How I Met Your Mother ending explained: Ted's first meeting with the mother, Barney & Robin's wedding, and a flash-forward twist

Even a decade after its conclusion, sitcom fans are still divided over the finale of How I Met Your Mother, which was released in two parts: Last Forever, Part One & Part Two.

The sitcom finale was highly anticipated as it featured the core answer and premise promised in the title, the identity of the Mother. The finale was a wholesome conclusion of a nine-year tale about love, relationships, and friendships, presented in a non-linear fashion with frequent time jumps.

We first get a glimpse of the gang and their individual lives, followed by a final time jump to 2030, where Ted concludes his eponymous tale to his children. From the identity of the Mother, to the controversial twist about her relationship with Ted, to the fates of all the other couples, let's break down the How I Met Your Mother finale.

How I Met Your Mother ending explained: Ted and the Mother's first meeting

Without wasting any time, let's get on to the juiciest part of the How I Met Your Mother finale, the reveal of the Mother and how Ted meets her. While the mother's partial identity is revealed in the Season 8 finale, where we saw a woman carrying the iconic yellow umbrella that belongs to her, the How I Met Your Mother finale finally featured her first meeting with Ted.

The finale opened in the weekend of 2013, when the gang was headed for Barney and Robin's wedding, where the yellow umbrella woman was coincidentally a bass player with the wedding band. While Ted was instantly drawn to her at the reception, he did not approach her as he had to leave for Chicago the next day.

But destiny had other plans as Ted's train was late, and he met the same woman at the train station. As they realise that they have already crossed each other's paths throughout the years, it is revealed that this woman is Tracy McConnell, the Mother. Over the course of two years, Tracy and Ted fell in love and finally decided to get married in 2015.

However, Tracy's sudden pregnancy postponed their wedding, and the couple finally got married in 2020, after having two kids.

How I Met Your Mother ending explained: Catching up with Lily-Marshall and Barney-Robin

Before jumping to the finale of Ted's tale, it's important to fill the gaps and check in with Marshall-Lily and Barney-Robin. Three years after their supposed happily-ever-after, Barney and Robin broke up because of problems between them. Since Robin's job took her all over the world, the distance literally parted them, and the two got amicably separated.

After his divorce, Barney resorted to his womanizing ways until a random hookup got pregnant, leading to the birth of his first daughter, Ellie, in 2020. Probably the first girl he had truly loved in his life, Barney tearfully holds his newborn daughter in the finale. On the other hand, while Robin had cut herself off from Lily and the gang, a chance meeting with Ted got her an invite to his wedding with the Mother.

As for Marshall and Lily, while Marshall turned down his dream job for Lily's one-year gig, he finally became a judge and was running for the State Supreme Court in 2020. The couple also welcomed their third child in 2016 and lived happily ever after.

How I Met Your Mother ending explained: Ted gets a second chance at love

The last time we checked, Ted was happily married to Tracy with their two children in 2020. But the How I Met Your Mother finale packed its biggest punch and revealed that the Mother soon died in 2024 due to an unspecified illness.

This shocking reveal is followed by a flash-forward to 2030, where Ted concludes his tragic story with:

“And that, kids, is how I met your mother...''

However, his children catch up to him and realise that he has been in love with their Aunt Robin all along. This 'How I Met Your Mother' story was just his way of asking their permission to pursue Robin and right a major wrong in both of their lives.

Finally, six years after the Mother's death, Ted rushes to Robin's apartment, and she opens her apartment window to find him holding the blue French horn from the restaurant of their first date. And thus, Ted finally gets a second happy ending with Robin.

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