?, but at the same time, it would be Led-an-Gerry. His father is called Gerry, the band was Led Zeppelin, Led-and-Gerry.

* In "Jenkins", Ted's stock student Betty is wearing a green argyle sweater that Robin was seen wearing on-and-off in Season Three. This seems like normal wardrobe recycling, but then it comes to light that all of Ted's students watch and love Robin's show. Betty was wearing the sweater as an homage!

* In "The Stamp Tramp," Ted has a video recording of Marshall in his "big suit" which he wore for his third date with Lily. Why would a big guy like Marshall have an even bigger suit? Because he's the "runt of the litter" and it was a hand-me-down from one of his (even bigger) brothers.