Full spoilers for the episode are ahead.
I’ll alert everyone from the get go that this isn’t going to be a typical review. In fact, the episode itself fell flat on most of the jokes, and didn’t really offer enough to make it memorable – until one of the very last scenes. And then it got me, and after some reflection, it kicked me in the stomach and literally brought tears to my eyes. I’ll explain why in a little bit.
We start out with Ted and the Mother meeting up again at the Far Hampton Inn in 2024, and they are reminiscing about past stories the two have told, and they realize that they’ve both shared all the best stories of their lives before they met. Ted finally remembers one the Mother has never heard, and he dives in and starts the story proper.
Lily is hell-bent on getting Robin to finally realize that today is her wedding day, and does her best to get Robin to have her “wedding day freak out” like all brides are supposed to have. Robin refuses to bite, instead wanting to enjoy “The Wedding Bride Too” on Pay-Per-View because, well, making fun of Ted is incredibly awesome. I could have done without Chris Kattan’s bit as Ted’s alter-ego in that movie because, well, Kattan’s annoying as hell, but it was still great to see everyone gather round and enjoy the biting satire, including how the movie portrayed “Narshall” noshing on Jed’s chocolate cake.
Meanwhile, Ted is busy helping Barney pick out the perfect suit (which required a whole hotel room to hold Barney’s wardrobe) which led to some not-really funny jokes about what all Barney had … umm … “performed” in said suits. Still, Ted’s convincing Barney to pick the right suit, despite the fact it wasn’t exactly the best fit, was a sweet moment that gave us the “aww” moment we were looking for.
All the friends gather to finish watching “The Wedding Bride Too”, and Robin leaves to get more ice only to encounter her own mother who we were led to believe was going to miss the wedding.
And here’s where we get to the hard part. We skip forward to Ted and the Mother in 2024 when the story is being told, and the Mother says, “What kind of mother would miss her daughter’s wedding”, and Ted tears up and starts to break down, only to be comforted by his wife.
It was at that moment, everything clicked in my head, and I got where the show was going.
The Mother is dying … and it killed me.
Everything finally made sense from the premise of the entire show to why we aren’t going to get the story that shows what happens after Ted and the Mother meet. Let me explain.
First of all, “Vesuvius”, as we all know, was an infamous volcano that erupted and decimated the lives of the people who were unlucky enough to be in the path of its destruction. What better way for the writers to drop the bomb that the Mother has passed on, and Ted’s kids are learning the story of the mother they never knew. Why else would they hang on for so long listening to all the crap and ramblings of their father? I wasn’t all that fond of the countless stories my parents told me, but if my own mom had died before I met her, I would be hungry to learn new things about her that I never had the chance to discover from her when she was alive.
Second, we also know why the Mother is never referenced in any of the flash forwards we’ve seen through seasons 1-8. We’ve seen older versions of everyone except her, and while that made sense because the actress hadn’t been cast until the finale of season eight, it’s telling that none of the actors have ever mentioned the Mother in their flash forwards either. One would think that a character so huge and important that the damn show was named after her would at least be referenced in the future plot lines, but that hasn’t happened.
So sad as it is, I’d be willing to wager that the Mother won’t be around at the end of the series, and I’m absolutely heart-broken about this. Look, as much as Ted can be whiny and annoying, I’ve still been rooting for him from day one and really wanted him, and everyone else, to get their “happily ever after”, and with the big reveal from tonight, I really don’t see that happening.
Sure, the writers could be throwing us a huge curveball and just want us to get worked up and sentimental, but that almost makes them bigger dicks than if they would just follow through on the hints they’ve been dropping. When the Mother says, “You don’t want to be a man who lives inside his stories,” it completely explains why Ted HAS been telling this story and why he would be resistant to leave it behind — it’s his last chance to relive what he has lost.
And that’s why tonight’s episode stands as one of the best I’ve seen in the entire series despite the fact it had more than its share of problems. The twist thrown in at the end still has me reeling, and it will remain as one of the most memorable in the series.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to grab another tissue and make another drink. Where’s Linus when you need him?
9 out of 10