For those of you who have had the unfortunate realization that you have never heard of the popular CBS comedy, How I Met Your Mother, it is a series that follows Ted Mosby, a man searching for love after his best friends Lilly and Marshall get engaged. As the series begins we meet Uncle Barney, a womanizing inventor of the Playbook and the Bro Code, and Aunt Robin. As the rest of you know, How I Met Your Mother’s 8th season is shortly coming to an end, and the 9th and final season starts this fall. Many ardent followers have been debating whether Ted will meet his children’s mother after Barney and Robin’s wedding at the end of this season, or if he will meet her in the last episode of season 9. I have seen every episode twice, and as an avid follower I would like to express that while we don’t know when America will meet The Mother, or who The Mother is, we certainly know who it is not.
From the series premiere in September 2005, viewers have seen the love progression between Robin and Ted. Unfortunately, fans had to decide if they were Team Tedward or Team Barney in “The Last Page” where Barney ultimately proposed to Robin using “The Robin” scheme from his Playbook with Ted’s consent. As heartbreaking as it was to let go of hope for Robin and Ted, viewers can find comfort that their relationship was not in vain. Robin had to teach Ted that you can’t force love, and Ted taught Robin how to be in a serious relationship.
We saw her originally in 2006, when she catered a wedding attended by Ted. It was an instant connection, and was supposed to be a whimsical one night romance. However, Ted tracked down this mystery woman and they began a serious relationship. Victoria went on an internship in Germany which ultimately led to the Victoria-Ted demise after long distance and a cheating scandal which caused the two to break up. The break up’s lack of resolution caused viewers to have lingering thoughts of reconciliation. Then, they meet again. Ted convinces Victoria to dump her fiancé and start their relationship anew. Ultimately their relationship ends because Victoria doesn’t want Ted to be friends with Robin. Personally, I am glad Victoria isn’t the mother. She was overly romantic, like Ted, so their relationship lasting seemed very unrealistic.
In season 1, Ted meets a funny, younger woman who works as a coat check girl at a night club. They agree that activities that society usually deems as fun, such as night clubs, actually suck, and they vow to go on a date to the dentist. On last week’s episode, “Time Travelers”, Ted is looking back on his life in a memory. He sees coat check girl at MacLaren’s but doesn’t approach her after realizing the relationship was doomed to end, because all of his relationships do. The episode ends with Ted giving a speech to The Mother, who we don’t see, but he tells us they meet in 45 days. Some bloggers speculate that Coat Check Girl will be the mother of Ted’s children, and if that is true, I would be happy. She is a fun loving, sweet girl, who won’t break Ted’s heart. However, in the episode “Okay Awesome”, when we meet Coat Check Girl, Ted concludes the episode with “I never saw her again”; therefore, I personally doubt she is the mother.
If you are a fickle follower, and only watch How I Met Your Mother occasionally, at least watch the season finale on May 13th at 8/7c or the season nine premier in September.
Miranda Stapleton is an English Education major at the University of Georgia. She is pursuing an endorsement so she can teach English Language Learners. She also hopes to work towards a Master’s Degree in Gifted Education and hopes to one day be an Advanced Placement English teacher, or perhaps a college professor. She enjoys traveling, exploring pop culture, and watching movies on Netflix when she isn’t studying.