How Your Mother Met Me
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"How Your Mother Met Me" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season of the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...
'' and the 200th episode overall. This is the only episode of the series in which the episode title was used instead of the usual opening that featured the cast and series' title; the usual photos of Ted and his four friends enjoying themselves are replaced with analogous snapshots of the Mother and her friends. The plot is mainly focused on
Cristin Milioti Cristin Milioti (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing The Mother, The Mother (How I Met Your Mother), Tracy McConnell, in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2013 to 2014, and Sofia Falcone in the HBO ...
's role as the Mother, and how some of her life events coincide with those of Ted's and the rest of the gang. The episode has been very well received by viewers and
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s, becoming the highest-rated episode of the series according to the online
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.


Plot

At MacLaren's Pub in September 2005, a woman passes by Barney and Ted as they get ready for another round of "Have you met Ted?" It turns out that the woman, Kelly, went to the wrong MacLaren's Pub and takes a cab to another MacLaren's on the East Side to join the Mother (her
roommate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dorm-mate, suite-mate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Brit ...
) on her 21st birthday. She awaits the arrival of her boyfriend Max only to receive a call informing her of his death. After the funeral service, she returns to the apartment to open Max's last gift to her: a
ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...
. At
St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...
three years later, Kelly encourages the Mother to go out and
date Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activi ...
again, bringing her to the same bar where Ted and Barney are celebrating. The two women run into Mitch, her old
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...
instructor who was then a music teacher at a
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
public school. Inspired by his work, the Mother offers Mitch her
cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
and they head back to her apartment to get it. However, the Mother prepares the cello only to see Mitch pull off The Naked Man. She is disgusted at his move, but momentarily forgets he is naked while he shares some valuable wisdom with her. "What is it you want to do with your life." "I want to end poverty," she replies. "Then every decision you make from here on out should be in the service of that." He leaves and she remembers her yellow
umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...
at the bar and goes out to get it, leaving behind Kelly (who earlier rebuffed Barney at the bar) to have sex with Mitch. She learns that a "super inconsiderate person" (Ted) took the umbrella. The Mother acts on the wisdom from the naked orchestra teacher revealing her desire to end
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
by taking up economics in college. In the fall of 2009, the Mother sits her first session in Econ 305 and meets Cindy, whom she offers to move in with as her roommate. They see Ted enter the room (after which The Mother laughs at his "shellfish" joke), but the Mother thinks she's in the wrong room when he announces the subject and runs off. She heads back to the room after seeing Ted scramble to his actual classroom. A few months later in 2010, she gets her umbrella back. Cindy tells her that she broke up with the "architecture professor" because the man picked out the Mother's items and saw that they were more compatible; in the ensuing conversation, Cindy spontaneously kisses The Mother, which makes her realise her homosexuality. In turn, The Mother decides to start dating again, having not been kissed in a long time. Some time later, a man named Darren approaches the Mother and is welcomed into her band — however, Darren gradually takes it over and makes the Mother carry band equipment. In April 2012, The Mother meets Louis and he helps her with the equipment, but later at MacLaren's Pub (which Louis thought was named "
Puzzles A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different ...
"), she tells him she's not yet ready to date because of her loss. Louis asks her to give him a call if she changes her mind and she leaves just before Ted
appears "Appears" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax on November 10, 1999, as the sixth single from her second studio album ''Loveppears'' (1999), which was released on the same day. Alongside thi ...
to
Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...
and Barney in a green dress. They begin dating not long after, but they are not really a perfect match (for example, Louis is not amused when The Mother has her
English muffin An English muffin is a small, round and flat yeast-leavened (sometimes sourdough) bread which is commonly round and tall. It is generally split horizontally and served Toast (food), toasted.David, Elizabeth (1977). ''English Bread and Yeast Co ...
sing
show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. Th ...
s). The Mother's band is eventually booked for Barney and
Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...
's wedding in 2013; she stays at Louis's summer cottage not far from the Farhampton Inn. In a
flash-forward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...
to the eve of the wedding, the Mother discovers Darren's ad for a replacement bass player and heads down to the Inn to confront him, eventually picking up
Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...
and Marvin along the way. After seeing Darren get his comeuppance, she returns to Louis's house, where he proposes to her, but she goes outside to think about it. She begins talking to Max and asks his permission to move on with her life. Interpreting a gust of wind as Max's answer, the Mother bids him one last goodbye and declines Louis's proposal, later checking in at Farhampton Inn. On her room's balcony, she plays the ukulele and sings "
La Vie en Rose ; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the United States in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard'' cha ...
". Ted hears her next door (with
Future Ted Theodore Evelyn Mosby is a fictional character and the protagonist in the American sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'', portrayed by Josh Radnor. He serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the " ...
saying that it was the first and most favorite time he heard his future wife sing this song) and gets back inside to tell Barney about it, only to find out he has disappeared.


Production

In interviews before it aired,
Carter Bays Carter Loard Bays (born August 12, 1975) is an American author, composer and television showrunner. Bays co-created the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' where he served as showrunner, writer and executive producer for all nine seasons. Bays ...
stated that the episode is "a fun little
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tour through the series from the perspective of someone outside the group". He also added that they used some "fun trickery" to incorporate scenes from
the pilot A pilot is a person who flies or navigates an aircraft. Pilot or The Pilot may also refer to: Common meanings * Maritime pilot, a person who guides ships through hazardous waters * Television pilot, a television episode used to sell a series to a ...
and other past episodes. Unlike the 100th episode, which Bays said was more of a celebration of the cast, he stated that the 200th episode was "a different kind of story ... but it felt like the right one to do in terms of the greater story of the show." There were a few mistakes in the episode; for instance, the
St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...
scene was said to take place in April. Carter Bays stated that these will be fixed for future airings of the episode.


Critical reception

"How Your Mother Met Me" received critical acclaim, and is regarded as one of the strongest episodes of the series. As of June 2025, "How Your Mother Met Me" is rated 1 out of 208 episodes of ''
How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...
'' on
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. Donna Bowman of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' graded the episode an A−, saying it was "exactly what we need as we enter this final stretch of the series." Max Nicholson of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave the episode 8.5/10, calling it "both entertaining and heartwarming."
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
from
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
praised the episode as "lovely" saying, "overall it did about as good a job as possible as a single episode could at both telling a story of the Mother’s last seven years, while weaving her into the larger continuity of the series." Jessica Goodman from ''
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'' called it "one of the strongest, most beautiful episodes of 'How I Met Your Mother,'" "the best episode in years," and "20-something minutes of pure delight for... fans." Sandra Gonzalez of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' called it "a
milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...
of an episode."


References


External links

* {{How I Met Your Mother episodes, 9 How I Met Your Mother season 9 episodes 2014 American television episodes