How I Met Your Mother - Season 9 - Tying up the loose ends
1 Sept 2013
How I Met Your Mother ReviewsHere are a few loose ends that need to be addressed in the final season of How I Met Your Mother.
Robin’s Infertility
The mid-season finale of Season 7, titled “Symphony of Illumination”, introduced us to Robin and Barney’s future kids, only to find out by the end of the episode that the kids were imaginary and that Robin is infertile. Her infertility.lead to the breakup between her and Kevin, a season later. Ted, Lily and Marshall all know about Robin’s infertility. The only person who doesn’t know (apparently) is Barney.
It seems weird that Robin told Kevin about her infertility the moment he proposed, but hasn’t told Barney about it in the five months they have been engaged. Maybe she is afraid the Barney will reject her when he finds out about this, or maybe she hasn’t told him because she knows he is not that enthusiastic about kids after the false alarm they had in the winter of 2011. Whatever the reason be, this issue has to be addressed before Barney and Robin get married.
It is also possible that Barney already knows somehow, and Robin doesn’t realize that, or maybe Robin already told Barney offscreen. The latter, however, seems highly unlikely, as they would not hide something like this from the viewers.
Robin’s bullfighting career
At the end of same episode mentioned above, Future Ted mentions that Robin was “briefly a bullfighter”. We have not seen this taking place in the timeline of the show, and is probably something which Robin does after getting married to Barney.
Ted and Victoria’s breakup (v2.0)
After getting back together after 7 years, when Victoria left her fiancé Klaus at the altar for him, Victoria and Ted broke up again when he chose his friendship with Robin over his future with Victoria. When Lily said that Robin would be touched when she hears about this, Ted asked her not to tell her. At that point, we hear Future Ted saying that Robin did find out about it. So we can be positive that this will be something discussed in the final season.
The Pineapple
One of the huge mysteries of the show is the origins of The Pineapple, which Ted found on his nightstand after he woke up in bed with Trudy, in 2005. Although Future Ted that they never found out about the pineapple’s origins, viewers are hopeful they will be told about it eventually.
Barney’s Job
Throughout the show, Barney has never acknowledged what he actually does for a living. We know that he worked for AltruCell Corporation, and then later Goliath National Bank after AltruCell acquires GNB in a hostile takeover. At one point a member of Sven addressed Barney as “Head of the Search Committee” at GNB, but even after that Barney denied telling his job to the gang. This is not really a loose end per se, but we would like to know it.
Share the things you'd like to know before the show ends in the comments.
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Great list, Babar. There's also the remaining three "last cigarettes ever" (Robin's, Ted's, and Barney's, respective to the chronology) that may come up (especially since Robin's last is during or shortly after the wedding), the remaining two slaps (this one concerns me slightly since the creators have talked about one more slap happening in Season 9, but not any others), and Victoria's "prophecy" about Barney, Robin, and Ted all hanging out not working and future Ted confirming she was right but that they didn't know it yet. (I don't think that anything we've seen so far really confirms that prophecy; throughout Season 8 they didn't seem to have any qualms about the three of them all hanging out together still.)
ReplyDeleteOther possible "loose ends" that would be nice to get more information on includes 1) the things that Barney has on the rest of the gang, i.e., Lily's kindergarten class's original Mr. Buttons, Robin's Mr. T dream, and Ted's thermos (and we know this wasn't a total throwaway thing for the writers because they introduced Mr. Buttons 2 a few episodes later), 2) the "green testicle story" that was Ted's supposedly most embarrassing story that he never got to tell, 3) Marshall's firm saving the world (unless they did this off-screen before going under or they eventually do it some time in the future after Marshall has left them (or come back?), and 4) that security guard's band's song that got popular that Ted decided he probably wouldn't get to.
There's also the possibility of those other signs that showed up when Ted was telling about the "Absolutely No Boogie-Boarding" sign (the signs that showed up said, "No smoking on carousel", "No punching llamas", and "No motorcycles on the casino floor", and the show ended up coming back to that lattermost sign, which means it could come back to the other two as well).
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI deliberately didn't add the slaps to the list, because we have been assured that both of them will happen in the final season.
I totally forgot about the "stuff" Barney has on the other gang members and the signs.
Wow. Very good list (Babar) and comment (V_s)!
ReplyDeleteI would like to know about:
- the infertility talk (even if it is a flashback to show how she told Barney and he is ok with it);
- THE SLAP BET;
- the pineaple;
Well, I guess that is what I really really really want to find out about.
Regarding the slaps: really? I know they've mentioned one slap a bunch of times including the episode formatted around it, but of everything I've read, I haven't heard any talk of the other.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure I read an article where the execs said that both slaps will take place this season.
ReplyDeleteMy impression about the one last slap was that is was the CBS advert, and that doesn't always say/show everything the creators would actually mean. I feel fairly confident that they have a good hold on the number of slaps left, and will show them. I'd love the last shot of the show to be the final slap...
ReplyDeleteGreat list, the only one I don't agree with is the pineapple. Although I'm ridiculously curious about it, future Ted said he never found out, and I'd like to keep that mystery. Plus it's nice to keep something unanswered. I don't want to be disappointed by the story - like with the Slutty Pumpkin, I think I would have rather just never found out who she was.
ReplyDeleteCarter Bays said in the EW Spread that the mystery of the pineapple will be addressed in the final season.
ReplyDeleteYes, I saw that just after replying here. I have to say I'm a little disappointed, but I'll wait and see what they do with it.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to know if Ted or Barney rides the tricycle and who gets the belt.
ReplyDeleteOoh, nice one.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't, that slap was from "Slapsgiving".
ReplyDeleteI think that Barney's already knows about infertility and the only reason he did not bring it up is because it would only bring PAIN for his Beloved Robin!!!
ReplyDeleteI am totally On-Board about finding Barney's Job.!!
Robin will eventually find out about the sacrifice that Ted made for her, will directly Co-Relate with What Robin said just before she found out about Ted's break-up Which is Robin Said that "Next time when you have a crazy idea late-night, better disturb your girl-friend". I think that robin will remove this condition which means that they will remain best friends!!!
I am most anxious about the BROKEN-CODE Episode..! I strongly feel that Ted is Going to get an Ultimatum involving him and Robin..!. I just hope that there won't be any damage between My Favorite Characters and My Favorite Couple Barney & Robin.
Well, addressed doesn't necesarilly mean solved
ReplyDeleteOh I know, I was referring to the fact that V_s was concerned that there have been lots of mentions of "one last slap" and so wondered what if we don't get both. I think that's unlikely, as I don't think the promos necessarily show things as the writers are thinking/wanting, but how CBS think will best promote the show. I'm sure we will get two more wonderful slaps (and I can't wait!)
ReplyDeleteWhat about the Scherbatsky doormat, that the creators solve the issue on an interview it's not even close to be satifsying, Ted say he would talk about that, well he said that's getting ahead to the story, but we never found it.
ReplyDeleteGood list, good point, but the whole thing with Barney's job and the pinaple is that we don't know about it, that's why it's funny, I don't think there are any good explanation to those question, it will just be an anti-climax if we get an answer...
ReplyDeleteRemember this, from episode 1 in season 3:
ReplyDeleteBarney: Not possible. You cannot have sex on a windsurfing board.
Lily: How do you know?
Barney Stinson: Glad you asked Lily. I have crafted a list of every vehicle
land-based, aquatic and airborne in which/on which it's possible to have
sex. And of those 33 vehicles, I have had sex in/on 31. Windsurfing
board, not on the list, not possible. Oh, P.S., in order to hit 33, all I
need is bobsled and the Apollo 11 space capsule.
Lily: To get that last one, you'd have to break into the Smithsonian.
Barney: This conversation never happened.
Seems like he does plan on breaking into the Smithsonian... I would really like to hear/ see that story being told...
There is the lightsaber at thanksgiving this year (it was mentioned in season four that Marshall would carve the turkey 3 to 5 years later with a lightsaber).
ReplyDeleteThere is The Wedding Bride 2 (is that a thing?)
And the other cities that Robin lived in.
What about how Robin met Nick the third time around? They never say how they started dating, and it seemed kinda like fate that they met, but maybe if we knew, we could disqualify it as just chance.
ReplyDeleteOne big loose end that will remain untied is that at the end of "Field Trip" where Older Ted said that Marshall and Garrison Cootes save the world. It does not look like that will happen.
ReplyDelete